L.L.Bean AT Relay Day 1
After a long wait it was finally our time to hit the trail. Our hand-off with team 40 was at Flagstaff Road near Flagstaff Lake just north of the Bigelow mountains range. We were hoping to hit the trail early enough to get a jump on our miles but team 40 was a tad later than expected.
Stacey and I decided to leave my hubby at the parking to wait for the guys while she and I at least hiked in a little over a mile to set up our tents while it was still light out. I knew of a sweet campsite where we could grab a spot. Things looked differently then they did in 2017 so I missed where I was hoping to go. Instead, we came to another spot where a couple of young gals had set up and invited us to stay with them since there was plenty of room. How could we refuse, they already had a fire started on the beach.
With our tents erected and food bags hung (not that well) we jaunted back out to see if the guys had arrived yet. We found them exhausted and waiting patiently for us, a feeling we would soon to know all too well also.
PlanB - Kayhan - Ariya- Black Bear
Hugs and best wishes were exchanged among the teams and I had kisses for Batman, my hubby, we all went our own way. Team 40 shuttled back to their car by Bruce and Stacey and I, aka PlanB and Black Bear off to BeAn Outsider for a few days.
The sun sets early this time of year. We managed to arrive back at our campsite in time to grab our food to cook on the shore of the lake. By the glow of the fire we enjoyed girl time with our new friends for the night, Canary, Soups, and Stokes flip-flop southbound AT Thru hikers.
That alone was an incredible start to our trip. But what happened just before bed time was the cherry on our Sunday. Everyone had retired to our own little cocoons. I was journaling when one of the young hikers spoke out and said, "Are you ready?" The others answered, "Yes". With my interest peaked, I stopped what I was doing to listen for what was next. The first girl started reading poetry. At that point I put down my pen to rested my head on my arms to relish in a bed time reading of verses I can't even remember. But what stuck was the awesomeness of what I had just been able to be a part of all because our plans were slightly modified due to no fault of our own. There is something to be said about PlanB. Stacey, your trail name rocks!!!