Date: 2015-07-21
From: Moxie Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Monson
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: light rain

I woke up just before 5am. It was already light out, and I could hear people in the shelter getting up. I slept a bit longer, but started packing up about 5.45. It took me about an hour to get ready in the end, and I set off into the slightly humid and very muddy trail.It didn't rain last night (so my tent is finally dry), but the trail was just a mess of deep mud and puddles. Within the first hour I had to ford my first river, and from that point on my feet were repeatedly soaked. There was absolutely no chance that they could have stayed dry. Despite how flat the trail was on the elevation map, it was made tricky because it was so rooty and muddy. The roots are so big that you have to pay attention, and there was just so much mud that I was splashing and sliding all over the place. For about 10 minutes I was walking along the trail that was absolutely flooded with muddy water that came up past my socks. I had to ford two seriously big rivers, as well as few smaller ones. The first of the bigger ones had a rope that ran across it. The river is fast running, and the guide notes that it normally comes up to knee height. Perhaps that's on a dry day, or on a tall person. When I crossed, it came up to mid thigh. It was very cold, very deep, and very brown. The rocks I was carefully treading on were slippery, and the current was so fast that I couldn't put my sticks down for balance. I clung to the rope, but it was so slack that I had absolutely no confidence in it at all. I had a similar experience with another river later on, but it was slower and didn't have any rope. There was a terrifying moment where I slipped on a rock and just about caught my balance. I don't think that a single ziplock (no matter how high the quality) would have saved the life of my iPod if I had fallen. Still, I moved quickly through the trail despite all the setbacks and the constantly waterlogged shoes. My shoes had absolutely no grip at all, and I was slipping on the rocks and board walks all over the place. I managed to not fall at all though, which is probably a record for me. I suspect that I won't be so lucky tomorrow. I sat and had a quick lunch with Seeker at 12, and then I made it to the road crossing at 1. I started heading east to Monson and got a hitch fairly fast, who took me straight to Shaws. Shaws is the major spot for hikers in Monson, it's a bit of a fixture. The owners are very friendly and the bunk rooms are clean and comfortable. The best part was definitely the mini reunion that took place- I met BigBen, who I haven't seen since Andover, as well as NotYet and Smasher. The town doesn't really have anything in the way of resupply, so I went to the store and split a shuttle cost with Miles and BigBen. (The resupply here at the hostel is the most expensive 3 items I have ever bought). I bought enough food for about 6 days. My pack is going to be incredibly heavy. I also bought my last town binge foods- chocolate milk, Reeces peanut butter cereal (seriously!) and a box of strawberries. I'm going to miss my chocolate milk and cereal, but I think my body and teeth will appreciate it. Back at the hostel, I spent a couple of hours hanging out with the other NOBOs. We're going about the same pace now, so we'll probably stick together for this last leg. It feels good to be with so many trail friends, though there are some others that I wish could be here too. I also have to mention that BigBen gave me some of the curry chicken that he made for everyone here yesterday, and that he was very proud of. It was pretty good, definitely much better than instant mash. It's made me a bit excited to be able to cook food again, food which has more than one ingredient. It rained some more this afternoon, but tomorrow is expected to be dry. I am sure that the trail is going to be waterlogged completely though, and the next (final) stretch is going to be consecutive days of drenched feet which steadily become more and more mangled. I can see already that I will have to ford two more rivers tomorrow, and I'm sure there will be plenty of bursting streams to drench my feet in between. This last leg will also be the first time in ages that I haven't done laundry or taken a shower for more than a few days, which is fine because I'll be able to burn all of my clothing immediately after. Today was also no exception to the mosquito war. It was made especially difficult with the constant fording which rinsed off my DEET, though not any of the mud. It seems a bit strange to me that the mosquitoes and black flies have been having such a field day on my body, whilst the ticks have largely left me alone. Almost everyone else has had to remove at least one tick, and I've heard of numerous cases of Lyme, but I have been very fortunate so far. Or maybe the mosquitoes and black flies just drank all my blood, so the ticks couldn't get a decent hold. I'm a little bit excited and a little nervous about heading out tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to a heavy pack or a sodden trail, but I am looking forward to finally being really in the last section before Katahdin. I think it's going to be especially hard to leave the hostel and head out into the wilderness.