Day 89-13 Miles today from Seth Warner shelter to stealth site,2,900 Feet Up, 2,800 Feet down, 1622 AT Mile Marker (MM)

Sage Advice

One of the first text messages I got from Knockerz after we parted ways a few days ago was a reminder to me. After hundreds of miles hiking she knew the importance of the statement.

“Don’t forget to look up sometimes”. She wrote me.

It was such a profound statement in more than one way. When we hike we have to constantly be scanning the ground in front of us for our next footstep or we risk a hike ending injury. But you have to occasionally take the time to look up and enjoy the scenery.

This statement can also be applied to life in general especially today. After days of hiking alone without Knockerz it has been difficult to continue on. The fun is just not in my hike right now. Even during the most difficult days of our hike we shared in the experience.

Never Quit on a Bad Day

This is advice you hear when you attempt a feat such as a thru hike. Today is testing me as a bad day. This section of trail is hard to continue to stay motivated.

Yesterday was my longest hike yet at 19 miles and 4,700 feet elevation gain. I actually felt fine physically this morning with the normal aches and pains.

I started at 7:00 a.m. today because I really did not intend to push it hard today. I’ll be stealth camping somewhere. My goal now is to make it too Manchester which I believe is about 50 miles that would put me at 3 more days in the woods.

I think I’ve already had 3 days in the woods. It means I have to preserve my battery so I don’t get any audiobooks, music, or cell phone usage other than coming out of airplane mode for a few text messages or to check the weather periodically.

Jungle Time

The trail has been so overgrown that I can hardly see the trail sometimes. I think that is proof that this section of trail hasn’t been traveled much. This is just not a fun hike for day hikers to bother with.

The trail is a jungle in some spots. When I got to the last shelter there was no evidence of which way the trail went. It was covered over in so much undergrowth.

I am seeing a lot of the thick black mud but so far I’ve been able to manage to avoid going directly through the mud puddles.

Excess Clothing

I wear clothing to cover 95% on my skin. The only thing I have exposed is my neck in the front my face and my hands. This was a complete nightmare during the hundred plus degree heat but it’s probably kept me from having ticks on my body.

It’s also an advantage now because this hell hole of swampy muddy Vermont is a breeding ground for these flies which will bite on any exposed skin.

I now have to keep moving where I’m currently at. If I stop moving, or even slow down, I get swarmed by mosquitoes. This is really rough.

1,000 Steps

The final drop down to Route 9 was at a slope of over 1500 feet per mile. Another knee breaking drop.

Of course that can only mean one thing. I will soon have a steep climb to get out of this gap.

The descent down to the gap was one of the worst descents I’ve seen on trail. A thousand rock steps.

Oh S***

It was a climb up to Split Rock and then a further climb up but not as bad as the climb down into the gap.

I passed a shelter and continued to climb to Maple Hill. Maple Hill had some power lines where I could see way down to Bennington in the valley below. I could also see a nasty rainstorm heading this way.

My first guess was to go back a half a mile to the shelter but that would add a mile to my trip so I decided to carry on and see what the storm will bring.

Just as I entered the Glastonbury wilderness

It poured down rain. At first it was refreshing after hiking in the sweat and bugs all day. Then it got a little chilly.

This Day was a Bad Day

After the rain ended there were now a lot of mud puddles to slog through. That slowed me down. I hiked on now soaking wet.

When I heard more rumbling I looked at the weather forecast that called for more very heavy rain. Another storm cell was coming.

I knew I’d be sleeping in my tent tonight and I did not want to set up in the rain. So the first stealth site I found I called home for the night. I was a little disappointed when I looked and I had only done 13 miles.

Yeah it was a s*** day. Never been eaten by so many damn bugs. Heavy rain caused everything to get wet. A hellacious drop down into Route 9 Gap on a thousand knee jarring rock steps. Heavy rain turned the trail into Vermud.

As I sat in my tent with all my wet stinky clothing hanging on lines inside I knew I needed a break. And then finally I got the break I needed. Christine with Draghose shuttling help me with some logistics. She was not interested in selling me a shuttle ride but rather she was genuinely interested in helping me. I now have a plan that will get me through the next several days and I feel re-energized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Do you regularly wake up feeling groggy and like you didn’t sleep enough? In our fast-paced existence, adequate sleep can feel not only elusive but like an act of radical self-care.

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The Natural Elements You Embody Inform Your Optimal Sleep Time

Originating in India, Ayurveda emphasizes understanding your body’s rhythms in pursuit of a more harmonious existence.

According to this ancient belief system, your body has a unique biological clock influenced by many things, including the five natural elements—space, air, earth, fire, and water. These elements come together in varying proportions to create different constitutional types, also known as doshas.

How to Figure Out Which Elements Power Your Bodily Functions

There are three doshas: vata, pitta, kapha. Each of the three doshas refers to a different combination of the five natural elements. For example, someone with a vata dosha is primarily influenced by space and air. Pitta people contain more fire and water, and those who are kapha are born with a mix of water and earth. (You can take this quiz to figure out which dosha you are.)

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This Is the Best Time to Sleep, According to Ancient Wisdom

According to Ayurvedic principles, the hours between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. are considered crucial for physiological rejuvenation and an ideal time for the body to be at sleep, and it is now proven by science. These hours are associated with the pitta dosha, whose inherent fire (a.k.a ‘heating’) quality aids in the metabolic processes necessary for detoxification, deep cellular repair, and rejuvenation during sleep.

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Staying Up Too Late Reduces Sleep Quality

For example, sleeping between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. is considered more rejuvenating and vital to cellular repair and renewal than sleeping from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. Even though the total hours of sleep are the same, the benefits are not.

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Falling asleep earlier than usual can seem like an almost impossible goal, especially if that means breaking a habit of late-night screen time, not consuming caffeine late in the day, or maneuvering around responsibilities that require you to stay up late, whether you’re a new parent or work the late shift. Ayurveda respects that. Everyone’s situation is unique.

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Most people find themselves more focused and less irritable during the day after just a few days of falling asleep earlier. By prioritizing an earlier bedtime and aligning with your biological rhythms, you unlock profound benefits. Even a small shift in your bedtime can unleash a cascade of these positive effects, including:

By aligning your sleep schedule with timeless Ayurvedic principles, you will discover more restorative sleep and a happier you.

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Leaving the motel room where I’d rested the past 3 nights felt a little sad but I wanted to be moving again. I grabbed a sandwich for lunch and another for the road from a cute deli nearby too. This did mean I got to the trail a little late though, roughly 2:30. My stupid ankle was hurting again now and it made the walk fairly unpleasant. I got to Red’s Meadow where I’d heard they were serving ice cream but it was the evening now and it looked like they had closed down for the day. My mood already low and not wanting to pay for camping, I continued onward instead, forgetting that they also had a hot spring.

I ended up finding a tiny tent site nearby Sotcher Lake and grumpily set up there. Lesson learned here; try not to spiral. My ankle hurting led me to skip past Red’s Meadow which meant I missed the hot spring there.

Day 83: Uneventful Days

The night was cold and I slept in then had a slow morning. My pack was heavy and I was moving slowly which, combined with getting out of camp late, limited my miles today; I barely did 12. I ate lunch at a campground and had to scare away an particularly industrious Stellar’s Jay who kept trying to get to my food. I respect the effort but this food is for me, little bird.

The rest of the walk was largely uneventful. The entire day was one long but thankfully gradual uphill and the views of the valley and surrounding mountains only got better. I continued to churn through audiobooks as they were kinda the only thing keeping me going. I ended up making camp on the side of a mountain with a gorgeous valley below. It was surprisingly well-sheltered for being up on a ridge. I ate dinner staring out at the snowcapped peaks and the trees and lakes below.

Day 84: Donohue Pass; Into Yosemite!

The night was again cold and I was glad my habit of stuffing my water filter into my sleeping bag had stayed so consistent this trail. For the curious, our water filters are vulnerable to freezing. If the water inside turns to ice it will expand and compromise the filter in a way that is almost undetectable. Usually this is only a risk at night thankfully so simply going to sleep with it usually means it will stay warm.

The morning was fairly unremarkable as I walked to the base of Donohue Pass, save for Thousand Island Lake which was absolutely gorgeous. I met a hiker called Trooper there before taking my lunch and nap. Afterwards I began the climb and while going up I began to hear distant thunder. It remained distant thankfully which was a very good thing as I was well above the tree line and with limited places to take cover. The numerous marmots showed no fear of course; must be nice having a hole you can retreat to. Thankfully there was almost no snow on the ground so although the ascent was steep it did go quickly.

As I reached highest point and crossed into Yosemite National Park snow flurries started and the thunder suddenly got louder. I could see it was raining a few miles ahead in the valley below. Wanting to get below the tree line in case the storm turned my way, I hustled downhill, the fast speed also helping to keep me warm on a day that had turned quite cold. The snow intermittently fell all the way down though it was thankfully mild. There were many JMT hikers around again too.

While descending on a gravely switchback, my shoes suddenly lost traction on the rocks underneath me and before I knew it I was falling. Falling backwards thankfully, not forwards or to the side down the mountain. I cried out in expectation of the painful impact of my butt on the earth but to my surprise it never came. Sitting there I realized my pack had cushioned the fall almost completely, turning a bone-jarring jolt into just a bit of a jerk to my hips. Thank you, backpack.

I camped that evening in Lyell Canyon, enjoying the gorgeous meadows surrounded by the sharp canyon walls. Remembering my fall, I inspected my shoes and discovered that the tread was seriously worn down. The shoes it seemed were near their end of life and I suddenly realized that they were probably contributing to my ankle irritation now that they could no longer provide sufficient support. Clearly new shoes were in my future.

Day 85: Burgers in Tuolumne Meadows

The day began with a nice, gradual downhill through beautiful meadows. I passed many JMT hikers but started to see more and more day hikers as I approached Tuolumne Meadows. Suddenly, the trail joined with a well-paved road and I abruptly re-entered civilization. Cars were passing, tourists were walking about goggling at the sights, and at least two groups of deer were practically posing for photos.

I reached Tuolumne Meadows Grill right at lunch time. The hunger was in full swing and I consumes two burgers, fries, a salad, and a soda while my electronics charged. It was reasonably priced too, a surprise for such a touristy area!

I headed out around 3, quickly running into Myles and Swing Set who I’d met in Mammoth. We hiked together past multiple waterfalls and vast views. Yosemite felt noticeably different than the previous stretch of the Sierra; the mountains felt lower but rocker somehow. I camped that night at Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp, quite close to the base of Tuolumne Falls. I was still full from those lunch burgers too so slept early.

Trail Stats:

Catholes: 28

Stops to filter water: 117

Resupplies: 14

Hitches: 15

Zeros: 15

Crys on trail: 12

Blisters: 12

Gear repairs: 19

Miles Skipped: 212.3

Significant Water Crossings: 75

Falls: 1

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This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek’s ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.