It was midday during that heat wave we had last week when I came down off a brutal descent of Old Blue Mountain. I noticed a blue cooler at the road crossing. The note read "Trail Magic from Baltimore. leave empties, no other trash please." Inside was a variety of icy cold sodas. I enjoyed my root beer while thinking "That's funny, this Trail Angel is from my home town."
The hitch into Andover, ME wasn't going so well. I waited for about half an hour, but everyone was headed out to the lake with their boats in tow. Before too long two things happened simultaneously: Pilot and Headbutt came down off the rocky slope, and David from Pine Ellis Hiker Hostel showed up with the shuttle. Pilot had made a mountaintop phone call to arrange pickup. I had chosen to hike without a cellphone and was trying to embrace the unfortunate situation while frying in the sun on the side of the road. David pulls out a small cooler from the car and pours the three of us lemonade. It was good to be on our way to town.
Later in the evening as things cooled down I walked to the one store in town to check voicemail at the payphone. "Teddy this is Jessica. We're on vacation in Rangely. Your Dad told us that you've probably already passed through but still not too far away. I hope we can meet up."
Well it turns out this was the most enjoyable of all trail magic. The way it all came together, you know? It was such a nice break from the trail to stop for some familiar company. The Mitchell family were the most generous hosts...they took me back to their camp alongside Rangely lake where little Annie and Wesley and Rees and I swam with the crawdads. Then the kids showed me their spaceship. I requested protein for dinner, and protein is what we had. Steak + potatoes + good company = a happy TMello with belly full. And we had the most amazing sunset over the lake!
The next morning Rees and I set out for the Aziscohos river in search of trout. After bitterly mailing home my fishing rod some days earlier, I thought I would never again get the chance to catch a Maine trout. Quick stop at the fly shop for some local advice and we were on our way. I wasn't planning on telling Rees that I had climbed a tree to retrieve stranded tackle. But word spreads quickly amongst the fishermen unless they've found a good hole to fish. I pulled in some tiny salmon fry which was better than nothing. Then eventually caught my first Maine brookie! Rees caught a few too and we both felt satisfied.
Later in the afternoon, Rees dropped me off. I can't say I was all that motivated, but I started walking with plans to stop for the night at the first shelter 5 miles in. I got in around 7 and dreaded the thought of being alone for the night. But who better to show up than 3 SOBO's from the Baltimore area. It was another pleasant surprise and made for a good night's sleep.
Thanks to all my Trail Angels out there! I'll be thinking about you and will not soon forget this stream of events!
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