The Trail Was

After struggling for days to put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard) and finish that sentence, I think I'm going to take a stab at it! This is going to sound cliche, but oh well!!!

...THE TRAIL WAS...

Bitchin!!!
Really stupidly tough
An experience of a lifetime
Serendipitous
Everything I could have hoped for
Nothing like I expected
Beautiful

...BECAUSE IT...

Turned me inside out and turned me right again
Made me believe in myself like I never have before
Allowed me to see the world in an entirely new way
Always gave me a path to follow

Perhaps the most important thing about this trip is that is simply WAS...

Summit photos coming soon!

Being Done Sucks

No one told me that all my friends would leave and we would all have to go in different directions... I want to blog about the 100 mile wilderness and this experience as a whole, but it will have to be in later posts. I'm super bummed out right now!

Caratunk!

I left Stratton in the pouring rain and hiked, well dripped, 15miles without stopping. The trail, I mean river, traverses four mountains (one of which is a 4000 footer, and two of which are wicked exposed) only to ford a raging brook in the dark and slop into the shelter freezing, soaked, exhausted and more proud of myself than I have ever felt. It was a difficult and very cold day, but the dry shelter was a welcome comfort. To my surprise Traveler (a hiker I'd barely interacted with previous to that night) was huddled in the shelter; we were equally excited to see each other and chatted long into the night! We cranked out a 17 the next day through the swamp, around ponds, across flat trail adorned with fallen leaves, over bog boards and right into a shelter with a lake view! Then this morning we headed for the Kennebaec River, on the other side of which lies Caratunk.

To cross the Kennebec River you have to make the "ferry," a guy in a canoe who asks for your help to paddle you and your gear across the river! He is only there from 9 to 11 am. Traveler and I arrived just after 10am absolutely jazzed after the most beautiful and brisk 4mi walk of the entire trip!

We hit up the local pub to celebrate overcoming a few tough days!