Hikers Welcome Hostel 1795.4 (zero miles, 770 total miles)
I started getting up around 7:30AM, and Shrek was awake by then. She made some coffee, and we had a couple cups and talked for a while just lounging around.
Everyone else was sleeping, but eventually we got up to do some cleaning and dishes around 8:30 or 9. Coasty started working on breakfast, and made everyone scrambled eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls.
We cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, and started working on packing out all the food. Furps had bought a ton of all sorts of food, and we had a lot left over. Last time he’d brought it to Hikers Welcome, where hikers were very happy to indulge, and we were going to do that again.
My plan was to slackpack Moosilauke still, but the hours of the day started ticking by me. Furps got checkout extended till 12:30, and we had everything packed up and in the van by around then.
Sunshine was going through some stuff, and we made a plan to hike Moosilauke together the next day. She would make up the Hanover to Hikers Welcome section after Katahdin on her way home to Rhode Island.
Furps and I drove her and Shrek first, since we had so much food in the back of the van and didn’t have room for everyone. We dropped Sunshine off across town in Lincoln, where her cousin was renting a condo and she could stay for the night.
We hung out with Shrek at her trailhead parking lot for quite a while. We all met Spoon Carver, who had just finished a section from Katahdin to Lincoln, and was waiting on a ride to get picked up. We gave him some food and drinks on our way out.
I said bye to Shrek again, unsure the next time I’d see her, but really happy that she’d joined for the penthouse and we’d gotten to spend some time together.
Furps and I picked up the others, and we drove a little way across town to drop Sour Cream off at a newer hostel that had recently opened up. I saw Halfway and Long Story, and we gave Halfway a bunch of food and drinks as well.
We stopped at McDonald’s for lunch, thanks to Furps for treating, and made our way back to Hikers Welcome, which we reached around 5PM. We dispersed the food and goodies amongst Legion and Acadicus, and the rest of the hikers at the hostel.
Sleepy and I said our goodbyes to Coasty and Fallout, who were returning to Hanover, and thanked Furps for everything he’d done. It had been an awesome time hanging with him and I really appreciated all the incredible trail magic he’d done for us.
I did a quick run to the store with Legion and caught up with him on his day, and chatted with Catchup about trail names and trail birthdays. I ran into Grndr when I got back, who I hadn’t seen since just into New Jersey, so that was a fun surprise.
I spent about an hour talking to Malia on the phone, and decided an early night of sleep was just what I needed. The shuttle would be leaving around 7AM to go to Kinsman Notch for the slackpack, and I wanted some rest before it.
I felt like it had been the end of a long vacation, and I had that tiredness to me like I’d been at the beach for a week or something. I’d had a fantastic time with Legion, Acadicus, Furps, and all the hikers I’d gotten to see recently.
However, I had definitely been vortexed, and I was ready to get back on the trail and do some hiking again. I had been taking it easy this month for sure, and certainly earned it, though Halfway had a point when he said I didn’t have to justify anything to anyone. As Legion said, I had to hike my own hike.