Appalachian Trail Day 111- Eckville Shelter To Lookout Hostel (Mile 1235 to Mile 1247)

I wake up At 5:30 exactly. The bed was comfortable enough, and the room is very quiet, but I was burning up in the night because I was using my down top quilt as a blanket.  I think my metabolism is in hyperdrive with all this hiking and eating.

I chat with the other occupants of the hostel. Mountain Man joins us for coffee, in addition to a woman flip-flopper, a long section hiker with a gorgeous husky named Beau is here. Beau is very sweet and rubs against my legs like a cat.

A man named Memory Maker comes in.  He camped out last night.  He's local from Philly, and he just did a short section hike and has to go home today. He's getting shuttled to Port Clinton so we will ride together.

I make some coffee and pick apart the remnants of my rotisserie chicken. I rummage through the fridge and find some bacon and make chicken quesadilla for breakfast. It is massive and loaded with calories.  I am trying not to lose weight on my hike, because I don't want to lose muscle. I am striving for 3,500 calories per day minimum intake with 200 grams of protein and high quality food, and it's working.  I am maintaining my weight and pretty sure I am gaining muscle in my legs. But even with the calorie intake, I am still hungry all day long.  

with Zoom Zoom and Memory Maker

Zoom Zoom drives Kelly and I to Eckville Shelter and we goodbye to her and Memory Maker. Ww want to start from the shelter since it will be demolished in the next couple of years.  We go inside the shelter and take a couple of pictures. Looking around, I'm really glad that we didn't want to stay here. This place really does need to be torn down.  It smells awful and looks like it is mice infested.

The Eckville Shelter

We start up the trail and it is 1,100 feet straight up for the first mile and a half or so. We were warned that it's a pretty awful hike, but I don't think it's as bad as some of the others that we've done. The terrain is not terribly steep or rocky.  Maybe I am just getting in better shape!

On the way up the hill, a tiny baby bird plops down on the trail beside me, chirps at me for a moment, and then flies away a few feet into a nearby bush. 

As we reach the top of the ridge, the rocks start popping up again. We climb some large ones and arrive at a lookout, but the Canadian wildfire smoke is back, and the sky is super hazy. It's like a yellow fog blanketing the valley.

After the view, the trail becomes very rocky with large boulders, but today I don't dread it. I'm expecting the rocks now and today I think they are rather fun. We are hopping from rock to rock, looking for snakes and I feel like I'm a kid on a playground. We've already done almost four miles, and they were so easy I don't feel as if I barely worked at all.

The views are pretty but still hazy from the wildfire smoke. We stop at a beautifully maintained shelter for a lunch break and enjoy the lovely parklike setting.

We are back on the trail, which is really a forest road, for the remainder of our easy hike today. We enjoy being able to walk side by side while we hike, as opposed to walking single file, where it's hard to hear one another at times. 

Before we know it we are back at the hostel. Many of the hostels on the trail have murals painted by a trail artist. I think the mural at The Lookout perfectly captures the surrounding hills and sweeping views. 

There is a full house at the hostel tonight because of the forecast for heavy rain later.  Two of the gentlemen are with the Warrior Expedition, a non-profit which provides therapy for veterans.  They are very nice and ask me when I plan on summiting Katahdin.  I reply that I haven't given it any thought because I am not sure if I will make it before the mountain closes.  They say they are doing the same mileage, and they are planning on summiting the second week of August.  I do some calculations and realize that with 15 miles per day I would have 63 days of hiking left!! I realize that summiting and completing the trail is possible this summer.

  

 

The hostel is a hubbub of activity with all the people here, and there is a line of sorts for laundry and showers. Thankfully we arrived before everyone else, so we finished our "town chores" before the line became too long. The living area is crowded with people and gear, and I enjoy spending some time chatting with the other. 

There is a hiker here who is obviously trying to not spend any money.  I have some laughs when he goes through the hiker box at my suggestion, and pulls out a ton of food.  The hiker box is a place where people can donate unwanted items.  There is always some weird and random stuff in there, but there can also be some great gear.  Oftentimes, the best stuff is when someone gets a resupply box sent to them at the hostel.  I have scored some amazing meals and electrolytes from the hiker box.  Anyway, Zen produces a pile of macaroni and cheese along with other assorted foods. I call it a "hiker box buffet."

Tad and his daughters arrive.  The rain is really pouring now and they will have to camp out because the bunks are all taken.  Because they are paying to stay on the hostel property, they can hang out inside the hostel and out of the rain for as long as they like. One of his daughters is a vegetarian, and she is cooking up something fabulous for dinner. 

Several of us go to bed early and one of the Warrior hikers turns out the lights.  

Today's Stats: 12 miles, 1,742 feet gain, 1,053 feet loss

Trail Stats: 1,247 miles, 255K feet gain, 261K feet loss