It was a great hike today. We made Hampton, but with great sights and events along the way. We got a little bit of a late start, So-Close had wandered out of camp a long time before we got going. C and I took our time and it was super easy terrain, so even though we weren’t pushing super hard, we had a good time. We went ahead and took the trail to Laurel Falls, another awesome waterfall with a nice little swimming hole under it. When we show up, it was starting to sprinkle. Caleb and I ate, and then we jump into the water and swim to the falls. Get our picture taken and all that. The water was super cold. It was freezing. It was really awesome. There were a lot of people there since it’s a pretty awesome spot, so we got looks for our packs, our hair (I was pretty hairy at this point, and C had an awesome racing stripe going on…), and the fact that we actually got into this freezing cold water for a refreshing swim. We emerge and dry off as a guy comes over to us and starts talking to us. It unfolded that he had thru-hiked a while ago, and wanted to know where we were going, when we were going, etc. During the course of the conversation, it came to light that we were approaching one of the top 25 climbs of the AT. We kinda nodded in a grim sorta way. Bring it on! It was a bit gray and rainy. I was leading, and my glasses kept fogging because I kept breathing, and my exhalations hit my cold glasses and made them fog up. Drat. But the climb itself, now that our mental gears were in the right place, wasn’t a problem. We gutted through it, and So-Close caught us as we descended towards the road. We found the road, and stuck our thumbs out for a ride into Hampton. A funny old guy picked us up, gave us a little bit of joking, and dropped us off at subway. We had heard rumor of a hostel, so we started asking around for that, and noone had heard of the place. So we keep asking, and eventually find this place…this place is ridiculous. It used to house workers for the logging industry, and now the guy that owns the food store in town owns the house and has turned it into a hostel. There’s a picture of him with Katahdin in the background, so I assume he’s thru-hiked. He was super scatterbrained, kept leaping amongst topics like they were going out of style. It was very distracting. We ate a lot of food at a BBQ joint in Hampton (great food, great portions! I was full!), then hit up the grocery for Ben and Jerry’s. Chunky Monkey and Peanut Butter Cup. The Chunky Monkey won the battle for tastiest flavor, hands down. I called the guy that was sub-letting my apt at the time and we talked a little about that, since my brother, whom I had thought was moving in, had changed his mind. So we arranged that, and then C called his wonderful girlfriend.
Mountains! I never get tired of them.
Cool flowers! I don't get tired of them, either.
A ramshackle cabin thing. It was much more dilapidated than the picture makes it out to be.
I think that's me, on the way to the waterfall, with rock outcroppings on either side.
C on a cool bridge.
The awesome waterfall! The person in the water there is So Close.
Mountains! I never get tired of them.
Cool flowers! I don't get tired of them, either.
A ramshackle cabin thing. It was much more dilapidated than the picture makes it out to be.
I think that's me, on the way to the waterfall, with rock outcroppings on either side.
C on a cool bridge.
The awesome waterfall! The person in the water there is So Close.
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