Monson

“Connect the cause and effect, One foot in front of the next, This is the start of a journey. And my mind is already gone, And though there are other unknowns, Somehow this doesn’t concern me. And you can stand right there if you want, But I’m going on, And I’m prepared to go it alone” – Gnarls Barkley

Fairly mellow day, hiked through the forest, forded a river, saw some moose poop but still no moose yet. Got to Shaw’s in Monson and got my stuff together for the 100 Mile Wilderness. Six days of food (maybe closer to seven) and my pack is super heavy, had to reorganize some to make everything fit. Ate town food, loaded up on podcasts and music, made sure everything was charged up and good to go.

I’m probably not going to have service so there might not be updates for awhile. The 100 Mile Wilderness is pretty much what it sounds like, a hundred mile stretch of trail that is only crossed by private dirt forest roads. There’s some mountains early on and the trail is relatively flat, though I’m told it is mostly roots and rocks. I’m planning on doing 15 a day the first few days, and as I eat the load lighter and the trail calms down I’ll up the mileage. I should reach the base of Katahdin by the 6th, though there’s a chance it will be the 5th or the 7th. (I gave up on firm plans out here a while ago, too many variables.) The not-so-firm plan is to summit on the 7th, again plus or minus one day. Then it’s back to New York for a second, then back down to the Mason-Dixon Line and I’ll walk home from there. If you don’t hear from me for a week don’t freak out.