Sprout Day 130 (Thursday, August 4th, 2016)

It feels good to be back on the trail!  We had breakfast at the Red Hen with the family and Kathleen and Mb dropped us off at the trail. It's hard leaving them but we need to get back to the AT and get closer to Katahdin.  

We hiked 7.5 miles and stopped at a campsite with a picnic table and fire out by a spring. It was a great spot.  We got to camp early enough to start a fire and relax before some people showed up.  I threw the line out a few times today but didn't really see anything. I can't wait to catch a trout.  I'm getting up early tomorrow to make coffee and breakfast.  I think we're doing 10 or 12 miles and we have a big climb first thing in the morning.

Smudgy Cheeks enjoying a rest during lunch

Day: 130

Miles hiked: 7.5

Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1078.4

Bears: 0

Bluegill: 2

Butterflies: 8

Chipmunks: 3

Cows: 24

Crawfish: 1

Deer: 20

Donkeys: 2

Grouse:  1

Horses: 15

Hummingbird: 1

Inchworm: 1

Really Big Dog: 1

Mice: 2

Nest of bugs: 2

Newts: 2

Owl: 1

Rabbit: 1

Skunk: 1

Snail: 1

Snake: 2

Squirrels: 11

Toads: 3

Trout: 2

Turkeys: 4

Turtles: 107

Vultures: 6

Woodpecker: 1

Smudgy Cheeks Day 129 (Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016)

My sisters got here today.  We had a great visit.  We went to Devil's Den and spent time jumping into the little stream.  It was awesome!!

Beautiful stream

Spent a little bit of time just swimming around and cooling off (before my haircut).

Little Red Hen Diner & Baker where we had breakfast.
The Flying Dutchman and I on Thursday morning

Sprout Day 128 (Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016)

We woke up and packed our bags with the intentions of heading out and hiking as far as we could go!  Instead, we stopped by breakfast at the Red Hen.  It is by far one of the best places I have been for breakfast.  Everything was fresh and made from scratch. It was an open kitchen and the chef is an amazing cook.  

We were planning on hitchhiking out of town and hitting the trail right after breakfast but plans changed.  We ate too much and decided it would be better to wait it out before we started hiking.  Marybeth, Freddie, Kathleen, and Shane are coming up tomorrow to meet up with us one last time before school starts.  We called and reserved a spot two houses down from where we are camping.  It only made sense to stay where we were when we knew we had cell service and take another zero.  Smudgy and I asked some locals and found a swimming hole nearby.  If was a great zero.  We swam and relaxed all day!  We can't wait until tomorrow, it should be a great day spent with family!

Bubbles taking a nap on the porch

Smudgy Cheeks at the swimming hole

Horseback riding through our swimming hole!!

Bubbles relaxing

Day: 128

Miles hiked: 0

Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1070.9

Bears: 0

Bluegill: 2

Butterflies: 8

Chipmunks: 3

Cows: 24

Crawfish: 1

Deer: 20

Donkeys: 2

Grouse:  1

Horses: 15

Hummingbird: 1

Inchworm: 1

Really Big Dog: 1

Mice: 2

Nest of bugs: 2

Newts: 2

Owl: 1

Rabbit: 1

Skunk: 1

Snail: 1

Snake: 2

Squirrels: 11

Toads: 3

Trout: 2

Turkeys: 4

Turtles: 107

Vultures: 6

Woodpecker: 1

Sprout Day 127 (Monday, August 1st, 2016)

We woke up today and had to wait on the post office to open so we could get a few packages. I had a new backpack sent here because mine broke about a week ago.  I had to tie the shoulder strap on with a piece of rope.  REI is good about replacing things especially when you’re on the trail, they're very understanding.  We also had a food drop here and a guy named Spoontula sent us a package with candy and cookies. Spoontula also threw in a couple beers from Vermont for us and one broke in the box! It was a cider and it was leaking everywhere!  

We were going to get on the trail right after that but rain was in the forecast and the sky was getting dark so we decided to stay where we were.  It's not too much fun hiking in the rain and setting up camp in the rain, not to mention the rocks get super slippery when they're wet.

We ended up camping behind the Red Hen Diner in Andover.  It's a small restaurant that lets hikers camp out back for free.  Instead of paying to stay at the hostel we decided to save some money and camp instead. It was a nice relaxing day... We sat on the porch and ate sandwiches from the general store across the street. It was nice watching the rain from the porch instead of hiking in it!

We're planning on getting on the trail early tomorrow and getting some miles in. It feels good to rest and recuperate for an extra day but I'm excited to get back on the AT and seeing some more of Maine!

Day: 127Miles hiked: 0Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1070.9Bears: 0Bluegill: 2Butterflies: 8Chipmunks: 3Cows: 24Crawfish: 1Deer: 20Donkeys: 2Grouse:  1Horses: 12Hummingbird: 1Inchworm: 1Really Big Dog: 1Mice: 2Nest of bugs: 2Newts: 2Owl: 1Rabbit: 1Skunk: 1Snail: 1Snake: 2Squirrels: 11Toads: 3Trout: 2Turkeys: 4Turtles: 107Vultures: 6Woodpecker: 1