Date: 2013-07-19
From: Grayson Monastery

To: Hosner Mountain Road
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The last 3 days have been awesome. It all started when Jabberwocky and I hiked from Clarence Fahnestock State Park to the RPH Shelter. We left the campgrounds after a loud and obnoxious night of "car campers" partying it up around our campsite. The guide book said we could order pizza and have it delivered to the RPH Shelter since it is located right by a road. Before we had a chance to call for pizza, a guy named Bill drove up to the shelter. He lives nearby and periodically checks on things at the shelter. He invited us to join him for some live music at a bar that night. He said we could stay at his house and do laundry and shower. This night was sounding better and better! Jabberwocky, Neema, Achilles, and I jumped at this opportunity. Bill is a former thru-hiker. He did the trail in 1999. His wife Amy, and their two daughters live in a house that is .2 mile off the trail. He said he bought the house because it was so close to the trail. Their family takes in hikers on a regular basis. The usually cook waffles for breakfast and post signs along the trail inviting hikers to join them in the morning. The next day, they offered to slack-pack us for a 17 mile hike. Slack packing is when you hike without carrying your pack, or you carry a day pack with just the things you need for the day. Amy drove me and Jabberwocky 17 miles north on the trail and dropped us off. We, then, hiked southbound with just a small day pack carrying our water and some snacks. We hiked back to their house. It was a fast day! I love slack packing because I feel so light on my feet! It was so weird hiking back to the same place I had stayed the night before. Normally, I don't know what the shelter or campsite is going to look like until I get there. It kind of felt like I was on my way home. I had my bed already made and all my stuff waiting for me at the house. In addition to that, Amy said she'd make us dinner that night. It doesn't get any better than this!The next day, we decided to hang out with them at their house and take a zero day. At 4pm, there was going to be a meeting of Warrior Hikers (veterans who are hiking the trail together) and they were going to make some speeches. We were going to stay behind afterward and camp, then get back to hiking the next day. Unfortunately, when we arrived, I realized I had lost my phone. We later found out that I had set my phone on top of Bill's car and it fell off on the road. After struggling (and by struggling, I mean trying not to shoot myself in the head) to explain to my mom how to download and use the Find My iPhone app, I was able to locate my phone at the side of the road. It was about a mile from the house. Amy said when she found my phone, the cover was at the side of the road, and my phone was in the middle of the lane. The screen was completely shattered, but surprisingly it still worked! Bill and Amy were stuck with us another night. This is the first time I've stayed at the same place 3 nights in a row! They were now referring to us as the "resident hikers" lol! They said they'd take me to the Verizon store in the morning so I could get a new phone. I am hoping it won't be too expensive to replace it. I'm pretty sure I have insurance on the phone.Well, I better get going now. They are waiting for me to finish so we can go to the store.