I was never happier to leave states behind. New York and Connecticut were by far my least favorite, mostly because it was so hot and there was no water, though trail angels were incredibly kind to leave gallons of water at the road crossings. I eagerly left the heat waves in the south as I moved further north into higher elevations.
I had been feeling really good for the last few days. Seventeen miles was now considered an "easy day" and twenty miles barely phased me, so I was rather bitter when I forced myself to stop short of 15 miles on such a beautiful day in order to stay at Upper Goose Pond.
I resolved to do a 30 mile day the following day order to make up for it. The 30 miler had originally been Firefly's idea in Georgia, but although she changed her mind, she planted the seed, and I became more determined to do a long day before I finished the AT. It looked like it would be the last of the flat terrain, so there was no better time to do it. Meanwhile I would try to enjoy swimming in the clear lake and paddling through the cairn garden at Upper Goose Pond.
The 30 mile day started out with 3 blueberry pancakes, and I set out in the cool morning air. The miles flew by, the day split up into chunks by visiting the cookie lady and picking blueberries, stopping in town for dinner, and pushing out the remaining miles to make it to a church that offered space to sleep. Despite the mileage I felt surprisingly good.
Since then, Firefly and I have been hiking about a day apart, meeting in towns as I am headed out and she is coming in. Though we are currently hiking solo again, we are in a small bubble of NOBOs, so I know most of the people I camp with. I am catching up with thruhikers I haven't seen for hundreds of miles, and it's amazing to suddenly see old friends that I thought were long gone, when in reality we were traveling merely a day or two apart. A swarm of Southbounders are coming through, along with people doing the Vermont Long Trail, so the shelters are quite full at night with plenty of people to talk to. Although I am going solo, but I am certainly not alone.
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