Day 7: Seven days of rain

Today marks officially one week on the road! We woke up early and set out on our toughest hike from Katahdin. There were some steep climbs, sketchy descents and absolutely beautiful views! We also had our first real river crossing. The water was low and fortunately we were able to pass without problems.

We’ve seen it rain every day here and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. In case you have any trouble waking up in the morning, I now suggest putting on cold, wet clothes from the day before: that’s enough! Our shoes and socks have been soaked since day one, and at this point walking the trail in dry shoes would be like cheating. The rain has also made the ground extremely slippery and I have suffered a fair number of falls in recent days. Luckily, my backpack has almost always been there to land on! The only time it didn’t, my dad was there to literally give me the shirt off my back so I could clean the blood off my leg.

While many days are similar, it’s been fun to look for the little things that bring joy here! Recently, my dad went down to the creek to filter some water. When it came back up, we looked in the water tank and saw a fish. Unfortunately, we were both too tired to even think about taking a picture.

Yesterday we stayed in a beautiful shelter next to a stream. There were more butterflies flying around than I had ever seen in my life. It was amazing!

So far, my biggest struggle here has been eating. While I’m patiently waiting for that “hiker hunger” to hit, I’ve barely been able to cut 1,000 calories a day. In a couple of days we will give Monson a zero, and I hope Shaw’s breakfast solves all my food problems!

My dad, on the other hand, has been making unique concoctions. His daily lunch has been an omelet with peanut butter and skittles, and he loves it. Additionally, to save time in the mornings he has been eating packets of raw oats. Yes. Raw. Open the package and pull until it is empty. I’m not sure how strong the hiker’s hunger needs to be before trying this!

The time here has passed so quickly I can’t believe it. I’ve loved (almost) every second of it so far and can’t wait to get going! Two more days until we get out of the 100 mile wilderness and then we can experience even more of the beauty of Maine for a while. We have already met a lot of amazing people here that we have been able to talk, laugh and walk with. With only a week off, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the AT brings!

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