The Unpolished Princess

Start: Moose Mountain Shelter (AT mi 1761.9). Stop: Jacobs Brook Stealth Site (AT mi 1778.1). Today’s miles: 16.2 miles Total AT mileage: 753.4 miles

I’ve really been on a “good sleep” kick the last week or so, and I am 100% not complaining! I slept soundly all night until the sun peaking through my tent woke me up after 5am. I went back to sleep, but ended up getting up at 6:30 to pee. I handled that, then changed clothes and packed. They weren’t any dryer hanging outside than they were when I took them off my body yesterday, but I’m going to pretend they smelled better because of the whole airing out deal.

I was on the trail by 7:15am and had originally planned to go 17.7 miles to a shelter. I had 2 big ascents today, one was over 1000ft of elevation gain, the other was over 2000. Ha. Good times. Surprisingly, I actually felt good though! Don’t get me wrong, my hips are still bugging me, almost like I need to be adjusted by my chiropractor.. that type of ache, and my knees hurt on the downhills, but overall, I’d say today was a win.

On the first uphill I was happily chugging along. Over half way up I got great cell service and there was a beautiful look out equipped with the perfect sitting rock, so I sat down and worked on uploading yesterday’s blog. It was a glorious 20 minute break that I was thrilled I took the time for. The rest of the way up wasn’t too bad either, shockingly. I cruise along, hardly having to stop for breathers. The sun was shining and I just couldn’t believe my luck, that I’m feeling this much better already. Thank God and science for antibiotics!

I did however fall twice. In mud. One of the times it caused both feet to be completely submerged in thick mud up passed my ankles. Awesome. I also landed on my right butt cheek, so that was also soaked in watery mud. All of this happened well before noon, and I was so annoyed with myself for tripping up, stubbing my toes, and for the falls that the second I found a semi decent rock I stopped and ate my lunch. I was barely 11am. But whatever, clearly my body needed some fuel.

The trail also went through more overgrown grass and boggy areas where almost all of the wooden planks were broken. Thankfully I didn’t fall in the thickest of the overgrown mess. It truly would have been full body and pack soaked if I did. Not to mention what I did fall in stinks pretty bad.. like I purposefully walked through a creek to attempt to rid myself of the foul smell-to no luck.

The second ascent started out great. The way the trail went up Smarts Mountain was straight up, then a little flat winding for half a mile or so (maybe more) and then back straight up until you got to the top. So, the first part really wasn’t bad. I actually passed people.. like 6 people! I didn’t know any of them and a few looked like day hikers but some definitely had the bigger packs and were either section or thru hikers. I think I was riding a high knowing I was passing folks.

It was steep trail with lots of rocks and roots. Then, out of no where, it turned into those huge rock slabs. I was cautious because parts were slick and this is the type of terrain I rolled my ankle on in New York. Also, for some reason at that point on the climb, bees took notice to me.. some type of yellowish looking bee, it didn’t look like a yellow jacket or a hornet, but whatever they were I was careful not to piss them off. I literally had 2-3 doing zoomies around my head for almost 35 minutes, and I didn’t want to swat at them for fear of being stung (one of the women I passed even made mention, “those sure do love you!” Yeah.. I noticed..). There was no water to high tail it to and jump in like in “My Girl” so I had to keep my cool.

Once I hit the halfway mark and the climb stopped for a bit, the crazy bees left me. As sunny and pretty as it was, I didn’t stay and look out at the sites much at all, mainly because of the antibiotic warning to avoid sun exposure. I was a little sad by this, as it was gorgeous enough to just sit and stare at all the mountains surrounding me. Such is life.

I started the second part of the ascent and immediately wanted to turn around and go back. It was so muddy and slippery and nothing like the well maintained first half. Some sections were steep enough to require some serious effort to push up on.. and all of it was unnerving because of the slickness. It felt like it just kept going up and up and up to nowhere. The never ending climb through mud. Sheesh.

When I finally did make it to the top, I saw signs pointing to tent sites, and then I saw the firetower. It was a stunning day, and I suspect the view from up there was mesmerizing, but I was too tired and still had over 4 miles to go, so I skipped the fire tower. A few hundred feet past there was a cabin where Jola and another hiker were. He told me I should stay, but I knew if I did I wouldn’t make it to town the day I need to in order to get the rental car to pick up Andrea. I’m on a tight schedule here, sort of.. at least tighter than feeling ok with stopping there. Lol

The rest of the day was downhill. Literally. And it hurt. It always hurts the toes and knees. And parts were still super muddy. It was sometime around the beginning of this downhill that I decided to read the comments about the shelter I was heading to, as a distraction to my pain. Literally comment after comment mentioned how bad the tenting was..Shit. I don’t want to sleep in a shelter if I don’t have to, and I won’t have to until the day after my tent gets soaked by rain.. which would mean not today!

I looked at the comments around the creeks I’d be crossing, starting from the shelter and working my way back. The one big creek had a comment about “stealth sites along the water” before and after the wooden bridge. Ok, new goal: get to a decent site before anyone else that reads this app does!

I crossed the bridge and turned left through the woods.. there wasn’t a trail, so I just pushed through the brush and limbs. Low and behold: a small campsite! Right by the water! It’s got a fire ring and space for 2-3 tents, although all of the spots are pretty root filled. I put my tent up in the most flat area I could find, and my pad will be over a root or two tonight, so I just need to be cautious when turning, that I don’t somehow cause my ground cloth, tent, and/or pad to rip. Haha-honestly, I’ve slept on worse.

After setting up, I went down to the creek, washed off and got water to filter. I soaked my feet for a while and then came back up to make dinner. My clothes are hanging out “to dry” again, and I’m about ready to head to bed. Another early night.. and another early morning, too. Because I shorted myself a mile and half, I have to tack that on to tomorrow’s hike.. so now that will be a longer day than today. But to be fair, the climbs don’t look as daunting tomorrow as they were today, so maybe this was for the best anyway.

I haven’t camped out completely alone since the beginning of this trek. It feels almost strange. But, I’ll be sleeping to the sound of the creek rushing by down below, so I think it’s going to be another night of great sleep. I hope so anyway 🙂

Start: Hanover, New Hampshire (AT mi 1751). Stop: Moose Mountain Shelter (AT mi 1761.9). Today’s miles: 10.9 miles. Total AT mileage: 737.2 miles

I had very busy dreams all night, although I couldn’t tell you anything about them, except the feeling busy part. They weren’t nightmares, every time I’d suddenly wake, it would be with a smile on my face.. but they definitely left me feeling tired.

I snoozed until 9am. That bed, busy dreams or not, was too comfortable to get out of. When I finally did, the headache was still there, lingering in the background, but slightly more dull than it had been. Maybe things are starting to look up! I packed and got ready to leave with surprising quickness, literally all packed by 9:23. But I took my time eating my cold pizza, plopped another 3 pieces on top of my food bag, with a container of ranch.. hoping my way of packing it would keep it intact throughout the day.

I left the hotel at 10am and the trail was literally one street over. That made life easy. The first bit of the morning was a road walk through that gorgeous college town, and then the trail turned back into actual trail right behind the baseball field. Pretty neat, really. I got winded a few times on minor hills.. but I didn’t let it get me down. I knew today would feel tough regardless of the terrain, and any miles made today would get me closer to where I need to be. My body would have probably liked another day of rest, but knowing I’ll have another zero in a few short days, along with 3 nights in a hotel helped motivate me to head out this morning.

I took my time and actually enjoyed my hike today. I wasn’t nearly as slow as I had been the few days prior to getting to Hanover, and I smiled to myself at one point thinking that I’m actually starting to feel.. dare I say it.. good. I mean, my joints-especially my hips and knees still ached all day, but my ankles didn’t feel like they were going to snap off and my hips only really started hurting after I loaded my pack with 3 liters of water for a climb up a mountain to camp.

I did take a fall to my butt sometime before noon. The trail is wet and slippery thanks to all the recent rain. I thought it was going to pour down today, per the weather app.. but it just stayed cloudy and threatening all day. I was still sweat soaked of course, but with the sun hiding behind the clouds, I was never worried about my skin exposure because of the antibiotics I’m on. So, honestly, I was grateful. The bugs were a little annoying, but not as bad as they had been, or maybe I’m just in a happier mood that I’m hiking and not laid out in a bed feeling awful that I didn’t care as much about the bugs. Who knows?

I ate some pizza at a creek crossing sometime around 1:30, and I honestly wasn’t hungry for it, but knew I needed to eat to have the energy for my last uphill. It was over 900ft of elevation gain over a mile and half, which is like a daily thing really, but knowing how I’ve been feeling I knew I’d better be cautious. Plus, toting the extra water up that incline just makes it more challenging.

I was mostly in the woods, covered with moss and pine needles. One shelter I passed was named “Velvet Rocks Shelter” and that’s exactly what all this moss covered forest looks like. Thick emerald green crushed velvet. I may end up having to crochet something with green velvet when this is done lol (man, I am so weird). When I wasn’t in lush forest, I was walking through overgrown fields. Part of me started to get anxious about ticks in this overgrown grass, but then I remembered these antibiotics will keep me safe from any new ticks for now-so this is the best time to get exposed to them.

I made it to the top of Moose Mountain (South) and then down to the shelter before 4:30. It felt weird being at camp so early! Jola is a NOBO that was in the shelter when I came around. He knew my name and said Lizard had came through and mentioned I’d be coming. She had pushed on ahead of course, being that she got here to early (according to Jola lol). I really wish I had it in me to chase that girl down so we could camp together tonight. But as good as I feel, I’m also spent.

I set my tent up in a nice flat spot, and hung my wet clothes out to dry some. If it rains over night then they’ll be just as wet as they were when I took them off, but maybe smell a little less sweaty. Lol it’s only a 10% chance of rain overnight, but we all know how that goes. After setting everything up, washing my legs down, and changing clothes, I headed back to the shelter and chatted with Jola awhile. He’s so close to finishing his hike that he says he’s slowing down his mileage because he’s not ready for it to end. It’s funny that in the beginning it felt like 200 miles took FOREVER to reach, and now hundreds of miles just seem to slip by without realizing it.

I ate the rest of my pizza and drank an electrolyte drink. A couple solo people showed up throughout the hour, one set up a tent so far away I can’t see her, one set up his hammock on the other side of the shelter. I went to use the privy, a funky one that has a roof but no sides. When I came back I decided I just couldn’t socialize anymore. I said my goodnights and came to get into my tent.

My water is filtered for tomorrow and I’m laying in my tent completely content and ready for bed. I know I should wait to see if I need to pee again, but I’ll just have to get up later and handle that when the time comes. I’m going to try to see if I can push some decent miles tomorrow to stay on track to meet Andrea on time, but if I need to cut it short there’s a couple places I can do so at-although my app has them sounding very unappealing. Hopefully I wake up feeling that much better than today and can knock it out without issue. I’m going to attempt to get up earlier than I have been since I’m going to bed so early tonight.

We’ll see. I might be snoozing that watch alarm when it goes off. Haha— sweet dreams 🙂

I slept hard and I was so grateful for it. I still woke up with a headache that has persisted the last several days, but it’s tolerable. I finally got out of bed sometime close to 10am and then called a restaurant across the street to place my breakfast order. I almost asked if I could tip one of them a $10 to walk it over here to me, this is a college town after all. I put on my rain gear (all my other clothes were in a smelly damp heap by the door waiting to be washed), and headed out of my comfy room.

I ran into TBird, TownLegs, DoubleDecker, Smiles, and TieDye at the elevator. They offered to take my laundry for me when they decide to go, but me being typical me and not knowing how to except help, I said I’d go too, just let me know when.

I walked across the street to the gas station, got some more Gatorade’s and water (sometimes tap water just doesn’t cut it, so a fresh bottle was called for lol), then went next door and got my food. I don’t know if I’m actually just really damn slow or if all these restaurants in this town are super efficient, but both times I’ve ordered food it’s been sitting waiting on me to get there. Better than the other way around for sure.

Back at the room, I practically collapsed on the couch. I don’t necessarily feel “bad” but the littlest of things makes me so tired. I ate my breakfast sandwich, which had egg, bacon, avocado on toasted bread with Sriracha Mayo on it. It was very good. Because I wasn’t sure I’d like that, I also got an Asiago bagel with chive cream cheese.. I liked that, too. And I was happy that I was so dang hungry after hardly eating the last few days. Like-if you thought I was kidding: I don’t have to resupply for this next stretch.. I still have enough food for 3-4 more days. Ha oops.

Anyway, I ate and then got a text from DoubleDecker saying they were going to do laundry and resupply soon. I met her, TieDye, and Smiles downstairs and the 4 of us headed to the bus stop up close to the campus square. This town is absolutely gorgeous. In another life, I’d have loved to come here for school. Anyway, Curmy and Derby were in town, too! TownLegs and TBird said they saw them walking in when they were at breakfast. I text them to see where they were at now, but they were already gone to resupply. Another tramily miss for me.

We took the bus for a 20 ish minute ride, and walked the half block to the laundromat. Once we got everything started, they were trying to decide their resupply strategy.. I said I’d wait with the clothes and put theirs in the dryers when it was time to switch, so they could all go resupply, since I didn’t need to. They headed out, I got the pleasure of staying and being treated to the attentions of a kid running around the place like a banshee. I’m sure that mom was like, “have kids they said..” hahaha

I switched our clothes into the dryers and played on my phone a bit. I was getting so tired I could barely hold my head up. I realized that there was an outfitter by the Walmart they were headed to, and was a little disappointed in myself for not having the energy to go. If I went I could find a hat to protect my face from the sun (because of this antibiotic), I could have tried on new shoes.. so many things. But I seriously just couldn’t muster the energy. I think that kid was stealing it all.

Once my clothes were dry (theirs still had 15 minutes and I had no way to tote their clothes back with me.. I should have made them leave their bag), I packed them into my tiny gas station plastic bag and text DoubleDecker where there’s were and that I was headed back. I just couldn’t sit there a second longer.

I made it to the bus stop, nodded off on the ride back, and then walked back to my room, dropped my stuff, and promptly fell asleep. In my rain gear. Lol lord help me. An hour or so later, I woke up hot, so I forced myself up and into some of my clean clothes, and laid back down. I started to watch some of the shows on Hulu on my phone, I ordered a pizza to be delivered, and then I nodded back off.

That’s how the rest of the day went. I laid in bed, half sleeping, half watching shows and responding to messages. Cholula and Lizard both made it into Hanover today, and this evening so did FarOut and Sauce. I’m so frustrated that I didn’t feel up to going to meet any of them anywhere, or even having them come here.. which they all offered to bring me anything I needed, but apparently all this body wanted was sleep. So, that’s what it got. I have a practically whole pizza that I’ll have to figure out what to do with in the morning.

I did eventually get up and shower again, and I’m already back in bed. My stuff is semi packed for tomorrow, but I’ll have some to do in the morning. I don’t know how far I’ll make it tomorrow. Im going to hike out of town, and just have plans A, B, and C depending on how I feel. There’s shelters at semi decent increments tomorrow, so the most I’d do is 13 something.. the one before that is 11 miles total, but I’d have to tote my water for 3 miles up a mountain.. which sucks. So, who really knows? It sounds like a decision for tomorrow either way. Lol

It’s not even 8pm and my eyes will barely stay open to finish typing this out. Y’all know what that means.. goodnight 🙂

Ps: sorry for the lack of pictures, I should have been having a field day photographing this town.. the amount of pictures I have is a true reflection of how I’m feeling that day.. lol I’ve always been that way!