Tuesday, August 21, 2012

We Go Under 300 Miles!

During the night, it rained lightly for several hours - which makes for great sleeping, but very slippery rocks on the trail!
We packed up, and mist hung heavily in the forest. We hiked and passed some overlooks, but there were no views because the mountains were in the clouds. Other hikers had told us this day was much easier than the day before, but no one mentioned this really long, steep, rocky downhill that we encountered.
The steep rock faces were so slick from the rain, that I slid down slowly on my butt more than once. The climb down just seemed to go on forever, and our knees were really getting tired. We finally got that behind us though, and hit some nice, level board walks through some low, wet areas. It was so nice to have a break from the downhill!
The clouds finally lifted by mid morning, and we had some really beautiful views. We stopped and took a break, and met another thru-hiker named Treehugger. Lobster also hiked by. They were both headed to stay at the White Mt. Inn.
We finally reached the bottom of the final mountain, Mt. Moriah, and the trail began following a pretty stream. At one point, it formed a beautiful swimming hole. It was just a little too cool for me to swim.
The last 3 miles was actually level, and we made great time. We reached the highway, and hiked to the left about 200 yards right up to the Inn. Where we got off the trail was the spot where there was 298.3 miles left until Mt. Katahdin! Greg was just about to do laundry, and so we threw our clothes in and hit the showers.
Boots and Melody also were staying, and we ended up going out to eat with them and Swamprat. The place we went, actually had a clown there entertaining the kids, and the kids were all excited, and incredibly loud. We still managed to have a good meal, and then ice cream for dessert. Melody, who was the smallest person in our group, ordered a big banana split for dessert.
Before we knew it, Greg was there to pick us up, and we went back to the Inn, and sat outside on the patio while Boots and Melody sang. Boots used a guitar that was at the Inn, and they sang a lot of country songs, some old, and some new. They have the most beautiful voices, and harmonize beautifully.
















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-Steady and F100