Appalachian Trail Adventure Day 8 (6/24/21)

Redington Stream Tent Site to Rangeley

8.1 Miles

Today marks one week on trail. In some ways, it feels like a lot more, and in some ways a lot less.

Last night there were more weird dreams. In this one, I was attending a church service, which would be unusual for me, as I am not especially religious. The church service began playing the song, “September Morn” by Neil Diamond, and my conscious brain realized that it was a dream, as I had heard that song on my playlist just yesterday. Still, the dream may have some relevance, as one could argue that the outdoors are kind of like a church for me.

I have to admit that I was a bit worried about whether I would sleep last night, for two reasons. First of all, I don’t traditionally sleep well when I am alone in the woods, as I tend to be jumpy. Secondly, it was cold and I wasn’t confident that my 40 degree quilt would keep me warm. Thankfully, neither one proved to be an issue. I stayed plenty warm all night, and I never heard anything to make me jumpy. This was also my first night using my tent so far, and it did really well.

Once I hit the AT, it was half a mile of heavy climbing until I broke tree line on Saddleback Horn. It was breezy but beautiful up there. I took a bunch of pictures at the summit and then continued on my way to Saddleback prime. I have hiked the Saddlebacks twice before, and I was impressed at how easy it was this time. I could actually follow the trail instead of guessing at it, because it wasn’t obscured by snow.

As I began climbing Saddleback prime, I met a weird day hiker. She was wearing a mask, and she seemed like her only goal was to get past me as quickly as possible. Maybe some social anxiety? I wasn’t sure.

The Saddlebacks were beautiful, but eventually I had to leave them behind and head towards Rangeley. As I descended, I came across a trail crew working on the trail. They were using some kind of zip line to move rocks. A northbounder told me that he had already jokingly asked if he could ride the line, so I decided not to go that route. Instead, I hurried through as quickly as I could to avoid causing any trouble for them.

I stopped for a quick snack at Piazza Rock Lean To, and met four day hikers there with their dog. They asked me if I knew where Piazza Rock was. I assumed that it had to be nearby, given that the Lean To was named after it, but I had no idea. I told them that Guthook mentioned some caves nearby, so it might be related to that, but that’s all I could give them.

After leaving the Lean To, I came upon a bunch of northbound section hikers. There was one sectioning from Vermont to the end of the trail at Katahdin, and there was a father-daughter pair (or that’s what I assume they were) who were planning to finish the trail in three summers. This was summer two. We all chatted for a while before going our separate ways.

Not long after, I had to move aside to let a large group pass. And when I say large, I mean 17 people. At first I thought that they might be day hikers, but I realized that they were carrying overnight equipment. I am just glad that I didn’t wind up at a Lean To with that group.

Pretty soon I made it to the road, Route 4, and I turned right and walked 0.2 miles along the highway to get to the Hiker Hut, my destination for tonight.

The Hiker Hut is totally unique amongst hostels I have been to. If is off-grid, so no electricity. It does have beautiful gardens, and a very relaxed vibe.

One of the most unique features is the outdoor shower, powered by a gas tank. It works okay, but gusts of wind can be unpleasant.

The Hiker Hut offers a free shuttle into town, so I took a trip to recharge my electronics and do my laundry. When I got into town, I ran into Honeydew’s three friends, Vortex, Magic, and Landmoose, at the laundromat. Honeydew, it seems, powered past them last night. He’s really fast, so I doubt that I will see him again, though who knows?

I asked Vortex and Magic to watch my stuff charging for a little while so that I could go get an ice cream. The ice cream shop had a beautiful location, right on the lake. It reminded me of some of the businesses that surround Camden Harbor here in Maine.

I got myself a vanilla milkshake, and it was really good. I think it was actually the first time on trail that I have splurged for food. Before this, I have mostly just been buying DiGiorno pizzas in towns.

Here’s an amazing fact: right across from the laundromat, they had a video rental store! I didn’t think those existed anymore. It’s amazing the things you will sometimes find in the middle of nowhere.

I sent myself a large resupply to the hostel, so the next few days are going to feature a heavy pack. It’s not ideal, but a hiker’s got to eat (a lot).

After we returned to the Hiker Hut from town, a number of other hikers streamed in. Two of these hikers were G-Bolt and Recon. I knew that I had heard the names before, but I couldn’t remember where. I assumed they were famous YouTubers or something and didn’t think too much of it.

An amazing coincidence is about to occur, but first some background. Back in 2018, I hiked The Long Trail and met a hiker named RTK. He was a prolific writer and wrote a book about his experiences afterwards. In the book, he discusses how he was having the blues on trail until he met me, and then we hiked together for a few days. This made him realize that he needed a hiking partner. Eventually he found two hiking partners in New Hampshire, but one had to drop out, and he completed the Appalachian Trail with the other one.

Well, when I met G-Bolt and Recon today, I overheard them discussing RTK. I mentioned that RTK was a friend of mine, and then I finally put it together that G-Bolt and Recon were the hikers that he met after me. I said, “I’m Hawk,” and G-Bolt then remembered RTK talking about me. As it turns out, Recon only hiked with RTK for three days before Recon got hurt, but G-Bolt finished the AT with RTK.

We were all stunned at the sheer odds that all three of us should randomly meet like this, and without RTK even being involved in it. Just like RTK meeting me lifted his spirits back in 2018, meeting G-Bolt and Recon lifted my spirits for this hike. It provided a link between my Long Trail experience in 2018 and this hike.

I spent most of the rest of the evening chatting with G-Bolt and especially Recon, as Recon was more the talker. I am really glad that I stayed at The Hiker Hut for a few reasons, but most of all because of getting the chance to meet G-Bolt and Recon.

I want to thank TL and JT for their continued comments, and thank ARM for her recent comments as well. I always enjoy reading everyone’s comments. I know that I don’t respond to them, as the software makes it difficult to do, especially from a phone, but please know that I read and appreciate them.

Dinner tonight was Penne-demic Marinara from Outdoor Herbivore. It wasn’t bad, but overall Outdoor Herbivore has not been my favorite. I feel like it’s just not very flavorful.

Okay, you know what comes next. Always remember that you can’t take flight until you spread your wings.

Here are today’s flowers, from the beautiful gardens of The Hiker Hut.