May 15
It's raining! It's pouring! It started raining in the middle of the night and hasn't stopped since. Thank God we did 22 miles yesterday so today was a short hike. I packed my tent up in the rain for the first time, which wasn't too bad. Knowing I'll spend the next three nights indoors probably helped my mood because I knew I had time to dry my gear before having to use it again.
Wing It and I got off to a fast start. Bluebird takes more time on the uphills so we left her behind to try to snag bunks in the hostel before the heavy downpour started. I knew several people were headed to Woods Hole that day and that even more would probably show up because of the rain. I wanted to make sure we had dry places to sleep! I could feel the water rushing down between the back of my rain jacket and my pack. There was also one flash of close lightning and thunder that made me hesitant to climb up the ridge. It was just one strike though, so we kept going. The trail turned to a river in places and my feet were soon soaked. Moving kept us warm though.
We got to the road to Woods Hole much sooner than anticipated. The guidebook (I also call it AWOL sometimes. Hope that's not confusing!) said that some people confuse a previous road crossing with the correct turnoff, so I had a hard time believing we were actually there. We allotted four hours (worst case scenario) to get there and it only took two hours and forty five minutes. Five of us ended up on the road at the same time. We discretely tried to outwalk each other to get to the hostel first.
Neville, the owner, met us on the porch and showed us the ropes. Her grandmother discovered the place as a newlywed and Neville decided to take it over when she grew up. This place is not at all what I expected, but it's not too bad. We were able to hang out wet clothes on a line on the front porch of the hostel and I hung my tent over the railing. They probably won't dry by morning, but at least I tried.
We climbed to the top level of the hostel to find beds. I snagged the last real mattress. Bluebird and Wing It ended up having to sleep on crappy pads on the floor. They still had to pay the same price though, which sucks. This hostel seems to me just like a glorified Overmountain Shelter (that big barn we stayed in during the last big storm). There's no insulation (and it's cold outside!) and there are mouse hangers over each bed to hang your food bag. Most (if not all) of the other hostels we've stayed in have had heat, beds, and solid walls with no drafts. Oh well. At least there's electricity to charge our devices. They have an awesome extra-long powerstrip with a bunch of outlets for hikers to use. Downstairs in the kitchen area they also have a refrigerator full of sodas and some hiker goodies for purchase. They also have homemade cookie bars that I can't seem to stop eating. There is a shower, but it's outside and the floor is made of gravel. It doesn't drain, so you are standing in a puddle the whole time, but it's hot water.
We dropped our laundry off at the main house. It'll be nice to have clean, dry clothes. The other day, I ordered a new wool T-shirt and a collapsible water bucket from REI. My shirt has weird black stains near the armpits (I guess from rubbing on my pack straps all day?), holes ripped in the back from a washer incident early in the trip, and is permanently twisted to the right from when I put on and take off my pack. Time for a new one! The bucket will allow me to do trail laundry and clean off DEET and sweat before bed without contaminated the water sources. I got the idea from Sprinkle Burst.
One of the selling points of Woods Hole is that they offer massages. I got my first-ever professional massage. Oh my! It was amazing and sooooo relaxing! Neville's husband did it. Anyone who massages a hiker's nasty body, especially their blistered, callused, feet, is a saint! I know I still had bits of dirt stuck to them from the walk from the hostel to the main house. I've hiked 600 miles and my body really needed the massage. My neck is still a bit stiff and sore, but I'm sure it will feel even better in the morning. Sleeping without a pillow hasn't done my neck any favors. Plus I'm pretty much looking down all day, every day. Hopefully the massage will help.
At the end of the day we went back up to the main house for a delicious dinner. Before dinner, we all held hands and went around the circle introducing ourselves and saying what we were thankful for today. I said I was thankful to see my parents tomorrow. I'm so excited! Neville and her crew made a special gluten-free, vegan version of the Mexican casserole for Bluebird. The salad they served was amazing! After dinner, we had icecream cones for dessert. It was a nice evening!
The main house:
Playing cards on the porch:
The hostel:
Hiker map:
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