Date: 2018-07-13
From: Upper Goose Lake Shelter 

To: October Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 8.8

Day 100- Today was a special day for so many reasons! It started with coffee and pancakes drenched in syrup from the cabin caretakers, Bonnie and Rob. Most of the hikers were close to being ready to go. Instead of Dalton, many hikers are pushing to Williamstown to watch the final World Cup game on Sunday morning and my two comrades decided to join. Of the full house last night, everyone headed out except for one hiker, Red Panda, plus Broken Seal and I. Rattler was going ahead with the mass; Broken Seal would catch up this afternoon. Luckily, we were already prepared to hike separately for a couple days and I chose to nero out of Upper Goose Lake Cabin today rather than nero into Williamstown for the game. While it would¢ve been cool, this feels like a special place and I was appreciative of Broken Seal for spending the morning with me.Instead of putting our backpacks over our shoulders, we put life jackets on and took one of the canoes out on the lake. We paddled to the far end to the marsh and, our way back, stopped in the middle of the lake to have deep life talk. Today marks 100 days on trail for us and there was a lot to reflect on. Not only did we reflect on the trail and the journey, but also our relationship and what¢s going to happen moving forward. Nothing is guaranteed for us yet we have profound faith and trust in each other and try to maximize the present regardless of what twists and turns may come our way. We wrapped it up with a solid handshake.It can be scary sometimes but mornings like today¢s really helps. After a little more paddling, we return to the dock. We shared a big hug and kiss before Broken Seal went back to the trail. I, on the other hand, returned to the lake for another swim. I floated in an inflatable ring and let little fish nibble at the dead skin on my feet; it was blissful. A couple friends we haven¢t seen in a while had strolled in by the time I came up to have lunch at the cabin. We chatted about spirituality (since I was in that kind of mood). It was hard to step away; at 3 PM I was making northward progress.It¢s been a while since I¢ve hiked alone but it¢s pretty excited. This afternoon, I saw two adult male black bears which is pretty cool and I was lucky enough to fill up at the last good water source before reaching the October Mountain shelter. Another first on this hike was having a shelter completely to myself. I was a little jittery yet relaxed pretty quickly once I felt like I had Rattler¢s shelter system was set up correctly. It was a clear night and I could watch the clouds turn pink through the tree canopy before closing my eyes and trying to fall sleep. The buzzing of the mosquitoes were louder than I had imagined. It was my first time camping in a hammock the mosquitoes were literally an inch from my ear. That high-pitched sound was not relaxing like white noise. I don¢t know when but eventually I drifted off since it was suddenly a lot darker when I had pulled the buff over my eyes.My mind raced not with fear but with excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead in the rest of our thruhike but, maybe more importantly, what the future holds for Broken Seal and I.