Day 138
Start: Cesar Brook Campsite
End: Salisbury, CT
Miles Hiked: 20.0
Miles on AT: 1507.0
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Last night, it rained a bit, but this morning I awoke to blue skies and warm weather. On my agenda today was stopping into the town of Falls Village to eat a hot lunch and stopping by a roadside vending machine for a cold Coke. Food is always a great motivator!
As I started my hike, I finally saw people! I ran into a couple of weekenders as well as a SOBO. The trail today didn’t seem too difficult. There were a few ups and down, but I had a long road walk and a good portion of the day was basically flat.
One thing that stands out on the AT is the sheer number of mushrooms. They come in a whole bunch of varieties, shapes, and sizes. Now, I’m not a mushroom expert, so I can’t tell you what mushrooms I’ve seen, but I’m still constantly amazed by all the new colors and forms I encounter every day. This mushroom was dark red and absolutely huge!
Eventually, I spotted the elusive NOBOer. Well, I saw two of them, actually. A guy and a girl, whom I had seen my first day back on trail, passed me when I was getting water. We said hi briefly and they kept on moving. At least I know I’m not the only NOBO left on the trail.
I reached my first goal of the day: the soda vending machine. Sitting outside an auto repair place right next to the trail, the vending machine was stocked and there were even 2 chairs next to it for me to take a breather. I spent my $1.25 and enjoyed a few minutes in the sun, sipping on a can of sugary goodness. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Fall Village wasn’t far ahead, so after my Coke was finished, I made my way to the town. On the way, I saw about 7 SOBOs, the most I’d seen in one day. At the town cafe, I sat for about an hour, eating, charging my phone, and drying out my tent from last night. The town was quiet and calm.
With lunch done, I continued on, past the Great Falls waterfall and the 1500 mile sign. Wow! I’m making it!
I had one more climb before I reached my planned campsite, but it was only 4 o’clock when I reached my destination. It was too early! The hardcore hiker in me couldn’t let 2 hours of prime hiking time go to waste. Plus, I was still feeling good since the hiking wasn’t too hard today.
I decided to push a couple more miles, but when I did, I saw huge storm clouds rolling in. I was only 2 more miles from town and a warm, dry bed, so I figured I could push it and stay at a hostel for the night.
It was a good idea and it was a bad idea. I definitely pushed a little too hard because the electric shocks were coming back in full force. My body wasn’t ready for long days yet, so I knew I would have to take it easy tomorrow. But, on the plus side, I made it to the hostel after getting soaked in the rain and was able to get dry and warm.
At the hostel, there were even more NOBOs and SOBOs. Yay, people! We spent the evening chatting about what was coming up and what to look out for. I was back in the AT community! Despite pushing a little too hard today, I was glad that I could recover in a warm bed and relax a bit. I still have to train my hiker brain to accept going slowly, but I’m making progress.
And that’s day 138.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.