Date: 2023-09-20
From: Stealth Site

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 18.5

Today was WILD!First, we noticed water levels went down considerably, so we headed to the river. Zig Zag crossed the river before us, and it was scary watching him go! Moose Jaw wanted to cross the same time as me, and I told him it wasn¢t wise. He would focus on my safety instead of focusing on himself. So we took turns. I went first. IT WAS SCARY!! The water came up to my booty cheeks, and the current was super STRONG! It was really challenging moving my trekking poles and finding a place for my feet to go. I had to stop several times to breath. It took both of us 5-10 minutes to cross the river. It¢s the most stressful thing I have done on trail, and I refuse to cross anymore rivers. Especially like that!! Zig Zag thankfully waited with me until Moose Jaw got across. We had to sit down for awhile because our adrenaline was pumping. Then, after we had calmed down, we hiked on. About 6 miles in, we saw Nacho Jim at the shelter with his dog, Dahlia. Dahlia was a sweet little thing. We took a half an hour break here before the climb of the last four peaks before Katahdin. At the last one, White Cap, we saw Lucky, Oil Change, and Loaf! We also saw some other hikers that were pretty far behind us. We were confused until they told us they got a ride around the river crossing and took it further north to a side trail that took them to the last peak, instead of over all four. That made sense as to why they were there! Also at this spot, we called Shaw¢s to confirm our food drop. Then we talked to my mom about plans for after trail. We are so excited to get done!! Although, Moose Jaw and I are really enjoying ourselves. Then we chatted with Lucky for awhile. He¢s a software guy! So, Moose and him had really good conversation. Lucky is so laid back! He¢s a really good guy! We like him a lot. He¢s  also good company! Once I got so cold at the top I couldn¢t stand it, we started to head down the mountain to the gravel road. Due to the high water over the East Branch Pleasant River, we had to take a high water detour. That detour adds over 11 miles to the trail,¢¦ which is an additional 11 miles we need to walk before noon tomorrow for our food drop. So, when we hit the gravel road at 5:15, we really pushed ourselves. After already hiking 14.7 miles and over 4000 feet in elevation gain, we walked an additional 8.7 miles on this road. Totaling, 23.4 miles. Phew!! However, since we were off our original trail, FarOut was saying we only hiked 18.4. It can¢t add up any miles off of the AT. My feet were killing me when we set up camp! Moose Jaw and I walked most of the road in the dark, and we didn¢t see anyone else! Of course it started to rain on us as well when we were hiking this detour. We found a flat spot next to the road around 8:30 and set up our tent. We were too tired to hike on. Plus, it¢s just eerie to walk in the dark. Especially with moose lurking around up here! We hope we will make it back to trail in time to our pick up point for our food drop tomorrow!We didn¢t finish eating diner until 9:45. It¢s been a long day, and I know morning will arrive before we are ready. However, today was a really good day!!