Today was the last day of hiking with Kyle. We packed up and headed out for a short climb up Mt. Moriah with some more hazy views.
After that it was all downhill to US-2. After some steep descent that reminded us of yesterday it smoothed out considerably. The weather was unseasonably warm and there was very little wind making it a very hot day.
Out shuttle picked us up to take us into town. The driver had helped out with search and rescue for some hikers at Katahdin just the previous day. They only found their remains. A real tragedy and a reminder that we have to be careful out there.
We arrived at the Barn Hostel. Unsurprisingly it was in an old barn. The warm weather made the bunkhouse uncomfortably warm. Paul, our host, was very friendly and knowledgeable about the area.
We did laundry and had some snacks. Here we met Aquaman who had slackpacked most of our previous two days of hiking in a single day. He is finishing the AT after getting injured on his through hike last year.
After chores we adjourned to the nearby Big Day Brewing for air conditioning, food, and some card games.
It's been great having Kyle along for the iconic White Mountains section of the trail. Having someone to push through the bad weather days makes a huge difference, and we got to have some nice days of hiking together as well.