Through the Wilderness: Day 6 + 7

June 8 

East Branch - Carl Newman Lean-To (10.8 miles)

Today was rough. We hiked up White Cap Mountain which meant, lots of inclines. I took Advil PM the night before so it took a long time for my body to wake up. The first half of the hike was spent in silence. Stacey used to feel so uncomfortable in the silence, but I think he is starting to appreciate it. We love listening to the birds sing and the squirrels chatter. We pretend they are cheering us on. I am feeling very connected with nature and loving trail life but we are all ready to get to Monson and eat some food that isn't cooked in a Jetboil.

June 9
Carl Newman - Chair Back Lean-To (9.9 miles)

The days are draining me mentally. I am so ready to talk to my sister and mom. I know Stacey is ready to talk to his parents. We all 5 have seemed to hit our wall. The terrain is getting more difficult and our food bag is getting smaller and smaller. My ankles are so sore. They are both swollen. I'm hoping to have my hiker legs, ankles and shoulders soon. Everyone in our group is in pain. Just look at Stacey's feet. 

We had to ford the West Branch Pleasant River and decided to wash our hair. It was a nice break. Fish Flake met up with us and hiked half a day with us. The terrain was much more difficult than we anticipated. Just when I thought we were finished, we came around a corner with a huge rock wall we had to climb. I stopped, threw down my pack and took 5 minutes to just study how the heck I was going to push myself over the boulders. I had zero energy left. 

Lexi ( a yellow monarch) followed me all day. I think God knew I needed motivation from home. As soon as we got to the top we let out the biggest wooooooooo our bodies had in us. 

Stacey and I decided to read our letters from home that we were saving for a rough day. I couldn't get past the first line before my eyes filled with tears. I missed the comforts of the modern world. I was hungry, tired and in pain. I was feeling so discouraged after being in the woods for so long. I needed to hear that someone was rooting for me to carry on. The words of my mom and sister were just what I needed to help keep going.