It felt SO good to sleep on a bed with pillows! And to have use of an actual bathroom. And to not have to drink algae and dead bug-infested water.
It’s been a delightfully relaxing day. Before we left the room, I did some much-needed stretching (shoutout to Alysha @wanderfulbodies / wanderfulbodies.com for her online videos. She’s helping me in so many ways https://wanderfulbodies.com/ website https://www.instagram.com/wanderfulbodies/?hl=en Instagram) Then I did my 25 push-ups (my goal for this year is to do at least 25 push-ups every day). Then we went back to Kranberry’s for breakfast.
We arrived at Kranberry’s the same time as two other hikers, Mountain and Lion. Mountain and Lion are from Switzerland and they speak German, so I was thrilled to eat breakfast (Frühstück) with them. At first, Mountain was hesitant to talk in English because he didn’t think his English was good; this is something I completely understand because, while I can read German pretty well, I’m very shy about speaking it. I think we made each other feel more comfortable, though, because I felt better about attempting German having him there and I’m pretty sure he felt similarly.
Us with the Swiss hikers, Mountain and his wife Lion. They have a blog, too, but it’s in German - https://schrittfuerschritt.blog
While at the restaurant, I saw two hikers walk in, so on my way back from the restroom I stopped at their table to introduce myself. Crazily enough, one of them said, “oh! Apples! I’ve heard of you!” Confused, I asked him how that was possible. It turns out he knows Jetpack, who I met on the PCT. Jetpack has since triple-crowned (hiked the PCT, the CDT, and the AT) and she’s one of the coolest hikers I know. Apparently, she told him I was hiking this trail, too, and said maybe we’d meet. Well, we did! His name is Twerk and I can already tell he’s going to be fun to hang out with (after I asked for the story behind his name, said with a wink, “you have to EARN your trail name, you know”). Twerk was with Google. Google also hiked the PCT in 2016 (what?!) but he was a month ahead of us so we never had the pleasure to meet him. Small world.
After Frühstück, Nick and I did a little shopping. I wanted to get some new headphones to replace the ones that broke and some lotion because my skin is not making the transition from humid Maui to dry desert very well. We also purchased some hotel room snacks. I’d show you the picture of the apple I bought but I already ate it. :)
Once back at the hotel, I went to the lobby, where the WIFI kind-of/sort-of works, to send the blog notes and pictures to Theresa. As I was walking past the lobby window, Twerk was beckoning me inside.
Inside, I was introduced to Finder. Oddly enough, Finder also knew of me. Finder hiked the AT last year, where he met Jetpack, who told him to keep an eye out for Apples and Man Hands. Jetpack is a wonderful human. We had a good time chatting while they waited for their rooms.
Finder, Little Jesus, and Twerk
Because the Wifi in the hotel lobby stopped working, I walked across the street to Kranberry’s to upload the blog info and catch up with messages from friends. There I ran into Hashtag Blessed, B.Bigfoot, and Michelle (the woman with Warrior Expeditions) - we had a nice final chat.
Nick and I went back to Kranberry’s that evening for dinner. We both got the salad bar and Nick ate a burger. After dinner, we walked to McDonalds because Nick wanted ice cream. And now I get to sleep on a real bed again. :)
