This morning was a cold one, so I quickly got my morning chores done and got right back on trail. Today was going to be a longer day since Mace and I planned to set ourselves up for a quick and easy trek to the Kennebec River to catch a ferry the next morning.

Another day, another mountain range! This morning, I had a delicious breakfast provided by the Hostel of Maine. I had an early start since we were scheduled to get dropped off at the trailhead at 9:30 am.

It was soooo cold and windy last night, but cowboy camping was well worth it. In the middle of the night, I’d gotten up to pee and, wow, the stars were twinkling brightly in the clear sky.

I awoke this morning refreshed and renewed. The forest was so quiet that I had one of the best sleeps I’d had on trail in a while. I had a great start to the day and the trail was nice and flat.

This morning was another lazy morning. As I sat and ate my breakfast, the two hikers from last night passed me by and started on the trail.

Today was another day when I didn’t want to hike. I still had a bit of a cough and a runny nose from my cold, so that didn’t make matters any better.

I got a later start this morning, but the skies had cleared up and the sun was shining. After a quick breakfast, I got my shuttle back to Grafton Notch to get back on trail. Despite the clear skies all around, the mountain that I had to climb next was shrouded in clouds when we pulled up to the parking lot.

Zero day! I slept in for as long as I could (which was probably until 8 am) before I got up and started my town chores. Aside from that, it rained all day today, so I spent much of the day in the room.

Today, I conquered the slowest mile on the AT and it took me 2 hours! I was cold, wet, frustrated, sick, and unsure it would ever end, but I did it! But let’s start from the beginning.

While camped at my stealth site last night, I heard my first moose of the trail! For some reason, I had woken up in the middle of the night, fully awake and alert.