Woods Hole Hostel 1567.6 (0 miles, 1567.6 total miles)
I got up with every intention of hiking out this morning, however the rain and weather report had gotten worse overnight and it looked quite cold and wet outside.
I slept poorly, my mind running long past the point when I wanted to fall asleep, waking up around 7:30 feeling unrested and upset still.
White Walker kindly brought me a breakfast of cheesy grits, scrambled eggs, pumpkin bread, bread with jam, fruit, and salad. It was quite delicious, as all the meals had been at Woods Hole.
Yet I still felt awful mentally. I knew I should be packing, but I was concerned about the fact that I didn’t have rain gear. Rain on a 50 degree day with only a rain jacket and no pack cover or rain pants didn’t seem like my best bet.
All the other hikers were in the bunkhouse, but I needed people to talk to. I texted Sunshine and Furps for advice, who told me I could call anytime.
I phoned Furps, and had a very enjoyable hour long phone call with him. He’s one of the former SOBOs that I know best, and recommended rain gear, as did Sunshine and Shrek previously.
We had a really good talk about trail relationships and families, and said there were times on trail too that he felt he couldn’t afford to stay somewhere but had made it work, needing that rest and time to feel better.
It was after 10:00 by then, and I told Mary and White Walker, cleaning the room adjacent to mine, that I was going to stay one more day. Another hiker would be staying in the room, too, so the rate would only be $35.
It was so lovely being warm again and fully indoors that I decided it was worth paying a little more than the bunkhouse. There was internet in the main house, plus the indoor bathrooms.
I found out the other hiker staying in the room with me was Rude, which further cheered me up. I had thought about texting him today, figuring he must be around because every time I took more than a zero or two he caught back up.
With that settled, I relaxed back into reading Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, really wanting to finish it while I was here. She was a very inspiring and tough figure, and epitomized an independent spirit that I wanted to get better at having for myself.
I did end up ordering rain pants and a pack cover from REI, which ran me $100. I’d needed to order shoes yesterday for $160 as well, so overall my wallet was hurting lately, but I was very glad to be having new shoes and rain gear coming in, so I wouldn’t feel restricted in my hiking in any way.
A new set of hikers was making their way in, including a few section hikers, a couple other flip floppers, and members of the Council of Chimps. A few of them had arrived the evening before, but I hadn’t spent much time around them yet.
I spent time with Mary and White Walker, heating up leftover pasta for lunch and playing a fun game of cribbage with White Walker, which it appeared I had a bit of a talent for.
Rude arrived in the afternoon, having slackpacked from Angel’s Rest to here. It was great to see him, and I caught him up on everything he’d missed since he’d last seen me. He always made me laugh, and I appreciated his wry sense of humor and presence.
My puffy jacket still hadn’t showed up, so I asked Wawa, a friendly, 23 year old SOBO hiker if he’d hike it ahead if it showed up tomorrow while he was zeroing, which he kindly agreed to.
I finished reading the book, happy I’d taken the time to read it and realizing it had taken me exactly a month to finish, reflecting on how I bought it at Elkwallow Wayside and how things had changed in my hike since then.
I spent a little time laying in my comfy bed, watching music videos and drum covers of a few favorite songs I had at the moment, using music therapy to help me process things.
Dinner was wonderful of rice, black eyed peas, pesto, and a pumpkin curry, as well as salad and bread, of course. It was so much nicer to eat downstairs with everyone else, 12 of us in all together.
Mary left after dinner to visit her boyfriend, and I gave her a big hug goodbye, thanking her for how sweet and understanding she’d been to me. I’d thoroughly enjoyed her calming aura and sense of humor.
She also made me want to think about coming back to help Neville for a season sometime, loving the idea of spending more time at the hostel.
A few of us helped Neville clean up the kitchen, after quite a while spent chatting with everyone at the dining room table. Lucifer was a fellow flip flopper, who’d flipped from Pawling, NY, which interested me to hear about.
There was a married couple who were section hiking the whole AT, who were very funny and fun to be around. There was also TK, and another member of the Chimps as well.
I checked out with Neville, cringing a bit at the amount of money I’d spent there in two and a half days. However, the experience had gotten me through a rough patch, and I was happy to support her business.
I didn’t want to take from the trail magic jar because there are hikers who will really need it, I am sure, and my anxiety about money is more in my head than anything, and something I just need to overcome.
Afterward, while the couple played cribbage on the couches and Lucifer watched, I played Liar Dice with TK, White Walker, and Wawa, managing to win both games.
We were then all reminded of Bullshit, which we had many players and multiple decks of cards for. We put together two decks and eight of us played two games.
It was an immensely enjoyable time, and we were laughing till our cheeks hurt. I felt so happy that I’d decided to stay the extra day to wait out the weather, knowing I wouldn’t have to fear the rain and cold when I had proper rain gear.
Mostly I was grateful to have met such a great group of people, to have run into Rude again, and had a wonderful day in the main house, processing and compassionately giving myself what I needed.
I could have forced myself out into the rain, wind, and cold without enough gear to keep me warm, but I’m glad I had been more gentle with myself than that. I was the only person who could give myself what I needed, and honoring that was key to continuing my journey with intention and peace of mind.