Day 97: Moxie Bald Lean-to to Monson, ME (14.6 miles)

August 17, 2004 - Well the rain hit hard last night and got me a little wet inside my tent because I left the rain fly open at the door. I was glad that it wasn’t raining while I was packing up. Shepherd got an earlier start than me and we planned to meet up at Monson which was about 15 miles away, both of us had to re-supply and Monson is the last place to re-supply because you enter the 100-mile wilderness. Today I was hoping to run into Dan, the guy I had hiked to the first week with, I had heard he was up in this area and was heading south for a few days. I talked with Shepherd in Monson and asked if I had run into Dan because he had seen him earlier in the day but some how I had missed him. I must have gone into a shelter and he went past. Had 2 easy fords today, nothing like the other 2, waters must be going down finally. Had no problem getting a hitch into town, first car that passed me picked me up. In town I re-supplied and ate lunch. I didn’t want to stay in town but found out about a lady that let hikers stay at her house if you did a little yard work. So I pulled weeds for an hour and had a nice bed to sleep on for the night. While at the house I ate a ½ gallon of ice cream, took a lot longer to eat it this time around. I feel I little sick but I’m ready to hit the 100-mile wilderness and get closer to Katahdin. Only 14.6 miles but I’ll get in some good miles in the next few days.