We woke up to a feast. Tom had laid out coffee, donuts, bagels, and fruit for the hikers – not just the ones who stayed there last night, but any that walked by this morning too. Allowing us to crash on his lawn was enough. Taking us to our resupply run was even more. This… this was beyond all dreams. I’ve repeatedly been amazed at the hearts people have for hikers. Trail angels mostly self fund their magic. Every piece of their gift is a labor of love. It’s simultaneously incredible and humbling to be the recipient of those gifts. Warthog and I are moved by people like Tom. We fully intend to pay it forward. The wheels are turning on how to do just that. Until then, I’ll practice just being grateful.
We were leaving Tom’s a little after 8a. The trail followed neighborhoods down in through town. Tom had given us a heads up that there was a gas station not too far. We stopped to use the facilities and throw away our trash. We also picked up more things for breakfast. We are always hungry and didn’t want to completely fill our bellies on Tom’s dime. If hikers did that, the man would be broke trying to feed us all.
While standing outside of the store, we saw Minutes. It’s been probably 1,200 miles since we last saw him. A few miles later we ran across Sandals, someone we haven’t seen since Harper’s Ferry (maybe 400 miles or so). Yesterday we crossed paths with Sherpa, Kanga, and their daughter Roo. A family that is flip flopping. It’s been 800+ miles since we’ve seen them. These moments remind me of family reunions. It’s amazing though, how you can see people only a handful of times but still be intimately connected to them. For the most part, you are just comfortable in their presence as if you are old time friends. It may be because we are all going through the same thing. It may also have to do with the sincerity that people bring out here. It’s probably a combination of both plus more.
About eight miles into our hike we came across another small town. First was an ice cream shop, we ate lunch at their picnic tables while Wonder Woman and Snow Monkey had ice cream. After hiking more through town and then a corn field (memories of fall in Michigan flooded me), we came to a road crossing. Just down the road was another gas station complete with a Dunken Donuts. Tom told us about it. It motivated us for the first eight or nine miles. I had a strawberry filled, chocolate drizzled croissant donut. I know… it’s a lot to imagine. Warthog had two donuts and a liter of Pepsi. Again, we were fueling up for our climb coming up. Sort of. Mostly we just have poor self control when it comes to food.
We only covered fourteen miles today. It was either hike that or twenty. With our late start and the larger climbs, we knew we weren’t getting in the twenty. Additionally, we were hoping to beat the rain. Hours upon hours of cold rain was forecasted for today. At first it was supposed to start at noon, then it was pushed back at 3p, then moved up. It was overcast and would occasionally spit a bit during the afternoon. Consistent rain didn’t start until around 5:30/6p. By then, we only had a few more miles to go. The trees protected us from the worst of it. It was 7p when we arrived at the shelter. Thankful for the deep overhang, we ducked under and made plans for where to set up. I was tempted to sleep in the shelter, but our desire to have our own little nest won out. It will rain all night. I hope we stay dry. We have our jackets hanging in the ceiling to try to capture any errant raindrops. Our rainfly has a tendency to leak on us when it is this consistent. Fun stuff.
I made dinner up at the shelter while Warthog prepared the tent. He joined and we visited with old friends while we ate, people we’ve missed for hundreds of miles. Finally, it was time for bed. We crawled in as fast as we could, trying to stay dry, and fell asleep to the pitter patter of the rain.
-ansel