Date: 2014-07-16
From: Munson, ME

To: Rangeley, ME
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: light rain

19 days, minus 2 zeros (in Munson and Stratton) and two neros (in Caratunk and here in Rangeley), finds me about 220 miles into my SOBO attempt, and resting at the Hiker Hut on a rainy day. (I don't know why I can't get trailjournals to calculate my miles accurately.) This place is tiny, hip, and cheap ($20 with free shuttle, dinner and b-fast) by Rangeley standards. Off the grid with no power or hot showers, it's run by Steve "Peace Poet" and Cathy, and overrun by ruby-throated hummingbirds. We are expecting some family members of Inchworm, the 67-year-old woman who disappeared on the trail between here and Stratton one year ago (almost) to the day, and apparently a big dinner is planned. Recently, I have been sheltering (and hiking accidentally) with "India" and "Arbor" and we're all in various stages of recovery mode today. Yesterday was a brutal 17.9 hilly miles from Poplar Ridge to Piazza Lean-tos, being chased by rain and thunderstorms. The summits and apparently grand views of the Saddlebacks were occluded by clouds, and it became surreal when the visibility on Saddleback became so bad that I had to circle around and around looking for the trail off of the summit. I can't complain, as the weather has been great since Munson and Hurricance Arthur. I will complain about the 10' slide I took on my arse and elbows down one of the so-called "fractured slabs" that constitute Maine's hills and notches. (Piazza itself being a rather popular one, which I skipped as the rain was still pouring when I scrambled down to the highway this a.m.) My left hip hurts today. My heel sores are still opening up after a tough or wet day, and I may stop by a very user-friendly medical center spoken highly of here in town. Rangeley is a very friendly hiker town, if pricey. Still, given that I have been re-supplying my food as much from hiker-boxes as from stores--section and wknd hikers tend to bring too much food to hostels--it's been a fairly cheap hike to this point. (I have lost 10 lbs, on the other hand, and have been trying to eat more.) I expect that to change in a week when I hit NH and the Whites. I intended on swinging by the Wilhelm Reich Institute here, as he is an old research interest of mine, but it's less of an archive than a musuem, and have too much else to do in town (re-supply at the IGA, laundry & shower, hit the PO and library, and perhaps the Med Center). I am starting to run into more NOBOS, including "Radioman," "Smurfin," "Milk and Beer" and "Pint Sized" (a tiny 18-year old solo-ing woman who should be re-named "Pollyanna" for her estimates of the difficulties getting off Saddleback) and a bunch of others who are all duly noted in my journal. Two were using a huge water bong in the shelter last night, which is a first for me and actually NOT cool, but they were playing the Grateful Dead so no one complained.I wish I wasn't so "townsick" on the hike. While I love leaving towns, I find myself soon longing for the next one, and now see the thru-hike as a series of 2-3 or 3-4 overnight hiking trips. I need the creature comforts and sociability the woods lack. Perhaps this will change as I reach less onerous topography. Southern Maine continues to be rough going, especially on the knees while descending, though apparently here to Andover is relatively easy. After that comes some serious climbs...and, of course, the White Mountains. NOBOs concur that their 60 miles are the highlight of the AT, and while I have visited there several times on day hikes, I can't wait to traverse the Presidential Range and the rest. I trust my legs will be conditioned by then.Most of all, I wish I wasn't so homesick, and I think constantly of my friends and family. I especially get blue at night, when I don't have the next step occupying my mind. On the trail, there is no room for ruminating.