This should be my last Damascus post. It's different from the others because I'm composing on paper and typing up later. Hopefully it will be less hurried.

Summary since Erwin/ Uncle Johnnie's:
We hiked out on Friday, having done an 11 mile slackpack in the morning, 4 more to the shelter. Grant and Ian were there with us and we matched pace the next three nights as well. The third day, the four of us ended up getting sucked into a nearby lunch counter run out of of a woman named Connie's home. It's called the Greasy Creek Friendly. I ate chips and salsa, portabella shroom burger, and a salad (all delectiably delicious trail treats). I even ate the chunks of carrots, it was that good. Connie was a sweet middle-aged lady, with cute grey braids, running the place all alone. We heard that before we came, she was singing 80's songs and making her cat dance. But shw eas so frienfly. The four of us camped outside there, baked biscuts on a stick and came up with the idea of hiking to Maine together.

In the next days we crossed some awesome balds, met some aggressive domesticated horses who bullied us for food until we left, spent a night in a barn-turned-shelter with the full moon and heat lightning in view, passed waterfalls suitable for a hiker shower, walked through a river gorge, climbed a srpuce-fir forest to the former site of a mountaintop hotel, waded a creek, fed ducks on a lake beach, and marched through driving rain. However, wading the creek was part of cursed quest to find a resupply point. We walked through pouring rain, missed the side trail by almost a mile. Walked back in pouring rain. Found the poorly blazed trail. Waded a swollen creek, waded through briars and came out at Abby's Place. The sign on the door said 'We'll be back at 8:00' Boy was I steamed. What kind of serious hostel does that? Closed all day?! So unprofessional. We wasted an hour and a half and walked close to two needless miles for that.

In the last post I mentioned Kincora hostel, where we cooked everything in sight and baked from found ingredients. I made a sweet potato - banana pie that was very highly rated, for example. Kincora is the best hostel so far. Never closed, low donation only, showers + laundry + shuttle + kitchen + matresses included + great hiker box + hundreds of Christmas postcards from hikers triumphant at Kataadn's summit. So inspiring!

Sorry about the timing folks, I didn't realize that the letter was in there until about a week after I got the package. Then I went computerless for another half week down in Frisco for the 4th. Clear cool blue water, could see your feet at all times. Anyways, there we go.

-Daniel aka Red Flag