I woke up before my alarm, it was set for 7 and I was coming out of the bathroom at 6:45. So strange for me.. lol I am the opposite of a morning person for sure.
I quickly packed and stripped my linen. I left my pack (packed for travel not for walking.. so the inside is smack full and nothing is in the pockets), outside of the hostel and walked down to the only restaurant open for breakfast to snag a table for 5. I was able to get the cool AT table in the corner, and sat talking with another hiker for a little while. When Poptart arrived I went ahead and ordered my food.. my shuttle left at 8:45 and I still had to settle my bill, so I couldn’t be late.
Rippin Riles, TieDye and Kathy all showed up within a few minutes. They ordered and we all talked plans for the future and all that. I’m going to miss these people. TieDye and Kathy live in Virginia, so they say I’ll be seeing them again with trail magic! I hope so!
I hugged everyone and scooted out at 8:40 and rushed back to the hostel to pay and catch the shuttle. It all went off without issue. When we got to another hotel to pick up 2 more hikers, it was TweetyBird and Arrowhead!! They did a night hike of Katahdin to get there at sunrise with a group of 7 other hikers! When TweetyBird was getting on the sign for her picture, Arrowhead kneeled down and proposed! The picture is freaking epic and still brings tears to my eyes when typing this out! What an amazing story they’ll have the rest of their lives to tell!
Anyway, we got to the bus station, got our tickets and got on a big coach bus to take us to Bangor. There were close to 10 of us in total. TweetyBird, Arrowhead and I all ended up booking the same hotel, so we hung out awhile after arriving.
Speaking of arriving, when I got off the bus, I heard my name being called… I turned around and there was DoubleDecker and Smiles!! They were boarding their bus to Portland! What are the odds that we’d get to cross paths like this!? It was hugs all around and quickly catching up before they had to get on their bus. Man, I really can’t say how much the people on this journey have meant to me.
After saying bye to them, the three of us went by McDonalds and ate a little something, then walked around a shopping plaza next door. We ended up going separate ways when I had to head to the grocery store to resupply for the trail. I could wait til Harper’s Ferry, but this grocery store chain has what I like for certain, so why not? There’s still a couple things I have to get there, so this makes it easier I think.
I walked the almost mile to the hotel and got to check in immediately. It’s connected to the airport and the room is gorgeous. I laid around, took a bath, ate some sushi. Honestly I just relaxed and let the day pass by. Now it’s almost 10 pm and I’m going to get some sleep. The bed is so cushy I don’t think I’ll want to get out of it tomorrow! Lol
Goodnight y’all