It was warm last night. Maybe Maine will finally have a day or two of summer. Blue was up and made me coffee. Her very special latte concoction that is thick and creamy. I packed up my gear and then got out my daypack for slackpacking. Blue will drop off my pack about 8 miles north. This way I can start out the morning with just my snacks and essentials. What a good friend I have indeed.

I was on trail close to 7am and headed towards Nahmakanta Lake. What a beautiful morning stroll I had. I’m going to say that this was one of the best days hiking in Maine. About a half mile or so, I arrived at the lake. It was crystal clear with huge trees, pines and maples. The trees were well over 100 feet tall and so healthy. I’m going to guess that this is virgin forest and has not been logged, at least not in the area I was hiking. The lake was pristine and reminded me of Lake Tahoe, very close to where I live in California. I followed along the lake for quite sometime before it started climbing.

Nasuntabunt Mountain is a moderate climb that leads you through the forest, granite boulders and many streams. The MATC have built great staircases in this area. Rather than bouldering or scrambling, they actually place and chisel out granite steps on majority of the climbs. A 200 foot side trail leads to a rock outcrop on Nesuntabunt Mountain’s north peak. The overlook provides a fine view down to Nahmakanta Lake, and a stunning view of Katahdin, which was encased in clouds. At this point, you are only 16 miles from Katahdin, although the AT takes about 35 miles to get there. It really does appear much closer than it actually is.

I met Kermit, a 75 yo who is thru-hiking with Kermit the Frog. He started in Georgia last January and says he hikes 6-8 miles a day. Way to go Kermit, you are almost there!

As I was heading to the lookout at Nasuntabunt Mountain, Toto showed up. He left Shaws three days after me and has already caught me. He’s a young kid, wearing Crocs and has a bum ankle. Imagine if he was 100%, he’d be at Katahdin weeks ago! We sat and had lunch together and hiked most the afternoon. He stayed at the Shelter with Juice and Wedding Walker last night, so Im thinking they should be right behind me.

I picked up my pack at the stream and carried on towards camp. The trail was pretty darn nice today until the last mile. I thought the mud was done for, but the Sobo’s warned me that I’d be hiking in it most of the way to Katahdin. We’ll at least I had a day of reprieve. Some things just don’t last forever!

I arrived at camp and was greeted by a 10 yo boy who also is a thru-hiker. Him and his sister were swimming in the lake until they realized they had leaches all over themselves! Oh my gosh, that would freak me out. No thank you. I will not be going for a swim today. As I was scoping out a campsite, Juice comes walking in. Yeah, reunited again. I’d been in contact with Wedding Walker and it appears that we will all be summiting Mt. Katahdin on Thursday! We all camped together and made plans for the next three days.

I’m so happy that I’ll be with some fellow hikers when I finish this leg of the hike. There is something special to share it with others, like Blue and the guys who took me under their wing when Blue left the trail. The plan is to do shorter miles Tuesday and Wednesday so we will be ready to climb on Thursday. Super great plan.

As I reflect on this past week, I realize how much I have missed my hiking partner Blue. There is something endearing with having a friend to share this journey with, to laugh and cry over the pain and suffering we share, and to have someone to talk with at the end of the day. Last week when I left Shaws Hostel, Wedding Walker and Juice adopted me. They made sure I wasn’t alone in the wilderness, we helped each other and watched out for one another with the ridiculous river crossings, and we had someone to commiserate over the trail conditions, weather and wet clothes. It’s so much better doing this with others! I’m grateful that, even in the end with less than 100 miles to go, that the Lord found me friends to hike with. That’s pretty darn amazing. Thank you Lord for giving me solitude with you but also allowing me to have companionship with others. We are truly, better together.

Waking up to pouring rain is like scratching nails on a chalkboard. As I sat inside the Motel Room in Millinocket, I knew my day was going to be wet. But Blue came to the rescue. Why don’t you take a Zero and drive to the coast with me? Hmm, hike in the rain again or go to Acadia NP, hard choice. I’m a giver, someone needs to keep Blue company, so I guess we’ll head to the beach! And that’s exactly what we did.

Spontaneity is one of my strong points. I love doing things on the fly, making plans on a whim and this was no exception. I have worked hard these past four days and I was ahead of schedule so why not?!?! We packed up our gear and off we went. Blue has been eyeing a couple of places so she already knew the route.

She gave me a quick tour of Millinocket, Bangor and now we are headed west. Maine has some cool beach towns that are frequented by the French Canadians. We arrived at Bar Harbor and parked the car. Yes, she turned in her backpack for a Ford Edge. Great trade-in value! The town is bustling with tourists and locals alike. We found a cute restaurant named 2 Cats and put our name on the waitlist. 30 minutes and we’ll call you. So we walked down the street to a coffee shop, ordered Breve Lattes and as we were headed back, our table was ready.

I’ve been craving lobster and Maine is known for it so…when in Maine, eat lobster. I ordered Eggs Benedict with Lobster and Blue had a Lobster Omelet with Smoked Gouda. Oh my word, we were speechless. And that doesn’t happen very often. The atmosphere was as delightful as the food. Flowers of all colors were planted in front of the deck, lining the walkway. This place is something that came out of a Hallmark Movie. It was one of the best meals I’ve had on trail, even though I was miles away from the AT. I think it still counts.

After Brunch, we walked to the Grocery Store so I could stock up on some good fresh food for the last leg of the northern part of this trek of mine. Then Blue drove us to the Marina and we walked the Boardwalk. It was more like a gravel path but had no rocks, roots, mud or muck! It was perfectly groomed like a trail should be.

There is something mystical abound the sound and smell of the ocean. It was a very low tide which made for a beautiful walk. The smell of the ocean air, the squawking of the seagulls and the colorful flowers that lined the yards of these exquisite cottages and homes were all I didn’t know I needed.

As I was sitting on a Adirondack Chair, I so quickly realized how important this day of rest really was for me. I have been pushing myself so hard, and I was at a point of exhaustion. My mind, my body and my soul was at its limits. I didn’t even notice how grateful I was to just take a day off from work, I mean hiking. Some days it does feel like work, but most of the time I enjoy the rhythm of walking through this endless forest. It has its moments when I’m ready to throw in the towel, but then something miraculous happens. I have clarity as to why I am still here and understand why I have to keep doing what God intended for me to do. It’s a beautiful dance that keeps unfolding, one step at a time. I’m not much of a dancer but my sweet Lord, oh He can dance!

Blue and I hit a few Marinas and happened to be at a dock when a couple came sailing in. They had a 38’ Sailboat that reminded me so much of Mom and Dad. I talked with the young couple who had been sailing from The Keys in Florida and planned to hang out for a few weeks in Maine. Afterwards they want to sail to the Caribbean, south of where Mom and Dad sailed. It was such a great reminder of the adventurous spirit that they both placed on my heart. Thank you both for being such great examples to this daughter of yours.

We headed back to Millinocket, had some dinner and ran into some hiking friends. They already finished the Hundred Mile Wilderness and plan to summit Katahdin tomorrow. It’s so exciting to be this close. I still have another 40 plus miles so I won’t be there for a few more days. But I’ll be thinking of the Boys as they climb those big boulders tomorrow. I’ll be praying that they have sunshine and clear skies.

After my Burger with Fried Pickles and Blues first try at Sloppy Joes, we drove back to the trail. It is a series of unmarked dirt and gravel roads that are as good as the trail I walk on. That should give you an idea of what Blue had to navigate. She is a darn good map reader and I’m a darn good driver, so after an hour and a half of dirt roads, we made it back to the trailhead. Blue is sleeping in her car and I pitched my tent in the dark. Not the first time I’ve done that, but the first time on this trail. Tomorrow I will carryon and Blue will find another place to scope out in Maine. We will hook back up on Wednesday when I walk into Baxter State Park. Until then, I will be walking in the woods, me, Norman and our Lord.

No rain and no bugs. That’s pretty darn perfect in my book! I slept quite well and was looking forward to meeting up with Blue. The kids left a few minutes before me and one offered me her water before she dumped it. That’s golden, especially since I finished my last drop when I made coffee this morning. I packed up and hit the trail a bit later than usual at 6:45am.

The morning was cool and the clouds were low. First job I had today was climbing White Cap Mountain. the highest peak in the region of the Hundred Mile Wilderness. It has some of the finest views in the state. The south face of the summit is totally open and rocky, with tremendous views to the Chairback Range, and down over Big and Little Spruce Mountains. On a clear day you can see Mt. Katahdin but that wasn’t happening this morning. I powered up the 700’ climb which was fairly easy. The summit was shrouded in clouds, foggy and dismal. The top was piled with rocks and shale, which is typical for a peak like this. I headed down being it was quite windy.

About half way down the mountain, I saw Blue coming sobo. Yeah, my partner has come to hike with me. We hiked the last two miles to the car. I shared with her the events of yesterday and my idea to slackpack today. She had already considered the same idea and had two options. The first would be sn additional 6-8 miles and the latter, a 13 miler to Jo-Mary Road. I chose the longer route as this would set me up for shorter miles in the days to come.

I dropped off my big heavy backpack and put on my daypack, which contains nothing more than my lunch, water, first aid and jacket with gloves and a headlamp. You never know what happens out there. Blue got in her car and drove to Jo-Mary Road and started walking sobo to meet me.

The day was fairly flat with a couple of smaller peaks to get up and over. The terrain was nice with the occasional creek crossing and typical mud and muck. That hasn’t gone away yet and with the extended forecast of rain, it won’t ever leave the trail this year. But for the majority of the day was pleasant.

I saw more Sobo’s than Nobo’s today. One gal that really got my interest was Casper. She flip-flopped in Pennsylvania and adopted a cat. She named him Spook. He was perched upon her pack with a bell on his collar. She says he likes to roam the forest chasing critters like squirrels and such, but sometimes doesn’t know how to get back. So she goes and retrieves Spook. She wrote in the log at the Shelter that I stopped by for lunch that Spook caught a mouse and killed it. That’s one good Kitty!

Once I reached Crawford Pond outlet, I saw Blue. She hiked some six miles to meet up with me. It was like old times hiking the trail together. Oh how I miss my Blue. We hiked the last six miles together talking about what we liked and what we won’t miss about the trail. It always comes back to the mud! We both agree on that. Mud and bugs. Gnats and mosquitoes are our nemesis. And Blue does not like snakes. I saw two more snakes today. I had no idea that Maine is a big producer of all kinds of slithering critters. We made it to the road by 5pm. Blue drove us to Millinocket and I found a Motel. All I really wanted was a shower and to charge my gear, and wash my clothes. I was too tired to go out and eat so with made due with Chips, Salsa, Guacamole and Beer. That was truly a perfect evening.

I am now more than halfway through the 100 Mile Wilderness. With Blue as my wingman, I can power through the next few nights. Thank goodness that I have her! With all my clothes clean and dry now, and my body bathed, my electronics charged up, there’s nothing standing in my way. I’m so grateful that Blue decided to stop hiking and rented a car. What a great way to finish this northern route and it gives her a chance to explore Maine! It’s a win-win for both of us!

My sweet Lord knew what was going to come. He knew that Blue would get off trail and I was going to walk with Him. In the past few days, I’ve had much time to reflect on this journey. It has been physically exhausting from the time I hit The Whites. Once in the wilderness, it feels more natural and less painful. Yet this trail has been a challenge, more for my mental health. I’m just trying not to get terribly consumed by my disgust of the muddy trail and endless river crossings. But God keeps reminding me that He has a destiny in mind and sometimes you have to go through the fire to get there. I’m holding on to that, my God.

It rained really hard last night but I slept in the shelter. No wet tent to pack up but I had a lot of wet clothes. I’m down to my last pair of socks and underwear. My skirt is soaked, my rain jacket has moss growing on it and I have web feet. Not really but I should by now.

Juice was up and rearing to go. He slept in his tent while Wedding Walker and I were slumming in the Shelter with the Men from India. At 6:15am Juice announced that he was hitting the trail. He’ll wait for us slackers at the River Crossing. I left five minutes after Juice while Wedding Walker was still eating breakfast. But I had a more important meeting than a river crossing, I had a meetup with Blue.

The first mile was the typical bog with lots of mud and muck, especially after our rain from yesterday. Maines never gonna dry out. Once I climbed up to Chairback, I came over the windy knoll and entered a rock slide. At this point, I should be ready for this but I hadn’t read ahead and was taken by surprise. It was a couple of football fields worth of boulders with very large slabs of granite. It took me close to a half hour and then I was back to mud, muck and roots.

I should’ve calculated the slowdown with the boulders but I had told Blue I’d be there by 9am. By 9am I was still over a mile or so away. After passing through the road construction and the rerouted trail, I arrived. Juice had been there for 5-10 minutes so he making virtually the same pace as me. So I’m not such an Old Lady after all. Blue had fruit, sparkling water and my provisions.

t this point, I was pretty darn cold with wet shorts on. Blue said we could head to the car and she could make me hot tea and I could warm up a bit. Grand plan. I talked with Juice and being Wedding Walker still hasn’t arrived, he’d stay out till 11am.

When I returned from my warmup, Wedding Walker still hadn’t arrived. Hmm, that’s odd. He’s a bit slower but should’ve been here by now. The West Branch Ford of the Pleasant River is a hundred feet wide, and usually shin deep. Today due to all the rain and water releases, it was thigh high and running quite swiftly. I watched a few hikers ford it and you can tell the current was swift and moving. I waited a bit longer for Wedding Walker but finally needed to head north. I bid my farewells to Juice and hope to see them again.

The rest of the day I hiked solo. Irish followed me for a bit but finally passed me and took off. We usually bump into each other so I’m sure I’ll see him again before Katahdin. There were a few Nobo’s that I talked with and towards the afternoon, I saw another 5-6 Sobo’s. They were all headed for the Shelter.

I had several water crossings, lots of ups and downs but nothing too steep. The trail was a mixture of ferns and firs with tons of mushrooms. I saw two snakes today and a ton of red squirrels who chirp a lot. The birds would squawk whenever I walked by. And more Moose Poop, but no moose sighting. The day was long and I didn’t get to camp till after 6pm. But on a high note, it did not rain! That’s a hallelujah.

I’m looking forward to seeing Blue again tomorrow. She’s planning to meet me at the road crossing. It sure is nice having a support system that cares for you, drys out my clothes and gives me real food to eat. Around 7pm I had company. Three Nobo Hikers are stealth camping with me. They are young kids in their early 20’s and doing 20-22 mile days. Oh joy, how I would love to do those kind of miles again. Or maybe not. All they are doing is complaining about all their aches and pains. I’ll just stick with my 14-15 mile days.

Ends up that Wedding Walker, Chong and Seeker all made wrong turns at the reroute. Me and Juice were the only two at camp last night. I turned on my Inreach this morning and received a message from Wedding Walker. He made it to Wilson Camp some five miles south of us, and left early to catch-up. I left camp first and Juice was about a half an hour behind me.

I had to retrace some of the miles from yesterday due to the reroute. When we came up the side trail, we headed south for .2 miles. I headed north, through the muddy bog and started my first climb up Mount Barren. It was a good 1000’ climb in a little over a mile. So fairly steep. Once I reached Barren Slide, Juice caught up. The Slide Trail was closed due to a nesting falcon. We headed up another 100 plus feet and reached Barren Ledges and the 2100 mile marker! Less than 100 miles to Katahdin. Thank goodness.

Juice and I stayed and had breakfast and Reset joined us. I met Reset back near The Long Inn Trail in Vermont. Her and Shorts were the two Blue and I swam with in the Waterfall. I hasn’t seen her for over a month. Ends up she and quite a few other hikers had Covid back at Hanover and she was off-trail for a week. She caught up and is making quick miles. We caught up for a bit and off she went.

Juice and I took off and headed down and back up to our next destination, the summit of Barren Mountain. The western end of the Barren-Chairback Range is home to a partially dismantled fire lookout tower (not safe for climbing). It’s too bad because the views are blocked by alpine tree growth. We took a few pictures, ate some more food and tried to get ahold of Wedding Walker. Juice and Wedding Walker have been hiking partners for over three years, doing sections of the AT together. This is their last section to complete the AT, the 100 Mile Wilderness and Mt. Katahdin. No answer, so he left a message and we carried on.

Todays hike was a lot of ups and downs over many peaks. Most of the day was good weather until after lunch. We started hearing thunder and then the sky turned grey and dark. We both put our pack covers on and it started raining. Darn it! I was hoping we could have two days without rain. It was coming down pretty good so we both stopped and grabbed our rain jackets. The trail became more of a muddy mess. To make matters worse, we then had a sketchy river crossing. Juice is much taller than me with long legs and he was able to jump across a Boulder and up onto a rock. My problem is, I don’t have as long as legs and if I miss, I’m going down into a 5’ waterfall. I tried to figure out another way, Juice was going to try to give me his hand as I jumped and I finally reluctantly walked into the River with shoes and socks on. At this point my feet were pretty well soaked from the rain, so it wasn’t a huge deal breaker. My biggest issue is I have another 4-5 days left and only one pair of dry socks! With the weather and rain, the chances of being able to dry out my other two pair of wet socks, are slim to none.

I had planned on meeting Blue today at Ironworks Road but at 4:30pm I wasn’t capable to go another five miles. The milage here is so different than a regular trail day. If I wasn’t having to deal with walk arounds, trying to deal with risky river crossings, putting on rain gear, climbing 3500’ up and 3690’ down in ten miles, I would be able to do the miles. But this terrain is a bit difficult, to say the least. I had to bail on Blue and plan to hike out early tomorrow morning and meet up.

Juice and I arrived at Chairback Gap Lean-2 around 5:30pm. We were the only ones here but there is suppose to be more rain tonight. I’m sure others will arrive. And within 20-30 minutes, both Nobo and Sobo’s were showing up. I decided to stay in the shelter and hold a spot for Wedding Walker. Everyone made dinner and I tried to dry my wet gear out. I’m not sure if anything will dry but i can attempt to. Juice setup his tent, and I hunkered down in the shelter all by myself. Ends up that all the other hikers continued on or tented. Wedding Walker never showed up but two guys from the shelter last night arrived after 8pm. They will keep me company for the night. At 9pm, they were cooking dinner in the shelter. Oh my goodness, this is going to be a long night! Wedding Walker showed up at 9:00pm last night. That was his first and last night hike of his life! I’m glad he’s back and accounted for. All is good in my little shelter. Now I can sleep!

I am so grateful to have someone to hike with. This 100 Mile Wilderness is “no joke” and it is a section thats nice to have a partner. I have commandeered Juice and he has been very helpful and thoughtful about keeping an eye out on the “Old Lady” as he calls me. I don’t care what he calls me, and being I’m younger than he is, I’ll take Old Lady and I call him the Geriatric Guy. I’m sure now that Wedding Walker is back in the picture, the boys will continue on. Being that Blue and I have a campsite in Baxter on Wednesday, I’m gonna need to mosey on. This community of people on trail are truly the kindest and most welcoming hikers I have met anywhere. To the Appalachian Trail. You have raised your hikers well!

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!

Some days you just need to take a day off. I’m not sure how many of you follow the weather on the East Coast? There has been all sorts of warnings of rain up to many inches with certain flooding. Oh joy, and it has been raining all day. I am so glad that we are hunkered down in Monson at Shaws Hostel. They do everything they can to accommodate each and every hiker.

I woke up this morning to the smell of bacon cooking in the kitchen. You have no idea how that made my heart sing! With that came eggs over easy, homemade potatoes that they started prepping yesterday, and blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup. I don’t think New England knows or cares to know what imitation syrup is all about. There’s no such thing as Log Cabin or Aunt Jamima Syrup in these parts. Thank goodness. Just Pure Maple Syrup and Real Butter. How glorious and scrumptious is that!

After breakfast, we started tackling our list of things to do. Blue needed to find a Road Atlas so she could find all the backroads and hunt me down. I went to the ATC Office to be told of all the horrendous river crossings that were coming up. The Volunteer had some 15,000 miles of hiking different trails throughout United States and was the master of all things Doom and Gloom. If I listened to him, I’d hunker down till 2024! I’ll make sure that I have a buddy when I cross the rivers and Norman will be tightly secured.

Blue and I went to the Gas Station and I bought a new toothbrush, along with some cheese and chocolates for the trail. We sorted through our resupply boxes and between what I packed and Blue sent, I was ready for my seven days in the wilderness. It makes me giggle thinking the huge emphasis that is placed on heading out to the 100 Mile Wilderness. On the PCT, we’d be out for 15-20 days without giving it much thought. But then, you didn’t have the crazy wet and wild weather that Maine can dish out. I’m all packed up and the plan is that Blue will meet up with me every other day. This way I only carry a couple of days of food, rather than a weeks supply of provisions. It will certainly lighten my burden.

As for summiting Mt. Katahdin, as a thru-hiker no permit is needed as long as you are on a continuous footpath north. However Blue will be driving so I needed to figure out how to get her on the mountain with me. I called the AT Hostel in Millinocket, Maine, just outside of Baxter State Park. Cody, the owner informed me the only way to circumnavigate the dilemma of Blue driving into the park, would be to secure a campsite reservation. As he was talking with me, he got online and to his surprise there was one walk-in site available on Wednesday, August 16th. He told me to book it immediately as this is a fluke and it’ll be snatched up in moments. I hung up, got online, which is a feat in itself here at the Hostel with 30 other hikers on the Wi-Fi, and grabbed the one and only site available for the entire week. Thank you Lord. Now all that Blue needs to do is drive in on Wednesday, set up camp and we can hike Katahdin together on Thursday, August 17th. Once again, God provides. These campsites are much like booking for Yosemite. You get online, get ready to hit the reservation button six months in advance, and pray your fingers don’t slip off the keys. Once in a blue moon, you actually get a confirmation that you have obtained the most coveted spot, this side of the Mississippi. Blue and I have a site! So now we can celebrate!

So here’s the skinny. When I take off, I most likely, will not have any service or Wi-Fi for a week. I will continue to blog but it will just stay put on my phone. I most likely won’t be able to post anything for quite sometime. Now this could all change if Blue picks me up and whisks me away to some glamping camping in a hotel or motel near the trail. That’d be very luxurious but not expected. But if she reads this, who knows? I might be staying at a Hyatt or more realistic, a Yurt! And it’s possible a Yurt could, in fact, have Wi-Fi. No promises on the Wi-Fi, but a shower would be really nice!

With all that being said, I am anticipating that the Lord will be strengthening me, and providing me his love and protection while I am finishing this stretch of the Appalachian. It is difficult to think that Norman and I will be going it alone, without our mighty Blue & Bob the Bear. Yet, I am confident that I am ready, willing and able to finish what i started close to three months ago. This is what I have been training and preparing for and now is the time to focus on what the Lord has intended all along. He knew that Blue was going to leave, and that I would need to solely depend on Him. I am so grateful for this opportunity to seek his help and lean on Jesus every step I take and every move I make. How exciting a time this will be.

One of those nights. I must have been thinking about too much. I tossed and turned with Pokémom, who was tented next to me. Every time she turned on her very crinkly air mattress, I turned. The difference is that my mattress is much quieter. The sun rose and so did I.

Blue was a bit slow moving this morning. She had a long conversation with God. Good reason and being I was late yesterday. I’ll just be patient and relax for a bit. I love relaxing. Norman was pretty chill today. After the river crossing of yesterday, he was still trying to process his place on my pack. Norman will always be my number one! He has made it farther than any other and he has no plans of jumping ship. He’s in it for the long haul.

Blue and I headed northbound to our first river ford, only a half mile from camp. Before we even made it to Marble Brook, we had mud and water to tackle. I’m about done with all this muck! We approached Marble Brook and prepared for thigh high water crossing. There was an island in the middle of the river that everyone mentioned. Head towards the island and cross again to the north bank. The water was cold and wet. I was submerged above my knees and Blue rolled up her shorts. We made it to the island and again to the shoreline. Great wake-up refresher on our morning stroll.

Blue started sharing with me her struggles and her conversation with the Lord. This has been a tough trail. With the weather, rain, mud and muck, little views or change in scenery, and being quite mundane, she is at the end of her rope. Unlike myself, Blue came out here to support me. And she has done more than her fair share of that! We have made it through a lot of trials and honestly, the worst of trail conditions. She has endured so much and Blue doesn’t have a vested interest any longer. I completely understand. My reasons for this trail are much different than hers. And just like anyone else out here, you need to know and understand your why! Without that, you will find many reasons to leave. We talked and shared and in the end, Blue is the only one who can decide to continue or leave.

The trail had its PUDS today, pointless ups and downs. We took a couple of breaks and made it to the West Branch of the Piscataquis River. The river flows quickly and can be waist deep here, but was only knee to thigh deep. Another cold water crossing but not very swift and a fairly easy crossing. Once on the other side, we put our shoes back on and headed to Monson. It was an east four miles, or at least I thought it would be.

The trail was doable but seemed to take a bit longer than expected. This is what placed the final screw in Blues mind. She realized that she had hiked enough, had seen enough mud and muck, and really wasn’t in the mood to walk any more miles. If God could open the doors, to secure her a rental car, then she was ready to go from Blue Blazes to Yellow Blazes. Yellow Blazes are typically known as hikers that hitchhike from place to place. She would be more like a Golden Blazer, being she would be driving from trailhead to motel.

As we merged onto the road to Monson, we had many Maine-ah who welcomed us to their town. One guy, ET who hiked many miles on the AT pulled over and offered us a ride. Ends up that he was born and raised in Monson and his Mom, for retirement, bought Shaws Hostel. She ran it for ten years before she sold it to the new owners, Hippie Chick and Poet. ET’s Mom still lives across the street and loves the hiking community. What a great place to land.

Blue reserved us a private room at Shaws Hostel for two nights. Praise God because there’s a storm coming our way. We got acquainted with the place, I found some loaner clothes as everything that I owned smelled like…you know what! I jumped in the shower and Blue started making phone calls. Before I knew it, she reserved a SUV and plans to slackpack and support me through the 100 Mile Wilderness. Yeah for me! I have a personal Sherpa, at last.

When I started planning for this adventure many moons ago, I knew why I was doing it. It started as a child and honestly, the good Lord placed this on my heart before I was conceived. He knew how He would use me, He knew how I would reach people in a different way and place, and He prepared me for a wilderness experience. So 60 plus years later, here I am. I have a path and a destiny, that was ordained many moons ago. I have no idea how it will play out but I don’t need all those details. I just need to trust and believe that He will go before me. So far, I’ve been covered by his mercies and grace. Thank you Jesus for always filling in the gaps when I couldn’t. Thank you for bringing me Blue when I so needed her, and thank you for preparing me for our next steps together. I love your ways and know that they were set in stone way before I was even born. You are in charge, my director and my composer. And I will follow you for the rest of my days. Amen.

I slept like a baby last night. The fact that I was totally exhausted I’m sure had much to do with this fact. I could barely stay awake to blog. But I, in fact, finished it, and then proofread it this morning. It was lacking quite a bit so I rewrote most of it, and it sat in my in-box. There is no cell tower, no Wi-Fi, no service so until that happens, all this writing stays in my phone. I’m thinking it’s gonna be like this till I reach Katahdin. It’s the way the Maine-ah’s want to keep it. Remote and no civilized upgrades.

Blue and I left camp at 7am. The first bit of business was fording the Moxie Pond River. I wore my Crocs and just walked in. Blue skipped across the rocks the best way she could. We both got across unscathed and redressed for hiking. Today’s hike was mellow after yesterdays Foresthill March! We decided on a mid point sleepover which equates to ten miles the following day, to get into the township of Monson.

The morning was a breeze, easy walking with nice and flat trail. We stopped at Bald Mountain Brook and had our Breakfast. Nothing like yesterdays pancakes, but cheese, beef sticks and crackers. This would give us what we needed to climb Bald Mountain, our only climb of the day. Now this is the part that I like about Maine. One mountain per day, one climb per day. That’s genius!

Bald Mountain is the peak of Moxie Bald Mountain (the proper name is Bald Mountain— Moxie refers to the pond to the west). The mostly bald peak was the result of a forest fire in the early 1900s, but is today enjoyed by hikers as one of the finest views in the region. As you climb, it’s your typical upward trajectory and then it gets exciting. There are huge boulders that are precariously balancing on one another. I wanted to get through quickly as if one came down, it’d squash me like an ant!

The Peak opens up to huge views in all directions. Blue was busy eating blueberries and I headed up to find a place to nap. Our tents were wet and so were our sleeping bags, so my first bit of business was drying my stuff. Following the rock cairns took me to a perfect place that gave us shelter from the wind, a couple of short pine trees to hang our tents and a perfect sleeping rock. Both Blue and I laid out all our assortment of wet gear and relaxed in the glorious sunshine. Yes, you read that correct. We’ve had sunshine for two days in a row. See, God does answer prayers quickly.

We stayed for an hour or maybe two. It was so nice to take in the beauty of this place. I feel we have rushed through so much due to weather constraints and time schedules, but today, it was nothing but rainbows and unicorns. All is good in my world! And Blue got her full of blueberries.

But all things must come to an end. We packed up and headed down the mountain. I think it was one of the prettiest days we’ve had on trail in Maine. The views were tremendous and the trail was nice Granite Slabs lined with blueberry bushes. How much better does it get than that? Bald Mountain Pond was visible and what a huge body of water she is!

We arrived at Bald Mountain Stream, the outlet of Bald Mountain Pond. This is not a hop, skip and jump across rocks. Everything is submerged and hikers must ford the river. I took off my shoes and once again pulled out my Crocs. This time Blue took off her shoes and went barefoot. Her camp shoes are flip-flops and not ideal for river crossings. I went first, unbelted my backpack which confused Norman. Like, what if you fall? Are you just go to let me float down the river? He had a point so I didn’t fall and he stayed on my pack. Poor guy gets so worked up over these safety protocols. Blue followed me and we both made it to the shoreline, a little bit wetter than when we started.

We redressed for the second time today and continued onward. The rest of the day was ho-hum after all we saw in the morning. There is what appears to be logging that isn’t completed. Trees have been cut and fallen, but left on the forest floor. It’s not very appealing to a hiker who has seen uncut forests for hundreds of miles. I’ve been told that lumbering is big business in Maine so I guess that should be expected.

To my chagrin, our campsite is an old logging camp, just this side of a logging road. It’s a grassy field that has a fire ring and could comfortably fit 8-10 tents. Well this is home so I’ll enjoy it while I’m here. We arrived at camp early today. I was just fine with that. I had plenty of time to clean, nest and relax. As I was inspecting my toes, it appears that my right big toe nail is ready to release itself from its’ nail bed. Hmm, I guess that goes along with the hazards of the job. One toe nail isn’t bad. I met a gal named Nails on the PCT who lost all ten of her toe nails! Now that’s one tough cookie! One toe nail down and nine to go. No, no, no! One is enough!

Good morning sunshine. It did rain last night and my tent was soaking wet. The worst part was my sleeping bag was also wet. Not sure if that’s just from condensation or I had a small leak inside of my tent. Anyway you look at it, it wasn’t a good way to start the morning.

However, Tim, saved the day. He was ready for the hungry hikers with assorted berry pancakes, more like crapes, sausage, and eggs with orange juice. Me and blue shared the pancakes and we still couldn’t finish them. Each hiker had a stack of ten! After breakfast, we headed down the trail for the Kennebec River.

The Kennebec River is the biggest river on the Appalachian Trail that must be forded. The only way to ford the river is by waiting for the water ferry that runs from 9 AM to 2 PM. Today was Justin’s first day taking hikers across the river. A disclaimer on FarOut app states: ATTENTION: Do not attempt to wade or swim across the Kennebec River. Dam releases upstream may cause sudden and rapid changes in water depth and current. Two hikers are known to have drowned and others have had near misses fording the river. As for the AT Purists: The official route of the A.T. across the Kennebec is the ferry service. So the Ferry is the only way.

Blue and I arrived and there were four hikers and a dog waiting. Being that only 1-2 hikers go across at a time, and there are southbound hikers waiting on the opposite side, this is a waiting game. By 10am, Blue and I were escorted across by Justin, who was quite competent. We did not even need to lift up an oar as he had the canoe pointed in the right direction. About 5-10 minutes later, we were on the other side. We grabbed our packs and off we went.

Within a few minutes, we ran into Slips and Snickers, doing Trail Magic. Slips had a bunch of fruit, including oranges, bananas, and watermelon. She also had cold drinks and vegetables with dip. She was a hiker herself back in 2022 and obviously knows what the hikers want. We loaded up on fruit and Blue started talking with Snickers.

Ends up that Snickers husband is a Hiking the trail also and she is supporting him. Blue asked if there was a possibility. If we paid her, could she slack pack us? Snickers was more than happy and did not want our money. She would drive our backpacks to our ending location at Moxie Pond. She was a little nervous with dropping off the packs at the trailhead, but we convinced her that nobody wanted to carry our burdens. Just leave a note that these packs belong to Geisha and Blue, and Norman will guard them. And that’s exactly what she did.

The rest of the day was slackpacking. It was a darn good thing because I had no energy. We still had another 12 miles to go, and a very light daypack. You would think that the miles would come easy. especially after all these days that I’ve been on the trail. But I am just beat tired. We stopped to have lunch around 1pm and then continued on to a creek crossing where we could fill up on water. Blue filtered and so did I. We carried on for the rest of the afternoon.

We had a easy climb up Pleasant Peak and that was our only ascent all day. In theory, I should’ve been flying down the mountain but instead I was slowly plotting down the dirty mess. There’s still so much mud and muck, that it really slows down our travel.

When I left the creek shortly after Blue, I ran into 7 to 8 males who were carrying an ice chest to Pleasant Pond. They had flip-flops on and were sliding all over the mud and muck. They said that they do this all the time, but they’ve never seen conditions like this. Each one of them carried a large beach chair on their shoulders. They asked me what I was doing on the trail and I told them that I was hiking the Appalachian Trail. They were so impressed that they gave me a beer. I told them that I would love to take the beer but I would not drink it until I got to camp tonight at Moxie Pond. Great, they are going to Moxie Pond too. I never saw them again but I had my beer to share with Blue.

When Blue and I got to the top of Pleasant Peak, Blue found a plethora of blueberries on top. She was picking and devouring so many that her tongue turned blue. It’s really hard to stop eating these delicious morsels and we really need the antioxidant’s out here. But reality is, we still had quite a few miles to go, so slowly but surely, we left the mountain and headed down to Moxie Pond.

I think I would rather have an ascent or climb at the end of the day rather than a downhill. My knees were talking to me, and they were not excited about this downhill slide to Moxie. It was a little over 5 miles, and it took me until close to 6 PM before I finally made it. Blue was waiting for me. There was a note attached to our bags from Snickers. Norman was taking care of our packs and made sure that no unsuspecting criminal would take them. I don’t think anybody wants to mess with my bag as it stinks to high heaven and there’s really nothing in there that is worthy of someone stealing. The funny is that when Snickers was placing our bags. Someone recognized Norman. He’s famous! I’ve seen him on Couch to Trails Vlog. Snickers had no idea that she was relocating the Movie Star of the Year. Seems like Norman is getting quite the reputation out here.

When I saw Blue, I told her that I was going to pop open the Light Blue Beer from Canada that I got from the boys. We sat down rock and shared our beverage. It hit the spot and gave me the energy to go to the next distance to our camp. On our way down a gravel road, we met a couple of guys that were fishing off the dock on Moxie Pond. They had Oreo cookies that they wanted to share with us and I was much obliged to take them take up their offer. They had just caught a bass and we’re working on getting more fish. We continued on the road and found a nice flat spot to pitch our tents. Just so happened that the sheriffs vehicle was parked right near where we camped. That makes me feel extra specially safe for the night.

What a day of gratefulness. From the sun shining in the early morning, to Tim cooking breakfast for us all, to Justin paddling Blue and I safely across the Kennebec River, Slips providing trail magic, Snickers delivering our packs ten miles up trail so we could slackpack, the Men who gave me Light Blue Beer and the fisherman who offered us Oreo’s. What a day indeed. God had this all planned out because He knew I would be exhausted from all the days prior. What a wonderful, magnificent and mighty Lord I serve!