Legs and Borders

"Minimize the uphill, maximize the slack pack" California It was supposed to be super rainy today and at this point I saved up enough time to have a first actual day off since starting the AT in April. I was still ready to hike out in the morning but after seeing the weather forecast I started to have doubts, next section was quite technical and people were not recommending hiking it in the rain. I've asked Vanessa if she had spaces left for tonight and she confirmed. Her place was also very affordable at 40$ per night. Accomodations ahead were getting increasingly more expensive with only motels and inns to choose from. DeeDee called for a trip to White Hart Hotel for breakfast before the rain was supposed to start, Vanessa gave us her 25$ gift card to spend there as well. At the hotel we got joined by Indy who spend the night just outside the town at a campsite, he said the weather wasn't too bad and his tent was actually dry in the morning. After breakfast I went t...

My main goal for today was to reach Salisbury where I've booked a nights stay. I've had a great animal encounter along the way! Trail was very rollercoastery to start with, I've got chased and passed by Indy which was quite surprising as he wasn't planning to go far that day (but watch this space.) I've went past a car racing track called Lime Rock Speedway, it was loud even from the top of the mountain few miles away but it provided an interesting view and I knew few other hikers were excited to see it. A mile or two later I've spotted something moving to the side of the trail, it was a big, black bear but it wasn't scared of me at all! I've seen fair amount of black bears at this point on both AT and PCT, every single one would ran away the second they realized I was close. I've understood my situation once two bear cubs ran from behind the mama bear and started to climb a tree. It looked like I wasn't getting a higher ground this time around, ...