Day 25: So Much Food!

• White Horse Lodge (off Appalachian Gap 164.8)
• 0 ft ascent, 0 ft descent
• Bonus Miles: 0

We arrived at the White Horse Lodge last night. When we were planning our trip, I was overwhelmed with the costs and complexity of lodging in the Sugarbush area. Somehow I stumbeled on to the Whitehorse Lodge by looking at an internet map on my home computer. I placed a call to ask about their facility and the ease of hitchhiking to them. Inn keepers Mike and Dana immediately folded us into their care. They had space, they would fetch us and return us to the trail, and they had laundry. Our itinerary dates changed by a couple of days and they still were accommodating. When we had to make our bad weather escape, they figured out where we were and scooped us up as if it was the most normal thing in the world. 

Adding a Night

In addition to all that, we asked to add one more night so we had two full zeros. When we arrived, we had three nights and an upgraded room. We had a kitchen and days to eat!

We were all eager to take full advantage of our unexpected kitchen in our family unit.  Clean beds was wonderful but a full kitchen of our own was unexpected riches.

Adding Food

Mike took us to the grocery store and waited for us to do a large grocery run. It took longer than we expected because the store was very busy. 

When we got back to our room last night we unpacked our groceries and looked in shock at how much food we had bought. It filled the fridge.

One of the things we try hard to do is not over commit when we are hungry. We are very sad if we waste food. I had made a menu and list before we left but so much food came back! Careful inspection of the food suggests we can actually eat it all. 

Adding New Gear

One of the important things to do while on this zero is to replace broken equipment. The Historian’s boots have given up. After 660 miles on the AT and 164 miles on the LT rocks, they are chewed up. His new pair were waiting for him here.

My trail shoes had less than 10 miles when we started. They too, need to be replaced. In addition, both of our right side treking poles are worn down to the plastic. The left side poles still have metal spikes, but the Long Teail ate the right sides. 

I even got a new kula. After nearly 1000 miles, my old faithful green flower one just doesn’t wash up well anymore.

Our packages were waiting for us when we arrived. Mike and Dana also promised to take us back to Waitsfield to get stove fuel since the outfitters was closed today.

Let the Eating Begin

Last night we were exhausted from getting off the mountain, getting to town, and getting groceries. Moreover, our late afternoon lunch was copious. 

If we had been at home, a bowl of plain yogurt would have been a fine dinner. About 7 pm, we all agreed we actually were hungry. 

I quickly sautéed our hamburger patties and Rock Rabbit made a lovely salad of greens, mozzarella pearls and tomatoes. I made chimichuri sauce and we added olive bread. 

We don’t drink much but I found a bottle of wine named “Do Epic S**it” and couldn’t pass it up. Honestly, I was not sure we would even drink it but it made a great joke. 

Bacon and Eggs

This morning we were hungry again. Rock Rabbit made bacon and eggs for breakfast. He masterfully managed to cook two eggs each for us, sunny side up. I can hardly do that at home and he pulled it off on a rental unit stove with a pan he didn’t know. 

I made biscuit-like bread from pancake mix. They were OK, mostly because we were hungry. 

Lunch

We did chores sorting our resupply boxes and putting snow seal on boots. Soon, we were hungry again. 

We ate salad greens, raw veges and yogurt with gusto. More chores followed. I was busy organizing information for this blog. 

Dinner

I could not believe we were ready to eat again. I had found a large package of organic lamb chops on sale. Broccoli and new waxy potatoes were also on sale. Together, they made a spectacular meal. 

Sleeping

As we slowed down after our hard week’s push, we realized just how tired we were.

Rock Rabbit did a spectacular job of napping off and on throughout the day. The Historian mixed naps and laundry. He always faithfully washes our clothes for us. Everyone helped with the blog. 

When the day came to a close, we threw caution  to the wind and stayed up past hiker midnight. At 9:30 pm, our grateitide for the White Horse Lodge and Mike and Dana’s kindness escorted us to dreamland.