Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 55 – 14 mile hiker train
19th September 2023
Wawayanda Shelter (832.9) - Secret Shelter (851.6)
Daily miles: 18.7
Total miles: 859.5
I woke up several times in the night and every time I woke up I thought about putting on my wet clothes. I looked at the clock and felt thankful it didn’t have to happen yet.
It was very cosy in the shelter last night. We were all shoulder to shoulder, touching. I could feel the breathing on either side of me so I slept a lot of the night on my back.
The alarm went off at 6am and no one was that keen on moving. We were aiming for something like 25 miles today and the longer we sat there not wanting to move to harder it was going to become to do the miles.
Morning in the shelter
Wet stuff everywhere
I had a fig bar and a mini Twix for breakfast and that meant, apart from a couple of starbursts which were floating around my fanny pack, I was out of food. I also had half a litre of water to get me to town. My pack was nice and light.
I did everything possible, and so did everyone else, to not put the wet clothes on. But eventually there came the time when there was nothing else left to do. It was wet and cold, as expected, but not as bad as I’d hyped it up to be. Once the clothes are stuck to your skin and in place is doesn’t feel so bad. I put my wet underpants back on, and my shorts. Thankfully my sports bra had remained dry and the top half of my top was just damp.
First port of call for the day was a town stop to resupply and eat. We had all basically run out of food and it was all we could think about.
5 miles to town.
Time to leave
Lemonhope left first. Standard. Then I was next with Toe. It was about 7:40am. I walked quickly trying to generate some body heat to keep warm and to dry out my clothes. The trail was a series of small ups and downs before a fairly steep descent down what is called The Golden Staircase; a big set of stone work steps. Very impressive trail work.
Before it got rocky
When it got rocky
A well maintained path towards the road
I got to the road just before 9:30am and Toe came out right after me. Pyro text to say he was hitching by the garden centre just up the road. He had been trying to hitch for about half an hour. We joined him and we got a hitch in about 5 minutes; a lovely lady on her way to work. She took us to the door of the supermarket. We saw the other 3 walking along the road to the garden centre and waved at them as we went by.
We went straight in to resupply. You should never resupply hungry! I got so much food and spent way too much money! It was my most expensive resupply yet and for only 2.5 days. It was $70! But everyone else spent about the same.
Resupply in Vernon
I got indulgent food. A load of croissants again because they’ve served me well. Two massive rolls with melted cheese on. Swiss cheese. Turkey. Guac pots. Hummus. 2 cans of Pringles! The usual chocolate and sweets.
We were thinking 3 day resupply but that included today. Well, it’s going to be heavy but at least I won’t run out of food. The other 3 arrived and went to get a bagel. As we sorted out resupply outside they went in to do theirs. I still hadn’t eaten any town food. I hadn’t even had a drink so I went back in to get a Ginger Ale.
Toe packed out a whole pie because it was vegan.
Toe and her whole apple pie
I didn’t need to go to the toilet. I haven’t been properly since the Bear Mountain Inn and that’s over 48 hours ago.
The others wanted to go and get a Taco Bell, so we all made a different plan for the day, one that didn’t involve hiking 25 miles. We decided to do fewer miles and hike to a shelter making it an 18.7 mile day and having already hiked 5 miles we had just under 14 left for the day.
We walked over to Taco Bell and laid all our remaining wet kit out to dry. The clothes I was wearing were basically dry apart from the lower back area where the pack sits against.
Yard sale at Taco Bell
When you use a Buff as a top and you get stuck in it
We went in and got food. I got a crunchy taco and a soft taco and we sat in the sun. I sat on my knees with my bum in the air because that’s the bit that needed to dry. I then went back to get 2 more crunchy tacos. And tried to use the loo again. Nothing.
Taco Bell
My shoes are destroyed. I felt them blow out in the water yesterday but I got to inspect them now and I really need to order new ones.
The Hokas are disintegrating
Around 1pm we decided we needed to leave town. As nice as it was chilling in the sun, we had miles to hike.
The 4 of us who were ready to leave went to hitch and it was a tough one, we were there for about 10 minutes but we then got a ride from a lovely man who told us to jump in the back of his truck. Someone asked if it was legal here and he said no, but don’t worry he breaks the law all the time!
It wasn’t far, just a couple of miles, and when he dropped us off he said he often hosts hikers and does a lot of trail magic. The other 2 arrived just a few minutes later.
Hitch back to trail
In the back of a pick up
We all hiked out together in a big hiker train. I wasn’t expecting the train to last 14 miles. My pack in particular was so heavy. I know a few of the others mentioned the weight of their packs too. We had to a lovely boardwalk which we zoomed through, not too many people, and with the weight of all 6 of us hiking together the boardwalk got quite a sway to it.
It was then a bit of up and down and I was second in line but halfway up the climb I had to drop to the back because I just don’t like the pressure of people behind me. If I’m at the back I can slow down or drop back without disturbing anyone.
Boardwalk
Following the pie
Big wooded bridge
Hiker train
Me in the hiker train
But I kept up! The uphills were fairly steep in some places but they weren’t long, so even if I did fall behind slightly I could catch back up again.
Then we had a lovely flat walk through a nature reserve. Saw a heron catch its dinner on the pond. We all stopped for a “Piss Party” where we all went for a wee at the same time. It took me ages to go because of the pressure! The walk through the nature reserve was so nice.
Uphill hiker train
SOBO crew
A heron catching its dinner
The nature reserve
Wetlands
After that a few more ups and downs through forest, a few more ups and downs through fields and then with 3 miles left for the day we stopped for water as the shelter has no water. Just as we crossed the road a guy said “Did you see a bear? I saw one go down that very trail not 10 minutes ago”. We didn’t see a bear but we are a loud group. The last 3 miles Cal hung back preferring to hike with headphones but we carried on as a train. I never would have thought we would do all 14 miles as a train but it’s been such a nice day hiking together.
Fields at last light
Sunset
Blowdowns
We came to a sign that said “don’t even think about it” and there was a short detour around some submerged bog boards. None of us had any interest in getting wet feet again so we took the detour without hesitation.
We got to the “Secret Shelter” at 18:50. So called the secret shelter because it’s not an official AT shelter but privately owned and available for hikers to use.
The secret shelter
It was great. Nice and spacious and clean inside. It was very warm so we opened it up and sat on the porch to eat dinner. I made my guac Turkey and cheese sandwich and very pleased I was with it too. It was almost too much! And I definitely have too much food for the next 2 days, I barely touched any of the snacks I got for this day.
Dinner of kings
It cooled off a lot when it got dark and we all settled down pretty quickly. There are 4 of us inside and 2 are sleeping outside on the porch. There are a lot of mosquitoes about and although we have the door open I feel like there won’t be as many inside.
I went round the back of the shelter to wee before bed and the buzzing was intense and I saw the biggest wasp thing I have ever see. It was gigantic.
Now about to close my eyes just after 9pm. A good dry day, with decent miles and a town stop.
