Alright y’all, not much time for updates this morning but we are 30 miles into PA and making a dash for Port Clinton to finally get Chris a phone again! We’ll be resting up on Saturday so I’ll post more fun stuff then!
-Sprinkles
We Met a Donkey!
He was so short but SO FAT. His name is Jake and he’s the sweetest.
Last night we camped in a tiny park in Unionville, NY. There was one of those blinky light fixtures that would go off and on every 5 minutes which was annoying but it was a free flat place to sleep so I’m grateful for it!We ate breakfast sandwiches and danishes from Horler’s General Store and Deli and they were both amazing. The sandwich was huge and so delicious! We also had pizza for dinner last night and lunch today at Annabel’s Pizza and it was awesome too.We lucked out and were told about a Pastor in town who is a former thru hiker and lets hikers shower and do laundry, which was an unexpected development but one we desperately needed. So now we’re back at a shelter in New Jersey (Oh yea, we’re in Jersey!) trying to get to Maryland in 20 days to see my best friend!Oh also my new friend Moose made my day by mentioning that she listens to Whitney Houston while hiking, so I gave it a try and it was awesome! Her upbeat songs have the perfect beat to hike to.Well dinner is ready, time for a Knorr rice side! At least this time it’s a new flavor, red beans and rice, woohoo!-Kylie “Sprinkles”
Winter is Coming
It’s supposed to get close to 40 degrees tonight, and I think I’m the only excited one here! I’ve found the quality of my sleep to be much better in the cold. I need to buy a new warm hat though, I lost mine awhile back and just forget to replace it in town. My bandana has been sufficient for now though.
Tonight we’re camping near an overlook on Arden mountain in New York with our new friend Moose. There’s a group of 3 nobos (nortbbounders) camping here with us. I’m surprised that we still encounter nobos sometimes this late in the season, winter is coming fast in New England!
Oh, so we hit 800 miles today! We’re also back to carrying our full packs again, which is strangely comforting. We slack packed again today until we met up with our trail angel around 5 and grabbed our full packs then headed up to camp. It was fun being so light but I missed the feeling of carrying all I need on my back. It’s late and I can barely keep my eyes open so that’s all for now!
-Kylie “Sprinkles”
P.S. The spot gps tracker has new batteries!
New York
The spot gps device batteries died, so it’ll be back on as soon as I can get batteries. Today we’re going over Bear Mountain in New York, the third Bear Mountain of the trail!
I’m currently sitting next to a cool van eating pancakes made by the guy who slack-packed us yesterday and is going to today. We leave most of our stuff with him and just carry a small daypack with snacks and a couple essentials. Then we meet up with him at a road crossing to pick up our stuff. It’s awesome!
Time to hike!
-Kylie “Sprinkles”
The Dirty
Okay so I’m gonna have to get real for a minute. If you gross out easily then this post might not be for you.
I pooped in a ziploc bag last night. We pushed for a 21 mile day so that we could camp at this deli .3 miles off trail that we’d heard good things about. They have awesome sandwiches and a spigot for water and outlets to charge devices and a nice yard they encourage thru hikers to camp in. But they don’t have a public restroom. I didn’t know that. I purposefully held my poop as we passed the last privy 3 or 4 miles prior because I was just so excited to have a real toilet that flushes and a sink to wash my hands. My heart dropped when I saw the “no public restroom” sign on the door. I ordered my sandwich and proceeded to ask if they knew of anywhere nearby that I could use a restroom, but alas they did not. It was a Sunday and the only other businesses nearby were a concrete plant and a heating company, both of which were definitely closed. I got my sandwich and went out back knowing there was no way I could make it back to the privy, nor was I willing to add 6-8 miles to my day just to poop. There was nowhere far enough away from where people hang out to dig a cathole, and I guess I could have gone back to the woods to dig but at this point it was starting to get dark. I knew what I had to do. After several minutes of contemplating my life and my decisions that had brought me to this point, I fished a spare gallon size ziploc out of my bag and waited for it to get really dark out. And then I pooped in the ziploc bag in the middle of their backyard.
It was pretty life changing.
Technical Difficulties
Chris’s phone went kaput but he’ll have a new one shortly! Then he can update y’all on his thoughts and feelings and experiences ?
Welcome to New York ?
Kent, CT
This town has such a stepford wives, etiquette school vibe about it. Everything is so expensive, but the people have been nice so that’s cool. We’re eating Chinese food in front of the (currently closed) welcome center right now then going up to the shelter to set up camp super late tonight. 8pm is past my bed time these days!
-Sprinkles
Bad Day
Today sucked. First full day in a new state and I can’t wait to be done with it. It was rainy and the rocks were slick and I felt wornout from the time I woke up. The terrain was a rollercoaster of steep short ascents and descents with nothing much to look at. I just was not having a good time. Ready to start over again tomorrow
– Sprinkles
700 Miles!
And we’re in Connecticut!