Monson, ME - Mile 114.5

Day 10, a rest day.
We survived the "hundred mile wilderness" and arrived in Monson early yesterday afternoon, on Tyrell's birthday! Was fun to check into the hostel, shower, and go out for a good meal.
Our AT trip started on August 31st with a climb to the summit of Katahdin- Baxter Peak at 5,226ft. We were up early, wanting to get started before sunrise to avoid as much of the 90 degree heat as possible. And it was a heck of a climb. We spent about 8 hours on the mountain, Tyrell and I just carrying waterbottles while our sherpa for the day packed along 30lbs of tasty lunch and water(thank you Jim!). We scrambled and clawed our way up the mountain, over rocks and boulders and cliffs, following those little white blazes. Fortunately, there was a strong breeze above tree-line that kept us from cooking. Once on top we got our pictures, saw a group of just finishing Northbounders(they started way back in March!), and headed back down.

We said farewell to our last familiar face for a while, and camped at the base of the mountain in our first lean-to. We have been walking ever since. The heat was unexpected, temperatures stayed in the 80's and 90's for the first few days, until the hurricane blew through and we got soaked(which felt wonderful!). We are still in shorts and t-shirts though.
The trail has been rough; rocks, roots, deadfalls, bogs, hand-over-hand climbing, and way more ups and downs than we ever thought possible. Overall though we are getting along pretty well. Moving a lot slower than we thought, but covering more ground in a day than we expected-between 10 and 17 miles. A few minor blisters, a few sore shoulders, sore knees. Tyrell carved me a pair of walking sticks after my knee cramped up and they have made a huge difference in getting down the hills.
Maine is beautiful. It is amazing to me the different landscapes we pass through in a single day. We climb mountains, swim in lakes, pass by waterfalls, follow rushing rivers, jump streams, climb more mountains, pass through pine forests, rain forests, leafy forests, more pine forests, more mountains...
Tyrell likes to say, " If you can see somewhere higher than where we are right now, thats where we are going".
So, here we are in Monson. Feeling good, happy with how everything is going so far. We picked up our first mailout box at the post office, full of tasty trail snacks and food, not too heavy. Jim and Claire left us a cheerful note and a bag of honey roasted peanuts hanging at the trailhead after the 100 mile wilderness, awesome! Our shoes are still in one piece, our gear is working well. We will keep walking.