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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