Day 1 of 100 MW: *Accidental* 16 miles
We were so happy then, on day one.
The first 10 miles of the 100 MW is a 10-mile loop inside Baxter State Park- the same park where Katahdin is. The loop was a lovely walk on an overcast, cool day, so it felt pretty good...at first. It was definitely very buggy, but we had mosquito nets, so that was ok.
We enjoyed the trees and the water sources. It all felt very Lord of the Rings. By the end of the hike, my feet hurt pretty badly- just sore from trudging around with a pack all day. We could either camp at a site right outside the park for $26 or hike another four miles to the closest shelter on the trail. After eating a bag of Doritos and drinking some sodies, We determined we did not want to pay $26 and decided to hike more miles. I was apprehensive because my feet hurt already, but Seth encouraged me and we did it
Snackies bought at Abol Outfitters. Despite already having a lot of other snacks on us, Dortitos just felt right.
We started trudging along down the road because the trail crossed a street and picked up again a little ways down. Two miles down the road later, a local pulled over and let us know that if we were looking for the AT it was two miles back- we had missed where it picked up on the other side of the street. We were vaguely going off of something Seth remembered our shuttle guy saying about the distance you stay on the road, so we learned a lesson to check the guidebook to be totally clear of our next moves. When the guy let us out at the trail, I let Seth know that I wanted to cry, but would not.
We hiked the last four miles in the correct direction and got to the shelter fine, but oh boy, my feet were tired. Like, I had the thought, "what if my feet never stop aching," because at that point lying down didn't help. They just kept hurting until I went to sleep. Looking at another week of hiking didn't seem too appealing at that point, but I did try to feel accomplished at going further than I thought I could.
Day 2 of 100 MW: 11.5 miles
View of Katahdin from Rainbow Ledges.
After lying in the tent for 13 hours, we felt ready for the day! It does really feel invigorating to wake up with your feet not aching after they hurt so badly the night before. We got out of camp kind of late on a sunny warm morning. We hiked along a lake for a lot of the day, which was beautiful and created a cool breeze off the water that helped manage the bugs. We saw a beautiful view from Rainbow Ledges and had lunch on a rock along the lake. The water in the lake was so blue and beautiful under the evergreen trees. There were barely any bugs on the rock and it felt like being in a movie about summer camp.
That's my pose for the androgynous pin-up calendar.
The shelter we camped near was along a river with a swimming hole, so it was easy to get water and we got to rinse off the sweat from the day. We wished, along with the other people at the shelter, that we could just move this location along the trail with us because it was such a nice spot. This day felt much more enjoyable with the beautiful lake, the breeze, and the more manageable miles.
Seth enjoying a pipe in our "honeymoon suite." While we hike from lean-to to lean-to, we mostly set up our tent at a nearby campsite, which allows for some privacy.
Day 3 of 100 MW: 14 miles
Here we are sweating a lot.
Seth wasn't sleeping well, so we were up at 5am and started hiking early. We committed to hike to a lean-to eight miles away to see how we felt and go more miles if we felt ok. The heat was a bit more punishing this day, but we were able to stop along a lake that had a small beach and take a dip. We felt lucky to have all these opportunities to swim- especially with having to wear deet and sweating a little rinse off feels fabulous.
Seth said this is his 1950s swim suit stunning photo. I like that little bent leg in front- ready for his photoshoot.
Another lovely lake, very windy. Felt great.
Since we started so early, we got the shelter around midday and decided to hike another six miles to the next campsite. We got a campsite to ourselves and the heat made it one of those lay in the tent in your underwear kind of nights to try to stay cool. Aching feet is unavoidable, but hoping soon to build some more stamina. Since Seth worked in a restaurant this past year, his feet weren't nearly as achy at this point.
Day 4 of 100 MW: 16 miles
The general advice when starting the trail is to do lower miles to start out and build up to bigger miles. In my brain, I wanted to stick to 10 miles a day to protect against injury and not feel terrible. Seth wasn't as into this idea, probably because his feet were already more conditioned. Anyway, we agreed to do 16 miles this day because it was mostly flat and we wanted to set ourselves up to get a food drop at mile 63 of the wilderness. And when I say "we" agreed- I mean I reluctantly agreed.
I insisted on a good break for lunch where I could air my feet out and let them rest. So the thing about pictures is we're trained to smile, which masks whatever might actually be happening. My feet hurt sooo badly in this picture and we were only half-way through the day. Now, I do think my misery is only thinly veiled because my smile isn't exactly ebullient.
Seth at lunch. That fu€ker feels fine.
This day was so hot. And while flat may seem easier on the body, I find that my body does worse with repetitive movement versus varied hiking like uphill, downhill, and straight. The flat surface made everything hurt so badly- by the time we reached the shelter, I was hobbling like an elderly person. It was not rewarding to know that I had covered more miles than I thought I could- it just hurt.
Here we go- no energy for the smile. So many emotions in that face- none of them on the happy spectrum. This face is an omen for attitudes to come.
I started listening to a book on tape to try to get my mind off my feet. Phone battery is on a premium since we can't recharge in this stretch, so you know I really needed a mental distraction.
After hobbling into the shelter, a quick rain shower blew in, so we made dinner in the lean-to. After the rain passed, we set up the tent and went swimming in a swimming hole in front of the lean-to. It was very soothing to get some cold water on my joints. We also started to get more friendly with our shelter-mates: Big Tex, Ashley, and Ashley's super sweet dog, George.
Seth cooking dinner in the lean-to while some rain dumps outside. Seth has been the chef of the hike so far.
The hike up to this point has generally been uncomfortable. Bugs. Sore feet. Heat. Bugs. Sore feet. Dirty butts. Sore feet. Privies. Bugs. We have enjoyed the swimming. We've enjoyed some of the people. It's tough getting into the swing of things or knowing whether this is the swing and the swing just sucks. We had not, however, started vebalizing this to one another at this point- that starts on day five.
