Day 37

Magge subbing in for Jeff today -

After yesterday's harrowing hike, we arrived at a little slice of heaven called Mountain Harbor Hostel. For weeks now we have heard rumors of the legendary breakfast and superb comfort that awaited us. Though the weather did not look so great when we set out yesterday, I knew I had only 9 miles to go. After the previous day anything was going to seem like a cake-walk, right? Ha. Well, you already saw Jeff's post on that, so I will not rehash. Besides, I'm fairly certain I'm suffering from PTSD after those 9 miles and thinking too much about it may result in me curled up in the fetal position. For the rest of my life, I will probably shudder every time I hear the word "bald". If you can't tell, I didn't think yesterday was quite as "awesome" as my husband.

But I digress. So after our walk, we were relieved to arrive at the hostel. But alas! There was no room at the hostel. I bet you all can imagine how crushed I was when we were unable to get one of the beds in the hostel, but instead had to take one of the rooms at their B&B. Luckily, there was a room with a king and a single that we were able to split with a fellow hiker in order to lower costs.

This morning we awoke to some of the most amazing smells coming from the kitchen. The breakfast that the owner had been preparing since 4am more than lived up to the hype - quiche, sausage, chocolate-covered strawberries, salad, at least half a dozen different made-from-scratch breakfast breads, and lots more - the variety was incredible. Barely a word was uttered all through breakfast as everyone savored each different offering.

While the mood around the breakfast table was bright, the weather outside was anything but. Because we knew it was going to rain for the next several days, we decided to alleviate some of the suffering by doing something called "slack packing," where you have the hostel owner drop you off up the trail and then you hike back and stay at the same place where you stayed the previous night. Probably the best part is that you don't have to carry all your stuff. Also, knowing that having a warm room to sleep in after hiking in the rain makes all the difference in the world. Because of timing, Jeff decided we would need to cover 25 miles today. I have been pushing my knee (and the rest of my body) pretty hard and while I am not in agony by any means (Mom, I don't need to go home!) I decided that 25 miles in the rain - sounds like more of a deluge - was not what my knee wanted to do today. So at the moment Jeff is slack packing and I am just being a slacker and resting up a bit. I will have three days walking in the rain starting tomorrow, so I will be getting my fill of hiking in the rain!