The Barn Hostel - Carlo Col Shelter
Back on the trail after a nice relaxing 0. We did the math and could potentially finish in 20 days, including 3 zeros… wild to think how close we’re getting! Paul gave us a shuttle back to trail at 7:30am. Hangman was the MVP today and found a blue blaze that would cut off almost 7 miles… so obviously we took the blue blaze!
It was mild at first, but once it started climbing to meet the AT it got steep. I hiked alone and listened to a book, trying to forget about how much my full pack was hurting my shoulders.
I caught up to Truffles and Hangman at the AT junction by a gorgeous alpine lake with views directly into Mount Washington. It was nearly 10am and we already had less than 10 miles to go thanks to the blue blaze, so we decided to take our time.
I hiked behind Truffles and we didn’t talk much because we were both absorbed in our audiobooks. The biggest climb of the day was Mount Success, and Truffles promised to wait for me at the top so we could eat lunch together with a view. The climb was steep and slow going, but I eventually made it and was greeted with a 360° view and a cloudless blue sky. We ate lunch and promptly fell asleep in the sun *full lizard*. With only 2.5 miles left in the day it didn’t matter, and it felt nice to nap in the sun.
Hangman waited for us at the Maine border and we had a quick photoshoot before heading to the shelter. We all were tired and ate quickly before retiring early. Welcome to Maine! It feels surreal.
