May 21: up early for an 8 am start time- trying for a 24 mile day! Started put foggy , but we hiked down out of the cloud bank and it ended up quite lovely. I passed Wolf, a solo hiker who is only 19, on the way looking quite confused. I pointed out the white blaze to him and invited him to hike with me to the shelter for lunch. He declined and continued to stand there looking confused. Will have to keep an eye out for him.
We passed some beautiful streams along the way, picking up the pace. On flat sections, I feel like almost running! Unfortunately, my pack is no longer fitting correctly since I've lost weight and I tire out quickly!
We decided to stop 1 mile short of the shelter at the water source at z beautiful campsite with Sideshow and Dorothy. She treated us to a few songs on her ukulele. I had no idea she was such a good singer! Drifted off to sleep with " I Wanna Hold Your Hand" ony head and the sound of a babbling brook in my ears.
May 22: Since we were in a lower elevation, it took the sun a little longer to reach us and it was a layer morning for us. Pretty flat terrain, though still with those AT ups and downs. It was an ibuprofen kind of day for me, still uncomfortable in the pack. We got to the shelter for lunch and had the very pleasant surprise of reuniting with Road Runner! He took the rainy morning off on May 20. After lunch, thunder rolled in and we waited it out on the shelter for about 40 minutes.
We then ventured a out and after about 2 miles, ran into an even bigger thunderstorm. But there was nothing to do but hike on. It's never ensuring to be hiking UP a ridge line during a thunderstorm. But we figured, the faster up, the faster down. And thunderstorms roll in and out pretty quickly, right?
Suddenly we heard a particularly loud BOOM then a crack! And to the left of us, a bright flash of light and a streak shooting up into the sky. Lightening had struck the ground! It looked like it was only about 20 feet away or so. But it's kind of hard to judge something like that.
When we finally reached the other side of the ridge, we were on a road 0.5 miles from a convenience store with hot food. We walked about 50 feet when a pick up truck pulled over and gave us a ride. Score!
The bacon Swiss burger, fries, chocolate shake, Dr Pepper, Cadbury cream egg, and oatmeal pie I had for dinner was almost enough to make me forget the scary walk on the ridge line.
We got back on the trail and walked another 2 miles to a campsite in the rhododendrons next to a rushing stream. Once again falling asleep to the sound of a babbling brook.
May 23: early start today to try to get to Woods Hole Hostel early. Subaru and I were setting up a good pace, flat terrain, a little muddy with lots of stream crossings. Here's a bit of advice; wet wood plus muddy boots equals disaster. I slipped into a full split on one bridge. I haven't done a split in years. And never with a backpack on. Good to know I can do it.
Stopped for second breakfast at a shelter that Road Runner had pushed on to. Then kept up with the fast pace until...
We passed some beautiful streams along the way, picking up the pace. On flat sections, I feel like almost running! Unfortunately, my pack is no longer fitting correctly since I've lost weight and I tire out quickly!
We decided to stop 1 mile short of the shelter at the water source at z beautiful campsite with Sideshow and Dorothy. She treated us to a few songs on her ukulele. I had no idea she was such a good singer! Drifted off to sleep with " I Wanna Hold Your Hand" ony head and the sound of a babbling brook in my ears.
May 22: Since we were in a lower elevation, it took the sun a little longer to reach us and it was a layer morning for us. Pretty flat terrain, though still with those AT ups and downs. It was an ibuprofen kind of day for me, still uncomfortable in the pack. We got to the shelter for lunch and had the very pleasant surprise of reuniting with Road Runner! He took the rainy morning off on May 20. After lunch, thunder rolled in and we waited it out on the shelter for about 40 minutes.
We then ventured a out and after about 2 miles, ran into an even bigger thunderstorm. But there was nothing to do but hike on. It's never ensuring to be hiking UP a ridge line during a thunderstorm. But we figured, the faster up, the faster down. And thunderstorms roll in and out pretty quickly, right?
Suddenly we heard a particularly loud BOOM then a crack! And to the left of us, a bright flash of light and a streak shooting up into the sky. Lightening had struck the ground! It looked like it was only about 20 feet away or so. But it's kind of hard to judge something like that.
When we finally reached the other side of the ridge, we were on a road 0.5 miles from a convenience store with hot food. We walked about 50 feet when a pick up truck pulled over and gave us a ride. Score!
The bacon Swiss burger, fries, chocolate shake, Dr Pepper, Cadbury cream egg, and oatmeal pie I had for dinner was almost enough to make me forget the scary walk on the ridge line.
We got back on the trail and walked another 2 miles to a campsite in the rhododendrons next to a rushing stream. Once again falling asleep to the sound of a babbling brook.
May 23: early start today to try to get to Woods Hole Hostel early. Subaru and I were setting up a good pace, flat terrain, a little muddy with lots of stream crossings. Here's a bit of advice; wet wood plus muddy boots equals disaster. I slipped into a full split on one bridge. I haven't done a split in years. And never with a backpack on. Good to know I can do it.
Stopped for second breakfast at a shelter that Road Runner had pushed on to. Then kept up with the fast pace until...
We ran into this...rocks! Lots of rocks everywhere. Slowed the pace significantly! We got to the road to the hostel just as another rain storm arrived. Fortunately it was short lived do we got to enjoy Woods Hole Hostel to its fullest.
What a great place! It's an organic farm with a bunkhouse. We had amazing hand made food, did yoga, and ended the day with a gratitude circle and meditation. What more could you ask for?
What a great place! It's an organic farm with a bunkhouse. We had amazing hand made food, did yoga, and ended the day with a gratitude circle and meditation. What more could you ask for?
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