Well, last night was another interrupted experience. Sorry alpine brush. The plus side was, at midnight the wind had died down immensely and it was quite peaceful up there. I did wake up in the morning however to wild winds that felt like my tent was going to blow over...with me in it. Peeking out of my tent meant a thick white fog, should be interesting going down. I managed to eat some amazing mini muffins my mom sent me, a mixture of both blueberry and chocolate chip. I was hoping the climb down would not be as demanding and scary as the way up, thankfully it wasn't. We approached our first hut, and inside we found two pancakes left over for the two of us. Lynn bought a coffee and a brownie and I sat and ate my cosmic brownie from my pack. We sat and talked with some of the caretakers for awhile, it was Sunday so they were in the process of a deep clean in the hut kitchen. The day was overcast and I was looking forward to being out of the woods in my condition, I was thinking it was first from the keilbasa, but then it didn't pass, maybe a bug? But still didn't pass, really starting to worry me now. We got to the highway and tried to hitch, nothing. We walked to the other side, nothing. We decided we would walk the .2 on the trail, to the .9 paved bike trail to try to hitch on a less busy road. The paved road seemed to take forever, but not as long as sitting on the side of the road trying to hitch for the third time. To our luck, once I sat and busted out a cosmic brownie we got a hitch. A really nice couple brought us first to Price Chopper since that is where Lynn said, but once they learned we were really trying to go to Chet's they insisted they would drive us. I put his address in my phone and gave it to them in the cab to navigate. Once at Chet's, it was everything it was said to be. He rolled out in his wheelchair, straight face, and asked us in a demanding voice what we were doing here. He then drilled us with questions, where did you start? I couldn't take that bullshit seriously so I said Hawaii; his tone changed and he asked really? Then I said no. Guess he doesn't like when people mess with him, a taste of his own medicine I suppose. The following questions, what mountain did you just hike, what mountain are you about to hike, what is your final destination? Basically he is making sure you are a thruhiker in a non traditional way. After that we were welcomed in, and I asked to set up my tent in the gazebo with the grill since it was supposed to rain. The bunkhouse was full and Lynn would be sharing a bed with Deleware. I went down in the basement to shower and when I came up was asked if I wanted to go to this hotel with a pool and a hot tub. I didn't really want to until I was told it would just be an hour or so. Seems this guy has a place there and brings hikers over for a little to enjoy the facilities. Lynn, Chip, Deleware, and Miss America decided to go and when we got there we found out that Tumbles, Yetti, Breaktime, Ravioli, and Senator had been staying there the last couple days. It was so good to see those guys again! Lynn, Deleware, Chip, Ravioli, and I all went down to the hot tub with beer in hand courtesy of Dan. We soaked for about an hour, I just sat with my feet dangling in. It was epic to think; it was raining, I was sitting in a hot tub with a beer and good company, all for free and on a whim. When we got back to the condo we sat on the most comfortable couch for a bit before Dan brought us to this place for half priced appetizers. It was just Lynn, Ravioli, and I; Deleware, Chip, and Miss America got dropped back at Chet's. We shared some appetizers and after thinking about how great Dan's condo was and the company he was sharing it with, and how interesting Chet's was I wanted to stay at Dan's. The fact that it was raining and I would have to set up my tent in the rain really sucked, I told Ravioli of my concern and he said he's sure Dan wouldn't mind me staying too. I expressed how I didn't want to impose and just flat out ask, he had already done so much for us. When he came to pick us up; Ravioli pulled him aside for what couldn't have been longer than a second, came back and said "your in!" No idea what he could have said to him but then I got a fist pump from Dan and it was settled. He said I could have his king sized bed all to myself, score! I asked Lynn about staying and she wasn't willing to stay, she said she already planned on staying at Chet's. This kind of upset me not having her come too, but I knew I wanted to be at Dan's. We got back to Chet's so I could get my things and it was as if 15 more showed up while we were gone. The place was packed and the hostel was in his garage, there were people everywhere. I went and grabbed my stuff and threw Chet a few bucks for my shower I took beforehand. He told me if I am ever in the area again be sure to stop back in. Next thing I knew Lynn was throwing her stuff in the back of the pickup as well, seems someone said some things that rubbed her wrong, and the place was getting quite rowdy. Not to mention she no longer had a bed spot. It was settled, we said goodbye and headed back to our, I mean Dan's condo retreat. When we got back to our surprise we saw some old friends; Pheonix and Johnny Appleseed! Seems they flipped so they went up to Katahdin and are hiking south. It was so good to see them, I had wondered where they were and if they were still on the trail. We all squished on the couch and watched Comedy Central for the rest of the night. Pheonix and Johnny Appleseed ended up getting driven back to Chet's around 9-9:30 or so and around 10:00 I decided that was enough Comedy Central for me, we would be hiking out tomorrow.
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