We had a clear night, and the full moon left the sky never fully in darkness. The first night on trail always has me tossing and turning a bit, but I awoke feeling rested, to the sound of many birds singing all around me. Temperatures had stayed in the mid-40's overnight, so it wasn't too difficult to crawl from our sleeping bags and begin our day. After quickly packing away most of our gear, we met at the picnic table for breakfast. I had been thinking about our fisherman visitor from the night before and wondered out loud how many trout were legal to catch in a day, as well as the required length. Just then, I glanced up and noticed a sign tucked in near the river on a tree. As I approached, I got answers to all of my questions!
We finished our coffees and small meals, packed away the rest of our gear and headed out of the campground.
On our way, we passed another fisherman pulling a trout from the river. This was a great spot to fish, apparently! Goodbye, Hurricane Campground, we loved our short stay with you!
Since we had already come down part of the high water route, we decided to continue on this path, bypassing Comer Creek Falls. We didn't have any kind of update regarding the falls, and this seemed like the best option for us. A bit of road walking would mean some fast miles to start our day, and we were definitely going to take advantage of that!
After a couple of miles, the road rejoined the trail, and we were once again on the AT. Rain was expected at some point in the day, but so far there were no drops!
At one point, leaving Raccoon Branch Wilderness, I found a hammer hanging on the sign. And well, if you find a hammer, I think you're required to pick it up.
I wasn't about to add that weight to my pack, though, and left it there hanging on the sign for the next passerby.
The forest floor was filled with all kinds of color, and it was a welcomed sight after the winter we've had here in Michigan. These mushrooms were everywhere, too, but don't be fooled! They're not morels and you don't want to eat them!
The trail alternated between wooded sections and wide-open meadows, and I loved it all. The rain began to fall at some point, and it didn't phase us one bit. In fact, at one point I jokingly said to Misty, "You know, we could easily hop into Marion via shuttle when we get to the next shelter-we'll already have 16 miles for the day!" But we were content being on the trail, even if we were getting a bit soaked.
The rain even let up for a bit, leaving Misty to pose for some senior portraits.
Her orange tried to get away during the photo shoot!
We continued on, over bridges, through the forest, and climbing the small mountains of Appalachia.
Our plan for the day was to just hike as far as we could and then find a place to set up our tents. We were wet, but we were looking forward to the warm, dry clothes in our packs. And then, just a couple miles from Partnership Shelter, Misty said, "So, what if we did shuttle to town tonight?"
Just like that, our plans changed. Tempted by our beloved town of Marion, along with a stay at our favorite hostel, pizza at our favorite restaurant, showers and clean clothes, we sent a message to Coach, asking if there was room at the hostel and a driver to get us there. He promptly replied, "Yes and yes," and we picked up the pace to meet our shuttle.
Soon, we were headed towards Marion in the back of a car driven by a shuttle driver named Phoenix. Pheonix looked exactly how you're picturing him in your head right now, but our trip was a quick one, and we didn't get the chance to get to know him. We were thankful for his quick pick up, though, and thanked him as we headed into Marion Outdoors to check into our hostel.
And then, we were punching in the door code and climbing the steep staircase to The Merry Inn Hiker Hostel. After having spent a lot of time here back in February, we knew just what to expect. We briefly met a thru hiker hanging out upstairs before choosing our bunks for the night, throwing our dirty clothes in the washer, and hopping into the showers.
The rain that day had been a bit of a soaker, and anything not in waterproof bags in our packs was drenched. We exploded our gear all over the bedroom, hanging everything we could, and putting our shoes on the shoe dryer. We impatiently waited for our clothes to come out of the dryer, and then Misty and I headed down the street to Moon Dog's for pizza. The beer, salad, and pizza hit the spot, and just as we were finishing up, a face we recognized passed by and did a double take. It was Aaron, our shuttle driver from the day before! We literally knew four people in this town, and here was one of them! We chatted for a bit until the people he was meeting arrived, and we thought that would be the end of it. As it turned out, the other two men were dentists in the area, and when they found out that we were not only hiking the trail but that Misty was in the dental field as well, we became fast friends. Throughout their dinner, Neal, the oral surgeon, kept coming to our table talking about a tree house he had built, and showing us pictures. At some point it was decided that we were all going to check out the tree house. Aaron, of course, shuttled us there as we had no car. Where were we going? Was this five minutes away or an hour? We had no idea; we were just along for the ride.
Well, it turned out that the tree house was in the backyard of Neal's home, and it was amazing. We met his lovely wife, Nancy, and got the full tour. Yes, the tree house had an actual tree growing inside, along with an amazing view of Marion from the balcony. This was some place!
Just as we thought we were ready to head back to the hostel, Neal disappeared and then reappeared with a karaoke machine! This was not on my Thursday night bingo card, but here we were. We actually all took turns singing ridiculous songs, and even duets. It's a little unnerving singing karaoke to an audience of three, if you're wondering.
Clearly, Neal did not want us to leave and even offered us a place to stay the next time we were in town, but it was time to go. We thanked him for his generosity, and Aaron drove us the short trip back to the hostel. We were asleep before 11pm, needing some good sleep before tackling the next day of hiking.
Miles hiked: 16.1
Elevation gain: 3,425 feet
Calories burned: 3,276
Unplanned events make the best memories.
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