START TIME: 5:15 AM 
END TIME: 10:20 PM
Jen had a great morning and covered the first 15 miles before 9 AM. We brought her chocolate donuts and coffee, which she ate while I put bug spray on her and filled her new socks with Gold Bond powder. At one point, she said, “This is the LIFE! Hiking the trail is worth it with this kind of treatment.” Apparently she really likes having three people dote on her at each road crossing. I guess I wasn’t enough last time she went after a record on the AT.
Melissa hiked with her for a mid-day stretch. I brought her a big sausage, onion, and pepper sandwich from Spring Creek in Monson, which she inhaled. I also brought her a whoopie pie, which is basically a big, soft homemade Oreo-type cookie that’s popular up here in New England, but she hasn’t eaten it yet. If she doesn’t eat it soon, it’s going to disappear into my belly.
She was hurting a little this afternoon—I guess hiking 125 miles in 2.5 days will eventually catch up to you—but she wanted to push on, and she made it to 5 miles outside of Caratunk by nightfall.
Melissa and I drank blueberry wheat beer and checked the internet at the Kennebec Brewery and Outfitters, and I spent some time sitting in a scalding hot tub. It was an awesome afternoon. Making some of these stops (Spring Creek BBQ, the hot tub, etc.) is like visiting old friends from the first trip.
Melissa and I saw a porcupine! It was AWESOME! Very quill-y. It was darker than I thought it’d be: black with yellow on the tips of the quills.