Day 141: Hike from Cooper Falls. Brook Lean-to to Jo-Mary Road

If you can’t fit it in your heart or on your back, you probably don’t need it.

August 21, 2024
AT miles: 3.7
Ascent: 25’
Descent: 345’
Weather: gorgeous
High points: the shower at the hostel

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Today’s walk was short and easy. We had a leisurely social breakfast at camp and left around 8 AM. I walked with Sean, chatting the miles away.

The trail today had easy footing and was very relaxing.

We were not supposed to meet the food-drop / shuttle guy until 11, so a few hundred feet before our meeting place we sat down and enjoyed the gorgeous view of Cooper Brook.We walked along Cooper Brook pretty much the entire way.

After hanging out for about an hour, some southbound hikers came by and mentioned that someone was waiting for us.

We threw on our packs and hurried down to. Jo-Mary Road. I had already hiked the northern half of the Hundred Mile Wilderness in 2021, so I was leaving the HMW and shuttling back to Monson. Sean had decided that he was not up for completing the hike so he was coming with me. The other four were picking up food resupply for the northern half of the hike.

The shuttle driver informed Sean and me that we were waiting for another hiker who is not supposed to arrive until 2 o’clock, so we made ourselves comfortable by the side of the road and napped. Thankfully, the other hiker arrived around noon.

The drive out of the Hundred Mile Wilderness and back to Monson was something – it took about an hour and a quarter, about 50 minutes of which was on dirt roads traveling at 40 mph. The logging roads are a seriously vast network of dirt roads, and we were absolutely buried in the wilderness.

We finally made it back to the hostel, and I had my first shower in five days. Then we hopped in my car and drove two hours to Brooklin, where my son and his family live. And from there, we made our way back to Virginia.

Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods!