Staci picked us up at 8:30 and took us to the local gas station/sandwich shop for breakfast. She was very accommodating and let us take our time to eat and get food for the day’s hiking. There were a couple of tables in the back. The five of us took the larger table so we could spread out a bit. As soon as we got all situated, we knew we had made a mistake when a local group of seniors came in and started giving us the evil eye. How dare the 5 of us, spending $50+ displace the old people with their 89 cent coffees. If they would have been 30 years younger, there would have been a rumble.
Staci dropped us off where her son had picked us up yesterday. We had a short day ahead; just 6 miles but 2500’ gain to get to the summit of Saddleback Mountain. Only the last 2 miles was going to be really steep. We saw a few locals out day hiking but they didn’t climb beyond Pizza Rock.
Speaking of Pizza Rock, I’ve got to start looking at Guthook a little better because I guess I tend to see what I want. When we arrived at the side trail, I noticed it was actually Piazza Rock which didn’t excite me quite as much. I had formed a picture in my mind of a pepperoni and cheese covered rock. Bunny and I climbed up to Piazza Rock while the rest of tramily went on ahead. Reality was not as thrilling as my minds eye had set me up for.
Near the junction of the side trail to Piazza Rock was a trail in the opposite direction to Piazza Rock Lean-to. This was a worthwhile side trip to the shelter which has a sun roof and a two seater privy for those who wish to share a game of cribbage during their intimate moment. Obviously, the romance is gone from our marriage when I could barely get Bunny to sit in “Your Move” with me with her pants up. How thrilling to accentuate a great move in the game punctuated with a “take that” plop.
The clouds started rolling in as we stopped for a snack at Ethel Pond. This would have been an ideal setting for a moose sighting. We sat and gave the stupid f@#$ers plenty of time to make an appearance. Once again, they skipped over us. I’m not surprised by this because I know something about us and moose by now that I will explain in the near future.
The final 2 miles were steep but held some outstanding views. By the time we arrived at the summit, the clouds were almost completely covering the mountain. Staci told us, and Guthook confirmed, that there exists a side trail at the peak which leads down to the ski area below. We searched and searched but had no luck in locating the trail. We fanned out in all directions only to find the side trail at the false peak about 1/4 mile before the top where it’s supposed to be.
While searching for the trail, Bunny met a section hiker named Bru. He offered us assistance because he was familiar with the area. As they were talking, Bru asked where we were from. When Bunny said Cape Girardeau, he said his wife had just given a talk there. Bunny was able to deduce that his wife is Jennifer Phar Davis. Bunny then shared that she and I are doing a field test of his wife’s socks. When she went to show him, she realized she had switched them for a clean pair this morning (see what awkward situations obsessions with cleanliness can cause) and was wearing a different brand. To save face, Bunny ended up giving him a candy bar and sent him on his way.
After Chip and I found the side trail on the false summit, I started heading down while he went back to let everyone know we had found it. There was a shelter not far down the trail which was an emergency aid station. I tried the doors, but it was locked up tight. Everyone showed up preventing me from following in my wife’s steps of breaking and entering.
The climb down the ski run to the abandoned lodge was really hard on the knees. It was during this portion of the hike that I decided I had no desire to climb back up anything this steep and I quietly accepted we’re going to be sobos for a day. I know in the overall scheme, no one gives a rat’s ass which direction we go while hiking the AT. In fact, no one gives a rat’s ass that we’re even hiking the AT. I’m the only one bothered by going the wrong direction. Everyone else has already shown they have no integrity on the trail. Good Chip Norris has slack packed before now. Plus, when it comes right down to it, Bear and Sassy are just lowlife section hikers so they don’t even count in the great scheme of things. It’s very easy to justify anything you do if you put your mind to use.
When we got to the abandoned ski lodge, GCN called Staci to pick us up. On the way back to town, we got to see a porcupine on the road. A big plus to slack packing is seeing more wildlife from the car. In these modern times, even wildlife has to come to town more and more to share in modern conveniences such as dumpsters for food (not unlike thru-hikers looking for a bargain).
Staci convinced us that we needed to get going early tomorrow and that she should pick us up at 5:30 a f-ing m. Not only am I going to be a sobo scum for a day, I’ve got to rub salt in the wound by getting up before daylight. The only way we can pull this off is to go grocery shopping now to get food for breakfast at the hostel and lunch for tomorrow. After Staci dropped us back off, we all had time to shower before even heading out to dinner. It was still light when we went started downtown.
The goal was pizza for supper, but the place was shut down so the owner could go to an antique show in another town. We ended up going to a bistro where everyone that doesn’t mind the taste or flavor of shit in their food ordered a seafood fettuccine. The one person with taste (and writer of this blog) chose to have some well done ground up cow. Mmmm Mmmm Good. Bunny and I haven’t been drinking much of late so we decided to get a bottle of wine with dinner. It turned out to be a $12 bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which the restaurant charged $32 for.
Sassy ordered a glass of wine while Bear just ordered a glass of water. Here’s how my mind works. The waitress spent effort dipping ice into a glass and filling it with water for Bear. For a single glass, she had to open the bottle and pour it into a glass. For our $32 bottle of wine, she opened a fridge and grabbed a bottle. She set it on our table and didn’t open it or bring us an ice bucket to keep it cold. In all, she spent less effort bringing our wine than she did bringing Bear’s water. When it came time to pay, I tipped 20% + for the food and nothing for the wine. On our way out, the waitress came over and “tip shamed” me in front of everyone. In hindsight, I should have said “thank you for bringing it to my attention that I made a mistake in the tip” and then lowered it another $2. I don’t mind tipping for great service. I guess this is just me trying to convince myself that I was in the right, or, in the very least, should not have been called out in front of everyone in the restaurant for leaving a $10 tip. Maybe I was wrong, but I’ll never eat at that bistro again.
EFG