We have a big day planned. It’s resupply day, which means we have to get into town for errands and then back out while still making our miles. To ensure victory, we took off at 7a. So far, so good.
We had lunch at the edge of a stream. All four of us (Snow Monkey, Wonder Woman, Warthog, and I) sat on a moss covered boulder. We watched bubbles in the water float down the river through the maze of rocks poking out of the surface. The current reminded me of a lazy river. I instantly longed for an tube, swim suit, and a pair of sunglasses.
Photo Above: Beaver Dam
Not long after lunch we were coming out of the woods on the road crossing that would take us into town. A woman named Jen picked us up. She drove us around giving us a tour and recommendations when Warthog’s parents come in a few days. At the end, she dropped us off at our grocery store. We thanked her profusely and proceeded with our resupply.
Warthog stayed in the entry area, the space between the two doors. His mission was to monitor our electronics while they charge. We have a multi-port station that lets us plug up to five items using only one outlet. Outlets are hard to come by. If there are other hikers around, most will be gone. The port is a bit heavy, it weighs almost a pound. However, it’s been critical to keep everything charged. We have camera batteries, phones, a GPS tracker, and battery pack to fill. We need a lot of juice. It’s a bit excessive, but allows us document the trip the way we want to and keep loved ones posted on our where-about’s. While Warthog sat with the charger, I shopped for our resupply.
A local woman had chatted with us as we entered the grocery store. She later walked up to Wonder Woman and I to ask if there’s any treats she can get us. It was incredibly kind and totally out of the blue. I feel guilty when people offer, but I know they want to help, so our answer is always an enthusiastic “yes!” She asked what we would want. We basically let her choose. The woman had a young son in the cart. They decided to get ice cream and he would pick it out for us. He did a great job (I’m sure with a little bit of help). The woman gave us two boxes of Ben & Jerry’s individually wrapped ice cream bars. There was cookie dough and chocolate fudge brownie. They were amazing. Everyone got one and a half bars. We sat in the entry while we shamelessly devoured them. Then a little while later, while we processed our resupply and put things back in our packs, another woman came up and asked if the four of us were hiking together. I answered, “yes”. She immediately stuck out her hand and said, “Here, this is for you all.” It was a ten dollar bill. Surprise made me pause and then with much gratitude I accepted. She didn’t stay to chat or anything. She just walked away. It was incredible. Other people in the store stopped us to share their own experiences (or a friends’) on the AT. We felt extremely welcomed in this town. We were tempted to stay, one guy even offered to let us camp in his back yard. But the trail called. We needed to go.
A girl named Steph picked us up. I think we were her first ever hitchhikers. Her roommate hiked the AT last year. She said, “He’ll be proud of me.” I explained how she’s called a trail angel and is doing trail magic. It seems like people really like hearing that. They all tend to smile a bit bigger at that. Honestly, this trail wouldn’t be possible without trail angels. So I try my absolute hardest to make sure a person knows they are appreciated when they show us kindness.
We hiked a total of 18.3 miles today. Not too shabby if you ask me. I’m especially proud of that number since it included a resupply and a bit of a lazy afternoon. Earlier in the day we hit 1,600 miles. It was a pretty good feeling. We aren’t all that far from being less than 500 miles to go. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but we are kind of awesome. 1,600 miles. Yeah, awesome.
-ansel