On August 1

Miles Hiked: 9

Hours Hiked: 7 (I'm getting faster!)

From Maine Highway 15 to Horseshoe Canyon Lean-To

Right On dropped me off at 11:00 AM and I started hiking by myself.  After fording the first river (O.K., this deserves a pause, when fording a river one must a) examine the river b) take off your pack and find a big rock to sit on c) take off your shoes and put on your sandals, securing your shoes to your pack c) take your camera out of your pocket, put it in a ziplock back and put it in the top-most section of your pack d) make sure your matches are in a water-tight bag, as well as your food d) put your pack on e) cross the stream f) take off your pack g) take off your sandals and put on your shoes, securing your wet sandals to your pack h) drink some water-decide that, actually, you are at a ford, so now would be a good time to re-supply on the water i) put on your pack and hike.), fording can be a time-consuming process, so whenever possible it is best to rock-hop.  Just before fording the stream there was an ice-chest full of ice-cold sodas!

Another pause: Trail Magic is when something unexpected and wonderful is given to you on the Trail.  Usually this takes the form of someone leaving food or ice-cold sodas along the trail with a sign inviting hikers to help themselves.  Right On and Babe giving me rides, a place to stay and dinner was the biggest Trail Magic ever.  So it was unexpected after experiencing so much trail magic to find cold Root Beer on the trail just 30 min. into my hike.

I stopped at Horseshoe Canyon for the night and was there by myself for an hour or so before Yoda came in.  Yoda is 35, hiking North, and believes that hiking the Appalachian Trail from end to end makes him an 'adventurer' and that this is a test of his physical ability.  So the day he shared a shelter with me he had hiked 31 miles.  Yoda is a purist, though he does not like this label.

Another explanation:

White Blazers-The Appalachian Trail is marked by white blazes, 2x6 inch white rectangles of paint on trees and rocks.  Purists believe that you cannot miss a single step of the Appalachian Trail marked by White Blazes.  For example, there might be two trails leading into a shelter, White Blazers can hike in one and out the other, maybe missing less than a tenth of a mile of trail.  Purists will go out the trail they came in so that they don't miss that tenth of the trail.

Blue Blazers- Blue Blazes mark side trails, trails to water or shelters, or simply scenic, local, one-day trails.  Sometimes these trails are shortcuts, like around a steep peak, or to avoid difficult stream fordings.  Blue Blazers usually follow the Appalachian Trail, but once in a while they might take a Blue Blaze trail instead.

Yellow Blazers- The middle of highways are painted with yellow blazes and hikers who skip sections of the Appalachian Trail by hitching or riding in a car are called Yellow Blazers, this term is usually not used kindly by through-hikers.

Green Blazers-Those hikers who smoke marijuana while hiking are termed Green Blazers and may be a combination of any of the above.

Officially the Appalachian Trail Club recognizes hikers who have hiked all of the Appalachian Trail, these are called 2,000 milers.  Hikers are on their honor to say they have hiked all sections of the trail.

Okay, pictures.

I liked these mushrooms (they look like funnel cakes) with the green moss on the tree.

The Trail is sometimes thwarted by the beavers.  This sign says "Emergency Bypass flagged with pink ribbons. Beavers have flooded about 130 feet of trail, parts are over 3 feet deep and bottom is uneven and unstable. Doughty Pond Blue Trail branches from South end of they Bypass."

This butterfly was doing a mating dance.  Pretty.

This is not a picture of the trail, it is a picture of around the trail.