June 6 

Quote of the Day: "How are the mosquitoes eating me through my clothes?" - Amber 

June 7
Antlers Campsite - East Branch Lean-To (16 Miles) 

Long day of hiking. The weather was amazing and the terrain wasn't bad. However, hiking 16 miles on 500 calories is rough stuff.  Everything was hurting, especially my hips and feet. This was by far the worst day of bugs. We had to wear our rain jackets to keep them from biting our arms. Bugs really test you. You can't even take breaks in peace! Stacey and I motivated ourselves by singing "Om Nashi Me" which we now sing every last mile of the day. 

We were so excited to make it to the shelter. Stacey had bad blisters on his heels. My stomach was hurting so bad from hunger pains and my feet and ankles were swollen. The last thing we wanted to do was filter water and cook dinner . . . with the mosquitoes. We had planned on making our omelet backcountry meal and instant mash potatoes. I was looking forward to the strange combination, but here is where the story gets really sad. As soon as the water boiled for me to pour I noticed that the potatoes had bacon in them. (noooooooooooooooooooo) Stacey said "whatever, I'm hungry, you eat the eggs and I'll eat this." Sounded okay except for the eggs turned out to be one of the most disgusting things I've ever put in my mouth. I had no choice. I forced myself to eat as much as I could without puking. I went to bed with sore muscles and an rumbling stomach. 

Oh the woes of a thruhiker . . .

June 4 
Hurd Shelter - Rainbow Stream Lean-To (11.5 miles)

I claim this day to be the Day of Bogs! We all hate bogs. We especially hate bogs in the rain. This day was destined to be tough. I was dreading our first day of rain.




However, I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the rain due to the fact that it kept the bugs away. It was nice to rinse off a bit too, but dang those bogs were bad. I was so angry at the bogs but had to stop and take a photo so I can show you all what we were hiking in. Think 13 miles with wet feet... bad news...




It's funny- I catch myself getting angry at the earth. I get mad when I step in a bog and my foot gets drenched or when I'm looking straight up at ANOTHER rock face I have to climb. Stacey and I yell and curse at the mountains like it's their fault they are tall. Sometimes it helps but most of the time it just drags your mood down. I tried to stop myself from being mad at the bogs this day. Even though I was absolutely miserable the last 6 miles of the hike I forced myself to see the beauty in the pesky mosquitoes and the swampy bogs. It's mind over body people. 

I stopped a lot to rest my feet. Balancing in roots and rocks all day is exhausting. The long rainy day was worth every bit because we stayed at a killer campsite. You had to cross a slippery log to get there. I inched across ever so carefully as the boys just walked over like it was no big deal. I promise it's harder than it looks. 





The boys built a great fire and we sat and talked for hours about what gear we were going to send back home. I've learned that the fire is the best friend around camp. It brings everyone together. Plus it masks our stench. 




Quote of the day: "Where's my sword??" -Fire Squirrel as he searches frantically for his machete 

June 4
Rainbow Stream Lean-To - Wadleigh Lean-To (8.1 miles)

This was a pretty mild day of hiking. We had more ups and downs from the past few days. I had 2 big wipeouts on top of the rainbow ledges. (Thankfully, no serious injuries) We kept a slow but steady pace. All of us are still enjoying Maine's scenery. Still no moose. . .

Dad left a note in the dirt that said "ET 5 :)" and a group of SOBO's behind us thought it meant Estimated Time 5 minutes. Yeah, it definitely wasn't 5 minutes to the next shelter. They weren't too happy at the time, but it made for a funny story later.

Stacey and I realized that we didn't bring enough food to get us out of the wilderness. We each had one cup of rice for dinner and went to bed with growling stomachs. 

June 3

Katahdin Stream Campground - Hurd Shelter (13.4 miles)

We all woke up at 6:15 and was on the trail by 7am. We took our time to really take in Maine's beauty. The terrain was pretty flat; although, it was our first day with our heavy packs so we were all feeling pain in our shoulders and hips. We stopped at Big Niagara Falls to soak our feet for a while. 

We were loving every minute of our refreshing break but knew we had a long way to go to get to the shelter. We had our first of many stream crossings. I was so scared the current was going to swoop me and pack away and drench all my gear. The boys are so much better at fording, but I'm learning. 

We had lunch at Abol Bridge store, which was the last resupply spot before the 100 mile

wilderness. They didn't have much for vegetarians so I munched on chips and chocolate while the boys scarfed down turkey sandwiches. This was were we first met Sky Chicken, a helicopter pilot from Texas. Note in the photo below that Tucker's socks were already standing up from 2 days of hiking. Also note, we were so happy to see that ice cream sign and were crushed when we found out that they didn't have ice cream. 

As we headed back on the the trail and entered our way into the 100 mile wilderness, I knew there was no way of turning back. This was it. I saw the first yellow monarch and felt my sister, Lexi give me a great big hug. I was ready for the wilderness. We arrived at Hurd shelter at 4:30pm. The last thing I wrote in my journal that night was "I love being away from society." Haha, the wilderness was about to feed my soul- exactly what it needed. 

Quoted the Day: "I guess I'll just sleep on the ground. It's like going back to my childhood."- Chief Badweather stated as his sleeping pad deflated from a hole in it.

Hi Family + Friends!

Amber, here. I wanted to send out a quick update to let everyone know that we made it through the 100 mile wilderness! Phew. . . what a challenge, but so insanely rewarding. We are at the legendary, Shaw's Hostel right now with our 2 trail friends, Sky Chicken and Fish Flake. The boys are watching Soccer and doing laundry. Dad is going through his first care package from home and I'm uploading our photos while catching up on e-mail. It feels good to be in civilization with clean hair and full bellies (thanks to the Lakeshore House). Spirits are high up here in Monson. We are planning on taking a zero day tomorrow to rest our muscles and celebrate our 2nd AT milestone (1st was reaching Katahdin).

So much has happened in the past week and a half. I'm so excited to share our adventures! We have all kept notes from our 100 mile wilderness trek so I'm going to work on a recap post with pictures after a nap, of course. For now, here is how everyone is feeling.

Tuck has blisters on every toes and lost a total of 5 pounds. Trail name is pending.Luke (Tree Frog) just received the biggest bag of candy from his girlfriend. His beard is growing and turning red. He's lost 3 pounds so far.Stacey (Fire Squirrel) has a busted knee but is happy because he gets to watch soccer. He has lost a total of 14 pounds.Dad (Chief Badweather) is having way to much fun playing in the hiker closet. He found an old army coat and fishing cap to wear out to lunch. He lost a whopping 17 pounds in the wilderness. And I have more bug bites, bruises and scrapes that I've ever had in my life. I've lost 10 pounds, but feel stronger than ever!
More details coming soon, folks!! Thank you all for your encouraging messages. I can't put into words how important they are to us while we are on the trail. They really keep us pressing on.

Sending good vibes to you all!

- Amber