Beautiful days in Maine

Now that southern Maine is over, the terrain has eased up a bit and hiking has actually become fun again! Hurray! We hike past ponds and lakes every day now, and nothing is better than soaking your feet in cold water during the hot afternoon hours. Blueberries are becoming ripe all along the trail, and we stop often to pick a handful or two. I have now seen 4 moose, but I'm still waiting to see a bull (with horns). Katahdin is less than 200 miles away, and the 100 mile wilderness starts soon. I am summiting on August 11th with my friends Butter and Budha. My brother and I have been hiking our own paces for several days now, and we will meet up with each other and our family for vacation in a few weeks. The past few days have been relaxing and near perfect, thereby redeeming many of the parts of southern Maine that my legs and arms now boast bruises from. Also, I have realized what a klutz I am as I fall on a regular basis. Yesterday, I bruised my shin fairly badly and I landed face down on a boardwalk with my feet off the board in the mud. Today I slid down a rock and landed on my butt. It's quite entertaining for those hiking behind me! We ate breakfast at the Harrison Pierce Pond Camp (delicious pancakes, eggs, sausage, juice, and coffee). Now we are in Caratunk where I enjoyed two huge chili dogs and fries. I think I'm loaded on carbs for a while! The next weeks look bright, and after vacation, I'm looking forward to hiking the last 815 miles or so!