(Mon. 8/6/12) Maine (text)

I am truly grateful for you as well. I do think of you often and how lucky I am to have you. I love you, Hun.

Welcome words to hear. But how are you walking on a broken foot?

(Sat. 8/4/12) Maine (text, e-mail)

While out and about I received this text from Brett:
Tough days. I have broken part of my foot from a trip and fall. Will update when I have service where I can make a call, but it may be a while.

Later, I received this e-mail:
Feel better from being sick--100 percent recovered. However, I took a fall and think I have broken a part in my foot.  It's totally black, and I can barely get a shoe on.  I am making slow progress but still going.  I have been hiking with Coconut and her dad since we have met up again.  No cell reception anywhere.  I am slow but still pushing on. Thinking around the 20th.

Nothing like having bad news with no way of talking to Brett!

(Wed. 8/1/12) Andover, ME (phone call)

Brett called on Tuesday morning to say that he was feeling a little better and was going to try to eat something. Brett called me back on Wednesday afternoon to say that he was feeling better and was pretty much over the stomach bug. I asked him if he was up to 70/80% healthy-normal. He said that was functioning at 95%. That was great news. I was happy to hear that it was a fairly short illness.

(Mon. 7/30/12) Andover, ME (phone call)

I got a surprise phone call from Brett fairly late tonight. We only talked for a few minutes--just long enough for him to tell me that he was miserable and that Maine was killing him. I immediately thought it must be sore muscles or blistered feet. I was sad to hear that Brett, along with a large number of other hikers in that section of the trail, has come down with a stomach virus.

Brett said that it hit him at 4:00am. He went in search of some lodging and found a bed and bathroom at Pine Ellis Lodge. Brett said there are five other hikers in the hostel with the same symptoms he is experiencing (including Coconut, whom I met in Gorham, NH, and her dad). The hostel right by the trail in Gorham is full, with some sick hikers. And there are more sick hikers in the hostel north of Brett.

Brett had told me before that hikers don't often get sick, because germs don't get passed around the same way that they might in a community with more people. It is unusual for this many hikers to get sick. It makes you wonder if there's something in the water.

Whatever it is, I hope that Brett isn't miserable too long. I hope he doesn't lose any more weight from being sick. And I hope that he gains his strength back quickly. Brett said that he planned on taking a zero day tomorrow (Duh!). I hope that he is able to rest his body back to health.

(Sat. 7/21/12 - Fri. 7/27/12) Kittery, ME (Family Visit/Break From the Trail)

I picked up Brett in Gorham, NH, as previously arranged. I got there early and hiked down the trail a little bit. I found a perfect spot by the creek that followed the trail for a bit and sat on a rock with my feet in the water while I waited for Brett to come down the trail. I was so happy to see Brett after so long (four months since Spring Break) that I cried. It took me a while for my eyes and emotions to get back to normal.

Brett has lost 50 pounds on the trail. He is skin and bones compared to what he was before. For the first few days, every time I saw him or put my arms around him it took me by surprise. It took about five days for me to look at him and not immediately think "He's so skinny!"

Brett also has an almost fully gray beard and looks "so old". Brett is fairly proud of his beard. He says it easily identifies him as a northbound thru-hiker, and he is respected by southbound hikers (who haven't been on the trail that long) or section hikers he meets on the way. I think Brett's beard is one small way to measure everything he has done so far.

It was so nice to have time with Brett. Brett's two goals for his time off were to spend time with the family and rest. So we spent most of our time at my parents' house just hanging out rather than going out or sight-seeing. (Being around crowds is the last thing Brett wants right now!) It was good to be together as a family again, although it may have made it a little harder for Brett to get back on the trail. My parents live on the water, and being on the water also made Brett realize how much he missed it.

Brett took care of some gear issues while he was here. He had a new pack shipped because the frame in his old one broke. He had to do some sewing to make minor modifications, just as he did with his previous two packs. He had to replace his hiking shoes, because sole on one of his shoes started separating. He also had to replace his pillow which wasn't holding air like it should. And of course, he unpacked, washed, and aired all of his gear out. Evidence of Brett was seen in many rooms of the house as well as on both the front and back porches.

I'm hoping the first few days on the trail weren't too tough for Brett. I had thought that the White Mountains in New Hampshire were the toughest part of the trail, but Brett said that the first 100 miles of Maine were supposedly the toughest. So Brett has just begun a very difficult section of the trail with new shoes, muscles that need to be worked back in, and a twinge or homesickness after spending so much time with the family. I know that he will get back into the swing of things soon. I am proud of him, and continue to be amazed at what he has done.

Here are a few Brett photos from our time together. First, a photo of Brett and his shadow (i.e. Ryan) hunting for treasure by my parents' house in Kittery, Maine.

The only tourist-y activity we did: stopping by the fisherman's memorial in Gloucester, Mass., on our way back from a trip to REI (new shoes).

Mending a small tear in his shorts.

First, we watched the lobster boats unload their catch from my parents' house. Then we went and bought the fresh, live lobsters (only $4.00 a pound!). Then Brett played with the lobsters. Later, Brett washed and steamed the lobsters (with no help). Finally, we all ate the lobsters (with step-by-step instruction from my parents).

At a rest stop in the White Mountains on the way to dropping Brett back off on the trail (before the emotional good-byes hit). The peak of Mount Washington was covered in clouds. We had rain on the three-hour drive there, but I think most of it had passed by the time we got to the trail.

Following our family tradition, we all wore our "Support Daddy Tie-Dye T-Shirts" on our first day with Brett, on our family outing to REI and Gloucester, and on our last day together.
Only three more weeks 'til Katahdin. We're proud of you, "The Dude".

(Fri. 7/20/12) White Mountains, NH (Text)

Can you make it tomorrow?...You can pick me up and bring me back for a few days.
Can you be in Gorham, NH at 3:00?
I will try to be at the trail crossing at 3:00.... There should be a parking area. Do not be late.

[I won't! So excited to see Brett!]

(Thu. 7/19/12) White Mountains, NH (Phone/Text)

I finally got a phone call from Brett, but it ended up being a very frustrating one. I had sent him a few texts and e-mails this last week with almost no response. I was thrilled to hear his voice, then crushed when the phone cut off on us. We were only able to talk long enough to make a tentative plan to have me pick him up on Sunday.

Later that evening he was able to follow up with a short text:
Should be Sunday afternoon near Gorham, NH. I will update soon.
[I hope so!]