Tuesday, July 28 9:05 pm 18.3 mi
AT 1327.6 Gren Anderson Shelter → AT 1345.9 “Secret Shelter”
Weather: Hot, overcast
Trail Conditions: Relatively smooth sailing aside from short rocky ascents and descents
My Condition: Felt slow and sore and lethargic today. Trying to be more mindful of eating – my body NEEDS the fuel, and sometimes I’m just going to have to force feed myself and find a way to get it down, even when I don’t feel like eating. Switch up food options?
Tonight at the “Secret Shelter” has been one of my favorite nights on the trail so far. There’s a mini cabin with electric and a fan, an outdoor shower with hot water, a privy, a chicken coop with chickens and ducks (and eggs that the owner graciously offered us!), and a mini donkey named Jake. Jake likes getting petted and carrot cake oreos. He put his front hooves up on the wooden deck of the hiker cabin and stretched his neck out to investigate any food you had. We were also the recipients of some amazing trail magic, courtesy of Andrea and Rudy – a cooler of Powerade, V-8, pound cake, Fig Newtons, chips, and applesauce. Totally turned my day around! We were hoping to stay at the hostel in Unionville, but the owners were out on vacation. We chose to stay here, and would’ve missed out on a really magical experience had our plans not been changed by circumstance.
Post Trail Analysis
Andrea and Rudy left their phone number on the cooler’s note, and I sent them a nice thank you text from the tramily. They sent us back a really sweet message along with a selfie of the two of them! Our hearts collectively melted a little bit when I read it aloud and showed them the picture. Trail magic is always special, but when it helps to completely turn around a tough day that’s when it means the most. We arrived at the Secret Shelter completely in awe of this secret hiker oasis. Puddles was showering, Blue was sweeping out the cabin, and I was just finishing the process of setting up my tent, when I looked up and saw a large grey animal strolling past. I started yelling and waving my arms, trying to get Blue’s attention, but she remained oblivious until the mini donkey wandered up to the porch and surprised her. JAKE!!!! In exchange for neck rubs and snacks, he agreed to protect us from any potential bear encounters that night. Jake the mini donkey was so incredibly sweet and lovable and provided us with the perfect therapy animal experience to wind down after a day of backpacking. Jim Murray, THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this amazing experience possible. Your incredible kindness and generosity in opening your property for use by hikers definitely helped make this one of my favorite nights of the whole journey.
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