Nature was on our side last night. It rained like hell all night. Bunny was drugged so I could enjoy it and get some peaceful sleep. She woke up at 5 and started worrying like she is prone to do—Is it going to stop raining today? I don’t know, go to sleep. Are we going to make it in time? I don’t know, go to sleep. Will our boots be dry under the bench? They’ll be fine, go to sleep. But the last one got me wondering…I couldn’t remember how big the overhang was.
We had agreed to meet for breakfast at 7. It wasn’t a long walk downstairs so I didn’t start getting ready until 6:58. Bunny was frantic that I was still in bed, yet I still made it on time and even beat her to the table. Bear was there with the bad news—our boots were soaked. Mine were the only ones that didn’t have standing water in them because I had stuffed my socks in them. It was still raining. We discussed what we should do over breakfast. I voted for a zero being the only sensible one in the group. We could sleep all day, watch movies, get in the hot tub, let the rain pass, and dry out our stuff. I was voted down 3-1.
Bear talked to the owner and told him our boot saga. We were thinking the response would be along the lines of “oh well, sucks to be you. Want to stay another night? I’ll need your credit card.” He hadn’t been the most personable person to us so far. We got the impression that he was a bit resentful of having to take in hikers to make ends meet at their wedding venue. Instead, he was just the opposite. He was very accommodating to our situation. Bottom line, at least our boots got to sit in the sauna to dry out (I never did).
The time the boots spent in the sauna gave the weather enough time to clear up. The rain stopped before we had the chance to break out the wallets to pay for another night. Under the cover of blue skies, we made our way to a waterfall followed by one of the nicest boardwalks we have crossed since NJ.
We stopped at Stoney Brook Shelter for lunch where we got bad news about Mizman from Jack Rabbit. We thought it was strange that he hadn’t responded to the text we sent him a couple of days ago. Jack Rabbit told us he had dropped his phone in water, but that wasn’t the bad news. Mizman was eating lunch a couple days ago and broke a tooth in half. He made it to The Yellow Deli, but had to get off trail because the broken tooth was going to require a root canal to fix. Mizman is gone. Lady Bug and Stickers are also gone. Fewer and fewer people we have known since February are still around.
We did make contact with our Dachau Buddy, Rich. We met Rich and his wife in a concentration camp (actually on a crowded train heading to the camp) last year. Not too many people are still alive that can claim that kind of meeting. He is going to join us for a few days tomorrow. The original plan was to hike with us in his home state of New Jersey, but he was hiking a section of the PCT when we got there. He’s finally gotten a window to join us.
Technical climbing was on the agenda for the day (if technical means climbing an aluminum ladder). The most exciting part of the climb was the two big piles of moose poop we came across after the ladder. Bunny wants to bag a moose this trip. Wildlife sightings have gotten fewer the further north we go.
The Lookout is a private cabin a little off of the AT that has been opened up for hikers to stay at. It supposed to be big enough to hold 20ish people. There are a couple of drawbacks to it—1) no water, and 2) no privy. Nonetheless, this is where we are headed for the night. For us to stay there, we need to carry enough water to cook supper tonight and breakfast in the morning. We “camelled” up and carried an additional 7 liters of water up the climb of death to the Lookout.
Bear and Sassy got there well before us and held spaces in the loft for us. All of the courteous young people took all the space on the first floor before any of us got there. They will soon learn what it means to sleep under an old man with bladder issues. Plus, I’ll have to get up and pee probably even more than Bear will.
After staking out our space, Bunny went up on the roof platform to take pictures while I stayed below to cook dinner. Her enjoyment and happiness are more important than mine (apparently). Like a good husband, I know to keep my mouth shut until and can speak freely without censure. We ended up eating in the dark and were the last ones to go to bed.
EFG