We went back to the tavern for brunch and then as we were walking out of town to the road we needed to hitch on, a woman called to us from a church, asking if we wanted cookies. Of course we said yes and went in. She actually gave us each a little goodie bag that we were able to fill with cookies, brownies, and other snacks. We checked out the beautiful church, built in the 1700s, and it reminded me of the ornate old churches I’ve seen in Europe. Then she and her husband decided to drive us all the way back to the trail, and we got a history lesson of the area on the way.

We stayed at the trailhead eating our snacks before starting and were befriended by a four year old girl named Hayden who was there with her parents. Slick and Jungle Jym convinced her to load Coon’s pack up with rocks, which she had a great time doing. She also tried out our trekking poles and started trying to hike out with us when we finally left, only to be reeled back in by her mom, which sparked a tantrum. Oops.

I hiked 12.2 miles to the road to Tyringham where Slick and Coon’s friend Blue was doing trail magic from his RV. We hung out there for dinner and then walked back onto the trail to set up camp and build a fire. I haven’t had a fire in a long time since summer has been way too hot for that. It helped with the mosquitoes though.

I’m in bed now, listening to the fire still crackling, and coyotes barking and howling.

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