Date: 2015-06-20
From: Spruce Peak Shelter

To: Manchester
Miles today: 2.8

Day 109. Peak shelter to Manchester Center. 2.8 miles.I had a very short hiking day today. I woke up about 6.30, left the shelter at 7.15, and was getting a hitch into town by 8.15. I spent most of the day lounging on a sofa and consuming an incredible amount of calories. The weather started off really spectacular. Bright blazing sunshine streaming in chunks through the trees. It was almost blinding to step into these small sections of summer, and then a relief to go back under the shade of the leaf cover. The trail was still extremely muddy, and I couldn't avoid getting my feet wet. I had managed to mostly dry my socks, but they were hardened with mud and uncomfortable to wear. My shoes felt the same, but they were caked in so much mud it was impossible to see the shoe underneath. Big Ben and I got a ride into Manchester by a day hiker. We went straight to "Up For Breakfast", which was incredibly busy. I had completely forgotten that today was a Saturday. Still, we managed to get the last table free. I suspect the people around us were less than happy with our general hiker odour, but there wasn't much we could do about it. We both ordered the "Hungry Hiker", which was 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, 2 slices of bacon, toast and little potato cubes. I had already eaten 3 packets of instant oats for breakfast, but still managed to enjoy and finish my larger second breakfast. The outfitters were still closed when we left breakfast, so we went to the Price Chopper and resupplied. It wasn't too expensive, considering the rest of the town. Manchester is quite posh compared to most of the places I've hiked by, it has a lot of outlet stores. I can safely say that I have not seen Armani or Ralph Lauren shops in any other trail town so far. It made me feel a little out of place, with my mud covered everything. Luckily it was so early that none of the places we visited outside of breakfast were especially busy. So we resupplied and then went to EMS. I was on a hunt for some new shoes, and something for my ankle. The staff at EMS didn't have anything for my ankle, and told me to go back to the hostel and get cleaned up, and then come back and try on some shoes. I could understand their response, my shoes and socks were wet and muddy. I probably smelt absolutely disgusting, and my feet were likely even worse. Which is why I was greatly surprised when the Mountain Goat Outfitters up the street had an entire basket of socks for me to use and were extremely helpful in allowing me to test multiple pairs of shoes. I am really impressed by the woman who helped me, I mean she was really doing the whole shoe sale service- holding the shoe open, tying the laces, untying the laces. And again, let me reiterate that my feet (even with fresh socks) were still dirty from four days of mud baths. I can definitely recommend the outfitters for their service, their stock and the prices weren't too bad. I ended up getting a new pair of Saloman X-Ultra. They have a lot of grip and most importantly felt comfortable (particularly around my ankle). Tomorrow I will get to ruin my brand new shoes in the miles of mud. I will be sure to take before and after photos. Tomorrow the weather is also predicted to be quite bad, and storm clouds have been rolling in all afternoon. It's a bit unfortunate, as tomorrow is both Father's Day and the Summed Solstice, which is traditionally a day where hikers go naked. I definitely won't be participating in that particular tradition, but I hope that the hikers who do don't suffer from the poor weather. After getting new shoes, and Big Ben picked up a new rain jacket, we called the hostel and Jeff came to pick us up. The Green Mountain House hostel is quite nice, though far away from town so you're basically stuck there all day. It is just a large house which hikers have mostly free roam over. It's very comfortable, there are free drinks, free laundry, and a free pint of Ben and Jerrys icecream. (I ate my pint in one easy sitting). Tonight the hostel is full, and I expect it will be for the rest of the summer. It is just a nice, comfortable, clean place. I think a lot of people are probably reminded of their own homes when they come here. As I have already written, I spent the majority of the day lounging and eating. I've probably eaten at least 5,000 calories today that I will need to hike off tomorrow. In the meantime, I hope the storm rages tonight whilst I'm nice and safe inside and has completely cleared by tomorrow. Big Ben also kindly dug through the hiker box and miraculously found an ankle support, which is exactly what I've been looking for. Hopefully it'll stop me from rolling my ankle quite so much and reduce the likelihood of severe damage.