**Facebook Post 092617 at 5:13AM**
Compromise and Prioritize
1.) Can they charge my electrical devices?
2.) Is there a food source?
3.) Is there a shower?
4.) Is there laundry?
5.) Is it warm, clean, cozy, and safe?
(Not necessarily in that order)
As I mentioned recently in my “Joys of Food on the Trail” post, I stayed at the Mountain Meadows Lodge the other night. I left there feeling as though I have now graduated to hobo status. (Or “hiker trash” status as they like to call it out here.) Staying in a shed for $10 kind of cracks me up, and wasn’t exactly the low budget option I was expecting, but it’s best to keep expectations exactly that, low, on the trail. LOL
Mountain Meadows is actually a very nice location, but they primarily host weddings, and I wasn’t invited to the one that would be attended the next day. So, rooms were being left vacant until guests arrived, which meant no shower and the shed for me.
As slim as the accommodations were, in their defense, I knew at least the shower wasn’t possibly an option going in. I have an app on my phone called Guthooks that has reviews from other hikers, and I use the AWOL to AT Guide which lists many of the things you will or won’t find at certain locations. This gives me pretty much a nice amount of information before I choose a location to stay at, visit, or shop in. Only discrepancy was one review on Guthooks said there was a nice TV room to hang out in. Never saw it, just the shed.
Here’s the deal. Many times I will stay at a location simply because it has water, and another didn’t. It’s details such as these that may make my stay a bit easier when choosing one location as opposed to another. Details people, they count.
Mountain Meadows I went to simply because I needed to charge my electrical devices, and it was literally right off trail. It would have been great to get a shower and laundry done at the same time, but isn’t it always nice when you can kill more than two birds with one stone? They actually had resupply close by as well. So, that made the location a bit more attractive too.
When “shopping” for a hostel, I like to know they have as many of the following as possible…. Electric, a shower, laundry, and walking access to resupply, and if I’m paying, I’d like to think the accommodations are at least somewhat more comfortable than my tent or a shelter. Not always do you automatically get all these things in one place. The same goes for the resupply and camping supply places. It seems like they might have fuel canisters, but no Mountain House MREs. Maybe they sell bug spray, but only the 100% Deet, not the 40% or less like I prefer. One has giant jars of powdered Gatorade, but I don’t need a giant jar, I need individual packs. They might be more of a “clothing” camping supply, and have zip as far as gear. It goes on and on.
What ends up happening to me, in other words, is I end up stopping more places than I would like, just in case, or to avoid completely running out of something. I’m on foot, so Walmart (land where you can buy everything in one place) isn’t always close. I’m usually dependent on the smaller stores, and they don’t always have it all, unfortunately.
A side issue with this, every time I do go into town, it eats up time and miles. I could spend hours just walking to and from a location, leaving that location without everything I needed. Sometimes I have to compromise or prioritize.
When choosing camping spots or shelters, I’m much more open to “lack of”. I never expect a shelter to be luxurious. It would be nice though, if you have visited a shelter before me, to clean up after yourself, so I don’t have to do it for you. One of the last shelters I was at, someone had a dog that shed, a lot, and there was no broom. I found some bark and made due. Camping though, I’m all about whether or not there is water. Well, shelters the water thing is an issue as well. I’ll definitely walk to a farther location or stop earlier if I know there is water on site.
So, I guess my advice is, if you are going to be on trail anytime soon, make sure you access facilities when you can, but be aware many times no one place has everything. On trail, as in life, get yours when you can, be courteous, compromise when you have to, and prioritize always.
**Facebook Post 092617 at 6:55AM**
Bugs that divebomb your eyes, nose, and fly directly down your throat. (It’s as if everything out here wants to be inside you, like being at a damn frat party.)
**Facebook Post 092617 at 2:45PM**
40 Miles to Massachusetts!!!!!
11:25AM Start Day 41 (092617)
•11:25AM (Estimate) Stratton Pond Shelter (Mile 549.8)
•7:30PM Black Brook (camp, sleep)
(Mile 557.5)
•5:00AM Wake up, pack
•7:00AM On trail
•11:25AM (Estimate) South Adler Brook (Mile 561.1)
11:25AM End Of Day 41
APPROX 11.3 Miles
