Day 24 (Sept 6)

Storms all night through the early morning, but we're safe and dry in the cabin. For breakfast, farm-fresh egg sandwiches and stovetop percolator coffee.

This cabin, by the way, is brand new -- Dave just bought this land (adjacent to his farm) last year and finished building the cabin this spring. The intention was to be able to rent out the cabin and land for hunting, but so far it's been booked solid by the get-away-from-it-all crowd. It does look like a nice place to hunt from, though.

But Dave did another thing with the hunting land he bought: he reopened an old section of trail that used to go through here, eliminating a long stretch of road walk. Yay Dave!

We head east into Dave's land, following the Gator tracks and then up into the forest, then down into the valley, then up the steep but well-switchbacked south side of Rattlesnake Hill and down a Forest Service road into the tiny one-hill ski town of Swain. Thought we'd managed to wait out the rain before leaving this morning, but somehow we caught up with it in the lowlands. A chilly lunch under the covered porch of Swain's one business, a jolly-looking tavern that won't open until three... curses!

Our hike out of Swain is an old railway bed (part of the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad), blasted into the mountainside over a century ago. It's sprouted a few boulders and trees as the mountain slowly reclaims it, but is still a fine level walk with nice misty scenery.

During a short road section in the hamlet of Garwoods, we finally come across another self-service farm stand:

The rain is still teasing us, so we head for the next shelter on the map. It's called Bossard's Cabin, a hunting cabin on private land (Bossard's, I presume) that's open to hikers for free in the off-season.

How does Bossard's free cabin compare to Dave's $125 cabin, one might wonder... well it's older, a little ramshackle. It's got a much smaller porch. It's got no solar power or water. Like Dave's, it does have a gas-powered stove and lighting, and many beds. Unlike Dave's, it comes with a crowd of friendly bovines.

Daisy, Honey-Dip, Meg, Miami, Chevy. I like Honey-Dip the best.

Some peppers from Garwoods freshen up last night's ample leftovers, and it's another dry night for us, though here we opt for our sleeping bags instead of the cots.