The summer is winding down and our villages are returning to us! It’s bittersweet – such a joy to have them back and yet we know it means they are saying goodbye to the simple pleasures of life on trail: sleeping and rising with the sun, spontaneous swimming breaks, conversations over campfires. Still, we welcome them with open arms and eagerly await hearing more about their time away. The Flag women returned today from a six day canoeing excursion. Alas, no wildlife sightings, but they did enjoy the sleepy ease of life on the lake. Sweet ladies Liberty arrived back in camp after triumphantly conquering Camp Hill on their bikes! We’re proud to say that every last one of them made it up today. The men of Katahdin will be tackling that most infamous of hills tomorrow, but they have a few more miles to go; tonight they are staying at the charmingly named “Whit’s End” campground. Meanwhile, Madison is relaxing after successfully hiking the Mahoosuc Notch, one of the most unique and engaging sections of the A.T., and scaling the rocky precipice of the Mahoosuc Arm. Tonight, they’ll sleep by a pond nestled in the clouds. Life is good!

Chocorua village summited Bigelow Mountain today and enjoyed some truly spectacular views. Tomorrow promises a short hike out of the woods and a return in time for Enchanted Dinner (these are the important things). Shaw village took the ferry to Portland today from Bailey Island. When we asked them how the ride was, all they told us was that it was “nautical” – a sassy bunch, those boys – but they did enjoy the trip! They’ll be biking back in to camp tomorrow.

Both Voyageur Men and Women are spending the night in Yarmouth. Tomorrow they return to the USA and will apply all their newfound biking expertise to the rolling hills of Maine and New Hampshire.

And last, but not least – the Odyssey folks took a rest day at Katahdin Stream campground today. Tomorrow, they will attempt to summit the one, the only, KATAHDIN. Keep fingers crossed for good weather!