Inn At Long Trail 1707.3 to Stony Brook Shelter 1715.3 (8 miles, 689.9 total miles)
I woke up when my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning, and looked over to see Jedi folding up the air mattress he had been sleeping on, with Halfway already downstairs. I brushed my teeth, and stripped the bed before heading downstairs.
There were a few people down in the kitchen having coffee, and everyone was at various states of getting ready to head out. We had a few cars going back to the trail, and everyone had pretty much decided on 8:00 as the departure time.
Nance had made a delicious breakfast of quiche with cheese and spinach, plus there was leftover sweet potato hash, sausages, fruit salad, and danish. I was still feeling pretty sleepy but managed to eat a nice big breakfast.
I said goodbye to everyone leaving in the first car, which included Dan, Quarter Tank, Workboots, Jedi, and Platinum. I also said goodbye to Nance, and thanked her, Dan, and Platinum for everything. They had truly gone above and beyond to give us such a great weekend.
I did a final sweep of the house and found some of Baked Potato‘s clothes, and he found Riveter‘s sunglasses. We finished packing up Tater‘s car and I said goodbye to the sisters, but didn’t get a chance to see Piñata, Charlie, or Neon before heading out.
It was Shrek, Halfway, Tater, and I again in his car. Baked Potato drove this time, and I spent the first part of the trip working on some writing. We made a few stops for snacks and bathrooms, and when all was said and done we were in the car from 8:30 to 11:30am before arriving back at the Inn At Long Trail.
We decided last minute to get lunch at the Irish pub, and this time I got to try the Guinness stew I’d heard so much about. It was absolutely delicious, a huge bowl full of meat and veggies, with a slice of French bread, and what I believe was Irish soda bread.
Back in the parking lot I gave Baked Potato a hug, and said see you later to Shrek and Halfway, who were starting two miles behind me. I had a half mile blue blaze uphill hike to start the day. I had essentially not hiked in three and a half days, and I was fully expecting it to suck at first.
The rocky uphill blue blaze trail did not disappoint, and I was very relieved when – almost 20 minutes later – I made it onto the Appalachian Trail. I had a little sense of homecoming as I hiked, but I was absolutely dragging.
The first mile started with ridge walking and minor ups and downs, then a very steep downhill to a road. I stepped aside for a large hiking group of 25 young women who were struggling up the hill. They seem to be about preteen age or early teens, and one of the last hikers who was having a hard time said that instead of hiking, she wanted to just sit down on a rock and contemplate her own existence.
I returned with, “that’s the story of my life every day”, and in my mind I was cracking up at her comment. The comedic timing and delivery of it had been impeccable. At the end of the first mile, I came out at a campground and ,while I was walking around looking for the bathroom, I ran into two hikers.
One was a fellow flip flopper name two braids, and she was excited to meet me because somebody had told her that I was around doing a flip flop. I also meant Perceval, who was a NOBO hiking with her.
We exchanged contact information and she said she was taking a zero in Killington, but she’d hopefully see me in a couple days. That was one exciting thing about having been off the trail for a few days, I was finally going to get to be around AT hikers again, and be able to meet some new faces that I had been ahead of.
There was some nice steady hiking for a couple miles to Thundering Falls, which had a very short side trail overlooking the waterfall. I had been seeing people out and about all day, probably from being so close to the campground and people also taking their vacations around the Fourth of July, I would imagine.
I wasn’t feeling particularly friendly, since I was on the struggle bus, trying to adjust back to the trail after such a fun few days with my friends. Nevertheless, I said hi to everyone who passed and even saw a couple cute dogs.
The trail was a little muggy, and the day was quite warm, but the sun did come out a couple hours into my hike, which was nice. After the Falls there was a little bit of a boardwalk, and then the big climb of the day.
It was a mile and a half with over 900 feet of elevation gain per mile, which is quite steep on the trail. I hiked a combination of pushing myself and hiking slow enough that I didn’t have to stop on the uphill.
I was sweating and panting, and I passed one hiker but stayed behind another as I pushed my way up the mountain. My ego had been a little bruised when a family of day hikers had passed me earlier on, so it felt good to pass at least one person, who also appeared to be a NOBO hiker.
It was hard work, but I made it to the top of the mountain in 50 minutes. I allowed myself my second 10 minute break of the day, and had a kind bar on the little level spot at the summit. There was no view to enjoy after such a strenuous climb, but at least it was over.
Paradoxically, I noticed that after I did that big climb I was feeling like I had a lot more hiking energy than I had all day, and by that point I only had three more miles left to my day.
I had a short descent to a road, and a powerline view of what looked like a Killington Mountain, and then another few small ups and downs, before a 1.2 mile descent to the shelter that I was staying at.
I had originally been planning on doing 16 miles to The Lookout, but I certainly wasn’t feeling it after not getting on the trail until 12:45, and needing to ease myself back in.
Just before and after the shelter, I saw the hiker I had passed earlier while we were both getting water. At the shelter, I spoke with him for a bit. His name was Long Story, and he certainly was talkative.
Long Story is also flip flopping, and introduced me to Smiles, and another hiker he was with. Shrek showed up a little while after me, and set up her tent near mine, before hanging out with me while I ate dinner.
The shelter was nice and big, with a new privy being built that was due to open tomorrow at some point. It was really nice to hang with Shrek, and I had a great time talking with her for a while before we both turned into our tents around 8.
I got some reading done before bed. I had actually made the extremely sacrilegious decision to rip my book to save weight so I could carry with me again. It had been in Tater’s car for a while, but I only had a third left, and Jedi did the actual ripping of the book for me, so I didn’t have to.
I settled in for sleep around quarter after 9, not quite sure where I was going to hike tomorrow, but willing to see how I felt in the morning. It had been a very long day, and I was still mentally readjusting to life back in the woods.