Samwise Hikes the Appalachian Trail! - Trail Journal -
	Home	| Updates	| Map	| Journal	| Photos	| Resources	| FAQ

September 28, Carl Newhall Lean-to - mile 2089.5

Finally, today my spirits were back up and I was enjoying the incredible beauty of Maine once again. Though most of the day was overcast and I worried that pouring rain would start at any moment, it never actually did. And, in fact, the sun broke through and blue skies appeared in mid-afternoon and made me so happy I wanted to shout and dance for joy! I'm so fortunate it did not rain last night, either, for I discovered a few holes in my fly tonight as I was setting up. I know where they're from -- a few nights back, I had a mouse (or mice) climbing up the fly and chewing on the bandana I had hanging up there to dry. I didn't realize until tonight that it wasn't just the bandana they got, so I patched up the holes with some duct tape and seam sealer. Now I just need dry weather for one more week! I can't believe I've been hanging my bandana that way for 2000 miles and never had trouble with it before.

There was only one river to ford today, and it was a relatively easy one. Very wide but also very shallow and slow-flowing. Talk about cold, though! I could barely feel my feet by the time I got across. The rest of the day (about 5 miles), the trail paralleled a beautiful little mountain stream; in fact, I'm camped by it tonight.

The trail also passed through the Hermitage today, a grove of white pines that are absolutely magnificent. They used to be used for ship masts, back in colonial days, but now the area is protected and there's no more harvesting. They were truly breath- taking!

I believe I'm finally starting to realize the end is near. Even though I've been "close" since Vermont, Katahdin has always felt so distant and I still haven't seen it, so it remains distant in my mind. However, some little things are starting to hit home, like the fact that I just opened map #40 today (there are 41) and I turned to the third-to-last page in my guidebook. Can it be that I will actually be ending this epic journey in one more week? Wow.