Date: 2017-09-27
From: Woods Hole hostel

To: Woods Hole hostel
Miles today: 0.0

For the second day in a row, we've been dissed by section hikers for our modest mileage aspirations. Yesterday it was by JB, a former AT thru hiker who was back out for a month, and today a LASHer* from DC called Siesta openly mocked our intended seven-mile day.But we had the last laugh -- we didn't leave at all!There were external reasons for this -- it had been a while since we'd had a full day off and, as suspected, Sriracha's little toe is pretty messed up from his unintentional soccer practice with a boulder yesterday afternoon.But mostly it was because Woods Hole turned out to be an even cooler and more inviting place than the stories we'd heard, with the result that we just didn't want to leave. As an organic farm which creates and serves its own meals, this is a kind of nirvana for Dirt but she was ostensibly the keenest of us to move on -- but for reasons of finances rather than an actual desire to hike further. But the kind of place Woods Hole is -- and the reason why it's so welcoming -- was demonstrated by the existence of the Broke Hiker Jar. For obvious reasons, it's not advertised outside as such but visitors whose bank balances are a little more replete can donate to a jar used for those who are running short on cash to pay for meals and accommodation. This was tailor made for Dirt's situation, and I donated enough for someone to stay in the dorm and have a meal, so the end result was it came out even. Even without that, the jar was full of $20 notes among smaller denominations.The cool vibe was also despite some obvious marital friction between Neville and Michael. She described him as "an intense energy" and I later heard a series of stories of enmity, although I never witnessed it myself. Running a place like this isn't for everyone and it was probably for the best that he was going to be taking the next year off, having adventures elsewhere.For the rest of us, it was time to chill and play with the hyperkinetic kitten before we gathered for the 4pm group yoga session and then repaired to the kitchen to help create the latest evening repast.Need I say it? Life is good.(* Long Ass Section Hiker)AT fact of the day: I spent the day reading most of Grandma Gatewood's Walk, the story of an Ohio grandmother who was the sixth person and first woman to thru-hike the AT. It was particularly famous for her verdict on the trail immediately after she finished: "I read about this trail three years ago in a magazine and the article told about the beautiful trail, how well marked it was, that it was cleared out and that there were shelters at the end of a good day's hike. I thought it would be a nice lark. It wasn't. There were terrible blow downs, burnt-over areas that were never re-marked, gravel and sand washouts, weeds and brush to your neck, and most of the shelters were blown down, burned down or so filthy I chose to sleep out of doors. This is no trail. This is a nightmare. For some fool reason they always lead you right up over the biggest rock to the top of the biggest mountain they can find. I've seen every fire station between here and Georgia. Why, an Indian would die laughing his head off if he saw those trails. I would never have started this trip if I had known how tough it was, but I couldn't and I wouldn't quit." Still rings true, 60 years later!