July 17
End: Plaster Rock
Miles: 27.9
Total: 4323.8
The bus arrived at a gas station in the Perth-Andover area around eight in the morning. I got out, got my stuff, and headed into the Subway to sit at a table and organize my stuff.
I got my pack set up, and got a box ready to mail home with everything I wouldn’t be carrying on the trail. When I was finally ready I started walking towards the post office and the main portion of town. It was a few miles, and carrying the large box in my hands was not particularly fun.
I arrived and mailed off my normal clothes. I was about to go hiking, and it felt a little weird. I had received word from Lake that he was still a few days away, and I didn’t want to take any more time off of the trail. I set out and was on the good old ATV trail again. I didn’t mind repeating the miles I had done a couple of weeks before because it would just be part of my penance for skipping parts of the Benton MacKaye trail months earlier.
The first few miles went by quickly, and before I knew it I was passing the house where I had dinner and the spot where I slept before. Onward I went, determined to put in a full day on the trail.
Rain came, and I was undeterred. I didn’t even pull out my rain gear, as the rain was intermittent and not too heavy. Not stopping for anything, I marched on. I needed to prove to myself that I could hike again, especially in New Brunswick.
The walking was not particularly exciting, but I kept myself entertained. I had a lot to think about after so much time off. Finally the rain which had been intermittent didn’t go away when it was supposed to. I kept going.
Though I was soaking wet, I made it onto the road where the ATV trail ended, then crossed the bridge into Plaster Rock. I stopped under a roof for the gas pumps at a gas station to wring out my shirt, then I made my way across the street and found the municipal campground. I waltzed in and found a very large pavilion with a few picnic tables right on a pond.
I settled down there and traded my wet clothes for my few pieces of dry clothing. The rain poured away beyond the roof, but I was nice and dry. I did some journal entries and hung out there for the remainder of the evening. People would occasionally drive by, but no one bothered me. I was happy as could be with an outlet to charge my iPhone and a warm dinner cooked. I spread out my sleeping pad on a picnic table and slept well.