Day 8

We were up at 6 am today so we could walk to the laundromat and be ready when it opened at 7. We threw our disgusting trail clothes in a washer and walked next door for some breakfast. After some egg and cheese sandwiches and a fruit smoothy we retrieved our laundry and walked back up to the inn.

We packed our packs, changed into our no longer funky trail clothes and called a local taxi for a ride out to the trail.

A little after 9:30 we were hiking again. It was a bit weird to return to the trailhead we had left two days earlier. When we were last here we were celebrating a successful first leg of the trip and looking forward to the comforts of town. Now we were settling in for another long haul through the woods. We were both curious to see how it would feel to return to the trail. So far, this had not been so different from our previous hiking trips. Today was when it deviated from the realm of the known. We didn't know how are bodies would respond to being back on the trail or how the psychology of hiking would play out.

After less than two hours of hiking we had our answer. The trail climbed over a thousand feet in the first three miles to the summit of Bromley Mountain. This was the type of climb that had left us winded and exhausted on the last leg of our trip. As we broke out into the meadows near the summit of the mountain we both were surprised at how easy the climb had been and how quickly it had gone by. Our packs were clearly lighter than before, but it seems our conditioning has improved considerably. We can only hope this continues as we hike north.

We relaxed at one of the Bromley Mountain ski lifts while we enjoyed our new and improved snacks. We picked up energy bars, cheese, salted nuts, dried fruit, tortillas and a container of crunchy peanut butter in town. I'm hoping the increased calories will help us handle the big miles ahead. It's nice to look forward to a tasty snack on a long hiking day!

The rest of the day past uneventfully. The trail dropped rapidly down to Mad Tom Notch where a hand pump provided cold drinking water. The trail then climbed through a dark forest over wet rocks, roots and boardwalks up to Styles Peak and then over Peru Peak. We both noticed that the trail was as quiet as we could ever remember. The birds and squirrels weren't putting on their usual song and dance. The skies had also turned a depressing shade of gray. After hiking in silence for far too long we took to singing songs and telling jokes to pass the time.

At about 4 pm we reached the Peru Peak Shelter. Section hikers from the last shelter were already set up in the shelter. After many hours of almost creepy silence we were excited to have some company in camp.

Dinner tonight was a dehydrated red beans and rice meal. We added some fresh garlic and a fresh chopped jalapeño pepper. This was our most successful dinner on the trail so far.

Now we are enjoying good company and a campfire at the shelter. It's good to be back on the trail.

We've hiked 64.5 miles on the Long Trail and have 208.2 to go.