New Friends, Surprises, and Terrible Photography.

So a lot's happened since my last update. I took off from Monson a day ahead of my "Summercamp" friends - it was too early in the journey for me to take a zero (no hiking) day. Hiking the trail by yourself is a different experience. Instead of throwing thoughts back and forth between a friend, you find yourself with no one to complain to, which makes for a very quiet hike.

It would be quiet, I guess, if it weren't for the symphony that accompanies a hike in the Maine forest. I'm not talking about the songs of the birds, the soft breeze through the evergreens, or the movement of a playful deer. I'm referring to a much closer orchestra - the low drone that constantly surrounds your head. First you have the black flies (deer flies). These gems of the forest are by far the most loyal of your winged companions. They will never leave you unless:

1. You end their life with a headache-inducing swat.
2. They achieve their goal and fly away with a piece of your scalp.
3. They leave you for a juicier, less jittery target.

The trick that I try to use (although useless when hiking alone) is to yell out to whoever is hiking in front or behind you, "Did you see that?" Then when they stop to follow where my finger is pointing in the woods I stand real close to them, wait until the fly has locked onto their head, then disengage to a safe distance. "Oh, I thought I saw a deer. Sorry."

Then there is the common mosquito. Until this hike I never appreciated the speed with which a mosquito can travel. Even at a light trot downhill I can look over my shoulder and see a cloud of the bloodthirsty trumpeters in hot pursuit - never further than six inches behind me. And maybe it's just Maine mosquitoes, but apparently they have developed an immunity to deet. Three nights ago I decided I was too tired to set up my tent and slipped into an empty lean-to; trusty bug-spray can at my side. After a few minutes of relentless attacks I brought out the can, spraying a wide perimeter of deet around my head and sleeping bag... It was like squeezing ketchup on a burger. Suffice it to say, ten minutes later I promised myself never again would I be too lazy to set up my bug-proof tent.

And lastly, the assortment of mini-bugs that are to blame for the majority of accidental ingestions and inhalations. These guys will make a direct route to the inside of you ear canals, nostrils, and eyeballs. Even when I have my headphones in they will fly as hard as they can into some part of your ear then ram the headphones trying to find a way in.

With all this going on I've learned that the best defense against this relentless host of attackers is ignorance. I pull my hat low, put in my headphones, keep my mouth closed, and my eyes down. They aren't going anywhere so I might as well learn to coexist. 

Which reminds me...I haven't yet introduced my hat. Besides, we haven't had a picture in a while.

I know...classy.

All this and I haven't gotten to any of the title topics. I can't believe I just wrote five paragraphs on bugs...

So quickly, two days after leaving Monson I ran into this guy named "The Rock". After talking a while I agreed to "walk" with him for the day. This was the biggest mistake/best decision so far on the trip. The mistake was that he was an ultra-marathoner, and trying to keep up with him nearly ended my life on several occasions (luckily I have 9 to spare...). The guy ran up and down Katahdin for crying out loud! The reason it was also the best decision of the trip was that he is a really cool guy and invited me to his parent's hunting cabin located less than a quarter mile off the trail. His mom drove up and made us steak, ribs, potato salad, and the best molasses cookies I have ever eaten. We swam, had a bonfire with s'mores, then fell asleep to Air Force One playing in the background. Rock's nephew came up and in the morning we all set off to hike Bigelow Mountain (after a huge breakfast of course). We called his nephew "Ice Breaker", after he told us he hoped to meet a girl on the mountain. 

The Rock, Ice Breaker, and 9 Lives

Those two decided to spend the night on the mountain, while I continued to hike to a campground near the bottom. We met again in Stratton, from where I am currently writing. Although Rock will be flying by me shortly, on pace to finish in 3 months, hopefully we can keep in touch. I am forever grateful to both he and his parents for their humbling hospitality and kindness shown to me.

I'll end this post with a segment I like to call Things that make me shake my head on the trail.

1. Finding moose scat on the tops of mountains. Seriously. When does a moose find time in its day to hike a mountain?? Isn't it busy doing important moose stuff like avoiding hunters and cameras? There's absolutely nothing for them to eat up there, and don't tell me they need their exercise. This never ceases to astound me.
2. The trail-makers. Imagine yourself walking along a beautiful lake. Nice, right? Unless you're on the AT. In this case you will go back and forth between walking next to the lake, then hiking away from it to go up a random hill a couple hundred yards away, then hiking back to it - in a zig-zag pattern. There's plenty of open woods to make the trail go straight if you're going to follow the lake anyway. I guess they just needed to stuff more miles onto the trail. Not bitter, just confused.
3. The Roaming Dude. Dude carries a 55 pound pack, has three mobile devices (all with backup chargers), and carries his food sack in his hands...which he throws in front of him. He doesn't filter his water, but he is on facebook, twitter, and youtube.
4. Fire-tower Arsonists. C'mon, there's no reason to do this. 

     5. My inability to capture on camera any semblance of life faster than a toad. A moose, a deer, a fox, a rabbit, several squirrels, numerous snakes, and an owl. I'm so disappointed I'm not even going to show you the toad.

I'm sure to have more of these by next time...

I was going to do a whole post on Northbound and Southbound hiker relations, but that can wait for another day. I also want to detail my gear at some point but for now, I'll end with a few pictures...

Me and the Kennebec River ferryman. When I asked for his name he responded, "Kennebec River Ferryman".

Yes, I am hiking mountains, too.

One way or another...

I'll leave you with a "live-update" video I made last night. Mind you, I was a little out of it when I made it...well, you can probably see for yourself. For those of you who made it all the way through this, Thanks! God bless!