The Privilege

I have good news and bad news, but the bad news isn’t even that bad, so I guess I have good news and ok news.

The good news is that Mica and I are both getting our trail legs under us, and the hiking felt so good this week that our very conservative five day plan to get from Monson to Caratunk turned into a quick and enjoyable three days when we decided not to finish hiking at lunchtime every day. I swam alone in an alpine lake, Mica picked wild blueberries on top of a mountain, the weather was clear and warm by day and clear and cool at night. Our food supplies were ample and our packs weren’t too heavy. You can’t reasonably ask for much more.

You specifically, however, could ask for a Sunday post. And the less good (but still ok) news is I don’t really have one for you. Or rather I do but I was too sleepy to write it last night. Today we cross the Kennebec in a canoe ferry and head into the Bigelow range on our way toward Stratton, so instead of an essay that will make you cry, please enjoy this brief mostly good-news update and some pictures from the last few days. We have a very short day ahead today (what hikers call a “near-o” or “near zero” mile day) and another easy day tomorrow, so I plan to use the extra time to write the real Sunday post that’s been percolating in my head the last couple days.

We should be in Stratton and back online by Wednesday, but if you see us on the trail before then, Mica needs apples.

And finally, I have a hiking meme for you. Many of the privies at the campsites in the Northern Maine part of the trail have recently been upgraded from pit privies (small, dark, stinky) to the glorious palaces known as “moldering privies,” which despite the name are large, airy, good smelling and generally very appealing places to attend the call of nature when you’re out enjoying nature.

They seem too nice to be called “privies,” so I’ve been mentally calling them “privileges,” which is what I assume privy is short for. That led to this meme, and now it’s your problem too.