Day 55: Zero in Manchester, Vermont

I slept in until TEN AM! Holy cow, it was amazing. I woke up to the sun shining and feeling completely refreshed. It was fantastic!

I laid around awhile, and then got to working on Andrea and my trip coming up, along with talking to my mom and trying to work on their trip to come to Maine when I get to the half way point. All of the logistics, and not knowing for certain I will be where I tell them I will be by XX date is a bit stressful. Actually, it’s a lot stressful.

So, to battle that stress, I went out to the pool. I had the whole thing to myself! One of the people working at the motel saw me out there putting on sunscreen, and he came over to skim the pool for me before I got in. This is the nicest Econo Lodge I’ve ever been to! Haha the last one we stayed at didn’t have a pool at all, and honestly if it did-I wouldn’t have gotten in it.

I swam in my sportsbra and undies and laid out in the sun-careful not to get too caught up and get burnt.. talk about making for a horrible hiking experience, it’s hard enough on its own, let’s not add tender burnt areas to the mix! I soaked up every second of this beautiful day. I stayed out there for a couple hours, then decided I better go get my tent and make sure it’s completely dried out too.

I got my tent and went outside with it in the big grassy area next to the parking lot. This property is actually quite pretty. I was laying on my towel out there in the grass while my tent was draped over a bench for maybe 25-30 minutes, when Sauce came out. He said he and FarOut were going to walk next door to a farmers market if I wanted to go with.. and then, seconds later, it started to sprinkle. I darted up and packed my stuff back up, so it wouldn’t get wet again.. and dropped it all inside, put on some clothes, and headed with them to the market. The rain didn’t last at all. Thank goodness.

When we got to the market, we ran into Curmudgeon and Derby!! They had just walked up from the trail when we got there! Lizard was on her way, too! We all caught up and shopped in the cute little market.. then gathered our nee goodies and headed back to the EconoLodge. Curmy checked in, Cholula was on her way to us in a loaner car because of a breakdown on the side of the road. She’s decided to get “off trail” technically, because of her injuries, but she’s going to be supporting Curmy the whole way by driving and being able to slack pack him and whatnot. She had taken their car to get an oil change and maintenance check for her new adventure.. and they forgot to put new oil back in the car. So, their car is at a shop having its fate determined, and she got a 2021 loaner SUV for the day. While it completely sucks, the loaner is pretty awesome.

After he checked in, Curmy, Derby, Sauce, FarOut and I went to the pool to hang out, swim and have a few beers while waiting for Lizard and Cholula. Cholula showed up first, and maybe 20 minutes later Lizard appeared! All that’s missing from our tramily is Towelie! He’s doing better but taking easy days until he gets back in the swing of things.

We all caught up and enjoyed the sun-until a thunderstorm rolled in and had us scurrying back inside. Cholula came and tossed something at me.. A BUG NET!! I wish you could understand the excitement I felt in that moment! It sounds so silly, but I wasn’t able to find any yesterday.. and it’s going to be raining for the next several days on trail, and a net means I can safely sleep in the shelter without getting attacked.. not to mention the peace it should bring while hiking too. I just have to get over the idea of something over my head. I think once I realize the horror of the alternative-I’ll manage.

We all got ready, Cholula drove Derby and Lizard to the hostel they have for the night. She came back for the rest of us, and she drove us to an outfitter in town. I got a new, lighter shirt (it claims it helps with the smell, too), some fuel and a dry bag for my electronics (my other one was holding moisture on my wet tent floor lol). We shopped, and then tried to go to the book store, but the power was out across the downtown area from the storm. So, the bookstore was closed. We tried to go to the Thai place to eat dinner-also closed because of the power outage. We were walking back to the car when we saw a place open. Union Underground was the restaurant and it was so damn good! I got Buffalo chicken Mac and cheese. So. Stinking. Good.

After dinner we just hung out a bit, talking, before heading our separate ways to get some shut eye. I’m pretty sure I was asleep minutes after getting in bed. I kinda think I should just live at the EconoLodge in Manchester, Vermont.