Day 153: Relaxing in Stratton

Hiked 2.0 miles, staying at the Stratton Motel and Hostel.

It rained hard last night and into the early morning.  I lazed about in my tent for a while and managed to find a break in the rain to break camp and get on the trail.  It was a downhill walk the rest of the way to the road and I accomplished it fairly quickly.  The rain did drizzle a little bit more but for the most part by the time I got to town it was finished.  I didn't even have to stick my thumb out to get a ride in.  I was just crossing the road to the other side when a guy pulled over and offered me a lift.  It turns out he is a ranked snowboarding champion, Steven Barry, who lives right outside of town.  He is ranked 18th in the country and hopes to make top ten this year.  I probably should have asked for an autograph or something.

Walking through downtown Stratton

He dropped me off at the Looney Moose, a diner he recommended for breakfast.  It was slow service but the food was respectable if a bit pricey.  The downside was that it was a half mile out of town so I had to walk the rest of the way in.  I decided to stay the night in town to wait out the weather and there is a hostel attached to the Stratton Motel.  When I arrived I found Stripe who had stayed here last night.  He was on his way to breakfast and I decided to join him for round two.  The food at the diner across from the hostel was far superior to that of the Looney Moose.  Good thing I have the appetite to eat two breakfasts in a row!

One of the bunkrooms in the hostel

I spent the day relaxing at the hostel.  The living area of the hostel is very nice and has a full kitchen.  Heavyweight soon arrived and we got supplies for grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup and cooked them up all throughout the afternoon.  They had a wide assortment of classic VHS movies to choose from and we popped in Blade and reminisced about the 90s.

The living room of the hostel

A large number of people trickled in throughout the day.  Stinkbug, Gigglefitz, Paisley, Humen, Hammer, Gravy, Tallulah and Novi all came in, hung out for a large majority of the day before heading back out on the trail.  Slim Jim and Why Not arrived late in the day and stayed in the hostel.  It was fantastic catching up with the two of them, I haven't seen either in a long time.

Looking from the living room into the kitchen in the hostel

I went to take a picture of all the hikers and it seems everyone
 bent over just as I was taking the picture, thanks guys...

The weather still looks sketchy for tomorrow and Why Not is taking a zero.  I may join her in that endeavor to try to slow down and let Srocket catch back up to me.  It would be nice if we could all summit together.  It seems people are definitely starting to clump up as we approach the end and it was so much fun to see all the people today that I haven't seen in a very long time!