Felt plagued by mosquitoes as I tried to fall asleep last night, but they trailed off and weren’t as bad as I expected. Woke up around 515 and saw legs hanging over the edge of the top bunk. The guy who declined a shower (and really shouldn’t have) gathered his things and left. I woke up for good around 615. Decided not to force sleeping later so I can take advantage of the less crowded hostel to hog the internet (as you can see from the many posts I published today). 

Much of the morning was spent laying on my bunk or sitting on the floor next to the power strip editing and trying not to simultaneously freak out about moosilauke. I organized my food and weighed the bag just for curiosity’s sake. Came out to the usual 10ish pounds. I think switching to peanut butter wraps has at the very least freed up some room in the bag and possibly even weight. 

I eventually resurfaced downstairs to find a woman that I’d seen at mountain meadows lodge when I went back for my visit with megan. Her name is floater and we had lunch together out front. She laughs easily and we shared stories as we ate our respective wraps. She’s a NOBO so I asked her about the places she liked down south. We commiserated on the difficulty and futility of planning the whites. We also talked about hiking alone and the disappointment of meeting cool people only to be separated after a short time. She started with her college roommate who got hurt somewhere in VA. She’s been moving in and out of hiker clumps as well. 

A few new hikers filtered in and out of the hostel. Some just to pick up mail drops and take a long break and some in for the night. I went back upstairs to organize more stuff and push through a couple more days of editing even though my attention span had waned long before lunch. 

The weather ranged from overcast to blue skies until about 430 when it started raining. Of course. Because my intention was to hike the mile to the shelter up the road and save money on another night in the hostel. Around 5, people went to pick up their deli orders, which I abstained from mostly to lighten my food bag and partially to cut some costs. I boiled water and ate my lentil chili while watching oceans 11 in the main room with some of the other hikers. The rest of the people filtered in around 530 with their sandwiches and French fries. I consoled myself by eating a small bag of doritos and an ice cream sandwich, which made me feel a little sick. The emotional rollercoaster of yesterday continues today. I feel cagey and anxious, but also tired and uninterested in hiking in the rain. 

As my food cooked, I called the hostel I’m thinking of staying at towards the end of the whites. I wanted to know how people make reservations when cell service is so dicey and there’s no way to tell when you will be where because of all the unpredictable variables. The woman from the hostel was helpful and said to try calling from a mountaintop when I’m about 2 days away. When she asked my trail name, I said “checklist” and she laughed. “well of course it is,” she replied. I laughed as she poked fun at me and told her I’d written everything she said down. Like a nerd. 

After stalling and getting validation from my steady, the answer is: I’m staying here for the night because I have good company and that’s part of what I need right now. I watched my first movie in two months and saw the sunset while I brushed my teeth. 

Now it’s time for sleep so I can hang out with a 4000 foot mountain tomorrow. 

Miles: 0

Total miles: 787.9 

Creature feature: just a bunch of hikers today.