July 30 - 17.7 / 1,959.1

I think this was one of the coldest mornings I have had since the start of my trip. I did hear from someone at the outfitter in town that it dropped to 39 in town. Therefore, it had to have been colder than that at higher elevations. It is crazy being so cool up here yet back home the temperature are way high. I'm glad to have cooler temps up here as it makes hiking much more enjoyable. It might get cool when I stop hiking or when I am being blown around on a ridgeline. However, that is better than feeling dehydrated all the time, sweating profusely, and chaffing.

I started out my morning with some great views. Maine had the best views by far. I wish I could constantly record what I am seeing. I will do my best with pictures though.

Nothing too much more to add about the day other than it was a pleasant hike. It was full of mountains and ponds/lakes. One lake has houses only accessible by float plane. I would love to have a house like that. Another lake had a few canoes laying right along the trail with some pfds. We thought about taking them out, but Sam, RD and I were all ready to get into the town of Rangely.

The three of us plus Sonic made it to the road crossing by 4 pm. It was nice to have done almost 18 miles that early in the afternoon and with this type of terrain. There was another couple already there trying to hitch. We waited a few hundred feet away as we didn't want to steal a hitch or make it complicated for them to hitch. It was a few minutes before a pick up pulled over to pick them up. We went down to the road and asked the driver if he had room for us too. We also made sure it was ok with the couple too. He told us to get in, and all of us rode the 8 miles into town.

We got dropped off at the grocery store. Good thing because we needed to resupply. Bad thing because we were resupplying while hungry. All of us bought too much food for just a day and a half. My plan was to resupply and get back to the trail. However, I was persuaded buy the others to stay in town. I called a local motel. It was booked solid for a wedding. We were beside a peanut booth when the peanut guy told us that Bob, the owner of the local hostel, had just pulled into the parking lot. He was walking toward us when I introduced myself to him. I told him we were looking for a place to stay. He told us he had plenty of room. According to Beefstick's blog for two days before, the hostel had 18 people staying in the house and others were just tenting in his backyard only two days ago. Bob took some other people back to the hostel and then picked us up. We went to the hostel for a short time and then drive back to town for dinner. Sonic, RD, Sam, and I all enjoyed one of the local pubs. We went to hear live music, but the music didn't start until 10 or so. That would have been too late for us. We called Bob who came and picked us back up. The rest of the night we sat around and some watched a movie. Oh, I did eat some ice cream.

There was another guy there that I feel was taking advantage of Bob. This guy said he started at Katahdin, but he stopped at Bob's due to a heat rash. He wasn't hiking out until after Labor Day. We told the guy that heat is not a problem up here right now. Bob also said that the guy had run out of money. How does someone get 200 miles down the trail and not have money? This guy was just yoging. I tried to tell Bob, but Bob was cool with the guy being there. Hopefully the guy will leave soon.

Recently, RD and Sonic came across a guy who was telling them about Maine. The guy said Maine was just rocks, roots, and mud. So now when we trip on one of those, we say one of those words in a deep voice like the guy. Probably have to be out here to find the humor in it.