Date: 2013-06-20
From: Shaw's - Monson, ME

To: Shaw's - Monson, ME
Miles today: 14.0

DAY 11Slack Packing Day! MILES ON AT FOR DAY- 14MILES TOTAL FOR DAY- 14Second day of AYCE breakfast. And it was just as good. It was a quiet breakfast compared to the day before because it was just me, my Dad, Hugh, and Big Swirl. It was nice. We kind of just took our time again this morning even though we were hiking because we knew it wouldn't take too long. On a side note for any hikers reading this. Don't buy OP sacks. They apparently don't keep out the smell of food from bears or other animals. They are glorified, relabeled zip lock baggies (again with Hugh being a gear head we found this out). Glad I spent money on that before I left haha.As we were eating breakfast two guys showed up. Their names were Cosmonaut (Cosmo for short) and Sam. Didn't really get the chance to talk to them too much but they looked young and Cosmo looked very military like. Guess they were SoBo's that were just stopping through for Shaw's famous breakfast! We invited Hugh to slack pack with us but he ended up deciding to take a full zero day for his toe. Big Swirl was taking off that day so we bid him goodbye since he still had to finish the 100-mile wilderness. Hope he makes it to Georgia We got shuttled to the trail head where we had been picked up Tuesday afternoon and were off at about 9am. With only the food and water I needed for the day on my back I felt like I was floating down the trail practically. It was great! We had 14 miles ahead of us before our pick up location at 4pm, but with the flat terrain and light weight it would be a breeze! We saw a beaver in the middle of the woods not even near a water source, which I found weird but apparently they are swarming that area of Maine. They are having problems keeping the beaver dams down. We saw more snakes than ever and for whatever reason today they just didn't want to budge. Instead of moving off the trail right away they would just sit there waiting for me to step on them. It's good I had my head down I guess. We came across a gravel road where they were doing road work. We stood there for a few moments befuddled because you couldn't really tell where the trail kept going on the other side I the road. The officer watching over the road work noticed and drove up to us to help. He mentioned that every hiker has had the same situation as us and pointed us in the right direction. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that people in town use dryer sheets to keep bugs away. Said I had never heard of it but was willing to try it! Something new for tomorrow!Next we had to ford one of the two branches of the Piscataquis River. These were the fords that everyone had been warning us about their danger but they turned out to be a breeze since the water was a lot lower. If it is during a high time though they can be chest high. I'm not messing with that. This branch was only shin high. As we crossed we met a section hiker named Meg. She was doing the ME/NH border to Monson , ME NoBo. In between the two branches we saw a pack of butterflies. Literally a pack of yellow swallowtails just hanging out on the ground probably trying to feed on something. We also saw two deer, one of which was just moseying around behind us as we snacked on lunch. And then we saw another partridge and it did EXACTLY what the last one had done a few dad earlier! It came from the same side of the trail and everything! It was be the time of year when they are nesting and come to find out one even attacked another one of the hikers! Apparently they get super territorial but it was funny to see. I wasn't the one who got attacked, yet at least. We forded the second brand of the river which had a rope but I could see being very dangerous when the water it high. After that it was a little further to our pick up spot and we arrived just on time. 14 miles went by easy with only a couple twinges of pain in my right Achilles.When we got back to Shaws it was nice to see that apparently Doodles and UPS had made it out of the wilderness! While they got settled in we went to the Spring Creek BBQ spot that was finally open! Smoked pork sandwich with cranberry relish and bourbon bread pudding hit the spot after our hike. God it's true that when you hike all you think about is food. It's glutinous how I day dream about food while I'm out there haha.After BBQ we went down to the deli, grabbed a 6-pack of Long Trail and headed back. I iced my Achilles more, we had a few beers and caught up with Doodles and UPS, and then headed to bed. I had gone back and forth all afternoon about whether to slack pack again the next day because then I started to feel frivolous since I would be staying at Shaws now for a total of 4 nights, but my Dad said he would help out as a gift to my trip and that I might as well try to slack pack while I have the chance. I was making progress SoBo down the trail and hitting every white blaze WHILE feeling better. Doodles and UPS said the same advice, do it while you can. The truth is I was feeling better but I surely wasn't 100% and the more I could hike without my full pack, the better I would get and feel. It is very important as a long distance hiker but especially as a SoBo to take care of your injuries upfront, because you don't want them to be your reason to stop in the long run. So I decided I would slack pack another day. And I can thank my amazing Dad for that