Oh, Little Town Of Bethel, Maine

On July 20th, I climbed Mt. Katahdin. On July 20th, my tennis shoes, my carefully debated shoes of choice, my vehicle, ripped. Straight across the top. 

I've been hiking with them for 240 miles. They've gotten worse. I have made attempts to patch them, but alas. No avail. They are comfortable and lightweight, but ultimately, unsustainable.

Remember me mentioning the cool guy from New Orleans and the woman who taught at NIU? I hiked on and off with them for a few days, but ultimately got seperated.

Every town I've come to in Maine has been preceded by hype.

Dude, your shoes are a mess. That's okay, though, there's an outfitter in Monson. In Caratunk. In Stratton. In Rangeley.

And every time I would listen, get off-trail, go into town, and every time THERE WOULD EFFING NOT BE AN OUTFITTER. Or if there were, no shoes.

So this time, I was sure. Bethel, Maine DEFINITELY HAD an outfitter and they DEFINITELY CARRIED shoes. I got off trail in Andover and was shuttled to Bethel. The shoe selection was pretty slim and all of them were very pricey and looked hard to break in. So I decided I was done. I would just fight through the Whites in what I had, get shoes on the flip side.

In Andover, there's an all-you-can-eat pizza night at the local bakery. First of all, guys, Andover is kind of sweet. It's so small, but really charming and friendly. There were advertisements up for a lost beagle and someone had written helpful notes on it, there are only 33 kids at the school... It's sweet here.

So I was enjoying the pizza night when who should I see walking up the stairs? New Orleans and NIU friends! They had come to say hi to me! I was so happy to see them. They immediately asked about my shoes (it's kind of my thing out here). I told them my resolution. And Birdlegs, my New Orleans friend, who had already found a phone charger for me, grabbed a pair of shoes out of the back of his truck (he's got a truck, yes; section hikers sometimes drive to the part of the trail they're working on). They're his backup shoes. They're so so so nice. AND HE GAVE THEM TO ME. Then, Painted Lady, who taught at NIU, gave me some moleskin and band-aids in case I get blisters.

And, as is the theme for this trip, I wept. 

There's a radical generosity in people, and I've seen it on the trail before, but... Man. I'm floored by this one.