Date: 2005-09-22
From: White House Landing

To: Monson, Maine
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: few clouds

start Moxie Bald Lean Todestination Monsonmiles 17.9 As hard as we tried,and we really did try,we did not get out of camp until8:30.Our food bag is getting slim.Papermaker opted for more of the rice/walnutmix and I ate the rest of the Grapenuts.We drank hot lime jello in place of tea.By mid morning we came to Marble Brook which was at a higher than normallevel.We took off our boots,put our camp shoes on and forded the stream Ofcourse Papermaker thought this a most delightful adventure ,while I thought itmost uncomfortable.Feet are not meant to be plunged into frigid waters no materwhat time of day itis,but certainly not in the mornings. We all crossed withoutgetting anything above our knees wet. My feet were just beginning to come backto life when we came to the West Branch of the Piscataquis River.I refused tocross until we had lunch,so we stopped and made a hot lunch.By then the cloudshad rolled in and the sun was hiding behind them.I had to pull out my warmjacket for the rest of our break.Again we crossed with! out incident.The trail followed the river for miles,climbing up small knollsand winding down to within a few hundred feet of the river.It coursed over rocksand boulders creating plenty of fresh ozone and energy for the forest. The sunhad peeked back out and refused to hide behind clouds anymore.The rest of theafternoon was pleasent.Colorful fall leaves lined the trail and those that werestill on the trees were reds and yellows.Fall is definately on the way in. Ourlast ford was the East Branch of this same river.We had been told that there wasa cooler of cold drinks on the river bank. Once more we took our boots off,tiedthem to our packs and forded the river.I got up to the cooler and found a noteon the ront of the cooler.A former thru hiker,Strider has been filling thecooler for the hikers this season. I could not beleie it,it was the same Striderthat I had hiked with back in 2003.I yelled hisname out in case he was closeby,but he wasn't within hearing distance ! of me.I got a ice cold coke from the cooler,sat down and started crying.I could not beleive the smallness of the world!I left him a warm thank younote.The rest of the afternoon was spent in reliving the memories of hiking in2003. It was a two mile blue blaze trail into Monson where we found Shaw's BoardingHouse.It was not long before we had a room,a hot shower and headed off in searchof a laundromat to do our clothes.Now picture this,we have hiked all day,now wehave to walk in order to find not only a laundromat,but also some place to eat. True the town is comprised of only a few blocks,but still it is a walk. Afterputting our clothes into wash,we walk to the small grocery/gas/ conveniencestore where once again three hungey hikers are bombarded with way too manychoices of what to eat.Papaermaker and I order a teak sandwichand onionrings.While we are waiting,we both down a cold drink and pile the counter highwith junk food.Candy bars,fruit pies.I am standing in line waiting to apy for mymeal when I hear someone say "Bumpkin?in a questioning voice.I turned around andthere was none other than Strider!!The small world got even smaller.I hugged himtightly,then introduced him to Papermaker.Several other thru hikers overheardthe introductions and thanks Strider profusely for his kindness.He seemedsomewhat uncomfortable with his sudden notariety.He offered to pick us up and take us to breakfast in the morning.Papermaker willmiss the famous Shaw's breakfast he has heard so much about,but he is a goodsport about the sudden change of plans.Food is food!We get our sandwiches after a seemingly endless wait,I sure made even longerbecause we were so hungry.We had been sitting outside on the edge of the flowerbeds waiting for our food so it just seemed like the likely place to sit andeat. Variety is the spice of life.We ate breakfast by the edge of a beautifulpond,had lunch on the rocky banks of a scenic river and now supper in theparking lot of the only place in town that was open.You almost expect this fromyoung people,this hanging out at the local establishment.But here we are threepeople,well up in age sitting in a parking lot,eating sandwiches and downingcold drinks.periodically our faces were illumiated by the glare of headlampswhen cars would pull into the parking lot.I could only imagine what people werethinking as they passed us.But then as Papermaker said,"The people in this townhave probably seen it all."The town is hiker friendly,there does not seem to beanything else going on.So to the locals the sight ! of three older people sitting outside the store does not seem out ofplace.Africa says his wife would not beleive what he is doing if she saw it withher own eyes.I doubt that my grown children would beleive it either.My husbandonly beleives it because he is here,sharing this wonderful part of my life. I made my mind up today to try and squeeze in the last 32 miles I have left.Itseems like everything is coming together for me to complete the trail.Africa hasdecided to do a flip flop and hike with us for a few more days.I must admit thethree of us have laughed and had a great time since we started hikingtogether.Papermaker made this sobering observation about Africa"When our pathssplit,the chance of us ever seeing each other ever again is very slim."It is avery sad and sobering thoguht,but it is the truth. The trail brings peopletogether for a period of time.Then just as quickly each of us goes our own way.Just as in life,we are not guaranteed tomorrow,only today.We need to live ourlives,gleaning as much from each day as we can,enjoying,relishing in andappreciating each and every moment. Bumpkin                           5 Million Steps for Polio