Wednesday, September 23 8:11 pm 17.6 mi
AT 2075.2 Snowmobile Trail → AT 2092.8 Long Pond Stream stealth site
Weather: Warm and clear/overcast
Trail Conditions: Holy moly – the fall color is INCREDIBLE!
My Condition: Definitely a “zero hangover” type day where you feel Shaw’s pulling you back. Feet have a deep ache, but my body definitely appreciated the zero yesterday
Hikers Met: NOBOs Bullfrog and Lilypad
Got some bad news – my family’s RV plans fell through, and they will no longer be coming up to Maine. It’s heartbreaking on many levels – I was so excited for my family to meet my trail family and vice versa, I was looking forward to climbing Katahdin with my mom after all the hard work she has put in to prepare for it, I was excited to road trip back with them and show off some of the sights, I couldn’t wait to see Bear and give my trail family some much valued puppy time, and I was excited my mom was getting to have a taste of the RV life she has been planning and working so hard towards. It sounds like they had a pretty awful experience, so I hope it hasn’t totally soured the dream for her. It took me awhile to process the news – definitely a gut punch. Started stressing, but took a deep breath and reminded myself that the past four months have been a non-stop lesson in “don’t over plan it – thinks will work out. You're capable and adaptable and you’ll figure it out!” Shaw’s was incredible – Poet and Hippie Chick, and the rest of the crew, were so friendly and accommodating. Easy to see why they have such a great reputation! Easily the most hikers I’ve seen in one place since my first days on trail in Georgia. Trail angel/section hiker Timothy bought us all pizza last night, and trail angel Mr. Rogers paid for all of us to eat breakfast this morning. You sit down, and someone walks over and plops a plate of dippy eggs, home fries, and bacon in front of you, followed by blueberry pancakes and orange juice. Had the bunkhouse to ourselves Monday night, and shared it with Gimbal last night, who had some of the loudest, stinkiest farts I’d heard or smelled on trail!
Post Trail Analysis
My parents had booked an extra night at Amicalola Falls Lodge the day I left to hike the approach trail. That night, after seeing me off, they met a couple who were hiking the trail, Josh and Katie. They had both their packs and all their belongings strewn about the downstairs lobby. For all the months and months of planning I had done and the preparation I had put in, my mom got the impression that these two were more on the “winging-it” side of the spectrum. These two would stay on trail, bypassing some of the closures, when I got off before the Smokies. My mom followed their journey on Instagram and would always ask me when we talked if I had met them yet. I would follow in the footsteps of Bullfrog and Lilypad, gaining on them bit by bit, but they would end up finishing the trail before me. I was thrilled but also kind of bummed when I saw their summit pictures, figuring I probably wouldn’t get to meet these two after all if they were headed straight home. Imagine my surprise when I saw them, live and in person, at Shaw’s! They were stopping back to see some folks, and by pure coincidence and sheer luck our paths finally crossed!
Poet and Hippie Chick, and their family, were great hosts. As a kid, growing up at a hostel must be an interesting experience. On one hand, you must really learn to appreciate and value diversity – soaking in all the different stories, interacting with people of all different types of backgrounds, young and old, from all walks of life. One of the kids tripped and cut his knee. The other one jumped into action and played medic, and helped to calm him down. I couldn’t believe how independent they were for their age! On the other hand, hikers don’t always have the filters they ought to around kids. As someone that has spent my career working as a youth development professional in both school and camp settings, what we say around kids matters. The language we use matters. The content of our stories matters. How we conduct ourselves leaves an impression, for better or for worse. Unfortunately, you see hikers that get drunk-as-a-skunk at hostels. You see hikers that get high-as-a-kite at hostels. You hear hikers who swear like sailors, and you hear stories that definitely aren’t rated PG. For better and for worse, kids are sponges! After Blue and I had finished packed up our food drop bucket, I walked in to the store to drop it off and finalize the details. Poet was reading the kids a story and the scene was far too adorable to interrupt. I enjoyed story time too, and we took care of the food drop bucket afterwards. These quiet moments, even in a less-crowded-than-most-years 2020, have to be few and far between with the constant hustle and bustle of hiker season at a hostel, and I wasn’t about to interrupt something so important.
We hung out with the hostel dogs, one of which sprinted into our bunkroom when the door was left open and sprung up onto my bed on top of me. Later, he wanted us to share our cotton candy with him. We watched an old AT documentary featuring a young Warren Doyle. I wasn’t paying close attention, but I also glimpsed bits of Austin Powers and The Sound of Music. Resupplying in town, I was surprised to look around and see that, for the first time on trail, we were the only ones in the store wearing masks.
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