Thursday, May 12th

Canopus Lake Beach Shelter (1427.7 mi) to NY Route 52, Deli & Pizza (1437.8 mi)

Hiking Miles: 10.1

Total Ascent: 2,115.2 ft

Total Descent: 2,249.0 ft

Total Grade: 429.5 ft/mi

Steps: 27,086

We got an early start today at precisely 6:09 am so that we could reach the deli on Rte 52 in time for when Teresa picks us up. I was insisting we back-track down the blue blaze so as not to miss any of the actual trail, although the rule is you can connect back via a blue blaze as long as you stay overnight at a shelter along that path. I suppose I wasn’t ready to exercise that option yet, and given we only had 10 miles to hike, we had time.

The first few miles were pleasant; the terrain was relatively benign and we were sure that we would reach our destination well in advance of 2:00 pm, which was the approximate time Teresa would arrive. So I texted her to let her know our new ETA, and she left much earlier than planned.

On the way, we saw a number of cool sights – a few included a US flag painted on a rock, and a well-built hiker’s cabin named “Ralph’s Peak” (a sound shed structure that Ralphie boy could have built). When I stepped inside, one of the first things that caught my eye were two boots sticking out from the ceiling. It reminded us of the time I fell through our 2nd floor ceiling (from the attic) when I misstepped on the floor joists. The cabin was a good place for hikers to rest, and it had books if anyone wanted to chill and do a little light trail reading.

We arrived at the Mountain Top Deli by 11:20 am and we bought subs (I ordered an eggplant one), chips, sodas and beer. We officially completed 573.5 miles on our first leg of the journey. And this location would be the spot we would jump to once we completed our second leg from Georgia to Rockfish Gap in about 2 months from now (give or take). At this point we were happy with our progress, and were looking forward to spending 10 days at home resting and being with family.

Teresa arrived just before noon in my RAM truck; she ordered & ate some food before we headed out. We did however backtrack on the road (I drove) a little over an hour to hit the Hillvale Creamery near the Warwick Drive-In, a popular ice cream stop that we missed while there. We enjoyed some ice cream, and then Teresa drove us all back to NH where we arrived at 5:30 pm. It was great to be home and seeing the cats!