In the bears’ den

April 2, 2025

Day 4 was clear and cool, still a bit muddy, but generally a pleasant day for hiking. By this time I had used up all bandages, antibiotic ointment, and med tape for the blister(s) raging on the back of my heel. All I had left was gauze and duct tape. So that’s what I used. At some point today I would have to get off trail to a store or a pharmacy.  Since the same ankle was delicate from the previous day’s fall, I used the rest of my duct tape to wrap the ankle as well. By the time I’d finished, it sort of looked like I’d made myself a sock.

I’d also spent some phone time reading about blister care options, and decided to loosen my laces a bit on the injured foot in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on the blisters. This worked pretty well, especially on the ascents.  

When I got to the Sky Meadows state park junction, I had a choice to make: either take the turnoff to the state park visitors center and camp store, a 1.7 mile downhill climb, or stay on the AT for an almost 3-mile downhill climb to the road intersection.

It was either this…

…or this

 I could call a shuttle to either location, but there was a slim chance that the camp store might have what I needed, and a better chance that it would have somewhere comfortable to sit while I waited for pickup. I took the side trail.

The downhills were pretty steep, but Sky Meadows is a beautiful area, full of intersecting trails and enchanting scenery, including actual meadows complete with signs warning hikers to just be chill with the cows living there.

No cows here today, though. I was vaguely disappointed.

The visitors center camp store was mostly just a gift shop, so I called for a shuttle, bought some snacks, took my shoes off, and settled in on the bench outside to wait. After all the downhill action, the front of my foot was paying the price—it looked like I had some bruising under my second toenail. Looser laces were better for the blister, but worse in other respects, it seemed. 

My shuttle driver’s trail name was Goldilocks. She and her SO, Bill, who came with her, are adventure guides who also help with search and rescue. I couldn’t have gotten luckier with these two awesome folks, who took me to CVS, went in with me to talk options, and gave me a great mix of good advice, pep talks, and horror stories of folks who had it much worse than I did as they drove me to a hostel off the trail further north of where I’d been hiking. Goldilocks also texted me her master list of shuttle drivers in case the blister got infected and I needed to go to urgent care. They recommended taking a day or so to heal before setting out again. 

Bears Den is a hostel run by the ATC and PATC; It used to be an old stone mansion built by a couple in the early 20th century; after the couple died, it stood empty for a few decades before being repurposed as a hostel.  Goldilocks and Bill brought me in the back before check-in, and stayed to chat with Fern, one of the caretakers. There were also a few hikers there. After days of being mostly on my own, suddenly I was surrounded by people, most of whom knew each other or knew of each other. Everyone was friendly, exchanging news of who they’d seen, what they’d heard, what they were doing. All of a sudden, I felt as if I’d been adopted and plugged into a network. 

When check-in time rolled around, I walked upstairs with the new intake to meet Glen, the main caretaker, and his two dogs, Mata Hari and Chiang Kai-Shek. I paid my $40 for the hiker special, which included an entire frozen pizza, a pint of ice cream, laundry, and a hot shower in addition to my bunk for the night and a pancake breakfast the next morning. This felt like decadence, but I was happy to take it.