Monday, September 21 9:20pm 18.7 mi
AT 2056.5 Bald Mountain Brook → AT 2075.2 Snowmobile Trail/Shaw’s Hostel, Monson, ME
Weather: Cold and clear
Trail Conditions: Flat, rocky, rooty, adjacent to river most of day and relatively uneventful
My Condition: Sore feet, otherwise feeling good!
Hikers Met: Owners Poet and Hippie Chick, section hiker Timothy, Mr. Rogers, NOBOs Gimbal, Sandbag, Dreamcatcher, Big Al, Bluejay, Marshmallow, Michigan Millie, Nuggets
A husband and wife who live locally with two dogs offered to drive us in to Shaw’s. Oddly, this is about the most people I’ve seen at any one point since I started back in March. Running Bear, Storyteller, Hollywood – lots of familiar faces, both older and newer. It’s looking like a zero day tomorrow – very much looking forward to resting my weary feet. First campfire sing-a-long of the trail tonight – just about made it the whole way without one! Hard to believe we’re about to start the Hundred Mile Wilderness, and that we have (at our current pace) probably 7-8 more days left – that’s it!
Post Trail Analysis
This would be our last hostel stay, and our last full resupply, of the entire journey! The Hundred Mile Wilderness is the longest stretch of the trail without easy town access, although it is criss-crossed by logging roads and still sees plenty of traffic. Blue and I opted to purchase a mid-wilderness food drop. You fill up a bucket with food and supplies, pick from 3-4 different options for where you want it dropped off at, and tell them when you plan on being there – they handle the rest! We were on the fence about whether or not to zero, but my feet were absolutely killing me. I don’t know if they sensed that the end of the journey was right around the corner or if true, deep fatigue was finally setting in, but I knew they needed a break. Shaw’s had some of the coolest loaner clothes of any of the hostels we stayed at – I had a shark t shirt and a stylish pair of pants straight out of the 90s.
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