Wednesday, August 12 8:35 pm 17.7 mi
AT 1523.8 Route 7 → AT 1541.5 Shaker Campsite
Weather: Not super hot, not super muggy, yet a very sweaty day
Trail Conditions: A couple blowdowns late in the day, some good rugged climbing
My Condition: Well rested and happy! Today flew by!
Split a hotel room with Wild last night – Wild, Jinx, Puddles, Blue, Hummingbird, and me. No loud snorers, a good night of sleep, and an incredibly affordable room rate when split 6 ways. Double dinner yesterday – General Tao’s chicken AND red curry chicken. The fortune cookies all had VERY insistent messages about taking and completing the New York state census. Got a ride with Pete, who only charged us $10 for the ride, as opposed to the $40-50 fee the local taxi driver routinely charges. He helps out frequently at the hotel we stayed at when staff call off, so is well acquainted with the owners of the place and with hikers. The hotel was recently renovated and a third floor was added. It was really nice! Today, I hiked the ENTIRE day with Puddles and it was AWESOME! The day flew by as we listened to the Lord of the Rings Minute podcast where the hosts watch a minute of the movies, credits and all, and talk about it for 15-30 minutes. I think that might be my true calling in life! We talked LOTR, the movie club she does with her brothers, saddest TV show deaths, books, trail crew, her bike ride from Texas to Alaska which raised $850,000 for cancer care and research, what comes next after trail, her desire to join a beer league softball team or soccer league, siblings, parents, grandparents, funniest injuries, first trail meetings, all over the place, the conversation just kept flowing. I told her the story of our first “meeting” where I walked past her campsite as she packed her bag. I said “Hey hey! Good morning!” She didn’t hear me/ignored me. I thought to myself “okay then!” But then I met her later on at the water source and had a great first actual meeting. She had been back on trail 2 nights at this point, and I was the first thru hiker she saw post pandemic break! Talked school, favorite classes in college, sports, bad experiences on trail, social issues, Always Sunny, Lost, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter. Conversation can make the miles fly by, and I really enjoy my conversations with Puddles.
Post Trail Analysis
We got to see, firsthand, the work it takes to be a successful Youtube vlogger. Wild spent much of the day, into the late evening, working on his newest video. In his real life, he is a DJ from Pennsylvania. We would continue to cross paths with him for some time.
The rip in my tent was continuing to get worse. I emailed Zpacks about the issue, and they asked me to send back some pictures of the problem. At this point, the tear along the tent peak's seam was almost a full outstretched thumb to pointer finger in length. I was doing as best as I could with field repairs, sewing the seam and tenacious taping/DCF taping over it, but try as I might, it was only ever a temporary fix. My Darn Tough socks were darn tough, but the trail is DARN TOUGH on gear. Fortunately, if you bring them in to an outfitter you can get them replaced with a new pair, free of charge. I've sworn by Darn Tough socks for a loooong time, but I'd never worn a hole in a pair prior to this thru hike. During the hike was a completely different story - I think I needed to replace 4 pairs along the way!
Fun facts with Puddles
Toughest days of biking: 130+ mile day, Lake Tahoe day, Canadian Rockies
Favorite movies: LOTR trilogy, There Will Be Blood, Parasite
Celeb crushes: Daniel Day Lewis, Bart Simpson, Trevor Noah, Legolas
Top 3 After Trail Plans: Use remainder of our leukotape supply to turn ourselves into a “conjoined twin” and co-attend grad school, so I can take on biology (which she struggles with) while she handles chemistry (which I struggle with); live in Cage’s backyard; make a better LOTR podcast and have
Twitter war with this podcast’s hosts
Saddest TV show death: Jin and Sun from Lost
What she plans on naming her first child: A strong gender neutral name like Gimli or Cilantro
Forgot to take any pictures today! Instead, here's a meme that does a good job describing early-riser Puddles's experience being the first to break camp most mornings
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