Day 152 - Stratton to Safford Notch Campsites

Today is our five-month anniversary on the trail. Yes, it feels like we've been out here for five months. Longer, actually, when I think back to the night at Amicalola Falls in the laundry room.

Had two donuts, a banana, and a cup of coffee for breakfast. Yum! Hung out with Patch for a while. He's got a lot of stuff to keep organized. Said he'd give us a call when he gets near Becket, Mass. Wonder when that will be.

Got a ride back to the trail around 10:30. Had every intention of doing 15 miles, but it just didn't happen. Terrain was too tough. Got up on the Bigelow ridge, and we could see for miles and miles. Really beautiful. So windy that I lost my balance a few times.

 

When we got to the 10-mile campsite, we saw that Swag had left a note saying that he was staying. That's all we needed to hear. It was a heck of a 10-mile stretch! Got a good tentsite and cooked dinner (hot cocoa, cup of soup and 1/2 a Ramen with can of tuna). Change is good. I threw out my peanut butter in Stratton. Just can't do it anymore -- especially with raisins on a bagel.

A ruffled grouse

It's cold tonight, but crisp and dry. Glad I have pants and a warm sleeping bag. Oh, Dave found out his dad is back in the hospital for a week. They're going to run some tests and possibly operate on his heart again. We might be in the 100-mile wilderness if/when that had to happen. That would be scary.

Now we have miles to make up tomorrow. Wonder how many we'll do. I guess the Dude passed us today. Some people are really starting to gun it for Katahdin.