6.3 miles / 26.4
Marston Mill Road
I woke early this morning, around 5:30am, and met up with Steve, Chelly, Prepper and Sure Foot on the dining room. Steve made he, Chelly and I up pancakes, which was awesome!! Thx again, Steve. The four of them took a 7am shuttle north; Prepper and Sure Foot to continue north, and Steve and Chelly heading back to Bears Den.
I sat for a while playing the hostel’s guitar while Polly got herself set to give me her spare key to her car, then I was off at 7:30am southbound with a daypack, intent on getting back to Bears Den before the promised rain. The day dawned cooler with gray skies and a fitful wind.
Bears Den is pretty much at height of land, so the trail almost immediately starts its descent into the first of the hollows. This section continues the pattern of the Roller Coaster, dropping to a drainage, often steeply and rockily (Is that a word? It should be!), often utilizing switchbacks to moderate the grade, then maybe a short stretch of level, only to start climbing in the same way.
On my first descent, I caught up with the group of Boy Scouts heading to Sam Moore shelter. I asked to pass by, telling them I thought we’d be leapfrogging for a while since I slow up on ascents. That was the last I saw of them. I arrived at the Sam Moore shelter much more quickly than I expected; slack packing after even these first few days was feeling pretty good!
It occurred to me (this may seem obvious to most of you, but it was at least a “remembering” (if not an epiphany) to me) (oh god, a parenthetical within a parenthetical! (I did it again!)), that one doesn’t suddenly get their “trail legs”; instead one just finds that as they exert themselves they are a little faster, a little less out of breath. Slack packing can give a little glimpse of how much stronger one is getting.
Anyway, I was able to hike the 3 miles to Sam Moore in around an hour, even in this challenging terrain. There I prepared some water with a Nuun electrolyte tablet, and had a snack. There were already folks there, a family getting breakfast cooked up over a fire in the fire pit, and two young women. A father and son came in after me, the dad telling me his son was in informal training since he was soon to enter the Marines.
After staying for a little while, with 3 more miles to go, I decided to continue on.
With the day’s first freshness worn down, the next set of hills was harder and slower. I met Polly going down the backside of the first hill. I knew at that point that, barring the unforeseen, I would have plenty of time to get back to Bears Den.
After this point the traffic on the trail started to pick up. It became abundantly clear that this was a weekend day. And most groups of people were walking at least 1 dog. I didn’t really see why folks would be walking such rough terrain. But soon the trail leveled out oand widened, fewer rocks and roots; easily the most beautiful part of the trail, besides the viewpoints, to date this trip.
Everything was lush and green, the air scented with loam, leaves, flowers and a peppery smell that reminded me of coming down into Delaware Water Gap on 2017. Not for the first time, I had this overwhelming feeling of joy and gratitude for having the privilege of space and time to be out here. I’m on the $&)@ Appalachian Trail!!
Soon afterward I reached the parking area at Martin Mill Rd. I found Polly’s car easily, then started up the gravel and dirt road up to the main road. This access road was not wide enough for two cars going opposite directions, and a lot of the road had deep culverts along both sides. So it was a bit crazy-making to cover the 2-ish miles.
When I got back to Bears Den, the Boy Scouts were in full force. I had heard second hand about their plans to go to Sam Moore, so I filled in the gaps with the story that they were all going to the shelter for an overnight. It turns out only the small group I passed early in the morning were going, and they weren’t staying. So my reason for bailing on staying at Sam Moore myself was based on a misunderstanding. But the cool, amazing, serendipitous result was I got 3 additional miles in, and Polly and I both benefited.
A new group of folks started collecting at Bears Den to get out of the rain. Remember, my plans for the day were to make sure I wasn’t hiking the rocky terrain of the Roller Coaster in the rain. I was beginning to think it was a for naught (except for the cool, amazing serendi…; you get it, right?) Well, around 1:30, the skies opened up and rained. Phew! (Dang, Wordle has ruined a perfectly good expression!)
Meanwhile, Steve and Chelly came in from their southbound leg and got showers and visited a bit before they headed to their next destination. It was great meeting you, Steve and Chelly! I hope I’m spelling Chelly’s name correctly!!
The crowd sitting out the rain included Navigator and Rambler, Bill and Tony, Logan and Squeeks (hope I got that right), and a couple of young guys who’s names I can’t remember no matter how many times I’m told. I’m old; that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Navigator is from Moscow, Logan is from Luxembourg, Bill and Tony from the Berkshires in Western Mass.
We decided to go back to the Bear Chase Brewery for an early supper. Before leaving, someone noticed the Steve and Chelly had left a set of trekking poles behind. I sent an IM to them to let them know.
Bill, Tony and I walked down the 1/2 mile to the brewery and met up with Rambler, Logan, Squeeks, and Bad Idea (with his dog, Willow). I had another delicious burger and beer while we had whatever conversation was possible with the crowds and live band. At this point everyone but Tony, Bill, Navigator, myself, and Polly coming back later, were staying at the hostel.
Turns out we had one last chance say goodbye to Steve and Chelly when they popped back in to grab their trekking poles. Then Logan and Squeeks showed looking for some item they had lost.
That gave us more of a chance to get to know them. They have hiked the PCT and the CDT. Logan’s going for his triple crown by completing the AT. He shared how deeply his PCT experience changed him, and we talked about their travels through the Gila River Wilderness on the CDT, where they walked the exact landscape of my 2002 Vision Quest.
Squeeks had been traversing the Arizona Trail, but the northern end in and around the Grand Canyon had been closed due to abnormal snowfall amounts. So she came out east to walk a while with Logan.
I didn’t realize just how much detail I was going to get into today. Much apologizings. With so many new people, there’s much to say. And as this blog’s first purpose is as a personal journal, of course I want to record the stuff I want to remember. I’m sure any audience will skip what is uninspiring. 😉
Good night!!
Tom Maynard 
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