Date: 2017-10-11
To: Woods Hole
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

10/11Woods Hole Hostel10.6 milesI packed as much as I could in the evening so the morning could be mellow. I drank coffee and ate a muffin. The muffins were on the filling side and I still had two left so I tried to give them away. I had a hard time finding takers, but Sail came in with a packet of oatmeal to eat and she was not hard to convince. I wrote "Free" on the box and left the last one there. Surely someone will eat it. Sartek (spelling a guess) drove me up to the trail crossing and I was off. The hike up to Angel's Rest wasn't bad, but it got steep enough that my calves started feeling overstretched. I did the last steep bits on the balls of my feet. It helped my calves but then the balls of my feet kinda hurt. It's always something, isn't it?I carried not much more than a liter of water out of town, expecting to get more after the climb. I never did see the spring I was intending to use, so I was running on almost empty by the time I got to Doc's Knob. I stepped carefully down the trail of rocks to get to the spring there. The pool was small but cold and clear. I could hear the water flowing under the mossy rocks a little downhill. I filtered two liters and ate a little snack as I watched clouds drift by. The clouds started getting darker and greyer. Thunder rumbled. I took that as my cue to stop eating and pack up. My stomach felt a little funky too. I ate while I walked in the morning, but most of my snacks were untouched. I figured I was just sufficiently fed from my town experience, but it soon became apparent that it was going to be a bloat and suffer afternoon. Dang it! I was headed to Woods Hole so I would have a good place to wait for my stomach to settle, but there was no way I could eat Neville's cooking like that. And her food is worth eating. Neville was out when I got there. Michael showed me around. The bunkhouse has gotten nicer since I was last here. There is an entire new shower building as well. The showers are quite nice - I have new goals if I ever design my own bathroom. The water is heated by a wood fired furnace uphill from the building. The shower was deliciously warm. After I cleaned up I noticed that it was so well ventilated that it was actually unusually easy to dry off afterwards. I sat on a sofa on the bunkhouse porch and petted dogs for a while. It didn't help my belly but it did make me happy. The dogs appeared to enjoy it too. The dogs take their "bark at strangers" duty seriously, but they clearly feel that couch time is important too. I made a cup of miso soup and munched on a little dried fruit. Ironically, I only last night removed a packet of mint tea from my food bag. I had carried it for months without using it. I suppose it was inevitable that I immediately got an upset stomach. Neville came down to tell me that she was making miso soup and salad for dinner. I had to laugh. I told her I had just had miso. It was kind of her to think of me. I figure by breakfast time I'll be back to normal so I'll catch up with her then. I have plans to go up in the morning to help get the meal ready. It's so good to see her! I want to hear all about how things have been since I was here last.