Date: 2019-05-14
From: Boots Off Hostel

To: Rabbit Hole Hostel
Miles today: 20.6

Big slackpack today! Hiker Dan got out super early because he wanted to make it there in good time. Everyone else left at 8 in the shuttle up to the road. Hiker Dan and I had another stupid person join us haha and her name is Flowers. She¢s very sweet and she¢s from Germany! She headed out before me too. I packed up and gave them my trash bag of stuff and then took my time and had breakfast. The start of the slackpack was nice, but muddy. It was right along the lake though, and I love views like that. I ran into Wild Violet and she had lost her cup. I had seen it, but hadn¢t stopped to get it. I should¢ve. I think we all think about weight though when we see that. I also worry I¢ll never find the owner to the lost item and that I¢ll just carry it around for weeks as extra weight. I didn¢t know it was her¢s. I think she went back and got it though so it¢s okay. The climb uphill wasn¢t too bad, especially without pack, but it was long. It was easier after, but still uphill. I ran into everyone going southbound. I was frustrated by the trail today because it was very overgrown. I was getting scratched constantly and had cuts on my legs. And I was worried about ticks. It was annoying. I wish I could¢ve brought a lawnmower onto the trail and cleared it all. I saw Hot Sauce. I saw her yesterday too, slackpacking from the road she and Prometheus got off on. Today she was slackpacking from the same place Boots Off takes you to, so also southbound. I guess Prometheus is not doing any more hiking. He¢s just done now. I support him either way. But Hot Sauce wanted to do the mileage, so she¢s slackpacking. I guess I don¢t need to worry about getting ahead anymore. Hot Sauce had the dog of the owner of the hostel she¢s at. It was a beautiful dog and I was squealing. I was again jealous that I had not stayed with them at that hostel.I finally got through most of the mileage and saw Flowers. She was surprised I caught up to her. I was too, but also happy because that means I made good time. I headed in front and she was close behind and we made it down to the road. A man was there with trail magic, so he had a cold coke waiting for me and that was awesome! So so great. He¢s starting his own hostel called ¢The Discerning Hiker¢ next year. It was the best surprise at the end of my day to meet him. Unicorn and NAB were there. They were asking me about my pack and I stupidly said ¢I don¢t have my brain¢ and didn¢t realize what I said. So they gave me a look and I continued with, ¢yeah I didn¢t need my brain so I sent it home¢. At that moment I may have actually sent my real brain home. I got it late as I do with most jokes and then I laughed. 21 miles will wipe everything up there I tell ya. Haha. Flowers and I had sodas and snacks and I called the ¢Rabbit Hole¢, where we¢re staying tonight. They quickly came and got us. The ¢Rabbit Hole¢ is also a fairly new hostel. It has one main bunkhouse. No sheets, but towels and heat and fans. There are outdoor showers and outdoor potties. I liked it quite a bit actually. We had to wait a bit to get our stuff, but Rabbit, the owner, brought it up and we took showers and changed. The shower was hot!! It was hot for probably 20 minutes too before it got cold. I was so happy. They were watching ¢National Treasure¢ inside. That¢s always on TV haha. We saw Hiker Dan. He had gotten there much earlier, but we all made it! Someone at the trail magic nicely gave me a bracelet for the Rabbit Hole that he had gotten a while ago and wasn¢t going to use and that got me a free milkshake!! It was awesome!The hostel owners made ribs and mashed potatoes. That may sound amazing to most, but that is literally the least appealing to me. Ribs or any meat on a bone grosses me out, and I don¢t like mashed potatoes. Picky picky, I know. They had corn too and I do like corn, so I picked at the rest and had some corn. And then my chocolate milkshake for dessert! We watched TV and hung out. The hostel owner got a call from a hiker that had stayed the night before and was in a bit of a predicament. A bear ate her food! I¢ve been lucky to not have any bear interactions yet. She was camping alone and had an ursack, which is a really tough material bag that you can just tie to a tree. The bears apparently ¢can¢t rip through it¢, but this bear did. She saw him take her bag down and paw at it, and she tried to look big and scary and scream at it, as you¢re supposed to do. The bear didn¢t give a crap and stood up on his hind legs and stared at her. She quickly packed up and got out of there, nighthiking two miles to the road because she had no food and was scared. The hostel owner picked her up and brought her back. Her name is Salamander.Once we were all safely settled and relaxed, we headed to bed. Not sure what I¢m doing tomorrow, but if Hot Sauce is slackpacking and Prometheus is going in by car to Damascus, I guess I¢ll slack it too!Little Debbie