July 10
We woke from our beauty sleep quite early today. Our alarms were set for 6, but we were up and chatting around 5:30. Everyone in the bunk room was awake, and it was a good time.
Around 6:30, we all headed to the diner for some breakfast. I ordered two eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes. The pancakes were easily 12 inches in diameter and quite thick. I was only able to down half of one after eating everything else. I am hoping to one day to be able to clean my plate. Matt and Murphy ordered the cakes too. Murphy almost finished all his, except for the last one that wasn't cooked all the way. Matt and I took our leftovers with us, having learned our lesson after Tim Harrison's breakfast.
After getting back to the hostel, I got horizontal as quickly as possible. Matt went into overdrive, trying to do all his cleaning and drying from the rain. Tom had just purchased a new pack and was figuring out how to pack it and cutting weight in the process. We had originally planned for a shuttle ride to the trail at 10, but pushed it back to 3. We thought Tom was going to go with us, but he headed out much earlier.
While Matt was cleaning, I headed off to resupply. I had very slim choices. There was a better resupply in Monson. After choosing the few things I would eat, I brought them to the register. The poor kid behind the register was a tad confused, and my purchase totaled over $2,500. After running to get the head lady, I had my correct total sorted out, creating a massive line in the process. I then headed to the other store to see what they had to offer.
To give you a picture of what I deal with out here, I actually shopped for groceries in gas stations. One was a Citgo, the other was locally owned, which was also the diner. It was quite an interesting experience.
After touring the town, Matt and I decided that we were super glad we zeroed in Rangeley instead of Andover. Before we got there, we thought it was bigger than it was, especially after hearing Solar, Lunar, Princess Brat, and Alpine talk about it.
After the resupply, I went and sat in the room while Matt packed up. An hour and a half later, (I'm not even kidding), we headed out to lunch. We once again chose to eat at the diner, since there were no other options. I had a grilled cheese sandwich, pepperoni pizza, and some cheese sticks. Matt had an egg salad sandwich, which he described as horrible. My food was a greasy delight, but I would soon regret it on our hike.
After eating, we scurried back to the hostel to catch our shuttle. We went with Murphy and the gang back to the trail. Getting five people plus packs in the van was a tight squeeze, but we all made it.
The actual hike began at 3:30. I had the lead for almost an hour. I was then passed by everyone, but it didn't rain on my parade. We all were sweating buckets on the way to the lean-to. I arrived shortly after 7:30, which was a lot faster than I expected, considering all my breaks and questioning stomach. I had no desire for dinner.
Matt amazingly made a fire out of mostly wet wood. It was more smoke than fire, but it at least kept the mosquitoes away. I decided to head to bed a bit early, (about 9), because today I learned that town food and fatigue don't mix.
We're doing ten miles tomorrow, and we're hoping to catch Tom. I'd like to do a bit more, but after this lean-to is the hardest mile on the entire trail. I'll be climbing and squeezing between boulders. There should be many great photo ops. I missed one today. It happened when I asked Matt if he thought he could fit inside his 90 liter pack lighter. He gave it an honest effort, but was able to only get about 75 percent in. It was an enjoyable sight.
Around 6:30, we all headed to the diner for some breakfast. I ordered two eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes. The pancakes were easily 12 inches in diameter and quite thick. I was only able to down half of one after eating everything else. I am hoping to one day to be able to clean my plate. Matt and Murphy ordered the cakes too. Murphy almost finished all his, except for the last one that wasn't cooked all the way. Matt and I took our leftovers with us, having learned our lesson after Tim Harrison's breakfast.
After getting back to the hostel, I got horizontal as quickly as possible. Matt went into overdrive, trying to do all his cleaning and drying from the rain. Tom had just purchased a new pack and was figuring out how to pack it and cutting weight in the process. We had originally planned for a shuttle ride to the trail at 10, but pushed it back to 3. We thought Tom was going to go with us, but he headed out much earlier.
While Matt was cleaning, I headed off to resupply. I had very slim choices. There was a better resupply in Monson. After choosing the few things I would eat, I brought them to the register. The poor kid behind the register was a tad confused, and my purchase totaled over $2,500. After running to get the head lady, I had my correct total sorted out, creating a massive line in the process. I then headed to the other store to see what they had to offer.
To give you a picture of what I deal with out here, I actually shopped for groceries in gas stations. One was a Citgo, the other was locally owned, which was also the diner. It was quite an interesting experience.
After touring the town, Matt and I decided that we were super glad we zeroed in Rangeley instead of Andover. Before we got there, we thought it was bigger than it was, especially after hearing Solar, Lunar, Princess Brat, and Alpine talk about it.
After the resupply, I went and sat in the room while Matt packed up. An hour and a half later, (I'm not even kidding), we headed out to lunch. We once again chose to eat at the diner, since there were no other options. I had a grilled cheese sandwich, pepperoni pizza, and some cheese sticks. Matt had an egg salad sandwich, which he described as horrible. My food was a greasy delight, but I would soon regret it on our hike.
After eating, we scurried back to the hostel to catch our shuttle. We went with Murphy and the gang back to the trail. Getting five people plus packs in the van was a tight squeeze, but we all made it.
The actual hike began at 3:30. I had the lead for almost an hour. I was then passed by everyone, but it didn't rain on my parade. We all were sweating buckets on the way to the lean-to. I arrived shortly after 7:30, which was a lot faster than I expected, considering all my breaks and questioning stomach. I had no desire for dinner.
Matt amazingly made a fire out of mostly wet wood. It was more smoke than fire, but it at least kept the mosquitoes away. I decided to head to bed a bit early, (about 9), because today I learned that town food and fatigue don't mix.
We're doing ten miles tomorrow, and we're hoping to catch Tom. I'd like to do a bit more, but after this lean-to is the hardest mile on the entire trail. I'll be climbing and squeezing between boulders. There should be many great photo ops. I missed one today. It happened when I asked Matt if he thought he could fit inside his 90 liter pack lighter. He gave it an honest effort, but was able to only get about 75 percent in. It was an enjoyable sight.
