Miles 1914.0 | A brutal, rain-soaked morning began with a burst water bag and an anxious solo climb over Mount Success. I crossed into Maine alone, overwhelmed and emotional, struggling through fog, wind, and boulder fields while fearing something was wrong. Relief finally came at Carlo Col when I found Miles waiting with breakfast. Though shaken and scattered, the day ended quietly at Full Goose Shelter with familiar faces and the reassurance that, once again, everything was okay.
It was a HARD day. I got up in the morning and went to get water at the stream after I’d packed up. My water bag exploded on me. My clothes were soaked. It was raining anyway. After the water incident I immediately climbed Mt. Success, looking for Miles around every corner, spotting every possible campsite from there to the Maine state border.
I never imagined I’d cross that border without him, well maybe before I’d met him, but not now. I snapped a photo in the rain and took an awful selfie with the sign. I cried a little bit. I was finally in Maine. I’d come all this way by foot. It didn’t seem real. It didn’t seem like my Maine, it felt like a different world.
I started over the Maine border and was immediately greeted by a steep boulder field. I struggled over the big rocks. A southbounder passed me and I asked him if he’d seen Miles. I described his pack and his tent and his clean shaven face. The guy said he hadn’t seen him. I was worried.
The summit was foggy and windy. I couldn’t imagine doing this in the dark last night. I would have gotten lost. I could barely see the cairns and blazes in the ‘daylight.’
I finally made it to the Carlo Col a few miles later and when I arrived to the end of the half mile blue blaze, my heart POUNDING with every step, he was there waiting for me. He even made me breakfast. I had been too panicked that morning to even think about breakfast. But now, everything was fine.
I ate the breakfast hash quickly and eagerly. Of course everything was fine. He just didn’t have service and he found a not-so-great but definitely safe campsite. Everything is okay. So why did you spend the whole night freaking out? Are you just pretending you’re worrying about him instead of admitting you were afraid to be alone? Why can’t you be alone?! I screamed at myself in my head while I tried to pretend that I was calm. I wasn’t calm.
We hiked on after breakfast, together. We only made it 9 miles but that night at camp we saw Poppins, Peanut, and Butter! It turned out to be an okay day but I was flustered and finding it hard to focus on setting up camp. I set up my tent sloppily and took the long trek to get water. Water troubles seemed to be a theme for me since Pennsylvania…