We hit our 100 mile mark sometime this morning! We woke up early, but we wanted ice cream so we couldn't leave until 9 am. We left the shelter and headed uphill through a beautiful spruce forest, weaving in and out of hardwoods and spruce for most of the morning. We walked down into the small and pretty China Gorge, only to climb back out and down to Schear Road to our first stop of the day. Our map said County Cream (aka The Penguin) was a must stop, so we added nearly a mile to our hike to walk down to it. We filled up on chicken tenders, onion rings, French fries, and ice cream. They have the coolest machine that makes nearly 151,000 combinations of ice cream!
I love spruce forest!
After this, we had a full and pretty uneventful walk into Masonville, where two very hot and dehydrated hikers stopped at the General Store for cold drinks. Inside we found more of a food co-op than average general store! It was amazingly refreshing to get natural drinks and sit out of the heat for a few minutes before heading down the long road walk to Bainbridge. Thank you to Kendal, the owner, for letting us sit and talk for a few minutes before heading down the road!
When you see this giant ice cream beacon, you run - don't walk!
We met a nice couple, Steve and Deb, who said we could stay with them in an extra apartment they owned in Bainbridge while we were there. We started the hot road walk and got picked up quickly by a guy named Nate who asked us if we wanted a ride. Since we were already sunburned and dehydrated we accepted, and he dropped us at the Bainbridge Laundromat. We did laundry and grabbed a bite to eat at Jerry's Inn across the street before setting up for the night with Steve and Deb. We are so thankful to be inside as the recent stomfront moving across the country is pouring rain down on NY yet again. They are calling for rain all night and most of the week. Tomorrow we head west yet again!