bamforth shelter to buchannan lodge

miles: 11.7

woke up a little late this morning, but packed up quickly. everything was dry. headed down to the shelter. (this particular shelter, the tent sites are quite a ways away.)

made breakfast in the “cooking area”, another unique feature of the shelter, but not before setting off both dogs barking at my presence. sorry, lightfoot and ian.

took some extra time to clean my feet and to scrub off the leuko tape residue that now held so much grit, i was afraid of making the problem worse. i applied fresh tape, hopefully for the last time.

headed out around 7, and after brushing my teeth, hiked hard. layla suggested i swim at the suspension bridge just before the parking lot where they were to pick me up. i wasn’t sure whether this was a suggestion or a request. hiker stink is real.

the descent was steep, but the trail relatively clear. i could see through the trees that the morning fog hadn’t yet left the valley. rt2 is quite a busy road, so though i couldn’t see it, i could hear trucks, cars, and motorcycles roaring down it.

finally i came to a break in the trees where i could snap a photo.

i finally got down to ground level, and the fog had burned off. i passed through a parking lot and turned left onto a road. the trail in guthook indicated a 3 mile road walk. while road walking is efficient, it’s not all that fun. i was pleased to see that the trail turned after just a mile. it then ran along a wide, deep river and then into a set of fields, where i think chickens were being raised. the mobile pens were so far away it was hard to tell.

the fields were lovely at this time of morning, except that the morning dew was still on the grass, and in no time my shoes and socks were soaked again. so much for dry feet.

after what must have been a couple miles, the trail turned back onto the road, but only for a few hundred feet before turning onto the suspension bridge.

i headed below the bridge to find a really nice spot. there was a beach, and the bottom of the river was all sand. not a rock or any muck in sight. i dove right in.

a through hiker emerged from the bushes where he and his son had spent the night and we chatted while he made breakfast and i made tea with the last of my fuel.

a little while later ian and otto showed up. ian had already swum, but otto was game to go in again. in fact he went in and just stood there. after 10 minutes i took this photo.

shortly after 10, i packed up and walked the .2 mile to the parking lot. i put my pack down and turned off airplane mode to see if there was an update from layla and bria, but right then they pulled in. we all masked up, i hopped in the car and was immediately presented with batteries and charging cables! with all my stuff plugged in, we headed to the store.

i got all resupplied at the store and we talked about lunch. i promised layla and bria lunch on me after they offered to be my resupply drivers. we went to a bakery and ordered sandwiches. we decided to eat them in the park down the street. thankfully there was a performance shed that had power, so i plugged all my stuff in while we ate. the park was really nice. large playing fields and a playground with some shade trees. layla told me they have a farmer’s market each week with live music.

we lounged about for a bit chatting, and eventually i packed all my resupply into my food bag. the park even had a single stream recycling bin for the boxes.

bria’s friend was hopping she could go swimming, and they both had been more than generous with their time. i suggested they go, but it was decided we’d go to their house where i could plug my stuff in and leave it and then we’d all go swimming.

back to the suspension bridge we went. a bunch more folks were there now, and many dogs. i didn’t want to get layla’s car wet so i found a patch of shade to sit in. they both went swimming and eventually layla came and sat by me. we chatted for a bit and then i suddenly realized that the grass we were sitting on also had poison ivy!

so i went swimming again. i used my bandana to try to scrub off some of the poison ivy oil. i got some looks, as i’m sure i looked like i was a homeless person bathing. oh well, hiker trash, once again.

after the swim we headed back to the house. i hung out in the yard. it was a really nice spot. apparently they had lived in a yurt, had the house built (replaced, actually) and then moved into the house.

around 3, layla took me the few miles back to the parking lot and dropped me off. what a fantastic resupply day! i usually dread resupply days because of all the logistics and rushing, but this was grand. slow, peaceful, and i got everything done. layla even offered to do it all again when i’m heading home.

layla and bria, i can’t thank you enough. definitely deserving of the moniker “trail angels”.

sadly, i took no photos of richmond or layla and bria. it’s a fantastic little town.

back on trail, i walked down the road and turned right into a tunnel underpass of rt2. then straight up this hot, steep, street before turning into the woods again. my relative cleanliness was already suffering.

i had about 6 miles to buchannan lodge. it was a bit late, so i hiked hard. it was quite steep at first, but the trail was clear so i made it to the lodge a little after 17:00. lightweight and riley were already there.

dinner was tortellini and an apple i picked up as a treat. yum!