During the night, I kept dozing but got woken by animals and their many sounds: peepers, larger frogs, birds, four legged creatures (camp log indicated that coyotes frequented the area). Still, I slept well enough to be ready to get the campsite packed up at 0500. It was cool and clear and I was able to refill my water bottles pretty quickly. As a result, I was hiking towards my car by 0640. Like the day before, there was plenty of evidence that moose liked to walk the AT too - despite watching both days, though, I never encountered any. The hike back wasn’t too hard (only about five miles) but my shoulders ached from the backpack and my legs were sore from pushing myself the day before. I still made it to my car by 0900 - a much faster pace than the previous day. Left AT trailhead at around 0915 (after cleaning myself up) and drove north on ME-4 to Rangeley. In town, I finally got cell service so I called Mollie. Thought about driving to the Connecticut Lakes but it seemed too far away. Instead, decided to retrace my drive (ME/NH-16 to NH-110A, NH-110 to US-3. Somehow, I avoided major traffic as I was coming into Lancaster. Managed to stop for lunch at McDonalds close by (1130) and then figured out the traffic was due to road closures related to the town's Memorial Day Parade. Since it came right by the restaurant, I had a front row seat! After finishing my meal, I drove home via US-2 and backroads on the west side of Connecticut River (looking for kayak launch sites). Eventually got on NH-135 and finally reached I-93. After driving west for a little bit, I decided I'd made a mistake and got off the Interstate (on NH-135) again. Backtracked to State Ledge Road, which turned into Logging Road, and cut across the mountains to US-302. From there, continued to Woodsville and got on NH-10. Checked out Hatchland Farm (new building still not open) and then continued to River Road in Piermont. Took NH/VT-25 to get on I-91 - continued south to Norwich and was home at about 1415. Even though I didn't actually hike any new AT miles today, I ended up feeling very good about my ability to get this section done, the solitude I found and that I completed another backpacking trip. Still have a lot of miles in Maine to do and I look forward to my next visit!
