Our stay at Shaw’s includes an AYCE breakfast with blueberry pancakes. Poet is the Chief Cook. There’s no excuse to not overeat here. Mr. Overhill joined our table for breakfast and we continued our conversation from yesterday. It turns our that he guides REI adventures. He gave us his phone number and told us to give him a call next year when we get near Yosemite on the PCT.
Hollywood came down to breakfast and was his usual boisterous self. He told us that he originally wanted to hike out with us today but that he had slept in the dorm next to Chip. He bitched and complained about GCN’s snoring for the next 15 minutes. Bottom line, he said he got zero sleep last night and was going to take another zero today, but there’s no way he’s going to hike with us after the way GCN snored. It was at this point where our liking of GCN turned the corner into full on love. His snoring, which he has tried to protect us from has saved the remaining 115 miles of the trip and guaranteed that we will still be able to talk.
After breakfast, we made a shopping trip through Hippie Chick’s and Poet’s supplies. We arranged to have a food drop in four days. They allow us to pack a sealed bucket for each of us and then they set up a time and place for us to meet in four days. In addition to personally handing us our food, they will take all of our trash and bring us sodas. They charge $80 for this service, but split 5 ways, this is very reasonable. It allows us to carry just 4 days of food instead of 8 days of food. By any stretch, this is a great deal for us.
There were a couple of younger guys that piled with us into Poet’s SUV so it was a full load of 8 in the vehicle. Poet took us back to where Hippie Chick picked us up yesterday and then spent a few minutes offering some guidance on the remainder of our hike. He let us know what to expect and what side trips were worth the effort. He then recited a poem that he had written in the 100 mile wilderness on his thru-hike. I should have written it down but the gist of it was to go slow and enjoy the moment. He told us that when he wrote it, he was really talking about all the time he spent filtering water. He didn’t recognize the hidden meaning until later. And then we were off on the final stage of our journey.
It wasn’t 100 yards until we got to the sign telling us to “abandon all hope, all ye who enter.” Its 100 miles until we can expect to get any resupply or help if we get in trouble. Do not enter with less than 10 days of food. Oh, and please register so we might be able to identify the body when we find it. All in all, it was , as usual, an overhyped, scare tactic. Poet did tell us, this warning really applies to the early season hikers because the trail does get beat up pretty bad every year.
We took a picture break and made sure we were all ready for this. We checked all of our gear and asked Bear if he had detailed plans and contingencies for every possible scenario. He did and offered to share them with us if we wanted. I was satisfied that he had put enough thought into the remainder of the trail, I didn’t need to hear the details. I turned and started to climb the trail. Within three steps, I damn near fell and smacked my head. I said “I’m good. No problems.” When I looked back, everyone was still at the sign and hadn’t noticed. No blood, no foul.
Poet had told us to take it easy for the first few days. The first 40ish miles are the toughest and then we’ll reap the reward for all we’ve been through. We walked by so many picturesque ponds that it was hard to keep moving. Everything was gorgeous. The colors were so intense. This is definitely the perfect time to be in the 100 mile wilderness. All of our feet dragging has paid off.
A few miles in, we ran into a ridge runner coming south. We stopped and chatted for a bit. She wanted to make sure we were prepared. She also told us some more details about Baxter State Park that we hadn’t heard. The park is not closing on October 15th like it usually does. This year, the roads into the park will close on the 15th, but people can enter on foot. On the 23rd of the month, the campgrounds will close, except for the lean-to reserved for thru-hikers. The park officially closes the 31st of the month. This is the first time Baxter has ever stayed open past the 15th. There is a new superintendent this year and he is trying to work with the ATC to help thru-hikers in the hopes that thru-hikers will maintain their dignity in the park. Baxter State Park is more of a shrine than a park.
We stopped for a lunch break at Little Wilson Falls. Because the river levels are down this time of year, we were able to sit on rocks shelves that would normally be in the falls. We spread out and took in the views. The falls have a vertical drop of over 60’ so “little” is a bit of a misnomer. It was here that Sassy made a discovery. Actually, she didn’t make the discovery for another 30 minutes or so, but she was able to backtrack to this setting. I’ll share a secret with everyone so you don’t have to learn the hard way. Potato chips are normally gluten free. I only say normally because Pringle’s are considered potato chips and they are not gluten free. They add wheat to the chips to make them maintain their uniform shape. Gluten and Sassy equals bad news.
As I said, Sassy didn’t feel the effects for a while. We managed to get in our climb up to Big Wilson Cliffs to enjoy the fall colored vistas. We had all been hiking together when we noticed Bear and Sassy were no longer with us. Remember, a slice of bread had taken Sassy out for a day + at Northern Outdoor Center so when she caught up with us and told us her discovery, we were all concerned. To our relief, she had only had a couple of chips. A little chip can cause a lot of damage. A Good Chip Norris can do a lot of good if put to good service.
Sassy soldiered on as she always does. She’s a good influence on Bunny, making Bunny realize that she, too, is a bad ass. Bunny has been through more on the trail that most women and she’s still going. She just sometimes, forgets to give herself credit and doubts her abilities. She is not using “can’t” nearly as much these days, in fact, hardly ever anymore which I am thrilled about.
We still had to Ford Big Wilson Stream before we got the privilege of climbing the final 300’ to our targeted camp for the night. Chip has decided that he’s not going to change out of his trail shoes at any more river crossing and just walks on through. The rest of us, however, take the time to change before and after. The funny thing is that these are brand new shoes that GCN has.
We arrived at the lean-to just before dark. As we walked into camp, one of the guys in the lean-to has a melt down over his water filter. I didn’t hear exactly what happened, just that he hates it and wants to be done with the trail. The shelter was full which didn’t really matter because Bunny and Sassy have ruled out all shelter stays. We climbed up behind the shelter and tried to find a couple of level spots.
We set up camp, fetched water, cooked, and ate, all in the dark. One thing was different tonight. I knew we weren’t the only ones still awake because we could hear the weedlings in the shelter laughing and making noise. I prayed for their sake that they would shut up soon. It hasn’t been so long ago that Sassy scared an entire contingency of college kids into quiet submission, and that was a Sassy that didn’t have gluten in her. For your own sake, kids, STFU.
EFG