Day 115: Gus Returns

Man’s Best Friend

Gus was banished from hiking at Maryland-Pennsylvania state line after Northstar’s tick bite. Poor little guy, he finally given up even asking to go with me in the morning. I’d get up, he’d look over at me, and then flop back down on the bed in frustration, refusing to acknowledge my existence.

But since we’re through the worst of the tick habitat and his much shorter haircut makes ticks easier to find and less likely to end up in the van, he’s been cleared to hike again. He also got a Permethrin shower last night before bedtime. Fingers crossed he doesn’t come home with a new crop of ticks.

I love having a friend to talk to on the trail. Gus doesn’t say much, and he makes me carry his food and water, and he generally eats my cheese at lunch.  But he looks up at me whenever I say something, especially if it begins or ends with, “Right, Gus?” Despite having a month off, he knocked out a 19-miler today without a complaint.

Goals

I’ve started reciting my goals each day as I start hiking. It keeps me motivated and focused on the positive. I can endure if I remember the good things that come with endurance.

My goals for today consisted of checking off some miles in Massachusetts and visiting the Cookie Lady. The Cookie Lady has been handing out cookies and helping thru hikers for as long as I’ve been an AT junkie. The original Cookie Lady retired recently and moved away, but the new owners have vowed to keep up her tradition.

Beyond today, I’m focused on reaching Vermont this week and New Hampshire later this month. I can’t wait for some bigger mountains, hiking above the tree line, and seeing fall colors.

Today also marked four months on the trail. We have less than two months to go.

A Named Climb

Today’s hike started with a climb called Jacob’s Ladder. Anytime a climb has its own name, I assume I’m in for a doozy, especially when it includes the word “ladder.” But the ascent wasn’t particularly punishing, either in steepness or length. Plus, once I’d reached the top, I noticed that the rest of the day was basically a downhill walk, aside from a few sawtooth sections and a small PUD right before Dalton.

A Good Day for Walking

I started out with freshly laundered, clean, and aromatic clothes, a nice change from their condition two days ago. The morning air matched their clean, fragrant feeling and added a wonderful chill that had me dreaming about Fall.

I’ve been calling this weather “Salamander Mornings,” because the moist, post-rainstorm, chilly weather seems to bring them out on the trail. I see dozens of them, each one orange, alone, and frozen in fear from my approach. Neither Gus nor I bother them. I just call out their number as we pass, and Gus looks up to confirm the count.

The woods in this part of Massachusetts are thick, the dense understory accentuated by last night’s rain still clinging to the leaves and branches, dragging them down to shoulder height over the trail. This morning, a storybook mist swirled among the branches and leaves, giving the impression that a strange tale was about to unfold. I half expected to see a knight in armor ride around the next bend, emerging like magic out of the mists.

But instead, Gus and I walked alone, as usual, lonely heroes of our own small story set in a skyless land of brown and green.

Cookies or Magic

The Cookie Lady must have enemies. Or perhaps jealous competitors. I walked out of the woods expecting to see signs directing me up the road to the Cookie Lady’s house. Instead, two guys had set up a ring of sack chairs in front of two folding tables. Trail magic. Right by the trail with no extra walking required. It seemed pretty bold to set up magic within sight of the Cookie Lady, but I was hungry and had no cash to tip the Cookie Queen.

I really love cookies, but I guess I love not walking extra miles even more, because I sat down and let them shove hot dogs, Gatorade, chips, and donut holes at me. Our hosts were two section hikers who’d just summited Katahdin, finishing their three-section AT hike over two years. When they figured out why my pack was so small, they admitted to staying in hostels and motels most nights, and only using their backpacking stoves about 25 times.

The hosts said that they hadn’t seen any northbounders today, besides me and Deadbeat, a young woman who left Springer May 1^st. They’d only seen a handful of northbounders in the last two weeks that they’d been providing trail magic. I looked through their sign-in sheet and saw only one name I knew, Long Beard. If he’s the one I knew, I last saw him when he had Noro at Laurel Falls in southern Virginia.

More Magic

Deadbeat left the magic stop a minute or two ahead of me. Given that she’d started her thru hike three weeks after me, I didn’t expect to see her again. But I kept catching glimpses of her backpack in the distance, and eventually passed her when she stopped to filter water.

At the next road crossing, a woman sat by her hatchback in a sack chair. Her car’s open hatch revealed a cooler and boxes of goodies. The telltale signs of trail magic. Twice in one day. And on a Wednesday. I’ve only ever had double magics on weekends.

The host gave me the once over and asked if I was dayhiking – small pack, clean shaven, clean clothes, and a floofy dog – who can blame her? – so I pointed at my purple thru hiker tag. Reluctantly, she asked if I’d like a soda, but I don’t think I convinced her I was thru hiking. Then Deadbeat showed up and vouched for me. Deadbeat definitely has the thru hiker look.

Dalton

A text from Northstar got me moving again. She was parked in front of the ice cream shop in Dalton, right on the trail. She’d promised the owner that I’d be buying a cone so she could use the bathroom. I had a mission now, so Gus and I scooted on down the remaining miles to town.

While I picked out a cone, Northstar picked through Gus’ coat, checking for ticks. He’d picked up boots of caked mud but no ticks. We discovered this morning that Gus prefers sloshing through the mud to walking on the many planks and boardwalks.

As soon as he got the “all-clear” from Northstar, he climbed into the van and conked out.

I wouldn’t be far behind.

Daily Stats

• Start: US20 (Mile 1558.3)
• End: Dalton, Massachusetts (Mile 1577.3)
• Weather: Cool morning. Sunny, slightly humid.
• Earworm: You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift).
• Meditation: Rom 5:3-5
• Plant of the Day: Shelf fungus
• Goal: Miles, See the Cookie Lady
• Best Thing: Trail magic x 2
• Worst Thing: Mud