Today was day 13 on the trail, though I won't be posting this until tomorrow. We chose to take an easy low mileage day and have a rest at the Aquone cabins hostel. I knew this place was going to be nice, but it far exceeds my expectations. This, I am sure, will be the nicest place we see along the trail. We don't have phone service here, which is why I won't post this blog until I find service on the trail tomorrow. Steve "wiggie" & Maggie are the awesome couple who run the hostel along with other cabins they rent out. This is their hostels first year. They are so generous. They provide a phone and computer in the office. They also make us dinner! Dinner tonight was salmon for me, ham for Sparky, along with mashed potatoes, veggies, and bread Breakfast and lunch is also an offered option here. They offer a service called "slackpacking", which means they provide small backpacks to just carry some water and snacks. We will use this service tomorrow to hike 13.5 miles without our heavy packs, and get picked up again to stay here tomorrow night. What a deal! Can you believe it is only $20 per night to stay here?!
I took a quick video tour for everyone to see the cabin. I will try to get it posted somehow, but it tells me now that it's too long.
We passed the 100 mile mark this week, so this place is a great reward. We will make it just short of mile 130 tomorrow!
We have been hiking with hikers named Snail & Turtle (you know them...my favorite people on the trail so far), Wobbles, Voltran, Cackles, Sasquatch, Puddle Jumper, Tree Piper, Longstride & Silver Girl (an awesome couple from Massachusetts), Crocakyle, dreamfinder, Backtrack, wiggles & Avabear (doggy), TP, Shrink, Tree, Shaddow, Black Top Bill, Psycho, Path, Laughing Dog, Mr Fabulous, Peach, Blue, Spiller, Ryan, and Stephanie. They all make up a bunch of characters who make the trail fun and interesting. Most of them passed us up today or we have passed us, but we will probably run into them again soon enough, and we will meet new characters soon.
I received 2 drop boxes and a card when I arrived at the hostel today. One box was my re-supply which I packed for myself (and had some extra added things from Kay) :) the other box, also thanks to Kay had my other pair of shoes and added treats. My feet will be so happy to loose the shoes I have had the last 2 weeks, and hopefully I will have an end soon to my achilles tendon issues. I have made it bearable by tying my shoes goofy and leaving the ankles loose. I bought new insoles. Sparky helped a lot by wrapping my ankle with moleskin for extra padding. I have also tucked gauze in the heel of the shoe to push my foot forward. For some reason my new shoes had a strange curve at the heel, that the rest of my shoes don't. Same brand, different style. Anywho...I know many of you have been worried about my tendon issue, so I will keep you posted, and things are definitely looking up!
The card I got today was a surprise from Chris's parents. His mom is a very talented craft master, and made me a very cute card. It made my day! Thanks so much Vicki and Dave!
I guess that's all for now. Sitting here in this lovely hostel looking out at the pouring rain and listening to the thunder (did I pick a great night for a hostel stay, or what!)...I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be doing what I am doing!