Date: 2022-08-27
From: Gifford Woods State Park

To: MoseyÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Place
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

We got moving around 6:30 this morning. We were 3 miles from our pickup spot in Route 4 and had to be there at 9:30. We slowly packed stuff and ate breakfast, enjoying the shelter and the picnic table. All of the hikers that were stealth camping in the campground were long gone by the time we started walking at 8:00. Not far down the trail we met Obie Wan who was camped on the flat next to the trail. We had first met him in Maine just before our climb up to Crocker Cirque. Grayson, Leg, and I had stopped at the river to cook off. Obie Wan came along as Grayson and I were sitting in the cold current. It was fun to see him again. We told him we were leaving Vermont for parts south at 9:30. Maybe we¢ll meet again.  Hudson arrived at the trailhead parking area on Route 4 at 9:15 just after we walked up. Our first shuttle driver was forced to cancel. I called Hudson only 3 days before we needed him. ¢That¢s going to be an expensive shuttle!¢, he texted in reply to my inquiry. ¢You ought to look at some other options.¢ We had looked deep into other options! After some text ping-pong he agreed to do it. Hudson lives near Falls Village, CT. He¢s hiked the trail twice, had loads of adventure stores from Alaska, and is a guy that tells it like it is. He mentors groups of hikers like us at his house-turned-hostel near the trail. We didn¢t get to visit his house but he did offer some good advice and perspective about our hike as we drove. He put our minds at peace a bit about the task and the timeline before us. We chose Dunkin Donuts for a ¢second breakfast¢ stop. Picnic Pizza was our lunch - maybe the best we¢ve had on our adventure (rivaled only by the pizza in Greenwood Lakes on our 4th night out). Hudson got us to Mosey¢s Place in Port Jervis about 2:30. He¢d been in the car for 8 hours and had another two-and-a-half to get back home. We shook hands with him and thanked him as we unloaded gear into the driveway. Thank you, Hudson!We turned from one trail character, now, to face another - Mosey.Mosey is a retired mail carrier who has also thru-hiked the trail. Her eyes and smile are energetic and youthful while her face, worn by 25 years of walking her mail route, exudes wisdom and comfort. She is the quintessential storybook mail carrier just as Tom Levardi is the grocer - Richard Scary¢s ¢Busytown¢ come to life. Mosey invited us in and showed us around her home. We shared the 6-bed bunk room with Gwen, who is coming close to completing the AT in sections. Baxter and Grayson both had packages waiting for them. Baxter had ordered himself a Kindle e-reader. Grayson had a new watch in his envelope. Grayson started the hike with a Garmin Vivofit Jr watch. He¢s certain he lost it at Green Mountain Hiker Hostel the day we met Josh Bennett there. Grayson is the ¢are we there yet¢ kid. I realized that he doesn¢t really mind the miles, but the time it takes us is important for him to know. With a watch and a knowledge of our pace, he can tell pretty well how far we¢ve been and how much more trail we have to go. I, myself, far prefer this method to the phone apps and guidebooks. The latter are good for beginning- and end-of-day review. I enjoy putting them away while I hike and take the day in long chunks of trail.  We lounged around Mosey¢s house for the afternoon reading, chore-ing, and resting. Jasper has a lingering infection on his big toe we were able to soak. It seems to be on the mend. We ordered Chinese delivery with Gwen and ate around the large dining room table. I got in the car with Mosey about 7:30 and we headed to Walmart for resupply. What a joy, Walmart. An American phenomenon. EVERYTHING you need under one roof. FAMILY SIZE packaging! We needed minimal resupply for the days ahead because of the many restaurant-stops along the next 60 miles of trail. I did buy 100+ snack bars in 3 boxes. You can¢t do that in Maine!Packs are packed and beds are full. Breakfast is served tomorrow at 6:30. We¢ll be back at High Point State Park tomorrow before 8:00.