| Unexpected Town Day We ran low on fuel and had to walk into Andover... oh, shucks. Another town day. I had a hard time sleeping last night... I think I still have to get used to the shelter thing. Having bugs buzzing around my ears, hearing other peoples' sleeping noises and trying to get comfy on a hard wood floor is not my recipe for a good night's sleep. We got up around 7:30 as the Texas Trio starting toasting Pop Tarts and squeeze butter. Mmmm-mmm. Breakfast of Champions. Kevin and I were the fist ones to leave camp and we hiked our little patooties off. Up and up we went over Bemis Mountain. Then down and down. We skirted Elephant Mountain and hit a flat stretch. How sweet. Then the Trail went up to Old Blue Mountain, where we got stuck on top talking to a flip-flopper for 30 minutes. At least he gave us cookies, but he just kept on talking and wouldn't let us go! We finally got away with the excuse that we wanted to escape the rain. It still caught us on the steep descent off Old Blue, but at least we got half-way down before it hit. We had such a hard time hitching rides to Stratton and Monson, so I decided to pray for an easy and quick hitch while hiking down the mountainside. When we got near the road , we saw a couple of dayhikers. After chit-chatting with them, they offered us a ride after walking their dog. Awesome! We weren't even off the Trail and we had a ride into a tiny town on a small road with little traffic. Prayers do come true. We checked into the Andover Guesthouse... we're staying here mainly because one of the innkeepers passed away a couple of weeks ago and we want to support their business. Anyway, we're here and the woman is kind of crazy. Stressed out, I suppose, but she's chided all of us for one thing or another already. "Mainers" are all a bit rough on the edges, but she seems especially gruff... especially since it's her job to be hospitable, right? We've been hanging out with the Texas Trio, Texas Pete (whom we met yesterday) and some cool NOBOs. We met a NOBO from Atlanta who graduated from Georgia Tech in 1999 (ME) - same year as Kevin! We know a lot of the same people and everything - how funny! It definitely is a small world. We're sitting here, watching Lord of the Rings and it's almost midnight. Craziness! Off to bed... - Passed out Bobo |
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| July 18, 2003 |
| Day 27 Miles: 8.7 |
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