Date: 2023-09-08
From: Little Swift River Pond

To: Piazza Rock Lean-to
Miles today: 6.6

Today was AWESOME!We woke up and started our 4.8 mile trek into town. The terrain was so nice! We flew! We haven¢t hiked that fast in a long tim! We made it to town in 1.75 hours! And when I say we made it to town, what I really mean is that we made it to the trailhead that¢s off a major road that will take you into town. HA! There¢s a hostel called the Hiker Hut 0.3 miles from trail, so we walked on the side of a large road to get there. It was so cute, because semis would pass us and honk their horn. Then this one particular semi honked his horn to the tune, da duh da da da, duh da! It was so cool!! We were all smiles! At the hiker hut, the owner gave us a ride into town. He dropped us off at the fitness center so we could get showers and weigh yourself for $10. It¢s basically like paying for a day pass. So, Toaster and I walked around the corner to get some shampoo and conditioner, then we all showered. It was glorious!!! Once we were done, we left the shampoo and conditioner with the employees so that they could give it to other thru-hikers to use. Moose Jaw weighed in at 170 lbs. Meaning he has lost 52 lbs! I weighed in at 131.3, so I¢ve lost five. Which I¢m shocked! I thought I for sure gained weight with as much as my calves have grown! A woman, Judy, from the fitness center (with her buddy) gave us all a ride to the laundromat half a mile down the road. This was a lot of fun because we stuffed four in the backseat and one in the trunk. We were all laughing! The gentleman driving us then asked us all what our trail names were, then he pointed to me and said, ¢Let¢s start with the pretty one.¢ I wash shocked and flattered! HA! Glad to see that the trail is doing me some good besides putting me in pain!Soon we were dropped off at the laundromat. We were happy to get our smelly, wet clothes clean. In between washing and drying our clothes we went to the outfitter and got some ice cream. Moose Jaw got a sundae and a milkshake. I got a blueberries & cream ice cream in a waffle cone. It was delicious!!! I was so happy. After we finished our laundry and packed our bags we went to the pub for a late lunch. Moose Jaw and I had a hard time eating our food since we felt overheated. We were eating outside, and it was especially hot today. But we were happy to have town food!We walked down the road to the grocery store to resupply. I picked up some Nutella Biscuit cookies, and a gentleman that worked at the store stopped me and told me that these cookies are ¢fire!¢ Toaster and I completely agreed! Then he commented on how nice my teeth were. That made me laugh. Moose Jaw and I have received that comment several times on trail. It¢s very nice of people to say! Two years of braces and headgear has pulled off!Judy took us back to trail, and she told us about living in Maine. She loves it up here. She¢s originally from Kentucky. She lived in California for awhile, before she moved up here. She used to have horses and a bad-to-the-bone truck with all of the bells and whistles. She got rid of it so she could have something with 4-wheel drive the entire time. As she dropped us off she told Stogie to eat a burger (which he does need to eat more, we all are worried he has lost too much weight) and wished us luck. We walked 1.8 miles to the lean-to and there was a ton of tenting for all of us! Moose Jaw and I got a photo taken in the double privy. We thought it was so funny! Who builds something like that!?All in all, today was awesome! I felt pretty relaxed!