New Shoes, Maine Wild Blueberry Ice Cream, and Fall
Sewed my pants, for the second time, this morning. Sewed my tent for the second time, two days ago. Will sew the netting on my pack, for the third time, later today. Hiking gear takes a beating and eventually starts to break down.
Then I put on my sewn pants and my brand new shoes......
( Picture included so you can see what they look like....recall what the pair that I tossed this morning looked like after 1 and 1/2 days? See earlier post) and hobbled accross the road to the General Store/Deli. I know all five owners/ employees over there already. I love my new shoes....I just love them! There is a chance of rain this afternoon. It is surprisingly warm today and was yesterday...an August heat wave...and a chance of rain in the morning. I hope for continuation of this incredible period of good weather. It has not rained on us for 12 days, by far the longest dry period of this hike. Dry shoes, and dry rocks to hike on is hiker bliss!
I hobbled because I have "in town" syndrome, as I call it, bad today. My feet are swollen and hurt....my knees hurt ....my hips hurt....everything hurts. I have spoken of it before. You hike up and down the mountains all week....no problem. Two hours after you get to town, everything quits working. It really is funny....I kid you not. Tomorrow I will go back out, and this same hobbling, beat up, body will say, "Ok...lets climb Mt Bigelow!" How it works is a mystery.( I got that line from the movie "Shakespeare in Love". I do love Shakespeare. ) But tomorrow I will be fine.
I did the grocery store/deli, and bought an exotic roast beef sandwich with home made bread, a quart of V-8 Juice , and a quart of Giffords Maine Wild Blueberry Ice Cream. The ice cream container would not fit in the freezer....not a problem. I thought of Wild Blueberry because "Moxie", "Bear Bell", and I, who spent a bit more than a week together, including squirreling our way through Mahousuc Notch....the toughest 1 mile of the whole AT........ really got into the wild blueberrys in the Bemis Mountain area, a couple of days ago. Maybe they have a shortage of bears over there, because the blueberries were plentiful and tasty.
Anyhow..... yesterday afternoon I bought 2 deli sandwiches, 1/2 pound of cheese, Triscut, 1/2 gallon of Orange Juice, grapes....... and a bunch of chocolate too.
That held me over till I had dinner at the motel next door to this one, with my friend "Wanderlust", and a couple of day hikers from Massachusetts. Ate Haddock, fries, cole slaw, and this really great strawberry/rhubbarb cobbler, with vanilla ice cream on top. I will also eat 2 of the 4 foil packets of Pink Salmon and tuna that came with my resupply box. I don't need them for my five evening meals, so if I can eat em before tomorrow, that is 10 ounces that I don't have to carry. I think I can do it.
On Zero Days like today, I try to nap a bit, and I eat....constantly. It is planned. If I just totally stuff myself, it does not work. My body objects. But if I munch continuously.....every 2 hours say, then I can pack on the calories! When I go up Bigelow I will have strength in my legs! "Bigelow....Hawkeye is coming!"
Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you that Fall is sneaking into the mountains. The ferns are turning brown up top, and here and there, a Sugar Maple Leaf has floated to the ground. I am amazed. It was not that long ago, that we were hiking the Smokies with frostbitten faces in 18 inches of snow!
A thought like that brings the romance of this journey to the surface. WOW! Now
A thought like that brings the romance of this journey to the surface. WOW! Now
it is nap time...then dinner time.....then on to Monson....and Katahdin!
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