Sunday, October 3, 2021
Start: Young’s Store/Rt 3
End: Coleman State Park Campground
Miles: 24.2
Elevation gain/loss: 2756’/2090′
I started from the Rt 3 trailhead at 7:45am. Toby dropped me off before he started heading towards home. The first section was ATV road, followed by dirt road, then more ATV road, followed by even more dirt roads. Blazes were mostly nonexistant; without the digital map, I would have been very, very lost. Some of the dirt roads led me past cow pastures; the cows were not eager to see me and I did my best to not frighten or spook them.
It was long and boring and rough on my feet – the endless hard ground mixed with wet mud and marsh lead to hot spots and a few small blisters. It didn’t rain hard, but there was a persistent mist falling all day, which soaked everything. All of the plants along the trail were dripping water and much of the day felt chilly, never getting warmer than ~50. I was wet from the the waist down from plants and marsh, and dripping sweat from the waist up. I never had a chance to dry out, so I was very glad my sleeping bag was in a dry bag and that I’d reserved a cabin with propane heat for the evening.
I arrived at the campground around 3:45pm. I checked out the bathroom, showers, and laundry room and then headed over to my cabin. At first, I had some moments of panic when I thought the cabin was locked and required a lockbox code to gain access (which might require me to walk an extra mile to check in), but eventually I tried the door and found it unlocked. I cranked the heat and started my damp clothes drying. I took a shower and then made dinner. I relaxed around my cabin for a while and sitting down was glorious.
When I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth at dusk, I saw a backpacker filling up water bottles. I went over, discovered it was Powerline (who Toby had seen the day before) and we chatted for a few minutes. Powerline is from eastern MA and I helped him find the shelter at the campground so he didn’t have to tent. We talked about today’s terrain and how strange it’s been on ATV roads with hunters actively shooting very close by. I bid him a good hike and after brushing my teeth, went back to my cabin to lay down. The propane heat had dried out my clothes and gear, and the cabin was warm and the bed was gloriously soft and after a short time blogging, I fell asleep around 7:45pm.
