Midnight on the Appalachian Trail: Last few days (June 12-14)

So, left DWG on Thursday. Was going to be a rather early start. Carried my pack out the door at 7am, and ran into Elusive. He was headed to the diner for breakfast and told me he was going to be slowing down for a while and probably wouldn't see me again. So I set my pack down and went to breakfast with him. Glad I did.

Have I told you about how good a man he is? My first experience with him was the picnic he arranged, and he brought a lot of the food as well as organizing it. Another time I came across a ripped open trash bag (apparently from a bear), and there was trash everywhere. I looked around, decided that I couldn't do anything since I didn't have a trash bag and there weren't any there. So I left. Elusive came by soon after I'd left, went through the trash until he found some Wal-mart bags that were intact, and collected all of the trash in them. There was another example I had in mind, but it dropped from my mind. Huh. Elusive probably picked it up.

We talked sailing and the trail. He's crossed the Atlantic 4 times, sailing to the Azores. Dinosaur came by and joined us for a while. Breakfast was great. Really enjoyed that town.

Went back to the hostel to pick up my pack, and was laughed at by everyone because I hadn't left yet and I'd told everyone I was gonna leave early. Geared Up was getting ready to leave also. I told him I wanted to wait for a bit, since it was already so late, and get a mikkshake before we left. He agreed, so a little after ten we left.

Milkshake place still wasn't open though. I think ice cream places are missing out on a huge market. A milkshake for breakfast is pretty much the perfect breakfast for an active individual. Protein, calcium, and tons of energy.

We ended up doing 24 miles. In the rain. Lots of rain and mist and humidity. Not the best introduction to New Jersey. Had to walk a little after dark, but I played Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me podcasts out loud for us to kill the time. Got a little sketchy walking through rocks and cliffs in the obscuring mists.

Stayed at a shelter with Stumbles and Cool Hand. He doesn't eat hard-boiled eggs, I asked. They are a recently we'd couple, the AT is their honeymoon. Not sure what my wife would do to me if I suggested that. Huh, come to think if it, I don't think we ever really had a honeymoon. I had to go to Afghanistan instead.

The next day was ridiculously miserable for me. A bad day on the trail. It rained. A lot. It was raining hard when we woke up, and I stared out at the downpour for nearly 3 hours before finally braving a lull. Our clothing and shoes and gear were all still drenched from the previous day. I don't think I even hit twenty miles, despite walking all day and half the night. Well, I took several very long breaks. It was challenging to find the initiative to go back into the rain and wade through the creek that was the AT. I hiked past the shelter where the others were staying and camped in the woods. The legality of doing that in this particular section was murky. As was the view.

This morning I woke up really early, packed everything up and put on my still soaked shoes. Which now were starting to quickly degrade. I had to use a knife to cut bunches of material that had come loose in the moisture out of the shoe.

Maybe hiked seven miles into town, and caught the post office before it closed. Which was nice. My shiny new insect repellent Buff was there, plus an almost complete resupply of food. I still had enough food for a few days, so I sent the rest ahead farther. Unionville, NY.

They claim that this is the smallest village in NY. It's actually smaller than my hometown. 600 people, I was told. I talked with a local environmental lawyer for quite a while, she was very friendly and an excellent repository of information. They have free camping in the center of town in the park, and everything a hiker needs. Plus they're very friendly (except the guy in the bookstore). No showers or laundry facilities for hiker use, though.

The plan was to grab my mail, pizza and/or milkshake, and move on. But I took a look at my feet, and got worried. They are the worst I've seen them on the trail. Several raw spots and even a couple of very small blisters. My gear was all soaked also. So to heck with the plan, I decided to nero.

Geared Up came in while I was in the post office, and he stayed with me. We ate a lot today. My shoes and socks are dry, though dirty and stiff. My feet feel better, though they still look rough. My gear, including my tent, has dried out. The lady who will be working at the general store promised she'd make me a shake for breakfast. I think tomorrow will be a good day.