Andover

“Ooh can you feel the same, oh you gotta love the pain, oh it looks like rain again, oh I feel it comin’ in, the mountains win again” – Blues Traveler

Haven’t done a song of the day in a while, so this one goes out to the last week or so of madness. I got a lot of payoff, some delicious fruit for all my labors, but it’s definitely been the most difficult stretch of the trail for me. I hear the northern half of Pennsylvania is brutal with all the rocks (my personal kryptonite) and I’ve still got that and Jersey to tackle. Plus, there is a very difficult moment on the horizon when I will come down off of Katahdin and decide I’m not done until I’ve completed every mile of the trail. Most of the time it seems an inevitability and I look forward to my coda, where I plan to plan what comes next after the trail (so I don’t have to think about it now.) But other times it seems unimaginable that I would finish this and go back South to walk another 336 miles. in other moods it seems impossible that I would accomplish all this and not complete the whole thing.

Woke up still practically giddy at my little tent site by the stream. Fairly easy 10 to the road to Andover, though the trail on Mount Moody was a little rough. A few moments of uncertainty on which way to go, and over that fallen tree was often the right answer, or up those rocks is often a safe bet when in doubt. Andover is a tiny little town, with two markets, one restaurant, and a hostel. Met some new faces in town, and also found most of the little bubble I’ve been in the last few days, which made me feel better about my pace through this last stretch. Waiting for my ride to town I met Agent who’s going South bound. We sat on a log eating snacks and after a little conversation discovered we’re both from Huntington and know some of the same people. What are the odds? Also ran into Weebles, who flipped up to Katahdin and is going down to Waynesboro, so I may cross paths with her again as I hike North from there. Talking to Chicken Feet last night (who’s 68 and started the day after me, skipping nothing) I learned he lives in Hicksville and worked in Astoria for 25 years. Small world, even in the expansive wilds of Maine.

Got clean and ate a bunch of food, as is tradition. These days food comes first usually. Sorry I smell bad folks, but I need a salad and a burger. I do the baby wipe shower and wear my “clean” clothes, plus I’ve been carrying a travel sized deodorant for town. I’ve got a phobia about smelling bad, I guess everybody does to some degree, but trail life is like months of immersion therapy for that. Smelling bad is not quite a badge of honor, but it marks you as an insider in the thru hiker community. I don’t know where else you smell bad so I trust you is a precept. Hmm, I’m getting soap and laundry detergent, I don’t know… Perfume? You definitely might steal my stuff. But B.O., haven’t shaved in months, maybe a leaf in your hair, did we just become best friends?