Date: 2013-08-01
From: Lake of the Clouds Hut

To: Rangely, ME
Miles today: 115.6
Weather: light rain

Rest assured that I am in fact still on the trail and hiking northward, despite attempts by the state of Maine and a pair of especially aggressive beavers to stop me. I equally blame the lack of cell service in the wilderness of New England and my insurmountable laziness for the lack of regular posts. At the end of a day, my mind is singly focused on food, laying down, and more food, in that order. I may even read for a bit, but unfortunately, journaling falls by the wayside (among other admittedly more important chores). Therefore again I shall summarize some of the more interesting points of the last week (or two):- out campsite was invaded by moose the other night. The entrance of the campsite was posted with bear alerts, explaining that bears in the area have been known to take backpacks or enter tents in search of food. So when we awoke to alarmingly loud crashing sounds in the woods around us, we (or at least i) assumed the worst. It sounded as if the trees around us were being uprooted and eaten by something very large. One of the guys got up with their headlamp to check it out and reported back that there were several moose nearby, one of which who had stuck his head between two of the tents. unfortunately, I couldn't see them, but i sure heard them, as they are not the most dainty of creatures, and luckily no one got trampled - we arrived in Maine! After naming the state as a destination for so long, it felt like quite an accomplishment to finally arrive. However, 280 miles remained before the culmination of the northbound part of my journey. Maine wasted no time getting crazy in terms of terrain. Day two consisted of the "most difficult mile on the AT": the mahoosuc notch and arm. While it was fun, it was time consuming as it was essentially a gigantic obstacle course in which unsuspecting hikers must climb over, under, around, or through boulders the size of pickup trucks. By the end my arms felt like jelly since they are rarely used for anything at all. The 4 mile section took over 4 hours to complete, which, since I can hike over 3 miles an hour on good terrain, is saying something. The mountains are steep, slippery, and frequent, resulting in even shorter mileage days, though just as long. - we were very nearly attacked by two surprisingly nasty and bold beavers. They had positioned themselves in the middle of the trail, looking harmless and cute, but as we approached they held their ground and growled. In fact, they began advancing and were not deterred by hiking poles or small rocks (meant to divert, not harm them, don't worry). After what appeared to be a strategizing session between the two conferring beavers, one started to flank us on the right while the other continued advancing in front and we were forced to retreat up a hill. This standoff lasted about 20 minutes until we decided to try and bushwack around, and they tracked us the whole way! It was one of the most bizarre, unbelievable, and hysterical moments on the trail thus far, but fortunately we survived the encounter.- I officially completed half of my journey! At over 1100 miles I am over halfway, and am celebrating with a Nero day (hiking only a partial "nearly a zero" day) in Rangeley, Maine, where my generous host for the night happened to have a FLUTE!! After 2.5 months of missing my instrument, it felt indescribable to let my fingers fly over the keys and create some music once again. I played for an hour, anything and everything I could remember. When he saw the effect it had on me, he gifted me with a small Irish whistle to carry on the trail so I can continue to play for the rest of my hike. It's not quite the same as a flute, but any musical outlet is better than none and hopefully Foxi will put up with my tunes I expect to summit K in about 2 weeks, give or take, after which I shall spend a few days at home with family and friends before returning to Virginia with my brother to venture south. I sometimes fret over what will come next, as I intended to hike in search of clarity and direction, when really I've just gained a handful of bruises, sore joints, and a few new muscles. But fortunately, unlike my cohorts, I still have a long way to go and plenty of time to figure it out.