The Long Trail: Part 17

Tuesday, September 24th, 2019

We got a nice view at the top of Baker Peak in the morning. Then we ate our second lunch before making our descent just as it began to drizzle.

We’ve been lucky with the weather so far, so we couldn’t complain about a little rain. The drizzle didn’t last long and ended before we got to Griffith Lake. I once again put on my brakes due to the colorful trees. We crossed many bog bridges as we gawked at our surroundings.

We made a pit stop at Peru Peak Shelter to get water, and chatted with a handful of section hikers before starting our climb up Styles Peak. There wasn’t much to look at at the top, so after walking in the wrong direction in front of a hiker couple I’ve never seen before like a dingus, I hiked down to Mad Tom Notch Road where the guys were eating their lunch. I joined them and it started to rain. I sat through it for a little, but then joined the other under some trees once I was starting to get soggy. The rain got heavier, so we hiked on.

I stared at my feet for a long while, trying not to check my phone every two seconds whenever I experienced an, “Are we there yet?” moment. After nearing the top of a climb, I gave into temptation only to see I was practically there! Less than a tenth of a mile and I was back at Bromley Mountain!

We absolutely could have hiked more. It wasn’t the rain, the rain was tolerable. We stayed because we had experienced an incredible sunset and sunrise here two years ago. We got in the warming hut, set up shop, and wished away the rain clouds.

We were getting antsy ending our day so prematurely, and after some time passed, we thought we might have the place to ourselves once the hiker couple passed by. Then we met a girl named Jess who was hiking with her dog. She had warned us that her dog was very nervous around new people, but I thought I could win him over. Oddly enough, this dog wanted nothing to do with me! I’ve spent many of years working at places involving doggos and kitties, as a veterinary assistant, a dog day care attendant, and a kennel technician, but have never met one so fearful of me. It kinda hurt. Especially when her pup warmed up to Frisbee and Middle Brother, but still gave me the stink eye. Oh well. You can’t win all of their hearts. Things also don’t always go as expected. The clouds ended up prevented a repeat of the stunningly, colorful skies we witness years ago. No sunset and no sunrise.

Still pretty though.