The Unpolished Princess

Start: Cooper Lodge (AT mi 1697.8). Stop: Inn at Long Trail (AT mi 1706). Today’s miles: 8.2 miles. Total AT mileage: 681.3 miles

I woke up so many times throughout the night.. I kept thinking mice were darting across me. When I woke up to some sunlight, I saw that Spice had turned around during the night, and let myself fall back to sleep knowing it was her moving I felt-not mice.

I got up at 7:30 and started packing.. Spice told me there were definitely mice running amuck last night. So. Disgusting. And I am beyond happy I hung my food instead of leaving it on the table. Not to mention, I literally slept with my mouth open because my nose was stuffy. Ugh. I am so creeped out!

I started walking sometime after 8:15 and took my sweet, sweet time. I was sloshing down the mountain at a pace slower than my normal, simply because I knew I was headed to the inn and they don’t “open” until 11 and the attached Irish pub doesn’t start serving lunch until 11:30. So, I took it slow. My feet did not stay dry, but the rest of me would have been if I didn’t have to put back on wet clothes.. haha. It only rained when the wind blew, aka, all the water was on the leaves..

I got to the inn just after 11:15. I got a room, but it wasn’t clean yet, so the nice gentleman let me start my laundry while I waited. I went into the little room and changed into my rain pants (that I’ve only worn at camp once to keep warm lol) and my warm jacket-and nothing else-because everything else was in the washer: 2 undies, 2 sportsbras, 2 pair of socks, 1 pair of shorts, 1 hiking short sleeve top, 1 camp long sleeve top, 1 pair of marino wool leggings, 1 rain jacket (it stunk). And that’s literally all the clothes I have with me. So weird some times, but it makes picking out an outfit real easy! Ha

Once the wash was done, I put everything (except the rain jacket) into the dryer, got it going, and then went to find the attached pub/restaurant so I could eat lunch. I sat at the bar and got a beer and a blue cheese burger. Those have legit been my favorite lately..

While I was eating, Spotts and Snapshot appeared! They got their room and as he handed them their key, he came and gave me mine, too! I so wasn’t expecting for it to be ready for a lot longer! I finished my food, paid, and then got my laundry and headed upstairs to my new home for the night. The Inn at Long Trail is a bed and breakfast and so super cute. My room is small, and the bathroom is even more so, but it feels huge in the grand scheme of things.

I showered, which is a very long endeavor these days. I usually wash my hair twice, scrub my body twice, stand under the scalding water a little longer than the person paying the water bill probably prefers. But on these cold wet days, a hot shower literally revives you!

I hung up my tent to dry, along with all my other stuff.. we call it “yard sale-ing” when you dump out all your stuff everywhere. I have 100% yard saled all over this poor room. And they have a fan-so that was set on the bed to blow into the bathroom to help the tent drying process some.

As I was messing around my room, I noticed a spot on my back was now double the size that it had been the first time I noticed it-which was on my zero in Manchester early last week. I got nervous, talked to a couple people about it (Lauren and Stacey), and decided when I went to town to resupply, I’d stop at an urgent care first to see what they thought. It’s big, red, and oval shaped.. I was certain it was Lyme’s Disease because of Towelie’s diagnosis.. but its hard to say because I don’t have any true symptoms like he had-severe fatigue and fever.

I got out to the bus stop in front of the inn at 2:15. Spotts and Snapshot showed up, too. I showed them my back and they agreed it’s better to get it checked out before I start having the bad symptoms. The bus came 5 minutes later and then headed towards Rutland, Vermont. DoubleDecker and Smiles got picked up along the way! We all got off at the transport center, they headed to Walmart, I walked the mile to urgent care.

They got me back relatively quick. I had come in just before six other people showed up, so I was grateful they didn’t bump me to treat them, although in all honesty, they looked like they needed attention more than I did. The NP that saw me didn’t seem convinced that it was Lyme. She didn’t want to test for it, since I wasn’t showing more worrisome symptoms. She checked it out and then made a comment that it could be ringworm, but it doesn’t make sense because of its location.. I mention I put everything I have in a backpack and it goes: on my back. She said she’d be back, she was going to go research it better. When she comes back, she’s determined it’s pityriasis and that it’ll go away on its own. I had showed her my heat rash, too (2 birds 1 stone and all that), and she was convinced that the heralds patch on my back was related to the heat rash. I tell her the timing doesn’t make sense. She doesn’t waiver. She makes the comment that I can “keep using over the counter hydrocortisone cream since its working.”

Y’all, I tried to be kind, but I was irritated. I pulled up my shorts and ask her if it looks like the hydrocortisone cream is actually helping. I talked her into prescribing a stronger steroid cream for that, which she did, but she said she thinks the spot on my back will go away on its own. After talking more with FarOut, telling her the conversation we had, we’re leaning more towards ringworm and I’ll pick up an antifungal as soon as I can.

I rushed to the grocery store and got my resupply for food, and then hurried over to Walmart to get the steroid cream. I was overwhelmed with everything I needed and had to do that I forgot the antifungal. I surprisingly made it back to the bus station at 5:10, and the last hourly bus picked me up at 5:15 to take me back to the inn. If I had missed it, I wouldn’t have had a ride until 8:15!

Back at the inn, I unloaded my stuff and went down to dinner. I got the Shepard’s pie and drank water.. it was delicious, but this Irish pub has nothing on Tracy Knowles’ Shepard’s pie. That’s for certain. Half way through my dinner, Spotts and Snapshot showed up. They had taken an earlier bus back from Walmart. We chatted and ate together at the bar. They’re both from Georgia, too, and I really enjoy them. They’re funny and laid back.. it’s difficult to meet someone out here that I don’t like, really. Well, besides those kids-but that’s more of an irritation of their lack of respect for others while in their group as a whole than a personal dislike.

Anyway, I finally went upstairs to my room and took another shower, lathered on my new cream, and got to work organizing my food. It’s so damn heavy on resupply day. I was going to pack my pack so I’d be ready to go in the morning, but all my stuff is still slightly damp, so I’m letting it all air out over night and I’ll pack it in the morning. When you pack every single day, you kinda get into a rhythm with it. Everything has its place and you immediately recognize when something is missing. Better to keep that routine alive. LOL

Well, it’s 10pm and my eyes are heavy.. this bed is so comfortable! I’m sure there won’t be mice running past me tonight 🙂 Goodnight, y’all.

Start:Inn at Long Trail (AT mi 1706). Stop: The Lookout (AT mi 1721.4). Today’s miles: 15.4 miles. Total AT mileage: 696.7 miles

I slept on a cloud of a bed. It was everything I needed. I had such a hard time getting up, that I slept in until 7:45. I got up to pack and had to talk myself out of just getting back in bed. Luckily, breakfast was included with my stay, so that prompted me to get a move on.

I walked downstairs and was pleasantly surprised that the included breakfast included coffee, juice, a main dish and a side! Holy crap! I got grapefruit juice, 2 cups of coffee, bacon, and 3 blueberry pancakes, with fresh Vermont maple syrup. It showed up with a slice of watermelon, too! I’m really in love with this place.

I tipped the waitress and headed outside, completely stuffed. My head was hurting, but i chalked that up to the caffeine not kicking in yet. I started on the blue blaze that would take me back to the AT, and to my happiest surprise: the sun was shining! The rain ended up holding off all day long! I was astonished!

About 2 miles into my hike, I received trail magic from a couple at a campground. Because I was disgustingly full from breakfast, and honestly moving very slow, I just let him give me a Gatorade.. he was making fresh bacon! I felt like a crazy person for declining it, but another bite and I’d explode.

I passed a gorgeous pond, these ponds out here are more the size of lakes.. but I was told that they’re named based off of water depth not overall size. Hmmmm… anyway, it was stunning, as were the multiple waterfalls and rushing creeks full of the last week of rain. All in all, it was just a very beautiful day.

I had several major climbs today, up to unnamed mountains. I had plans to go 18 miles and camp where Lizard was pushing to, but time got away from me, along with those climbs, that I didn’t make it to the Lookout cabin until after 6pm, and the shelter she was at is another 2.8 miles away. As much as I miss her, I just physically couldn’t push myself to get there.

I leapfrogged with TownLegs, TBird, and DoubleDecker all day. At one point, in the middle of one of the climbs where we were stopped for water, I was telling TBird about the urgent care visit and whatnot. She asked to see my back and immediately thought Lyme’s disease, not ringworm and definitely not the stupid pityriasis.. she told me about the tele health doc site she used when she’s been sick on trail, so we decided when we got to the lookout, she’d take a good picture of my back and then I’d go that route for a second opinion.

When I finally made it to camp, I was so pooped I literally didn’t want to make dinner. I went up to the lookout over the cabin and the views were the best I’ve seen so far. So absolutely gorgeous in a full 360. Just. WOW. I stayed up there awhile, TBird came up and got a picture of my back in bright light for me. I then got to work uploading it and all my info to the tele doc. Sometime after 7:30, a doctor called my phone. He went over everything with me, and then told me he definitely thinks it’s Lyme’s disease. He proceeds to tell me he doesn’t want to send a prescription because he wants me to go to urgent care to have blood work drawn to have titers. I literally tear up and tell him about my urgent care visit yesterday, how I felt misdiagnosed by the provider there, and how I just wanted someone to help me. He kindly gave in and said he’d write the prescription but that he still wants me to get blood work done when I get to Hanover to get the prescription filled (I’ll be there night after tomorrow). I thanked him tremendously and he promptly hung up lol.

I sat outside and had to force myself to eat dinner. I wasn’t really hungry and didn’t feel like going through the motions to make and then clean up after dinner.. but I did it anyway.

Now I’m laying on my air pad in the loft of the cabin next to TBird. TownLegs and DoubleDecker are downstairs, along with Jeff (who has hiked here from Key West, Florida!), Hamlet, and 3 younger guys. Smiles and another Flip Flopper put up their tents. I’m sad I didn’t do the same now, because the weather has moved out more AND we can hear rodents moving through the walls. Cool. Real cool.

I’m going to put in my earplugs and pray for sleep, and that these vermin leave me alone tonight. Hopefully I’ll catch Lizard tomorrow! And also, hopefully I won’t start feeling bad between now and getting the antibiotics in Hanover. Today wore me out, but it’s so hard to tell if it was the normal worn out from difficult terrain, or if it’s the mess my body is struggling to fight. I guess I’ll find out in a few days if I improve with the antibiotic or not.

Goodnight, y’all. Sweet dreams!

Start: The Lookout (AT mi 1721.4). Stop: Thistle Hill Shelter (AT mi 1736.3). Today’s miles: 14.9 miles. Total AT mileage: 711.6 miles

I didn’t sleep well, thanks again to mice. I could hear them scurrying even with my ear plugs in, and then I’d randomly wake to a noise and shine a light on my food bag and mine and TBird’s packs to make sure they weren’t eating through our stuff. None ever were. But that didn’t stop my panic from continuing to wake me over every little noise all night.

When I finally decided to get up, at 7:20, TBird, DoubleDecker, and TownLegs were already gone, but everyone else was slowly packing up like me. One of the men was so heavy footed that it sounded like a herd of elephants every time he got up and walked anywhere. I’m not sure how people don’t realize they make that much noise sometimes.. or maybe they do realize and just don’t care, but I kind of think it’s more of obliviousness than it is intentional.

I got moving around 8, and started the day feeling nauseous and lacking an appetite. Cool. I forced myself to eat my breakfast stuff anyway. Id like to pretend it was strictly for protein intake, but it was actually so my pack would be just a tiny bit lighter.

I stopped at the first shelter I came to, the one I was trying to get to last night, because I needed water. To my great surprise, Lizard was there! I was so happy to see her that I gave her a sweaty hug that I’m sure she was less than thrilled about when we broke apart a second later. Whoops!

She ended up passing me early on, and I was hoping we’d meet at camp. However, her Hannah is coming to town, so Lizard had to pass the shelter I was aiming for to get picked up by Hannah at a road crossing. While I’m super happy for them and their quality time together, I can’t help but wish they were both going to be at camp when I got there. Lol

I could not for the life of me pick up my pace. I was slow, and the trail was mostly pine needles and roots-nothing awful at all, but I was stuck in slow motion. My head hurt and my legs felt like lead. The trail on paper didn’t look too bad. The trail in person was like a mini rollercoaster. Up, down, road, up, down, road, over and over all day. At the end it was up, over, up, down, shelter.

When I stopped to eat lunch at a river crossing sometime after 1pm, I was so out of it that I couldn’t make my normal lunch. I just ate some snacks and sat awhile. I forced myself up and carried on, mainly to get away from the bugs.. but when I tell you I was hardly moving, I mean it. I would take 5 steps on those inclines and have to stop. It just felt like my legs were too heavy to move. Twice, I just flopped to the ground in the middle of the trail and just sat there.

It was humid. It was buggy. I had my bug net over my face, and would occasionally feel trapped and tear it off, only to have a gnat swarm my eyeball and cause me to put it back on. So it goes, I guess. But, the main blessing, while it randomly poured at 6am, the rain was done by the time I started and never showed back up. So, it was a rain-free day-just not a wet-free day. My sweat soaked absolutely everything.

I finally made it to camp around 6pm. 10 hours of hiking and I went less than 15 miles. And the terrain, while having big rolls, it really wasn’t “hard” per say. TownLegs, TBird, DoubleDecker, Smiles, Sheep, and 2 others that I don’t know were already here when I got here. I was utterly done. I was still panting hard a solid 15 minutes after showing up and sitting down.

I set up my tent (in all its dry glory), and trudged down to get my water and wash off. I came back equally spent. I had to stare into space for a bit before I could muster the energy to cook my dinner. I did it though, and I forced myself to eat it all.

I talked to mom all throughout the day. Naturally, she’s worried about the Lyme’s disease, as am I. I’m honestly scared of feeling the way Towelie did before he got on antibiotics.. and I think I was starting to get the beginnings of that today. I just have to get into town tomorrow, and then I’ll have my doxycycline and be able to see if that makes a difference in the way I’m feeling. Mom got me a hotel for tomorrow night, since my service wouldn’t let me load the page to book it. And then Uncle Keith checked in on me. I really am so blessed to have such wonderful family.

I’m praying tomorrow is a smoother, better day all around, but I’m making sure I get up earlier just in case it’s not. The earlier I get to town the better. I can tell when I’m not feeling well because the little noises that make me batty start to grade on my nerves to the point of wanting to scream. Like currently, I’m in my tent, but I can hear someone eating their dinner (it’s 9:25pm, she got in late-poor thing), and it sounds like she’s loudly breathing in when she takes a bite-all of which sounds obnoxious and echoing in my ears even with my ear plugs in. I’m annoyed with myself for being this annoyed with her, because hell-the woman gets to eat her dinner, but it’s physically making me twinge.

You can only eat so much, right? Ha. Hope so. Anyway, here’s to feeling better soon! Goodnight 🙂