We were cozy and tired from the night before, so we were awfully slow to wake up. Which also means we are slow to get out of camp. It was 8:30a or 9a when we were finally leaving. The day started off on a good note though. Today I got to wear my new shoes! They are the same kind as the others, Altra Lone Peak. They are a trail running shoe so they are light weight, flexible, and breathable. The downside is they don’t last long. I’ll get maybe 500-800 miles from a pair. I’ve worn them since about mile 400 and this will be my third pair. I think the color scheme on these is my favorite yet. They are bright red with a sea green. I especially like them right now because the colors match the season. I kept getting distracted with my new kicks. Like a school girl that’s proud of her new patent leather shoes, I found myself looking down at my feet a lot throughout the day. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit.
We went over more rocky bald summits today. With the sun and clouds, it was a much better experience than last night. It took the hike from miserable to spectacular. With tall summits usually comes a serious descent. One today was particularly treacherous. It was extremely steep, sometimes you’d have to lower yourself carefully down by either sitting on the edge of the boulder above or trusting a nearby tree. Throughout the day I tweaked my ankle twice. It’s honestly something I’m used to now, I kind of just wait for when it’ll happen in the day.
Today we walked up and saw a marker announcing the 200 mile point. I was confused a bit at first I thought it was missing a zero. Then I realized it was for the southbounders. It’s probably equally as exciting for us as it is for them. Their 200 mile victory means we just have that same amount remaining. Only 200 miles. It seems like so much yet and is a bit overwhelming, but I know it’ll go by fast. We are ready for Katahdin.
We ended the day at a campsite just after a river crossing. There were several tents set up when we arrived. One hiker, someone we’ve known since the beginning, quickly jumped up and said, “We’re full!” Another friend of ours came back equally as fast with “No, we are not!” Until tents are touching, I don’t consider a site to be full. I would have squished in, but Warthog found another small site just down a path that ran parallel to the river. It was tight, but we would both fit.
What we didn’t know about the site was that people had used it as a latrine. I had the thought to keep an eye out for human waste as we walked back. It’s a sad statement really that you would have to worry about it in such an obvious place, but you do. We had already began to set up the tents when the too often heard question was asked, “Do you smell poop?” Everyone paused and sniffed. Yep. Now we just needed to figure out where it was coming from. We found a pile, hidden in leaves, right on the inside edge of the clearing. Right where I had been standing. The smell was coming from me. From my new shoes. I was livid. Later, as Warthog was walking back on a trail, he walked through more human feces. This was also a barely distinguishable because it was covered in leaves. So we both ended the evening with human waste ground into the tread of our shoes. I don’t understand why people are incapable of walking into the woods, deep into the woods, to take care of their business. Why use a campsite or a traveled path? You’ve heard it all from me before, so I will save you the lecture. Honestly, I’m just so exhausted and appalled that it even needs to be a lecture. Of the four of us (Wonder Woman, Snow Monkey, Warthog, and I) we are running at 150% for human waste encounters on our bodies. That’s absurd. Learn proper etiquette for being in the woods and then please, please, please, please, stick to that etiquette. Frustrated, we went to bed with our shoes staying outside of the tent.