Date: 2014-07-21
From: Bethel, Maine

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 1.0
Weather: light rain

Well my fun is over and it's back to the trail this afternoon. I don't wanna! I've gotten too accustomed to company and food. But if you can believe it I'm only 256.9 miles from Katahdin. I have eleven days of hiking to Monson then I get to see Debbie (hi Debbie!) who will hike with me for the last 100 miles and up the mountain. Wow. In my head I always break things down into manageable segments and now I'm down to my last two. Unbelievable. I'll probably stay in a hostel or something about half way to Monson but gather there is no reception at all until then so stay tuned...... If someone had told me this morning what I might be experiencing today I would have said they were loco. First up as usual and went downstairs for my half gallon of coffee. I have definitely not lost the taste for it. Out on the trail, I go without but when it's available I chug. Had another great breakfast then the girls and I ran to the laundromat to do a load each then to the local grocery store for my third to last resupply. (Say what?!). I learned that everything stinks. Even my rain jacket that I really only wear for laundry stinks. And worse than everything else. Pew! Marit "asked" if I wanted one of her t-shirts. I was happy to change into it (it said Biker Chick in front) and continue my day, which included saying goodbye to Betsy and David (bye again! And thanks!)We had decided to have a Ryn day. I think she was getting annoyed with all the adult-centric stuff so we went all the way back to west of Gorham, NH to Santa's Village. This is an amusement park focused on kids probably under ten and of course Christmas. To the EXTREME. It was a Rudolph Sleigh ride and snowman sculptures, candy canes and Christmas music all day. Pretty much the Carpenters A Christmas Portrait on repeat. An album I know and love. But at Christmas. I did catch a carol sung by what sounded like Stevie Nicks, so props to them, but all surreal. There was even a train that each ding ding ding crossing dinged Jingle Bells. Crazy to think later that night I'd be camping in the quiet woods because this was anything but. Hordes of people. Of course I ate a ton. A cheeseburger, onion rings, coke, and blueberry cheesecake while the girls did bumper cars. Then later a corn dog, fries, and part of Ryn's pizza. They had a reindeer petting place with real reindeer. Their antlers are so soft and they almost looked animatronic but ate carrots so I guess not. We rode spinny rides and antique cars, a roller coaster, carousel, and played in the big water area. It was all honestly a blast as much out of sorts I felt. And looked probably. They all probably thought I was Santa in his summer weight. We left about four thirty and noticed they played Silent Night on the way out. A concession to the adults I guess to start getting the kids drowsy. From there it was a good drive up through Berlin (it's seen better days) and over to Maine and my drop off. Not without a stop for ice cream though. The end was bittersweet. I'm loving the adventure and feel so at home out in the woods but seeing family and friends also makes you a little ready for regular interaction with people you know. We said goodbyes and off I went into the woods and up the hill. It was already 6:30 so really I just needed to get far enough that I felt I had done something and find a stealth spot to make my bed. I think I'm no more than a mile in but the ground is soft and I've seen no one go by. I'm forcing myself to eat dinner just to lighten my load but I've eaten so much the last few days I'm not even hungry! Never thought I'd say that in the last few weeks.