Today was our last zero day with mom and dad Warthog. We still had lots to do! First things first, Warthog needed new shoes. We stopped by a local outfitter and shoe store to find him what he needed. They didn’t have his old kind of shoe, so he would have to make the best guess on new ones. It makes me nervous to change the equation so far into the game. His feet have been good with what he has. A wrong decision can bring all kinds of trouble for our last 500 or so miles. I chose a lighter weight pant option. Basically thermals, but heavier duty ones than what I have so I can hike in the heavier ones and keep the lighter ones as camp clean clothes. Thank you to mom and dad Warthog for both the shoes and the pants! They beat us to the cash register and insisted on paying. We hoped to convince them otherwise, but they were insistent that they wanted to buy the shoes that hiked up Katahdin.
We saw our friend Sunny Hedgehog there getting shoes too. His sole literally ripped off from his toe down. He has to change up his equation like Warthog does. Neither men seem too nervous about it. I know I get so nervous because of my blister issue. I probably shouldn’t. Comfort or health, rather, just seems like such a delicate equation out here. Don’t change it if you can avoid it.
When we left there we turned to drive through the mountains. Mom wanted to see the other spot where the trail crossed the road. The mountains seemed to loom over us. They look so big now. It’s crazy to think we hike over them. But we will, tomorrow even.
The road took us right to Long Trail Brewing, a place we were hoping to hit while in town. Inside their building they had a moose mount on the wall. We’ve been seeing moose scat on the trail. Before seeing the mount, we had been excited at the possibility of a moose siting. I forgot how big those animals are! Holy cow, they are huge! Each one of us looked at it in surprise. I still hope to see one. I just kind of hope it’s from a far enough and safe distance.
After Long Trail, we stopped to resupply. It’s a bit of a tedious task, especially when you just want to be visiting with family. Finally everything was bought and we could head back to the hotel. Mom wanted to nap a bit. We agreed to meet in an hour and a half. In that time I caught up on sewing the holes in our clothes; my thermal top and bottom, his thermal top, my underwear, and pillowcase. I felt accomplished.
We spent the rest of the evening visiting in mom and dad Warthog’s room. When it was time to go back, Warthog and I got busy packing for tomorrow. It seems like there’s never enough time. Especially not on this one when we have a whole system change up. We were up late cleaning, refilling, and packing. There was still more for me to do, but I promised to take care of it in the morning. It was almost midnight and we needed to go to bed.
-ansel