Day 115 - Georgia to Maine (August 1)

I stopped a just before the Maine border in shock that in a few feet I would have walked from Georgia to Maine. I sat on a rock and had some snacks as I looked aat the sign. After about a half hour, I got up, took some pictures, and walked into Maine.

The terrain is very difficult again. There were many places I had no idea how to get down. The rocks were often slick granites with no fractures or just a jumble of large boulders. I would eventually pick my way down.

The next 100 miles will be just as difficult. Many people believe these will be the hardest of the trail. I will go through Mahoosuc Notch tomorrow. Nearly everyone agrees this is the hardest mile of the entire trail. I'm just going to take it slow and be as careful as I can be.

I'm at the Carlos Col shelter. There are a bunch of Southbounders here. They have such a different attitude than we do. They are just like we were in Damascus. We thought we had walked such a long distance. We wanted to stay up late talking about the trail. Us Northbounders just want to eat, talk a little, and go to sleep.

I suppose its like getting a cool new job. You want to talk to your coworkers about work and just about anyone else who will listen. After a while, your job becomes just a job. My job is walking.

There is a Southbounder (Tea Bag) here tonight who walked from Key West to Alabama to Springer Mountain, which is about 1900 miles. He then went to Katahdin to walk back to Springer. He wants to do the international AT that goes into Canada. I think its about 4500 miles.

I gave up any thought of having dry feet with all of the rain. I've been walking in muck to my ankles.

The Hikers Paradise was not really a paradise, but at least it only cost 18 dollars. It was kind of run down. It was run by Bruno and his wife who I only briefly met. Bruno I think was from Russia and was kind of cheap. I had breakfast with 7 or 8 home fries.