The rain stopped last night, but the waterlogged trees overhead drip water constantly onto the understory below. I wake and take out my earplugs, enjoying the plop-plop of water droplets onto my tarp. I slept exceptionally well, considering I usually need a couple of days to adjust back to sleeping outside.
GG and Kodiak look less than well-rested, however. Apparently, my decision to scoot out of the shelter last night was fortuitous. While we eat breakfast and filter water, GG tells me about the chaos that erupted last night around 9 pm, when I was already in dreamland.
GG said everyone in the shelter was snuggled into their beds when the nearby-camping family started shouting back and forth with their friends, who were lost on a cross-trail or in the woods (there was some confusion, and the friends couldn't find the shelter). There were people running and shouting up and down the trail, with headlamps shining back and forth. GG said the excitement lasted for over an hour, when the lost hikers turned up and set up their camp. She said they had difficulty returning to sleep.
We pack up and leave quickly, excited about going to a hostel! I can't wait to take a shower and wash my dirty clothes. And I have only worn these clothes three days. They don't even smell really bad yet! We wave goodbye to George and Jasper, who camped slightly away from the shelter.
The hike starts out easy enough. We pass through a pretty larch and spruce forest that parallels a stream. Hiking on pine sheds is lovely. The trail is soft and springy underfoot. I enjoy it too briefly as the trail leaves the hollow and heads up for a 1700' ascent over the next three miles. Coming around one turn on the trail, I can hear crashing down the mountainside to my right. A large animal is rushing down from the trail ahead. Only a bear could make that much noise. As I complete the turn, I see a tent on the trail, the occupants of which are still sleeping. I think I may have interrupted a bear scouting out this person's camp!
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| Climbing over a fence break near the road |
We make it to Sam's Gap and see Steve waiting for us with his tailgate open. God bless shuttle drivers and their strong noses. He drops us off at Nature's Inn and continues on with Kodiak. They will be back to pick us up at 8 am.
The main building is a renovated barn which serves as the central hub for the hostel - the office, store, and kitchen. The hostel grounds are well kept and cute. A creek runs along the backside of the property with rental cabins adjacent to the creek. On the opposite side of the property, next to the road, is a long-graveled area with a roof cover, which is the tent and hammock spot. We sit on a picnic table and enjoy the sunshine while we wait for the proprietor, Amy, who had to run into town.
Amy arrives shortly, and we follow her into the barn to collect our resupply boxes. Before we left home, we mailed boxes to ourselves in care of different hostels along the trail. Sometimes there is a small charge (e.g.$5), but most often no charge if we stay at the hostel. The boxes contain our favorite foods and supplements, so we don't have to go in town to resupply. Amy has a small pile of boxes of varying shapes and sizes in the office and explains that someone who stayed at the hostel recently took off with some boxes. The thief was filmed on camera, and she has been relaying the image to other hostels up and down the trail to be on the lookout for the miscreant. GG has a moment of panic when she thinks hers was the stolen package until Amy discovers the box.
We decided to camp in the covered camping area. An easy way to save money on town days is to camp when at the hostels. We can still use the shower and laundry facilities and relax in the barn, but without spending the extra money on a furnished room. Additionally, the weather outlook is perfect, and I love to sleep in my hammock - it's more comfortable than a lot of strange beds I have slept on.
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| The best way to camp |
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| Airing out our down |
We spend a relaxing day showering, doing laundry, and spreading out our resupply to figure out what we will take and what we will donate into the hiker box. The weather is perfect, and this would be a wonderful place to zero, but we aren't doing enough daily mileage to justify a day off. Another hammock hanger is camping next to us. He wakes and starts playing a pan flute.
One of the joys of hiking in a "bubble," which is a group of hikers that tend to walk the same distance every day, is seeing other people frequently. We have been hiking with Kodiak since Hot Springs. Another person we have seen daily is George and of course, Jasper, who is always happy to see us! George harvested some chicken of the woods mushrooms (Laetiporus) and cooks up some to share! Looks like we are starting to find our trail family or "tramily;" a group of hikers who tend to hike the same mileage and look out for each other.
We eat dinner and organize our gear so we can get an early start tomorrow. We are off to bed at hiker midnight, around 9 pm.
Todays Stats: 11 miles, almost 3k feet
Trail stats: 320 miles, 78k feet
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