Trail Magic, Slack Packing, & a Hiking Buddy

This morning I woke up around 5AM in the room, knowing I could stay forever! But the terrain lately is so slow going. I need all the time in the day that I can get. I got packed up and then Mike came to pick me up and bring me back to trail. But not before we stopped off for a quick breakfast. After grabbing a coffee and a breakfast sandwich I was good to go.

I got dropped off around 6:30AM and began a 13 mile slack pack. Which basically just means that I left my food bag with Mike, and am going to meet him this afternoon. Apparently this section of the trail is some of the easiest in the whole state of Maine! So I was looking forward to actually making decent time for once in a while. That sounded delightful. I was really tight starting out this morning though. Last night I had a pretty major revelation when it comes to my recent injury. Over the last 4 days I did “big” miles and felt fantastic. Even at the end of the day and in the mornings I felt really solid and pretty loose. Then I got a ride into town last night and immediately felt so tight and uncomfortable. I told this to my PT and she thinks it’s super standard for a piriformous issue. The sitting down just causes me to basically seize up. But once I get moving again, I loosen up quickly.

Getting back on trail to do a 13 mile slack pack to the next road.

It might not sound like a positive thing, but actually made me feel so much better. When I’m hiking I feel amazing. But when I stop and sit in a car or at a restaurant I feel pretty rough. My hobble comes back real quick. The positive is that at least it goes away just as fast. And my PT thinks it’s very hopeful that I feel my best during movement and while hiking. And I would have to agree.

It took a mile or two this morning but eventually I felt just as good as yesterday. Maybe not exactly as good, but pretty darn good. And the terrain was actually really nice. I wasn’t exactly moving at 3 MPH, but I was definitely doing better than 2MPH. Which meant I’d get out to the highway fairly early. I’m hoping to go about 26 miles today. So the earlier the better when it comes to reaching the next road.

It was a beautiful start to the day!

Over the course of the day the trail brought me through a pine forest which smelt delicious. There were some sections with lots of mud, rocks, and roots. So I still had to take my time like I usually do. But I was rolling a bit better than the last few days. I wound up running into 3 hikers when I was about 8 miles into the day. One guy was going northbound and the other two were also going southbound. After talking briefly one of the guys realized who I was and was asking me some questions. They were all super nice and it was good chatting for a bit. The northbound hiker also said that the terrain would be slightly better until Grafton Notch. That’s where hikers can hitch into Bethel. And when you’re going southbound the following section of trail is the Mahoosuk area. A very slow going and technical segment of trail.

The trail went by this gorgeous lake. I actually passed one hiker who was out fishing.

After talking to those guys for a bit I continued along. The time was flying by and I actually was able to use voice to text to do a bit of writing. Lately I’ve been so tired at the end of the day! Typically I can hike 30 miles in about 10 hours on standard terrain. Right now I’m hiking for about 13 hours a day in order I make it 25 miles. Which is pretty tiring and definitely not sustainable. But this trail will be wrapping up soon enough. I just have to hold out a little bit longer.

Just before I got out to the highway I ran into a hiker who I recognized. We had met at Shaw’s and he had shared a wild story about his very dangerous experience on Mount Katahdin. Today when I passed him he was marinating a piece of steak to eat for dinner tonight. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that while in the middle of the woods!

I love this big, flat, mushroom.

I got out to the road around noon and walked over to see Mike, aka “No Miles”. His license plate actually says “No Miles” which I think is pretty cool. He came to bring me my food bag and also brought me lunch! So we sat in the parking lot and enjoyed sandwiches while chatting. I drank a Dr Pepper and packed my food bag away. The last 24 hours have been such a delight thanks to Mike. He’s helped me out in so many ways and really goes about and beyond.

This part of the forest was wildly uniform.

My body and mind needed that bit of rest and relaxation yesterday. And Mike knows thru hikers like the back of his hand. He brought everything I could possibly need, even down to the laundry detergent and quarters. After we ate lunch together I got situated and ready to keep moving. It was still early but I had 13 miles to go for the day. And depending on the terrain, that might take a while.

Heading up the road to meet Mike for lunch.

While I was still in the parking lot I noticed a familiar face! Taco was getting dropped off by a trail angel. Taco and I met the other day in the hundred mile wilderness. We stayed together at the same shelter while I was going north and he was going south. While we talked then we also realized that we actually met briefly back on the CDT last year while doing alternate routes in the Tetons. What a small world. Now the timing aligned perfectly for him to get dropped off right when I was getting ready to start walking again. The idea of having a hiking buddy for the day sounded like an absolute delight.

Mike gets everyone who he trail angels to sign his legendary hat. He’s supported many hikers doing FKT’s and things of the sort.

Then I had to say goodbye to Mike and thank him for everything. He is the true definition of a trail angel, and his actions made such a difference for me mentally. The terrain has been hard and mentally I’m so ready to be done with this trail. I really needed the boost he provided. And he helped to fuel my body in the long term with incredible food. He is truly a blessing!

Mike (No Miles) and myself!

After that, Taco and I left the parking lot together and began hiking. I was a bit slow to get going again after sitting for so long. But once again my body loosened up quickly. The trail initially began descending after we left the parking area. Then I knew we would eventually have a climb.

As we walked Taco and I passed the time by talking. It was so nice to get my mind off the miles for once. We talked endlessly and shared loads of stories. It was such a nice change of pace! Then we began steep and prolonged climb. I felt really solid though and just cruised on up to the top. These rocky climbs are something my body handles well, thankfully.

This beautiful lake is visible best from the turn off beside the highway. That’s where I had lunch with Mike.

And once we got up top the trail mostly leveled out. For the remainder of the day we would be gradually going up and down. There were a couple more steep climbs. But they were over fairly quickly. Taco and I stopped off for water and I grabbed a snack. Then we just kept it rolling. Even with the terrain we were making pretty good time. Getting to camp before dark definitely wouldn’t be an issue tonight!

Views from one of the next high points after crossing over the highway.

The day of climbing ended once we got on top of Old Blue Mountain. The top of which was mostly covered with trees. From there the only thing that stood between me and camp for the night was a long descent. Which started out pretty casually, but proved to be anything but. As we got closer to the bottom where the next road was the trail got crazy steep. I had to use my hands to lower myself down in many places. It really wasn’t that bad, but just took a lot more time than I’d hoped for.

Taco!

Eventually we got down to south arm road though, where we would be camping for the night. I remembered sitting by the road in 2023 and waiting for Boosted and Sweet Pea to catch up to me. While I sat there my buddy Nails actually arrived too! We first hiked together on the Pinhoti trail in 2023. Then later on I saw him all the way up here in Maine when he was piecing together his Appalachian trail miles. Today when we walked by the road it was quiet, with just one car parked nearby.

There was a rock hop across a river after crossing the road. Then up ahead were some nice, flat, tent spots by the river. The mosquitos were pretty bad. But there wasn’t another camp site for a couple miles. Which would take a while with the current terrain. Plus this tent site actually had a privy! And the spots were really great.

After climbing up one last time we eventually dropped down toward our camp site for the night.

It might rain tonight, so I set up my tent better than I ever had. The pitch was absolutely perfect. It was damn near typhoon proof. Then I grabbed water and got everything else situated. And Taco and I sat out and talked for an hour or two before calling it a night. I made my dinner after that and retreated to my tent. Then within the next half hour the rain started!

I’m so glad I warned Taco, because he wasn’t going to set up his tarp over his hammock. And within 30 minutes of him putting the tarp up it began to pour. It would continue raining for the entire rest of the night as well. Sometimes it was fairly light, and other times it was dumping. But my pitch was just right and I stayed perfectly dry.

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