Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 118, Tuesday, 7/12 – Genie, Splitzy, Aqua and I were one of the last ones out of camp this morning, but we were still hiking before 7:00am. We hiked a little over 2 miles and entered Dalton. The trail went right through town, so we stopped at a breakfast joint where I got a large hot coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

The breakfast joint was next to the post office, so I picked up the package that mom had sent me. I went back to the breakfast joint and saw that the deli next door had opened. I ordered an Italian sub that I had intended to eat right then. It ended up being a huge sandwich, so I ate half and packed out the rest.

I left Dalton and hiked with Genie & Splitzy. Hot coffee, real food, and a good night sleep had me hiking strong. Splitzy had some knee pain, and my gut was still not right, so we entertained the idea of staying in town.

There weren’t any hostels or hotels in the area, and there was a B&B which was closed due to Covid. We thought we were out of options until we came across comments in the FarOut app (app used for all hiking logistics on the AT) recommending that we stay with a man called the Polish Hermit.

The comment that sold us on reaching out to the Polish Hermit read, “The Polish Hermit kidnapped me and I’m now 3 bottles of wine in and 2 minutes away from shaving his back. Absolutely the most fun I’ve had in my entire life!” So, Splitzy texts the number asking if us 3 can stay, and we receive a text response that says yes.

We hiked 12 miles into Cheshire (Mile 1582), and came across an ice cream shop. We sat down at a picnic table in the shade, and I finished my Italian sub. I then ate a large mint chip milkshake. We hung out for a while and I used the time to update my blog. We saw that there was a free hiker campsite in Cheshire, so we wandered over to check it out. It didn’t have a good place to sit in the shade, so we went back to the ice cream shop.

I got more mint chip ice cream, and saw Hawk walk up to the ice cream shop. Hawk is a well known Appalachian Trail YouTube personality. He posts every day, and has a large fan base. He told us that there will be a lot of trail magic tomorrow, so that’s something to look forward too. As I was talking to Hawk, Mark, the Polish Hermit, drove up to the ice cream shop.

We learned that Mark is a trail angel, and frequently will drop refreshments off to hikers early in the morning at the campsite in Cheshire. He picked up Genie, Splitzy, and I and brought us to Dom Polskiego Pustelnika, the Home of the Polish Hermit.

His farm is a beautiful piece of property with a large home, a barn, a cabin, and a few more outbuildings. He had a large amount of chickens and geese roaming the property.

Mark showed us around the home and made us feel welcome. We then sat out on the front porch listening to music and eating some snacks.

Mark volunteers at a food pantry and met a young man who is trying to get back on his feet. Mark needed to give him him a ride from the campsite where he was living to to McDonalds where he was working. I joined Mark on the ride.

When we got back to the farm, Mark gave us an in depth tour of his land, his projects, and the home.

We learned that the house was built in 1860s during the Civil War. Mark’s grandparents moved from Poland, had 5 children, then bought the house in 1925. They bought the home from the Briggs family for $1,400. He also told us that his Grandfather made moonshine during prohibition. I find it interesting to stay in a place with so much history.

Mark made us scrambled eggs and corn on the cob for dinner. The dinner started with a shot of Vodka, which is a Polish tradition (I opted for a shot of orange juice). We ate outside and Mark regaled us with stories of crazy hikers who have stayed at his property.

I don’t remember why exactly, but Mark wanted to talk to Birthday. Part of the reason was because Birthday told us that he knew how to speak in Polish, so we needed to see if he was pulling our leg or not. Regardless, Mark gets Birthday on the phone. Birthday immediately thinks it’s a wrong number, but Mark name dropped us, so Birthday realized he knew us. They spoke in Polish for a bit. Then Mark told Birthday that we were having a crazy time. Among the things that he told Birthday, was that I was running around in an American flag speedo. Birthday called the bluff and said he needed to see a picture of that. Not wanting to be called out, I put on the American flag speedo so we could send Birthday a photo.

We hung out well past sunset, and ate ice cream for dessert. It’s really hard to capture this place in words, this has certainly been one of the more unique stays on trail.