Wiley Shelter

Greg had arranged for the van to be transferred from our starting point to the base of Wiley Shelter so we had access to the supplies for a hot cooked meal of green beans, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes topped with chicken and gravy.





Nolan, Asa, and Colin found time to whittle wood around the fire.


Colin ended up with a mini canoe that actually floats and then he ended up on the ground while eating his meal on a log.





His canoe was balanced but he wasn't.


The night almost ended with some reflection and introspection around the fire, with Sam in his high back log chair that he constructed.


I say almost, because the finale of the evening was the boys burning hand sanitizer in the fire pit. I admit, it did look cool.



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Ending Where I Began

Tuesday morning at 10 Mile Shelter began with the usual breakfast, water duties, and packing up.








As I watched Jubal, wearing Jim's fleece, packing up the tent that Jim uses, it was hard not to notice how much he has grown in these high school years. In a quick glance, with his head stuck in the tent, I could have mistaken him for Jim.


Our hike was half of Monday's and that was fine with me!





Though tired, Peg, Sue and I enjoyed our day together and one
neat part of the day was when we passed the spot that began my very first AT adventure. There have been many memories made on the trail since then.



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The Privilege of a Privy

Being on the trail creates an appreciation for basic everyday comforts such as showers and flushing toilets. I told Nolan, who is experiencing his first AT hike, that the shower he takes tomorrow will be the best he's ever had.
This has been a good section of trail for not having to answer the call of nature in the woods very often. Each shelter has had a privy and it's like a little slice of heaven in the woods.



The caretakers of the Wiley Shelter, where we woke this morning, clearly have a sense of humor, as this was the sign inside.


This evening's privy, at Wiley Shelter is the first one I ever used on my AT Hike four years ago and I appreciate it as much tonight as I did back then!



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To Ten Mile Shelter

Everyone seemed to be up a bit earlier than usual this morning, maybe because of the cold night that kept us from solid sleep.
Since it was the third day into the hike, we took some time to sift through which clothes were less smelly than the others before dressing.


After breakfast, filling and sterilizing water bottles, and packing up gear we headed out at 9:30 for an 8 mile day.









We stayed in four groups of varying speeds but met up several times throughout the day. At the bottom of one hill, Peg, Sue, and I, who made up the slowest group, once again were met by some trail heroes who took our packs up a particularly steep section.


At the top everyone gathered for a break, as we did several times.











At one of our breaks, most of us enjoyed a cold, but refreshing hair wash by one of the streams.








All in all good day but very tiring at the end. I found myself putting just one foot in front of the other and plodding along down the switchback and through the last elevated root covered river walk. The night ended with good fun at Ten Mile Shelter and hopefully a better sleep than last night.

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Slack Packers Unite!

I'm settling down for the as Sue inserts her earplugs to lessen decibel level of my snoring, which will probably be considerable in light of the 7 1/2 miles of up and down we accomplished today. Thankfully we started with a couple more miles of the river which took us past a few fly-fisherman and some spring wildflowers.


Then we made a steep ascent up to St. John's Ledges which took us past a group of rock climbers. I thought of Jim, who wasn't able to go on the hike this year. I'm sure he would have lost at least 20 minutes on the trail, stopping to chat with them. He wouldn't have been able to help himself.
Just after the climbers we were met by Sam, James and Aaron coming down to take our packs up the rest of the steep rocky trail. It was a good thing; It was rough scrambling up without the added weight.


Just before the top, we encountered a set of stairs and at this point I realized that I had dropped my water bottle in the last few minutes. We sent young Asa Hodgdon down to see if he could find the olive green bottle. Miraculously, he did. What I did not realize until I reached the top and had taken a sip is that he had used this opportunity to drink from my water. I don't even let my husband do that! He was quite pleased that he had sufficiently grossed me out.
The rest of the day was a mix of ups and downs before enduring what seemed to be the longest 3/10 of a mile of the entire day, leading us to Mt. Algo Shelter.














And as I finish this post the temperature is dropping into the 30's and we're snuggling in for a chilly sleep. I think I'm wearing my gloves to bed tonight!.
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And It Begins......

11:30 Hartford I -84
By chance, but predicted by Emily, we see the white van carrying Coastal Christian's Senior class that happened to be traveling to NJ on the same day.





1:45 PM Route 4 Near Silver Springs, CT
Our short 4 mile trek begins. Luckily, I needed to dig out my fleece first, or I would not have found some extra weight that had been added to my pack last night. These are not my shoes....Aaron LaPointe!


After a steep but manageable incline for about 45 minutes, the rest of today's walk was a breeze.
Watching for the white blazes,


downhill and then a gorgeous flat river walk to Stewart Hollow Shelter where I currently reside in a warm tent with Peg and Sue.

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Day 1 AT Hike 2013

5:00 AM Start @ Woolwich, ME

10:00 Breakfast at Hometown Buffet @ Hartford, CT




Mango Icees before noon was appealing to Jubal, Aaron and Sam but not me.






With the troublemakers, Peg and Greg sitting far from me, my guard was down and when I made my final flushing toilet visit for 5 days, I left my phone on the table. My mistake. My phone played musical pockets for about 15 minutes while I attempted to play detective to no avail. I wonder what damage has been done to my FB profile?
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'Twas the night before....

Dropped the boys and our packs off at the WWBC Youth Building around 9 pm.



After some crazy ping-pong, they can find a floor or futon to get a few hours of sleep before our 4:30 departure. I, on the other hand, will spend one last night in the comfort of a soft mattress.


My pack, minus water, weighed in at 32.2 lbs. Not bad, not bad at all.
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Good Health

It was a busy morning for me, which included an eye exam so I will have my contacts for the AT hike on Saturday.. great result, no prescription change and the doctor's pronouncement, "May everyone that comes to the office today, have eyes as healthy as yours." Excellent!
Today was also the start of Spring Running Club for Tell and Atira. I wonder how Tell will enjoy this new experience? Passing me on his third lap, he gasped, "I wish this was called walking club."


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Full Day, Empty Grave

Easter morning found us, as it always does, enjoying a bountiful breakfast with our church family before the morning service. Although sitting with Sandy guaranteed that our location could be pinpointed by simply listening for the laughter, the conversation turned at one point to a mutual friend who had lost her father the day before. We discussed and agreed, that as a believer, of all the times to deal with the pain of loss, Easter might be the most comforting. When the sting of death is so fresh, to have a day devoted to Christ's victory over the grave, would be a blessing. Our Redeemer lives and the grave is not the end!


After the service, it was time to take our annual photo of Cara, Riley and Atira, a tradition since toddlerhood.


Once home we managed a couple of family photos, thanks to Aunt Suci, who spent the afternoon with us before getting together with her kids for supper.


Shopping is not what I would normally associate with an Easter afternoon but with the AT hike only two weeks away, it was imperative that we get boots for the boys, so off to Bean's we went and enjoyed some



(mostly) nice family time together. I say mostly because Atira does not always enjoy being surrounded by males:
• • • •
(Conversation while riding in the car)
Me: I'm sorry, Atira, that you were born into a family full of boys, but that is just your lot in life.
Atira: So what you're saying is my life sucks?
• • • •
Finally, the family arrived back home and after eating out with Papa and BauBau, Mom and Dad came over and rounded out the day with a game of Catan, won of course, by Dad.

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