Saturday, September 12 11:15 pm 14.9 mi
AT 1921.2 Speck Pond Shelter → AT 1936.1 East B Hill Rd/The Cabin hostel
Weather: Cold overnight, first morning in a long while that my stuff was all covered in dew, pleasant sunny rest of the day
Trail Conditions: Beautiful! First day in awhile that I had a relatively consistent 3 mph pace going. Felt in the zone and fit
My Condition: Really enjoyed the incredible history at the Cabin. Lots of AT legends have been through here!
Hikers Met: Hopper (caretaker at the Cabin), Honey (owner of the Cabin)
Saw my first moose today on the drive in to the Cabin. Thought at first that a horse was running along the road until we got closer. WAAAY bigger than a horse! It stopped, looked back and watched us for awhile, and then crossed the road and went off into the woods. Apparently our host has seen this female before and there is also a male in the area. Had seen lots of moose poop the past few days, and tracks now and then. Puddles is hilarious and easy to talk to – we shared a big tent platform last night and spent probably an hour and a half naming off every single celebrity scandal we could think of, which is incredible for me considering how little attention I generally give the topic. Blue is like a sibling – we always give each other a hard time but are always there to support each other through the hard times. Hummingbird is quiet and we typically don’t spend quite as much time walking and talking during the day, but it has been awesome getting to know her at camp and in town. I love our food rivalries and she can absolutely crush a pint of ice cream, a case of IPAs, or corn on the cob – you look away for a second and it’s gone! I’m so lucky to be with such an incredible group of amazing women – we all operate highly independently, but mesh so well together when we do feel social.
Post Trail Analysis
This was by far our most efficient hostel stay. After masking up and getting our temperatures read, we were cleared for our ride in to the Cabin. It was magical seeing my first and only moose of the trail, even if it was from the inside of a vehicle on the way into town. We ate burgers and corn on the cob, signed the famous table alongside names like Earl Shaffer and Nimblewill Nomad, met Honey from an appropriate social-distance and with masks on for her safety, got a ride into town to resupply, showered and changed into some rather stylish clothes, and went to bed. Oh yeah, and we managed to do laundry somewhere in there! To maintain proper distancing with the other guest in the bunkroom, I was relegated to a night out on the porch, which was fine by me! I slept great in the slightly cooler atmosphere and didn’t feel bad about disturbing anybody as I packed my bag for the next day.
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