Day 58: Knot Maul Shelter to Chesnut Knob Shelter

9.1 miles

Got up at 7am and took my time tearing down camp, left around 9. Talked with Loco Pony & Hummingbird for a while; they left in late February. The walk is kind of boring today; not as many wildflowers out and mostly roller coaster climbs - not steep but just constant up and down. My knee is stiff and sore but much better. I am so thankful it is ok. I am so glad to be out here. I have a real hunger to finish the trail, to summit Katahdin.

The Chestnut Knob shelter we are staying in tonight does not have a good water source, so I had to fill up at a pond about 1.8 miles before the shelter. The pack is so heavy when I have to carry 5L of water! I have been trying to "camel up" - ie, drinking a liter of water every time I get to a water source, so I don't have to carry as much water with me.

The climb up to the shelter wasn't that bad, even with the extra water weight. The open ridgeline provided really incredible views of the mountains and valleys. Got to the shelter - it sounded scary in the guidebook ("concrete block shelter, fully enclosed with door") - but turned out to be quite nice. I really like tenting and having a big of privacy. But being in the shelter is much easier, and this one has 4 walls! Here with All the way, grandbob, don's brother, owl, and 2 section hikers (one named Sammy and not sure of the other).

Day 54; Old Orchard Shelter to Troutdale Baptist Church Hostel

10.2 miles

Rain, rain, rain. And wind. Woke up at 4am to pee - had to put on my rain jacket and pants. Woke up at 6 - OWL & I just looked at each other and went back to sleep. Kept that up until 7:30 or so. We were still the first thru hikers up. It is hard to get motivated on such a miserable day.

No trail magic left at the road - others were expecting it would still be there but I have learned not to count on it. (That's what makes it magical). Hiking the AT has been a meditation in keeping expectations low, and then being pleasantly surprised when things work out better than expected.

When it rains you can see fifty shades of green.

By the time I got to the shelter, OWL was already there, huddled in the corner with her socks off. She was freezing and miserable - said it was the most miserable she had been on the entire trip so far. Lucky for her I am familiar with miserable, so I got her warm jacket out, gave her some dry socks, put on some water for tea. She warmed up pretty quickly, we ate lunch, and decided to go to the hostel in Troutdale.

We got to Dickey's Gap and tried to hitch a ride but no one stopped. (It didn't help that there was another couple of hikers there, trying to hitch the other way). No cell service so we started walking up the road. Got to the county line and had cell service, so we called the hostel. The pastor's wife said the pastor would be there in 5 minutes, and not to move! So we waited :)

The hostel was nice - two rooms with two bunk beds apiece, hot showers, a portalet, basically everything we needed...except cell service. Still, Mary (the pastors wife) had sent lunch leftovers for us - spaghetti with broiled chicken, cheese biscuits, green beans, and no bake cookies! An amazing homecooked meal - I was so thankful to have it.

Titan and "Don's Brother" are here, too. Titan moved his stuff over to the other room so we could have a "girls room" - so nice. A few hours later a bicyclist, Sungduk, showed up. He is on day 5 of a TransAmerican bike ride; he just finished his masters degree and starts a PhD program this summer.