We slept in a little longer than we usually do. We had no real rush today as our target was 19 miles and the days are so long up here in the summer. We knew that we would have plenty of daylight left no matter how late we started or how many times we stopped for a break. That was very helpful since today was pretty tough.
It all started with the hell trail… I mean, the Down East Sunrise Trail.. same thing. We had our hopes set high for this trail. We thought it would be 90 miles of awesome and instead it was killing us step by step. The gravel was just too loose for our carts. We were pushing hard as hell to go downhill. Uphill was ridiculous. Add the humidity in the air and we were all beat up. I had to reassure Jess that this was harder than usual. I felt bad because this was all her first experiences on the walk. I thought having her start on the trail would’ve been a great way to get adjusted to walking with us but I was wrong. The trail had to go. We found a way off that connected us back to route 1. We all fought really hard to get there.
We finally made it to the pavement but we were already spent. We had to take a break. We passed 2300 miles on the way to a shady spot to rest at. I didn’t even feel like celebrating. I was angry. I don’t feel anger often anymore but when I do I like to go to my own zone and work my way through it. I knew my anger did not come from any of the others, it was all from the trail and the humidity. Things I couldn’t control. I worked through it and meditated a little. Then I felt better. We made sure to rest up and cool down before continuing. I was very proud of both Stick and Jess for sticking that trail out. I was proud of myself and Domino too. It was hard on us all.
Back to the road. Much smoother but we still had hills and heat. These were things that Stick and I were used to by now. There wasn’t a lot of traffic. A woman driving a right hand drive Jeep was out delivering mail and she stopped and asked us if we were the ones walking for overdose. We said yes and she told us that she heard about us from the Secondhand Soldiers on Facebook. We met with them back in Biddeford and they have been sharing our posts as we go along. So awesome. Together we make a difference!
This woman lost her son Brendan. She pulled over and we talked for a while on the road. It was healing for us all. Before she left, she handed us all cards with a photo of Brendan and his sunrise and sunset dates. Jess looked and noticed that Brendan and her brother Brian have the same birthday. Jess lost her brother Brian and it is one of the reasons she has chosen to walk with us. I think this was a pretty clear sign saying that her brother approves. It was a powerful moment. I was excited and honored to have been a part of it all.
We were in a very different part of Maine. After we passed Acadia National Park, things got very desolate. Beautiful scenery though. And a million antique shops. Seriously. It seems like the thing out here. One of them had an old sign calling itself a museum of natural history. It was just a yard full of old junk. Hilarious. This side of Maine is definitely weird. Good weird though.
The rest of the day was spent walking through rural Maine and seeing one weird thing after the next. Beautiful fields of colorful wildflowers and patches of woods filled with huge Christmas trees broke up the antique shops and other Maine oddities. I found a patch of wild blueberries and picked a handful and ate them on the spot. A new experience for me!
We finally made it to the town of Harrington where we were targeting to stop for the night. There was a gas station there that was opened all night and we thought it would be an ideal place to try to find a place to camp nearby. That way we had access to food and bathrooms. Being that there is nothing else out here except antique stores and woods we figured this was as comfortable as we could get for the night.
A sherriff pulled into the auto shop next to the gas station right as we got there. Perfect. We went to talk to the Sheriff and asked if he minded if we camped out across the street in a vacant lot. He said he didn’t mind but that it wasn’t his call. It was a nasty looking field that was probably infested with ticks but it still would’ve worked. Thankfully, the owner of the auto shop chimed in and said he didn’t mind if we set up on his property. He showed us where to go. Awesome. We thanked him then I decided I’d pick the sheriff’s brain and see what his take on the overdose epidemic was.
We are in Washington County now. We have been hearing about it ever since we’ve been in Maine. It’s one of the worst places in the country in relation to drug usage. It’s low income and drastic weather most of the year. The Sheriff was unfortunately not a big part of the solution. We can see that Maine is behind on how to combat this crisis. It’s so sad to see firsthand. We tried to tell the Sheriff that people needed help beyond incarceration but he didn’t get it. He just wanted harsher penalties to keep them locked up longer. That ain’t workin dude. Ugh. We didn’t dwell too long. We were still very thankful for him helping us out. We planted some seeds for him to think about and hopefully he’ll take a more compassionate approach to the next person he deals with over simple possession. Hopefully.
We went to the gas station and it was like the angels all came out singing when we walked in. Air conditioning and food everywhere. A Subway was in the corner. We all grabbed a sandwich and ate it on the shady side of the building until the sun got low enough to go back and set up our tents. While we were sitting there eating, we talked to two different people who lost loved ones to overdose. One guy was saying how the police are a part of the problem. It was interesting hearing both sides of that arguement less than 30 minutes apart.
We went and set up our tents and talked for a bit then that was that. Another day in the books!
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