Date: 2012-08-14
From: Camp Site, MP 1867.8, NH

To: Imp campsite MP 1875.1
Miles today: 7.3

Sad news! My hiking partner, Minutia, has decided to leave the trail. He's been fighting pain in his knees and legs. He's also been taking massive dosages of vitamin I ever since we came down Mt Madison. Even the 3 zero days didn't help. He is making the right decision. I will miss him enormously. As for me, I want to get out of NH and into Maine. After that, we'll see. The pull to go home is strong, but the desire to put all the hard ups and downs behind me is stronger. After goodbyes with Minutia, I stopped at the Carter Hut to use the bathroom and load up on water.   Met a father daughter team who are hiking SoBo. Her trail name is "Flower" and his is "XX Dos Equis". He is 64 so we compared notes on hiking slow and enjoying the trail. He advised taking time off at each of the trail towns in Maine. Started back hiking the AT at 9 am. Made sure I took a snack break at 10:30 am. The climbs were hard. I'm so used to Minutia setting the pace. I stopped and talked to a bunch of hikers today. I was also extra careful at trail junctions...can't afford to get lost.Surprise, I got a call from Purple Haze, one of my hiking partners from last year. Normally I have my phone on airplane mode to save battery, but must have forgot to do it this morning. She and Haunani were emailing about her plans to visit us in Pennsylvania sometime in October. It was good talking to her. I think of her often. She would say to me, "slow and steady, one foot in front of the other."At middle Carter Mountain, I stop for lunch at around 1:30 pm. I've made good time and progress so far.The climb down Carter Mountain was insane. This has to be one of the hardest downs yet! Vertical rock slabs with no foot holds or hand holds. The rock is wet from numerous weeps. There was about a mile of this nonsense and then the trail leveled off and I could make some time. I'll say it again, this was insane!Got to the Imp campsite, MP 1875.1 at 4:30 pm. Made good time considering. That's 7.3 miles for the day.Talked to Minutia. He made it down the mountain back to the Northern Peaks Motel we had zeroed at before. He's flying home to Maryland tomorrow. It's supposed to rain tonight so I'll be waking up to wet gear/equipment, sigh!Comment by Haunani: Minutia's been more than just a hiking partner. The shared experiences have bonded in to a lifelong friendship. Big Dog knew this was a possibility for either of them. He decided before he even left home that he would continue on his own, if this happened and if he physically could.NH has clearly beaten the crap out of Big Dog in ways he's never experienced before. Yet, Big Dog continues. Long distance thru hiking is definitely as much about mental as it is physical stamina. He did say he'll have to get his "head in the game," now that he's hiking without Minutia. While my anxiety level is raised, Big Dog is an experienced, seasoned hiker who's shown me he can make smart decisions. He'll also be surrounded by more and more hikers as the hiker "bubble" starts to catch up with him. Besides, he can be such a "chatty Kathy" on the trail and a "chick magnet" to boot. The AT trail community watches out for one another.I know he's determined to make it to the ME border (24.5 more miles), one day at a time. That'll mean he'll have done 13 of the 14 states (hiked 1,900 AT miles on foot/hand) and will have about 281 miles to summit Katahdin. Simply AMAZING!