Maine Roadhouse - Stafford Notch Campsite
Today was a super chill day - just what we needed to ease ourselves back onto trail after a double 0. This morning Biscuit woke the whole hostel up by playing piano at 5:30am. Super annoying.
I got up and had coffee on the porch with Clause, a former thru hiker doing a work-for-stay. We talked about the trail while waiting for breakfast. Thankfully our crew was not in any kind of hurry, so I didn’t feel rushed packing up and organizing my food. Crazy to believe this was our second to last resupply!
We waited around for a ride most of the morning and didn’t end up getting back on trail until 11ish, but we didn’t plan to go very far so we got to take our time. The first few miles of the trail were super flat and lovely, but then we had to climb the Bigelows. These are the last 4000ers before Katahdin, so getting over these felt like a huge accomplishment.
The climbs were long and steep in sections, but not any worse than other hills we’ve scaled. On a clear day, you can see Katahdin from these peaks, but it was too hazy today. We stopped at each peak to enjoy the views and I got teary thinking all this will be over in a couple of weeks.
Truffles and I hiked down to the campsite together and talked about jobs and arm wrestling. The campsite was packed with super loud muggles which is really annoying after a long day, especially when they take all the spots. We got the tent up and all is well.