Tuesday, August 2nd

Hiking Miles: 0

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM – Trouble

Gator/Sunrise: Today we decided to take an absolute “zero”. Croc completed a successful 3-hr (9 am – 12 pm) remote interview (three separate call-ins) for a new finance position within Target Corporation. He found a cozy secluded area outside on the grounds to conduct the call, with perfect weather this morning. While Croc interviewed, I kept myself busy with calling Teresa, helping Hopper put fresh sheets and pillow cases on beds for new arrivals, and took a shuttle ride to the market and brought back lunch for myself and Croc.

But first thing this morning, I helped Hopper prepare breakfast for all the guests, including setting the tables and keeping the flow of coffee going. This too involved learning a new process, which I somewhat perfected over our 3-day stay. Prep time took place between 5:30 am – 7:00 am and being an early bird, this worked out perfectly. It also gave me one-on-one time to talk with Hopper and pick her brain about trail strategy.

I started by cracking 30 farm fresh eggs (their soft shells broke incredibly easy). I then mixed a large bowl of pancake mix and milk stirring it vigorously in a large bowl that rested in the sink preventing any powder or batter spillage from reaching the counter or the floor. Then I folded in fresh blueberries and continued mixing.

In between making sure the dining room coffee pot remained full, and placing bananas at every table setting, I chatted with Hopper about her hiking experiences as she remarkably thru-hiked the AT three times in her past. Among the many stories she told, I found it interesting that she would tell hikers that it was okay to bypass certain sections of trail in order to summit Katahdin to meet a personal deadline, or before the park closed for the season.

Then just like that, it was 7 am and guests were arriving for breakfast. Coffee was consumed quickly and I had two pots filled at a time in the dining hall, while I helped to bring in the large plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs, home fries, sausages, fresh fruit and orange juice. Every morning would entail the same process, and the same delicious food.

After eating our lunch in The Cabin’s living area on the ground floor, we decided it best to stay and do a 21-mile slack pack the following day before leaving our stay there. It would also allow the two of us to rest our bodies before pushing into our final two weeks on trail.

I also ordered a bouquet of flowers and chocolates for Teresa from a florist in Nashua in appreciation for all she has done to support us on this journey. Especially the numerous long car rides (to and from) to pick us up, coordinating stays and resupplies, and supporting us on a moments notice whenever we pivoted our plans. She was by far our Best and Favorite Trail Angel! On the subject of pivoting, we met a new hiker that afternoon who arrived for a night’s stay whose Trail name interestingly was “Pivot” (just like my first section trail name). And ironically, she was from Minnesota and didn’t live far from where Stevie and Christina reside. 

Later in the day, Croc and I both caught up on laundry and talked with a number of the existing and new guests as they were shuttled in. I even tried soaking my feet in a vibrating foot bath I found in their bathroom. Whether it was simply my imagination or not, my aching feet felt better and ready for our long day tomorrow.

For dinner, Honey cooked another favorite of her’s – Shepherd’s Pie. It was accompanied by a crisp garden salad, freshly picked corn on the cob, rolls and lots of lemonade. Each night for dessert, Honey would make a new batch of chocolate brownies. Croc and I sat at the back table (a two person setting) as to allow some of the new folks to sit and converse at the large table with Honey.

Croc: Not much to report on today for our zero that Gator didn’t already cover. I was able to sleep in until 7:00 AM, waking up to a loaded breakfast prepared by Gator and Hopper. Shortly after breakfast, I began practicing for my phone interview at Target. I didn’t have a lot to work with, so I jotted some notes down on my phone and called it a day. I was fortunate to find a spot on the lawn where I could take my calls but still also have reliable service. Lucky for me, Gator went out to the marketplace and grabbed me a sandwich for lunch while I was interviewing, so I had that to look forward to as well!

The rest of the day was full of normal activities like calling Christina, doing laundry, soaking our feet, and, most importantly, planning out our next two weeks on the trail. At this point, we had a goal to finish the AT in 120 days and figured we could bust out the last 270ish miles over the next two weeks. This was going to work well because I had a wedding on August 20th, so summiting on August 16th would afford me a couple of days to get back home, clean up, and drive out to Amherst, MA. It would also give us some flexibility if weather slowed us down or if we needed a zero day. We ultimately worked backward, knowing that Katahdin would be its own day and be about 5 of those miles. We gave ourselves another 5 days for the 100-mile wilderness and the trail to Katahdin’s base (Birch Campsite). Other than planning for the Kennebec River crossing, which had strict morning hours for the canoe, and our next day’s slack pack, we just divided up the remaining days as best we could wherever a shelter was available. I think we even had a best-case scenario of finishing in 10 days and a worst case that would put us closer to 16 days. Either way, like any planning on the AT, it didn’t go as planned, but we still kept to it as best as we could.

Also, funny side story regarding Don again (no surprise). I caught a glimpse of his room while I was walking to the bathroom since his room was right next to the bunk room and the only way to the rest of the house was either (1) going outside, or (2) going down the slim hallway (where Don’s room is) that connects the bunk room to the first floor. Of course, it was littered with beer cans and trash. Anyways, he decided to buy himself a “well-deserved” mini-fridge (likely to store his beers) and thought it was a good idea to open up this giant package in the middle of the tiny hallway, effectively creating a roadblock for everyone trying to pass by. He continued unboxing this fridge while everyone had to navigate around him as if no one else existed. Finally, when he finished unboxing this thing, he just left all the cardboard, styrofoam, and trash lying in the hallway as if someone else was going to pick it up. This guy is absolutely wild.