Miles Today: 12.8
Mile Marker: 1,904.3
It rained most of the day yesterday. Once I got to my motel room I didn't leave once. I ordered pizza and it took two hours to get there because of the ATV convention, but I didn't care. I had an excellent, lazy, restful day.
This morning I soaked up every last second I had of my room and checked out exactly at 11:00. I had to walk a mile across town to get to a spot where I could catch a hitch. On the way I ran into Cash, Songbird, and Dr. Mantis Toboggan. Then I ran into Dingo and Hitch. I hadn't seen any of them since Waynesboro, Virginia. I chatted with them briefly and then finally got a lift back to the trail. I didn't get started until noon.
It was chilly, but it was dry and sunny. Perfect weather for hiking. The trail also cut me some slack. Although it was a day filled with climbs and drops, none of them required any rock climbing. Almost all of the trail was dry. Putting in nearly thirteen miles after noon is back to a hiking pace where I like to be. If I had started this morning I likely could have put in twenty. It has been a very long time (remember everything feels slower out here) since that was possible. It was exactly the break I needed. Tomorrow I will likely make it to Mahoosuc Notch. The hardest mile on the AT. I've heard quotes of three to five hours to get through that section. For perspective it usually takes twenty to thirty minutes to do a regular mile out here. This section is actually only eight tenths of a mile. Much of it will be rock climbing and crawling over boulders. Should be interesting. I'll likely have to stop just before it and make that a Tuesday morning problem.