Had another wonderful scrumptious breakfast at Shaws. The boys were cooking and the hikers were ravenous. There were 48 mouths to feed. All tables were full with two extra picnic tables outside. If you are a hiker, there’s no other place you would want to be. It’s a must stop for all AT Hikers.

Blue and I said our farewells for a couple of days. I was on the first van that went back to the trail. They had three shuttles as there were so many hikers headed back with the positive window of weather in the forecast. No rain for two days! One of the hikers made the suggestion that the oldest hikers should be on the first shuttle. We are slower and need more time to go the same miles that the 20-something’s do. I totally agree, so we stacked our packs by the van first. Brilliant idea.

As we headed out, Poet gave us an update on the treacherous river conditions. I guess Doom and Gloom was right about the water table and the high flowing rivers and falls. I will have three creek crossings that will be knee to thigh deep. Those are manageable but the Little and Big Wilson’s and the Waterfall are not passable. So what this means is a road walk that adds another 2 plus miles to my 15 mile day. I can handle that, I think.

Within a minute of being on the trail, I had my first creek crossing. There were 8-10 of us taking off shoes and putting on our water shoes. A few guys went, then Remington. He crossed the log and once he stepped down or the slippery slate, down he went. He was wet from head to toe. Poor guy. He got himself up and went to the shoreline and started changing out of his wet clothes. Take caution, this is serious business. I made it across and the two guys I’m traveling with, Wedding Walker and Juice were good also.

The rest of the morning was much of the same. River crossings that were deep, walking through tons of mud from the last two days of storms and no way around the muck. We all were not in good moods. Except maybe Blue. She was on her way to Bangor where she will be picking up a rental car and touring the State of Maine. She’s the only one with brains around here!

After three river crossings and countless hours of walking through mud, I asked the gang of guys, does anyone take breaks? They all agreed it was time so being the leader of the pack, I found a nice spot to stop for lunch. I pulled out my green mat, and I ate my spicy Thai tuna wrap with peanuts. It’s a new combination that I just conjured and tasted pretty darn good. The boys all had their different versions of grub and we were content.

After lunch, I told the guys I needed to make a couple of phone calls and I’d catch up later. They all left. After I was done, I headed down the trail and I saw Juice walking towards me. What’s up? The guys were worried that I was by myself so they sent Juice, the fastest hiker to check on me. Wow! I just met these guys and they are committed to making sure I’m okay! That’s really thoughtful. Juice and I walked the rest of the day together. The re-route due to the impassable creeks and waterfalls were not marked. It was a bit of a hunt and seek for the right trail and roadway. Luckily I had downloaded the topo map on my app and Juice was pretty sure of the route, so between the two of us, we managed to navigate the walk around.

Along the way, Bonnie from Canada left some Trail Magic. She had a couple of bins with apples, candy, crackers and all sorts of good stuff. All she asked was for us to sign her book. I was thrilled to have a big juicy apple and so was Juice. As we left, I saw a house on the right with a lady sitting near the window. I waved and ends up it was Bonnie. We thanked her for the apples and thoughtfulness. Evidently she’s been coming down from Canada for years with her brother and nephew. The three of them own houses across from each other and love talking with the hikers. Back in the 70’s over 80% of the AT in Maine we’re on roads. In the past 50 years, the ATC has purchased or obtained permission from owners to move the trail off the roads and into the forest. Well done ATC.

By 7pm, we arrived in camp, late start with a later finish. But the other three guys that Juice hikes with were not here. That’s a dilemma being they have been hiking together for weeks. We couldn’t get a hold of anyone so hopefully tomorrow Juice will find his Band of Brothers. We pitched our tents and were done for the day.

When I left today, I had no idea what to expect. My Blue was AWOL and I had all these crazy river crossings that I didn’t want to do alone. Before I knew it, I was adopted by a group of men that were all in their 60-70’s. I think I’m the youngest in the group. It was like having Big Brothers who were missing a younger sister. We hiked all morning and when I stopped and didn’t return quick enough, they sent the youngest to come looking for me. It reminds me of Jesus, never leaving even one lost sheep. Somehow someway, the Lord has sent me these Shepards to watch over me. Whether it’s for a day or a week, I feel that I am someone who is protected. What a wonderful feeling that is!