I've got eleven days of hiking coming up. Of course, some of that will be travel. Today is a travel day as Lynn, Madison, and I make our way from Maine to New York. To break up the trip we stopped in Massachusetts to get a few hours of hiking in. We just pulled up to the Appalachian Trail when I saw a hiker crossing the road. I went over to meet him.
"Hi, I'm Eric," I said.
"I'm Charlie Brown," the man replied.
I remembered reading of a Charlie Brown in Runtrails' journal, but that was two years ago. I've actually heard of a few people picking this as a trail name.
"Are you section hiking?" I asked, knowing it was too late in the year for him to be a nobo thru hiker.
"Sort of," Charlie Brown replied. "I did most of the trail in '05. I missed a couple hundred miles when I had to get off the trail for a family emergency. Now I'm back to finish it."
This had to be the Charlie Brown from Runtrails' journal. What a huge coincidence! What are the odds that I would meet someone from her journal over 2 years later? Had I been a minute later today or had Charlie Brown been a minute earlier, we would have missed each other.
"I have a friend who did an '05 thru hike. Her trailname was Runtrails. Do you remember her?"
"Sure I do. She hiked/ran the trail with the help of her husband. They brought there camper."
"That's them."
"Please tell them that I said 'Hi'."
Charlie Brown was doing this section with his dog Jackson. We gave Charlie Brown a little food and water as well as a couple doggie treats for Jackson.
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The first couple miles were uphill, but the trail eventually levelled off.
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The leaves covered the trail, making it hard to spot the rocks that stick up out of the ground. Fortunately, whoever blazed this section of the AT also painted the tops of some of the rocks, making them easier to spot. Thanks!
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Mount Wilcox North Lean-to was kind of far off the trail, so I skipped it.
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It's less than 2 miles to the next one. Maybe I'll stop there.
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Beaver Pond
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Mount Wilcox South Lean-to was just a minute or two off the trail, so I stopped in.
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Madison waits for me to catch up.
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I thought this bridge that was falling apart looked like the handy work of Alf and Ralph from Green Acres.
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A very misty Benedict Pond
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I heard the sound of a rooster. Then I heard it again, and again. Well, this explains it.
Madison wanted to chase them very badly. Fortunately they were fenced it.
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I met Lynn at Route 23. We were ahead of schedule, so I decided to get in one more mile.
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I'm glad I'm not going all the way to Georgia today.
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I got to the parking lot at Lake Buel Road to find our car, but no Lynn. She often hikes in to meet me. How did I miss her? Did she head south to meet me rather than north? A few minutes later I saw her walking up the road. She fell victim to a trail relocation and walked about 5 minutes down the road. There are still some faded white blazes that follow the road, so be careful here. We got in the car and made the rest of the drive to New York.
