We woke behind the October Mountain Shelter and besides The Noobs, we were the last ones out. As usual.
While I was perusing the morning’s entries in the shelter log, a hiker named Second Wind stopped by. An energetic thru from Maine he, like us, was excited to get back into the northern states.
The highlight of today was the Cookie Lady’s house, a long standing tradition on the trail. There is a new owner of the old blueberry farm, and thus the second or third Cookie Lady is now tasked with giving out cookies to passing hikers.
I had camped on the property in 2016. It was one of my best and most memorable nights on trail with Rev, Casey, and Frosty. The pizza that took two hours to deliver, and the grandson of the Cookie Lady, Forest, who kept us supplied with sodas at fifty cents each.
Ruth, the new owner, is a kind creative who is breathing life back into the place. New, vibrant signs adorned the farm, and in addition to cookies she had some bandanas and jewelry for sale. The highlight though, was the hibiscus lemonade she handed out in sealed mason jars. Absolutely magical stuff, we told her she should call it “Ruth’s Ruby Lemonade” and sell it to hikers, though in a lighter container.
We found Second Wind there talking with another light and fast hiker named Margeritaville. Very cool people. Due to their hiking style though, it’s unlikely we’ll see them again.
After savoring the last drops of lemonade, we continued on, passing a small pond. The banks were quintessentially northeastern in a way that’s difficult to describe. You just know them when you see them. The color of the pine needles, the scent of spruce, and the darkness of the mud, all indicated Vermont was very near.
We walked into Dalton on the blazes, past a massive cemetery. A grandpa with biceps the size of my head was pushing his granddaughter in a stroller.
“Yes darling, those are hikers!” He cooed to her when she pointed at us as we passed them.
Kids are absolutely precious on trail, and I love hearing:
“Mommy those people SMELL!” Utterd by the most honest members of our society.
We managed to land a hitch to Walmart with a guy named Jason. He is an avid backpacker and asked for tips on getting lighter. He knew most of my advice already though.
After a small resupply and absolutely gorging ourselves on Subway sandwiches, we sat in the small restaurant booth for about an hour.
We ended up checking into an Econolodge across the street. The rate was too good to pass up, but the place was in seriously rough shape. Hikers need little though, and a freshly showered Tater and I fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Dirty Girl Hikes 