Sun 8/12 - Andover, ME

I walked down a cliff to the road into Andover and off of the shortest stretch of trail I have done between towns. I started walking the 8 miles into town thinking I would at least make it to the post office at some point on Monday. My pack could use a little lightening, so I'm going to try to mail some weight ahead of myself to see if I can do without. When I return to the trail I will cross the Mahoosuc Notch, "the toughest mile on the entire Appalachian Trail." I want my pack to be as light as possible for that.

In the last two days I have met a lawyer, three engineers, a mathematician / nanny, an insurance agent, a clothing designer, a landlord, a vagrant, a heart attack survivor, a geologist / theologian and a family on vacation. The lawyer has been working on the trail for 50 years with some of his 2 weeks vacation and should finish in 2 years. I got a hitch from a guy who goes on vacation every summer with a group of 15 families! They reserve the whole campground that is thankfully without tv, internet, cell phone reception and just let the kids all go and play together. He was headed back to near Portland to work for a few days before coming back out to continue vacation, and he regularly picks up hikers as he passes the trailhead. The people in Maine are some of the nicest I've met, and for no reason other than to just be pleasant. Looking forward, I should get to New Hampshire sometime on the 16th of August depending on how long the notch takes. Happy Trails!