Miles today: 6
Total miles: 471
I’m not actually sure what number day I’m on but I got off trail August 15 which would have been day 46 so ill go with day 47.
I was excited but nervous to get back to hiking. I drove the 2.5 hours (more like 3.5+ with Labor Day traffic) up to Woodstock with my mom. I was picking back up exactly where I left off hiking. I considered skipping a bit and starting again maybe in Western MA so I wouldn’t be at the tail end of all the southbound hikers and potentially alone, but decided against it because I knew realistically I probably wouldn’t be able to make up a skipped section for a very long time.
On the way up to Woodstock I pulled off the highway in Warner NH to use the restroom and stopped at the first place I saw, which was conveniently an ice cream shop. My mom and I obviously had to get ice cream too. It turned out to be a great decision because the woman working there got so excited when she found out I’m a thru hiker. She said it is one of her dreams to do it and even just got knee replacements so her knees wouldn’t be bad. I was flattered by her enthusiasm and many questions. She was so incredibly friendly and genuine and to top it all off she even gave me my ice cream free and tried to give me money, which I politely refused. She gave me her address and I promised to send her postcards along the way. Her excitement got me even more excited to get back on the trail.
Finally we got to Woodstock and I said bye to my mom and was off! My knee felt totally fine especially with the brace, but boy did I feel out of shape. It was only six miles to the cabin where I was staying that night but it was really tough for me. Sitting on my butt for two weeks really took its toll. It was as if I hadn’t ever hiked before, let alone already hiked over 400 miles.
I made it to the cabin by around 715, just in time to climb to the awesome roof deck and see the view as the sun set. There were four northbounders spending the night there too so I chatted with them for a while before bed. I also got a text from the boys saying they’d meet me about 13 miles up the trail tomorrow and they’d wait for me. I went to bed excited to see familiar faces the next day.