DAY 22 – AUGUST 27 – ANDOVER, MAINE (246.5 MILES)

The blisters on my feet were starting to multiply so I knew I had to get off the trail for a day or two to preserve my sanity and let my gear dry off. I looked in my thru-hiker's companion and noticed the refreshing town of Andover was within striking range. I also had a fantasy football draft coming up, so instead of letting the computer pick my team ... well, who cares? It was another concrete reason to go into town.

After descending 2,200 feet in less than three miles from Old Blue Mountain, I had arranged to stay at the Pine Ellis Hiking Hostel and a man named David would meet me at the trail head. The place was owned by an older woman named Irene (who I thought was slipping into the realm of dementia) but David, her son-in-law, pretty much ran the show. When I got into the passenger seat of his van, the Guatemalan native welcomed me with a cold cup of lemonade and was very nice. It felt great to get off my feet and I was looking forward to a bed to sleep in that night.

I snapped Picture #1 while I was climbing down Old Blue. That little road in the distance was where my ride was going to meet me. Picture #2 is of the guy that picked me up and took me back to his house. I had heard some stories about David that he was a little stand-offish but I found him to be very pleasant. He also took part in some unique extracurricular activities.

When we got to Irene's house, which was built over 100 years ago and like most of the homes in Andover, had a huge yard, David gave me a quick tour. He showed me the bunk room I would share with five other hikers and right after he showed me the laundry room, another thru-hiker told David to show me his jewelry. Aside from overseeing the hostel and giving free haircuts with the clippers, David, who once was a member of the Guatemalan military, was also a jewelry maker.

When he revealed his collection, I was a little confused.

"You're a hiker, you recognize what this is, right?" he asked.

A day hasn't gone by on this trip when I haven't had to dodge a healthy pile of moose droppings along the trail. I hadn't seen any actual moose yet but they had to be close because they, eh, relieved themselves all over the place. Not to get into too much detail but the droppings look like little brown pellets no thicker than a few inches. David, being the ultimate conservationist, had made jewelry out of it. Yes, he made jewelry out of moose crap. And yes, his product was for sale.

"Are you serious? People buy this ... crap?" I couldn't think of another word on such short notice.

"Oh yes," he said. "And if you're into the 'bling, bling' I got this one." David then reached for a delicate white box that held a gold necklace. It looked like something a rapper would have around his neck in a music video. The only difference was that instead of a expensive medallion, there was a huge moose turd hanging from it.

In Picture #1, David proudly displays the 'bling, bling' while inside his jewelry studio, which took up about four square feet inside a crowded garage. I guess you don't need a lot of room when you are tarnishing and polishing moose poop. Picture #2 is some of his inventory. If you never make it to Andover, ME, no need to worry. David's collection can be purchased online.

I spent the next two days lounging around their house and reading. On the last night, I was able to use their computer to participate in my fantasy football draft. I got Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings. When they hook up for a TD, I get like double points. Let's go Packers!

Trying to explain fantasy football to David was a tall task and I eventually quit. He was just wondering why I was on the computer for so long. He wanted to get on and see if the stock for crap jewelry had gone up or down. "I put them on EBay, too," he said.

Just before I left in the morning, the news said that Hurricane Danny, or what was left of it, was about to hit the area. They predicted at least three inches of "flooding" rain in the next 24 hours. I put on my pack, laced up my boots and asked David to give me a ride back to the trail head.