Date: 2013-08-03
To: Clarence Fahnestock State Park
Miles today: 13.8

The past few nights have been tough for me to fall asleep in. Once Smirks recovered from her minor cold I then caught something similar. I go to bed unable to breath out of my nose and then spend the first few hours of each morning blowing my congested nose and spitting up loads of nasty mucous. Sometimes this is supplemented with a temporary light headed feeling, sore tonsil, familiar eye pain, and just an overall cruddy feeling. I've also got a painful cold sore / canker sore in my mouth. (By morning 3 I start feeling better and symptoms start healing)No trouble sleeping on the walkway to the side trail. It looked like nobody had used it all year but to our surprise two different hikers came out of the trail as we were packing up. We have zero water after drinking our last 8 ounces for breakfast. I ask one day hiker about nearby water and she says there is nothing around besides a pond with nasty water somewhere around. We didn't find the pond. Instead just a mile down the trail we cross a busy road that has a fully stocked gas station. Awesome! Couldn't have asked for anything more. This place has a pizza vendor, a deli, and all the perks of a regular convenient store. New York Steve is here doing a training hike and tells us we need to hurry if we want to get to Katahdin before Christmas. Funny joke but it might be true. Smirks and I sit at the gas station picnic table for close to 2 hours while we eat a large NY style pizza and take turns charging our phone. We eventually hike on. Our next stop is at the Greymoor Monastery. Hikers are permitted to tent up on a nearby ball field and use the outside cold shower. The churchy stuff is down another street and up a hill. Smirks wants to go on so we can make it to the state park campgrounds tonight, which offers a free hot shower and free tenting for thru hikers. She hikes on and I stay behind to check out the monastery. I am not religious or spiritual in any way but I greatly appreciated the kindness I found on this day when I walked into an all African-American church service. It was a moving upbeat ceremony and multiple members of the service came down to shake my hand as to give a nonverbal "you are welcomed here - bless you and may peace be with you". I stayed for 30 extra minutes. When I started hiking again Smirks had already put in some considerable mileage and it took me 2 hours and 5 minutes to catch her. While separated we both were hit with a 10 minute long downpour of rain. Just enough rain to soak my feet and shoes for the 3rd straight day. "No Rain, No Maine" the saying goes. I'm fine with the rain as long as it doesn't make my feet soggy all day and as long as I don't wake up in a flooded tent. We make it to the campground just before dark. I set up the tent while Smirks takes a shower. I shower and then start cooking some noodles in the dark as Smirks finishes her classically long 40 minute shower. We sit on the road to enjoy a quick dinner. Other hikers here are YKNOT2k, Mothra, Sycamore, Hagrid and Killer. The nights are still unseasonably cold but our sheets are holding up. Sleeping bags are going to be coming into play sooner than originally expected.