Days 168 – 172
~ Zero Days ~
Miles Hiked: 0
Miles on AT: 1898.9
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Today I woke up ready for a trip to Miami via Boston. Finding a flight out of southern Maine/northern New Hampshire was a bit challenging because all of the airports were a couple hours drive away. But, Gorham, NH, just so happened to be on a bus line that ended at Boston Logan Airport, which was super convenient for me. If anyone is reading this and might need to catch a flight, Concord Coach Lines can take you there!
Catching the bus was super easy and convenient. The driver picked me and another passenger up from a gas station just down the road from my motel. Once on the bus, we made a few more stops throughout New Hampshire and then arrived at the airport. The bus was clean and not even remotely full, which made for a pleasant ride.
Once in Boston, I assessed my options. When I booked my ticket I hadn’t been sure how reliable the bus was going to be in getting me to the airport at a reasonable hour, but now it was only 1 pm. Hotels were super expensive last-minute, so when I checked to see if I could change my ticket to a flight leaving today instead of tomorrow, I was pleasantly surprised to find availability. I already had a flight credit on my account, so I didn’t have to spend anything out of pocket. My new flight was booked for 3:30 pm and I would get to see Janitor a day early. Yay!
That kicked-off the wedding weekend in Miami. It was so nice to be able to relax by the pool and stay off my feet. We had several wedding events to go to, and we met so many cool people at the wedding. The ceremony itself was amazingly beautiful (I shed a tear), and the love permeated the air throughout the reception. Happiness, joy, and love infected everyone at the wedding, making for an unforgettable weekend.
I was sad to say goodbye (again) at the end of the trip, but my determination to get the hike done was still strong. Part of me wanted to slip back into real life and forget about Maine, but I knew that I couldn’t do that. Katahdin would call me forever if I didn’t go back and finish the hike now.
When I got back to Gorham, it took me 4 tries to find a place with availability. Looking back, I probably should’ve just gone to one of the hostels near the trail, but I wouldn’t know how awesome they were until I passed them the next day. After resupplying, eating at Dynasty (yes, I went back), and rearranging my pack, I got into bed, ready to store up some energy for my first day back on trail. This was going to be it. I wouldn’t leave trail again until it was time to go home.
And that’s days 168 – 172.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.