First meeting with xcountry trekker

Met Matthew who left VA early April and was ending his tour. Met him on our way to cooks station. The last of our trek was 11 miles up and would complete a total of 3000 climbed vertical feet. I have ended up being the sweeper as my conastoga wagon is kicking my butt! James kept stopping and cheering me on (this the different kid!) He was singing all day and telling stories. We went from worrying about rattlesnakes to bear in 1 day. On the last leg he shared the story about Mrs. Elks roommate who pet a bear thinking it was the other roommate large black dog! Ride brought us past ranches, overlooks of incredible valleys and the largest cedar trees we have ever seen. 1 mile from Cooks Station at intersection where map said left...mike and rko went right downhill! Who showed up to the rescue again? Rusty! He got the family all back together and when we got to the restaurant, he handed me a paid receipt that covered our dinner and camping! Incredible generosity and kindness that I hope we can repay someday! Rusty, you always have a place to stay if you ever want to visit Acadia and a lobster dinner on us!