Date: 2016-08-13
From: Rainbow Stream Shelter, ME

To: Abol Bridge, ME
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 10815 miles in 9 hours Rainbow Stream Shelter (2159.1) to Abol Bridge (2174.1)Weather: Sunny, pleasantDinner: Lobster roll at Abol Bridge Hikers: Spirit, Rabbit, Subman and Suds, Squirrel, Bald Whistler and Cruise Director, half a dozen SOBO flipfloppers Wildlife: Loons on Rainbow Lake, Bachelor party at Abol Campground My Icebreaker t-shirt is shredding. One of Spirit¢s merino wool shirts started ripping two weeks ago too. I wonder why¢¦it's as if I've been wearing it every day for the past 108 days. I put my thumb through the right side as I was pulling it down and two others are developing where runs have been growing on the back for the past month or more. On the upside, this shirt only needs to last two more days before the husband meets me with a wardrobe change. Today's hike is following more than five miles of Rainbow Lake shoreline¢again not really wilderness per se. Besides a float plane taking off, a pontoon boat just ferried some people from the remote shoreline fish camp that the AT bypassed by .2-miles. I look at this lake and think I'd definitely rather be paddling it. The trail is more challenging than the flat line profile suggests. Yesterday Spirit and I talked about trail things that will or will not be missed after finishing her hike. The day prior, another NOBO proclaimed he won't at all miss squeezing a water bottle in order to drink safely treated water, putting on damp clothes in the morning or eating peanut butter daily. I, myself, no longer care for toe socks¢even if they do a great job of keeping blisters at bay. They are tedious and take on that lovely boys locker room aroma faster and worse than regular socks. Who knew???Even though Spirit and I don't typically hike the entire day together¢especially with this orthopedically-challenged older demographic¢I suggested that we make a point of hiking solo as the time winds down. When I started this trip, I almost always hiked solo and as I've written before, my flip flop itinerary separated me from the larger established NOBO tramilies. I now can see how fluid, temporary, yet potentially long-lasting these relationships can be. Four of the people that Spirit started out with back in February are now all together and planning to summit on the same day. Last night she and Rabbit determined that they may only have actually camped together for two nights, yet their shared time and overlapping friends have woven their stories together. Today is unusual for me for two reasons¢first of all after meeting up with Spirit at regular intervals on a daily basis for nearly a month, we are hiking solo. We met up tonight, but the day was back to our own agendas¢and right now mine is spending a good chunk of time writing this entry from an awesome stealth camp on the north end of Rainbow a Lake. Second: my phone is almost dead. I'm not listening to music or podcasts, a crutch I've probably been leaning too heavily over the last month, but this also means that I'm not taking any photos. Maybe I'm better able to absorb more of my immediate surroundings. Nah¢¦still concentrating on my footing¢avoiding those blasted roots and rocks. A group of us has been camping together each night for several nights, in secluded locations in quiet woods. After all these miles and fighting less than perfect trail conditions, we abruptly now find ourselves immediately immersed back in what most people think is modern camping. Here at Abol Bridge there are radios, raucous laughter, bright lights and loud conversations happening (gasp!) way past 9 p.m. It's also Saturday night. Nothing subtle at all about this re-entry. On the other hand, all my hiking clothes are clean and dry and I don't have to sleep with a damp shirt being dried by body heat in the foot of my sleeping bag tonight.One finale day of hiking before summiting.