Day 107 – Thru-Hiker Barbie, by Mattel

I woke up on the floor of the Sola church hostel around 7AM. I had taken a few Benadryl the night before to help with the itching from the countless mosquitos bites I’ve gotten. The morning grogginess from the drugs lingered a little that morning. Coffee with our hosts helped some.

We packed up and met with Hatcher, Stanley and Rabbit at the general store in town. We got breakfast sandwiches and I packed out a soda and pastrami sandwich for later. Rabbit was itching to get started for the day (probably couldn’t contain his excitement for the Barbie movie).

We got on trail and before we even really left Unionville, we found trail magic in someone’s front yard. There was a mini fridge with sodas and beer. I’m not the biggest beer drinker but Hatcher asked me to shotgun a beer with him. I don’t take kindly to having my arm twisted so I agreed.

Radaghast offered up his knife for me to make my incision in the can. The key to a solid beer shotgun is a large bore hole from which to drink. We did the countdown, 3, 2, 1, Go! Cans clicked open and within a few seconds, mine dropped empty to the ground in victory. I let the carbonated air escape my stomach with a large burp and exclaimed out loud “college.”

Hiking today was very cruise-y. We passed over fields and through woods. We also walked through a bog on an elevated boardwalk path near Pochuck Creek. It was a nice change of scenery from the green tunnel we’ve become accustomed to.

I listened to more of the 3rd book in the Red Rising series, Morning Star. I’ve devoured it over the last 2 days. I was so engrossed in it today I walked right passed a food stand where everyone had stopped for ice cream and drinks.

The next mile was all uphill to Pinwheels Vista. It’s a popular tourist spot, especially on the weekends. I was mildly annoyed as I passed by the large crowds of out of shape “normies” clogging up the trail paths. I’m kidding, it’s nice to see people out there being active. It’s something more people should aspire to (if for no other reason than to keep health insurance premiums low, kidding again).

I got to the top and turned my phone off airplane mode. I immediately got 8 missed messages. Everyone was still down the hill I just climbed, consuming calories. My FOMO was real. I asked someone to bring me a soda and Kodiak brought me one Hatcher had bought for me. The 40 calorie probiotic soda was not exactly what I had in mind but it was refreshing nonetheless (surprisingly).

From the vista we could see the high point monument in the distance. It looked so far away for having just passed it close to 24 hours earlier.

After hanging out at the lookout for close to 90 minutes, I continued the 4 more miles up the road to our stopping point for the day. I came to a road and got a hitch into town within the first 10 cars to pass by. I got a ride to the Warwick Drive-In Theater Campsite. We had a date with Barbie.

At the campsite I met up with Gavin (now trailname “Chiquita”). Gavin I hiked during my first few weeks on the trail and I’d consider him an OG Tramily member. He flipped up from Harpers Ferry to NY to make it to Maine in time before they close. His was one of my 8 missed messages. Luck would have it he was getting on trail right where we were ending and I convinced him to join us.

We grabbed a cider with PFT and Highlight at the Cidery down the road and I got some snacks for the movie from the grocery store. The Barbie movie was eh but the drive-in experience was fun. We had our tents set up on a hill behind the cars and they gave us a radio for 5$ to listen to the audio. After the movie sleep came quickly. Tomorrows plan is a mystery.

Stow away in my pack for day 108 of the Appalachian Trail.