Day 170 – 15 miles – 2,206 total

We packed up and headed to the top of the hill for Moody’s Diner. The locals have been hounding us to go here for breakfast. So we did. It was good. Nothing special, but it was good. We saw Mark, the cyclist, there too.

With full bellies, we said goodbye to Mark and headed North. The hills today were brutal. Just one after the next. Maine is going to be very tough. We have to do it though.

The sun came out around noon and with the high humidity it made it very uncomfortable. We were pouring sweat.

We saw a young man walking on the other side of the road carrying two large suitcases. You could tell that he in some sort of trouble. Knowing what I know about the disease, I could tell that he was ill with addiction. We were going downhill and I was ahead of Stick a little because he had stopped to take a photo.

I looked back and saw that the young man had crossed the street and was talking to Stick. Good. I knew he was in good hands with Stick so I kept my pace. It’s hard on your knees to slow down on downhill slopes. I made it to the bottom of the hill to wait for them and hear this kid’s story but he had turned off and went to a familiar place before they got to where I was waiting.

Stick was telling me all about it. It wasn’t good. The kid was in a very dark place. Addiction had a strong hold of him and he was facing consequences for actions he took in a domestic dispute. He was withdrawing and wasn’t in the best state of mind and consciousness. Stick listened to him and encouraged him to try not to let himself go so far down the rabbit hole. There wasn’t much else Stick could’ve done. I know he showed compassion because that is what Stick does. We can only hope that it helps him.

About 2 miles later, uphill, a car pulls to the side and the nice couple inside asks what we are doing. We told them that we were walking from Key West, Florida to Fort Kent, Maine for drug overdose awareness. They said that they had a son who was struggling really bad with drugs and that they were out looking for him.

……………….

Yep

……………

Stick and I looked at each other and then I asked, “does he have a batman tshirt and two large suitcases?”

It was him. The young man that we encountered earlier.

We told them where he went and that we both assessed that he is currently a danger to himself and others and needs further help. They told us that they were working with the police to try to get him in jail where he will have to face his arrest warrant and get it over with before seeking other treatment. Ugh. This was really hard. We all just looked at each other with compassion and frustration, knowing that we all wanted to help but didn’t know what else to do. We awkwardly said goodbyes and wished each other a good day.

As soon as they left stick and I both broke. This may have been the hardest we have had to deal with yet. This young man was talking about hurting others and himself and here we are talking to his parents. It’s a story I’ve lived myself and have heard a hundred times before but it still stung like hell knowing that things could take a fatal turn at any given moment.

We took a long break for this one. I tried to tell Stick that he did the right thing but he didn’t feel like it. That is what addiction will do. It affects so many people. I wanted to scream. So I did.

We were way down low. Trying to find the strength to continue. I looked up and saw a man on a bicycle fully loaded down with gear. Another adventurer.

He came up to us and pulled over. We talked to him about our walk and he talked about his ride. It was very awkward. We were sad and unenthusiastic and I think he was picking up on it. Not to mention we were at the top of a hill that we all had just climbed and were tired as hell. I snapped a photo of Roy the cyclist and he rolled on down the hill. We got our shit together and did the same.

Hills, heat, sweat, and worries of the family we encountered earlier was the story of the next few miles. We made it to our 2,200 mile mark. Usually a grand celebration but we had a hard time cheering for ourselves today. We wrote the chalk, snapped a photo, and that was that.

We finished the day at a campground. We were glad to be here even though it was pretty expensive. We booked two nights due to some storms coming through tomorrow. We figured we would stay here and wait them out, rather than walk through them.

The place was decent. It’ll definitely work. We set up our tents then showered and did laundry. Charged up all of our electronics, made and ate dinner. All of that stuff one does when the resources are available while on a long-distance trek.