Reunited

Holy light, oh, burn the night

Oh keep the spirits strong

Watch it grow, child of wolf

Keep holdin' on

- Wolf by First Aid Kit

Left the town of Brandon after a delicious breakfast (and second breakfast). The staff at the Brandon Inn were incredibly hospitable and fun to talk with... which, being their only guest, I was thankful for. **side note** I couldn't help but think of The Shining and Jack Nicholson breaking down my door. Staying in an old (OLD) empty hotel, ya know. Thankfully no twin girls were spotted at the end of the hall. 

Sarah, one of the owners, drove me back to the trail head where a nice soft snowfall was waiting for me. 

"Are you SURE you don't want to stay another night?" she asked in her British accent. 

"Ha, trust me... I do." As I donned my pack and extended my trekking poles. I waved goodbye and watched her drive off back down the hill towards town. Now into the snow. 

I hiked about 7 or 8 miles that afternoon as the snow continued to fall softly to the ground. I stopped a few times to catch my breath and to listen. The woods were so quiet. Just the soft, steady snowfall all around me. 

Peaceful. 

I set up my tent in the shallow snow, cooked some undercooked mac & cheese, and snuggled deep into my sleeping bag for the night. It was cold. And dark. And now only a little after 5 pm. Story of my life. 

I read a few chapters of Moby Dick before eventually falling asleep. Then something weird happened.

I wake up in the middle of the night because I hear something approaching my tent. It sounds pretty close (by the way, I'm sleeping with all my food next to me). It's at this point that I realize I need to start yelling and scare this thing away before it gets any closer. 

But I can't. 

I open my mouth to yell and only a pathetic whimper comes out. What the...?

"GET OUTTA HERE!!" is what I want to yell at the top of my lungs, but I can't. The words aren't coming. 

Micah, if you want to not get eaten right now, you need to make some noise! Now yell!

You guys, this was so strange to me. I wanted to yell and I simply could not. Am I having a nightmare?

Apparently, yes. Well, kinda. 

The noise I heard must have just been the wind and leaves, but it was loud enough to wake me and make me alert. However, I was still asleep enough for my mind to imagine a bear or coyote or something approaching my tent. I was in between being awake and asleep, and therefore could not bring myself to actually yell. I could just barely whimper instead. 

All of this happened over the course of a few minutes until I fell back into full sleep. I awoke in the morning and recalled the event. It was an extremely weird sensation. I wasn't dreaming it, but I wasn't fully awake either. Crazy!

Breakfast. Coffee. Packed up and hit the trail. I wanted to keep moving to stay warm, but the terrain was pretty hilly and I was getting worn out. I took a lot of breaks this day. 

However, I had two big things to look forward to and hike towards on this day.

The first being Maine Junction, where the LT meets up and connects with the AT. The second being my friend, Greg, who was planning to meet me at this point and take me off trail for a restful Zero. 

It was early afternoon when I reached Maine Junction. I took some time at this point. I could feel the sudden flood of emotion and memories hitting me all of a sudden as I stared at the three directions of white blazes. Long Trail north, AT north, and Long Trail/AT south. Standing at the crossroads, in the exact spot where KitFox and I had stood last year. Except now I was heading south from the northern Long Trail, whereas KitFox and I had headed north towards New Hampshire and Maine. The sign read 469 miles to Katahdin, and like a movie, I replayed the images of us walking all those miles to the top of Katahdin. I turned around from the sign, and for the first time in over a year headed south on the Appalachian Trail.

Here is the video from that moment...

Also, this was now the first time I had ever hiked on the Appalachian Trail alone. A strange realization...

I now only had one mile to go before meeting Greg at the road crossing, but after only a few minutes of walking, there's Greg hiking up the trail! Man, it was great to see him again. 

You see, Greg is a Trail Angel. He lives near the AT close to Hanover, and he has opened his home and literally helped out hundreds of hikers over the past few years... providing a place to stay and rest and shower and do laundry. Two of the hikers he helped out in 2012 were KitFox and myself.

After hearing about me hiking the Long Trail, Greg generously offered up his home again for me to stay and rest and shower and do laundry! It was truly great to see him again. 

So, my Zero is now coming to an end, and I return to the Trail tomorrow morning for more SOBO adventures. I am incredibly thankful for Greg and his hospitality these past couple of days.

It is truly amazing the kinds of people you meet and relationships you form from thru-hiking. When Greg helped KitFox and I out back in 2012, we maybe stayed with him 12 hours total, and yet here I am in his house again after over a year, and I feel as if I've known him a lifetime.

The Trail does that. The people you meet and the places you see leave an everlasting impression on your soul. 

So you see... yesterday, I was reunited with two very dear friends of mine. One wearing a blue jacket, the other wearing a whole bunch of white blazes.