Month: June 2021

Start: Mark Noepel Shelter (AT mi 1585.9) Stop: Sherman Brook Campsite (AT mi 1597.2). Today’s miles: 11.3 miles. Total AT mileage: 572.5 miles

My watch vibrated at 6:15 this morning. I forgot I had set an alarm, but I just turned it off and fell back to sleep. I finally got up closer to 7:30. I’ve been sleeping so much better, but I still roll a lot during the night. I’m a side sleeper, so I start on one side, roll to my back, realize that’s uncomfortable, roll to the other side. Then, when that hip starts to ache the process starts over. Sometimes I’ll sleep on my stomach, but I usually like my arms up, cradling my head almost-and I smell too bad to be doing that to myself these days. LOL!

I packed everything relatively quick, and then walked to the privy and to get my food bag from the bear box. For the record, I much prefer the bear boxes to throwing my own line or trying to put it on a bear pole. I ate breakfast at the picnic table where I camped, because I didn’t see any movement at the shelter and didn’t want to wake anyone (Towely, mainly.. he looked utterly wiped last night). It looks like overnight more hikers came in, because there was a new tent I hadn’t seen before.

I started to walk out around 8:15. Sauce was up, so I waved bye to him and started my climb the rest of the way up Graylock Mountain. This mountain literally felt like it took all dang day to conquer. And I started out 5 miles up the thing already! (The shelter was 5 miles up this mountain, and the summit is another 2.5 miles up). It wasn’t a horrible climb, the trail almost seemed confused.. I knew I was going up, but the trail would randomly go down for awhile and then start going back up. It went on and on.

The top was gorgeous, with a perfectly paved road to bring you up there if you didn’t fancy the sweat and bug approach. There was also a lodge with a restaurant.. but it was closed when I tried to get something to eat. So, I filled up my water bottle and headed down the other side.

The downhill was painful. It just kept going on forever. When I thought surely this was the road I needed to get to, nope-still going down. I didn’t end up getting to the bottom of that mountain until close to 1:30! I was exhausted and my feet were aching. I turned and went the 1/2 mile to a grocery store anyway. I needed to resupply food, and sore feet or not, it had to be now.

I dropped my pack at a picnic table off to the side of the store and then went inside. Talk about overwhelming. It had EVERYTHING. They always say don’t resupply when you’re hungry, I didn’t listen. I got food for the next few days and then also got chicken tenders, fresh fruit, chips, and a drink for right now.

I sat at the picnic table with my shoes and socks off and just enjoyed the time in the shade with the breeze blowing. I ate my food slowly, and then packed up even slower. I was really not looking forward to the climb I was facing. I had only gone 9 miles but my body felt like I had ran a marathon.

I started the walk through town, and my body is just shattered under the weight of the new food. Each step feels 10x heavier than before. I look on my app and see that there’s a campsite 2 miles up the hill, instead of the 7 miles to the shelter. I was pretty much banking on that idea, but leaving it open to “if I feel up to it when I pass the campsite, I’ll keep going..” hahaha

It was buggy and less breezy in the woods going uphill. I was walking alongside a beautiful Brook, but I felt so drained. I hadn’t heard back from Sauce and FarOut, but knew Towely stayed at the lodge at the top of Graylock Mountain, Lizard decided to zero in Cheshire, and the others were behind her. As much as I wanted to hike into Vermont today (the next shelter), I saw the sign for the campsite and knew I was done. Minutes after my acceptance, I got a message from FarOut, this was their destination, too, but they’d be awhile because they were just coming to town.

I got to camp and set up my stuff and was hanging out, resting my feet, and planning for Andrea’s arrival in a couple weeks. She’s flying in to New Hampshire to hike the white mountains with me, and then we’re going to do a little road trip to Acadia National Park for a few days. It was nice to finally have the downtime to somewhat attempt a plan. Although I couldn’t get all the details locked in because my service is spotty here. It’ll let me send and receive texts, but it won’t load a webpage for crap, or send pictures.

I bathed at the creek and got my water, filtered it and cooked dinner. I ate way more than I was actually hungry for, mainly because my food bag is too heavy! As I was starting to plan out tomorrow, Sauce and FarOut appeared! They set up camp and did their chores while we all chatted and commiserated. None of us feel fantastic by any means. The feet tenderness is just awful.

It’s 9:40 now and I’m completely wiped out. I can hear music or something in the distance, so I’m not sure what that’s about. I also need to retie one of my tent cords, but I’m so sleepy I don’t want to get out of my tent to do it. It’s crazy how 9:40 at night feels like 2am in normal life. Looks like I’ll be getting up anyway, and then hopefully peacefully sleeping soon after!

Start: Sherman Brook Campsite (AT mi 1597.2). Stop: Congdon Shelter (AT mi 1609.6). Today’s miles: 12.4 miles. Total AT mileage: 584.9 miles

I slept until 7:30 this morning.. and I really slept! It was that good, deep sleep that I’ve been missing like crazy. I almost rolled over the other way, but the birds were chirping and I decided to go ahead and get the day started.

I packed most things, and then ate breakfast with FarOut and Sauce. While I was sitting on the ground, eating my breakfast bar, I checked my phone. Towelie (I’ve been spelling it wrong this whole time) sent a text to our tramily group chat. He ended up going to the hospital last night, had a fever of 102.5, and got put on antibiotics for Lyme’s Disease. After he said it, it made sense with how awful he’s been feeling.. fatigued and slap worn out. I can’t believe he’s been hiking and climbing Graylock Mountain while feeling that bad. Poor guy. But hopefully he’ll be on the mend soon, and back out here on trail. Do me a favor and say some prayers for a quick recovery. He’s staying at a hotel for a few days until he feels well enough to carry on.

I started hiking sometime after 8:30.. and once again, the miles were slow ones. The first couple miles were through an area that had very recently burned. I’m not sure if it was a wild brush fire or a controlled burn, but I hated every second of it. I’d be walking uphill and wanted to take deep breaths, but because of the smell of the charred wood, I wouldn’t let myself. Most of you know this, but for those that don’t, our house burned down when I was a child, with my mom, my brother, and I inside. We lost my brother because of that fire. Sometimes the slightest smell can trigger flashbacks, and sometimes it doesn’t bother me a bit. This morning, those few miles, those bothered me a whole lot. But once I was out of the burn area, I was back to breathing normal and feeling ok.

It was almost like Massachusetts had something to say about us getting close to leaving, because the last 2 miles in that state included climbs and lots of boulder hopping .. one section had been lovingly named “rock garden.” Rude, Massachusetts, real rude. It was pretty though, on top of that rock Mountain.

Once I crossed into Vermont, it felt like an instant change of scenery. While I’m sure it was more gradual than I realized, it felt instantaneous. The vibrant greens were back and everything looked luscious and alive. The ground was also full of a whole lot more mud. They don’t call it “Vermud” for nothing, I guess. I stopped and ate my lunch at a shelter, and then on my way back to the trail, Sauce and FarOut caught up to me. They felt like the miles were passing slow today, too. We can’t really explain why it feels like we’re dragging so much.

They hiked ahead and we caught up to each other off and on for the rest of the day. The terrain was cushy and mushy and green, with beaver ponds thrown in here and there for pretty scenery. I’m not sure if the mosquitos are just better here or if I’m getting more used to them, but I swear they’ve been better since getting into Vermont. I’m sure they’ll be back swarming soon enough, although I so very wish they wouldn’t.

We made it to camp and set up, then bathed in the creek, taking extra time to check for ticks and going through the whole routine for my stupid, still here, not any better rash. Lord, I may be only cut out for winter and “cooler weather” hiking. Haha I’ll need to remember that if I do any other trails.

We ate dinner together and then while sitting on a log and couple rocks eating, Wizard and Killer showed up. Then came Sweeps and Lilo. We briefly chatted, then hung our food bags and packed in for the night. There’s a few more people that have shown up since I’ve been in my tent.. but I’m not feeling very social, honestly. I’m ready to tuck in and get some more of that good sleep like last night. I didn’t have enough service last night or today to get my pictures to upload, and I have zero service now.. hopefully I can get these last 2 entries uploaded tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Sweet dreams, y’all.

Start: Congdon Shelter (AT mi 1609.6). Stop: Glastenbury Mountain Firetower (AT mi 1624.3). Today’s miles: 14.7 miles. Total AT mileage: 599.6 miles

I slept in again today. I didn’t get up until after 7am and it felt so amazing. I love that I’m sleeping better, it truly is a game changer.

I packed and ate breakfast like every other morning, and left camp before FarOut and Sauce. The miles went slowly for the first half of the day. At 10 am I was starving and on top of a “hill” so I decided to sit down, enjoy a snack, and update the blog. Having service up there was perfect for getting the pictures to upload. It really does take forever sometimes.

Sauce and FarOut caught up to me while I was sitting there. They stopped for a little snack too, and then carried on. I didn’t see them again until I made it to camp. The climbs were tough, but I seemed to be handling them better. There was one steep downhill that jarred my knees pretty bad, but that’s nothing new. Once I got to the bottom, I crossed the street and a man, Steve, gave me a Gatorade. He is a shuttle driver for hikers, and offers trail magic when he has it. The couple he was dropping off was some folks I hadn’t met before, but she told me she just came from urgent care and they told her she had scabies. Welp. I’m quite thankful my stupid thigh sweat rash isn’t scabies. I’ll quit complaining now. Lol

I thanked Steve profusely for the drink, and talked to him a bit while I chugged it. He had a sticker on his car that said “Hawk Support Crew.” He’s one of the many followers of Hawk and happens to set up trail magic when he’s around.. how dang cool is that?!

When I left Steve and couple, the trail went over a pretty creek on a bridge, and then right up the next mountain. It was smoother than the downhill across the street though, and I didn’t stop nearly as much as I have been on climbs before now. Once at the top, the trail meandered down and around before doing the same thing again. It went like this for quite some time. Up, down, up, over and around, up.. but it was enjoyable. Even with the muggy overcast day.

I ate lunch at a shelter and quickly left afterwards. There was a dude hanging out with his dog, which looked very skinny, and the dude was sleeping in the shelter in his sleeping bag-it was high 70s today and so muggy that I could wring out my bandana from all the sweat it was absorbing. I’m sure the guy was fine, but I felt uncomfortable, so I didn’t stick around.
Once I left, it was back to the same ol thing. The trail reminded me of a jungle today, and the wind kept whipping through the trees.. making me think a storm was brewing. So far, still no rain. I’ll call it a success.

I got to the shelter we were aiming for and filtered water and collected another 2L to take with me up the mountain a bit further. FarOut had messaged me when they got there that the tent sites were crap and they were heading north to the firetower to camp. When I was filtering my water, Lilo and Sweeps said that’s what they and Wizard and Killer were doing, too.

I hauled myself up the rest of the mountain (a whole 0.3 miles, but with an added 8 pounds in water weight, it wasn’t a quick 0.3..) and spotted the firetower! I was expecting a bald, exposed mountaintop, but to my surprise it’s covered with pines.. I ended up setting my tent up right under the tower, as it was the flattest spot not directly on top of Sauce and FarOut lol.

After setting up and cussing the massive amount of bugs (gnats, flies, mosquitos), I climbed the 7 fights of stairs of the firetower. Holy cow was it gorgeous up there!? Mountain views were seen at every single turn, a full 360 of stunning. Plus the wind was still nuts so there were no bugs! An added bonus.

I came down and cooked my dinner and filtered my other 2L of water for tomorrow. The bugs were driving me so insane that I ended up carrying my bowl of pasta sides half way back up the firetower.. just to have some room to breathe and attempt to eat. We made our plan for the next couple of days, including a big mile day tomorrow to be able to get into town early-ish on Monday. I’m not sure why I’m so excited about the idea of a hotel, since I’ve been sleeping well.. I think it’s more of the guarantee of closed doors without bugs maybe?

Either way, I’m ready to get this hard day out of the way so I can take it easy on Monday. Oh, also: update on Towelie-he’s starting to feel some better and is going to zero again tomorrow and then attempt some miles. I appreciate y’all for the prayers, I know he does, too.

With that, I’m rolling over and planning to sleep to the sounds of the wind howling and pretend it’s killing off all the bugs for tomorrow 🙂 goodnight!