Day 107 - Misty Shenandoah (16/10/2016)

Camping may have been a bit miserable last night, but I woke up to this this morning:

Then I hit up a wayside (camp store with some food) and had a coffee and cinnamon bun to go with my oats.

Later I ran into Cinderella and Waterboy (or rather they caught up to me) and then Mr. Bisquick and Moosetracker! I hadn't seen the latter two since The Antlers in the Hundred Mile Wilderness ! They'd taken some time off trail for illness and had decided to skip forward to keep on schedule. It was good to see them and I was surprised they remembered me. They also talked about the SOBO Serial Novel! They'd met a group of girls who were reading them faithfully.

I hiked a bit with Waterboy and Cinderella, then camped down after around 19 miles. They pressed on for a bit longer. Hope I see them again tomorrow.

Start: Top of Hogsback Mountain

End: Around 1254.8

Distance: 18.8 Miles

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Day 76 - The Miles that Don't Count (15/9/2016)

Today was a bit of a navigational disaster. Without a guidebook or maps, I feel like I'm walking a bit blind. (I do have photos of some of the guidebook thanks to Half-fool, but using my phone drains the battery so they're emergency use only for now.) At one point I went off-trail for 10 feet, then when I got back on, promptly headed down the trail in the reverse direction. After about .75 miles, I ran into a group of hikers I'd passed going in the other direction. Everyone looked confused, no one more than me.

Later, Half-fool had caught me and we were walking together when suddenly he said "have you seen a white blaze in a while?" I hadn't at. Not in a long while. In fact it turns out that we hadn't seen a white blaze in almost a mile. So another 1.5-2 miles later were back on trail. We set up camp near the top of a ridge that promised some nice views. Half-fool suggested we grab our food and eat with the sunset, so off we went. There was no view. Anywhere. We limped back to our campsite, realising we'd walked another unnecessary mile.

In the end we only got 13 miles that counted.

Start: Dennytown Rd.
End: Hemlock Springs Tentsite
Distance: 12.8 miles (+ around 5 that don't count...)

Upcoming Mail Drops

I now have several packages chasing me down the trail since it turns out that anything from Canada or abroad takes 8-14 business days to get to me. I'll try to start posting addresses further down the trail from now on.

My next locations will be:

Serje Robidoux (trail name Wallaby)
c/o Hiker's Welcome Hostel
P.O. Box 25
Glencliff, NH 03238
ETA: 12/8/2016

Serje Robidoux (Hold for Hiker)
c/o General Delivery
50 S Main St,
Hanover, NH 03755
ETA: 15/8/2016

Serje Robidoux (Hold for Hiker)
c/o General Delivery
2046 Route 4
Killington, VT 05751
ETA: 18/8/2016

As always, if you send something please let me know by email (and include a tracking number if you have one). That way I can bounce things forward if I outrun them. From Canada, XpressPost seems to be very fast (but I assume expensive).

Day 22 - The Thing Family (23/7/2016)

I parted ways with Pancake for the time being this morning. Her ankle is going to slow her down for a while, but hopefully it heals quickly and we meet again down the trail.

I kept finding blueberries and beautiful views over the ridges today. I kept 1/2 a cup for breakfast. :)

At camp, I met the Thing Family. This is me under Piazza Rock with Things 1 & 2, who were on their very first overnight hike. We had a great time climbing rocks and exploring caves before sharing gummy bears and marshmallows at camp. A great 40+a day.

Thanks to veggieguy (who sounds like Alan Alda!) for this photo.

Start: Poplar Ridge
End: Piazza Rock
Distance: 8.3 miles (13.5 km)

Day 15 - Pancakes (16/7/2016)

I planned to do 12 miles today, but while resupplying in Caratunk, Stephanie and I stumbled across the AT board game. Obviously we had to play a round before heading out, so instead of 12 we did 3 miles. The short day turned out to come with 2 blessings:

1. We found a little side camp near the next shelter that offered 12 pancakes with blueberries,apples, and raspberries for $9, so w booked in for the morning.
2. We met a terrific pair of hikers. A woman who had just lost her mother who was doing a memorial hike with her 11 year old son. 

While booking in for pancakes we had a nice chat with the camp owner and watched dozens of hummingbirds buzz around the balcony. 

We've had a great dinner with mother and son while discussing her and her mother's life. Then all of us went to the water and quietly contemplated life as the sun set over the pond.

A beautiful end to a leisurely day.

Start: Caratunk ME

End Pierce's Pond

Distance : 3 miles

Day 13 - The Moose of Optimism (14/7/2016)

So happy I chose this site: I woke up this morning to a moose in my campsite! She bolted as soon as she saw me, but this is the first moose I've seen in the wild, other than while driving.

Last night I committed to trying for 19 miles today (30km). In my moose-inspired optimism, I headed off on that goal. This was not a wise decision. By the time I'd covered 17 or so (including two summits, with another to come and what looks to be a steep descent, which means a long rock scramble), I knew I needed a campsite or I'd be hiking in the dark.

Luckily I found one.

And then, almost immediately after setting up my tent, I heard it.

A rumble.

Distant at first, but the time between flashes of light, and bursts of thunder was getting shorter.

I bedded down hoping that the Moose of Optimism would grace me with a dry night, to make the ascent up to, and descent down from, Pleasant Mountain easier. It was all in her hands now.

Besides the hiking adventures and for a bit of fun, I've started a little reward for other SOBOs who like to read. A friend lent me a light paperback for the trail (thanks DM!). Today I tore off the first chapter and left it at a shelter for another SOBO to find. I'll leave more chapters at upcoming shelters to create a sort of SOBO Serial Novelisation. I hope someone gets to enjoy it.

Start:West Branch Pistataquis River
End: Saddle between Middle and Pleasant Mountains.
Distance: ~17.5 miles (28 kms)