So last night I didn't sleep very well either, seems my tent was in another ditch rather than being flat. I decided to do some stretching while waiting for Lynn to finish up packing before heading out. Garnet was no where near being ready and I knew I wanted to get moving since we had miles to make and the clock was ticking. We headed out and just like every day, the hiker in front of you is there, and then they are gone. I came up to a small lake and saw that the trail was re-routed due to flooding. I went on the flagged path and came out to a two way intersection. Do I go right, or left? Since the re-route was near the water to the left, the trail must pick up back down there. I walked down by the water on some footbridges until I looked back and saw a blue blaze, never mind. I turned around and headed in the right direction. Never seeing Lynn or Garnet I checked my phone to find a text from Garnet thinking I was ahead. I knew I was ahead of Garnet but how did I get in front of Lynn? Seems like they were together waiting at a stream since they weren't sure if I was ahead or behind. I still have no idea how I passed Lynn? I hiked on and came to a rock lookout where I sat and ate a small lunch and enjoyed the view. I could see the town below and that is where we are headed since we have a reservation at The Green Mountain House tonight. I sat and sat, and then I got cold; I headed back up towards my pack on the gravel road and sat some more. Still no sign of them so I sent out a text saying I waited for awhile but I got to get moving since I am getting pretty chilled. I came across Double Dog and Dare Ya and they were going to try and get a spot at the hostel too as long as they took dogs. I came across James and as I turned around to talk to him he fell and rolled right on his arm with a cast. I felt so bad, he laid there for a minute in pain and then got up and we carried on. We came up to a lookout .1 up some rocks and decided since I couldn't go into town without them I might as well check out the side trail. We climbed up and sat for awhile with Atlas, her boyfriend, and Delaware and then they left and we stayed for a little. I was the last one up there enjoying the view and getting closer to town. When I climbed down, got my pack on and ready, looked down the trail before heading on and then I saw Lynn; I waited and we left together. The rest of the hike we asked a few people how much further and if it was easy to hitch into town. We got to a footbridge about .5 from the road and waited for Garnet. Lynn ate a small lunch and once Garnet caught up we all walked together to get a hitch into town. We crossed a rather busy, blind road to hitch from the other side; not even 15 minutes later a woman pulled over to drive us. She said that we were her first hitchhikers and she thought we looked safe. We put the address of the hostel into my phone and followed the directions while talking about Vermont and her kids who go to ski school up here. Once we got to the hostel, we thanked her and parted ways to get the tour. There was a main house, and what looked like was a small garage converted in to what I thought was the hostel; wrong. The hostel was in the house looking building and his house was the smaller building. Outside there were license plates from every state on the Appalachian Trail which was pretty cool. Inside, the place was decorated with AT memorabilia and hiker decorations. The place was really clean and nice. There was a full kitchen and table to use with pancake mix, eggs, sodas, and we each got a pint of Ben and Jerry's from the freezer. Downstairs also had a bathroom, and living room with a television and computer to use. Upstairs had 3 bedrooms; one with bunk beds and a couch (our room), one with two beds, and then the main hostel room with like 5-6 or so beds. There were two bathrooms upstairs and a washer and dryer. Somehow I always get stuck on the top bunk, I took the top so Garnet didn't have to climb up there. Lynn took the couch since the communal room was full of guys. Lynn got in the shower before I knew there was another bathroom, so as I was gathering my laundry Garnet told me about the other bathroom. I got my change of clothes and headed to the other bathroom attached to the communal bedroom. While showering I thought, "hmmm this is weird body wash but no washcloth." At home I don't use a washcloth so I didn't really mind, but my past experiences at hostels they always give you a facecloth with your towel. Oh, a towel. I didn't bring my towel into the bathroom, so I bet my washcloth is with that...laying on my bed. I laughed not knowing what I was going to do. Seems like it is just habit that at home my towel is always laying over my shower. I continued my shower trying to think of what to do, there was just a small hand towel in there, that wasn't going to do. Finally I finished my shower, turned off the water, hopped out soaking wet and cracked open the door to see if anyone was in the bedroom. Luckily no one was in there, I yelled for Garnet a few times but no answer-great. I can't run from one side of the house to the other soaking wet and naked! I then saw a new towel folded on the bed in front of me which had not been claimed yet, perfect! I carefully and stealthily snagged the towel and ran back into the bathroom. After drying off and heading back to our room, I grabbed my towel and placed it on the bed I had swiped mine from. I went downstairs and looked at the array of cereal on hand; Apple Jacks, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Frosted Flakes and more. Basically all of the horrible cereals you eat as a kid, I decided on Apple Jacks. I sat out front eating my bowl of cereal and waiting for the others to go into town. Mom sent my re-supply food and Lynn's too but Garnet needed to get food, and we wanted to grab dinner in town while we were there. The property had some gorgeous flowers so I went around photographing them and then we were shuttled to town. Garnet had told us how she wasn't feeling well that her joints and body were tired and that screamed Lyme. We asked how long she had been feeling like this, and that she should get tested. We went to Thai Basil for dinner and it was really good. I had spring rolls, and chicken pad thai. Cactus, his girlfriend, and her mother were there for dinner as well. It was settled that Garnet was going to ask if there was a doctor in town that she could go and get tested tomorrow. We no longer had to stop for re-supply food since she wouldn't be hiking out tomorrow. We got a ride from Cactus and his girlfriend in her mom's prius. Back at the hostel we hung out with Puzzle, Mailman, and No Rush which it has been forever since I have seen Puzzle and No Rush-pretty much Georgia I think so that was awesome. Double Dog and Dare Ya ended up showing up too which was cool. Turtle was also staying there and she is from Connecticut like me. I weighed my 5 days worth of food to get an idea, it didn't have my snack bars in it but it was still 8.5 pounds. The rest of the night was pretty low key, hung out and talked, ate some of my Cherry Garcia ice cream, and then finished off the night reading in bed. There was not much room on the top bunk, but at least I could sit up (even if my head did touch) unlike my bunk at Blueberry Patch hostel. I laughed out loud when I read "notice the color purple" in my book when we have a Purple Tribe out on the trail, and trust me; we get noticed.
No comments:
Post a Comment