I didn’t want to leave bed this morning. It was our first night on new sleeping pads. We requested that Big Agnes warranty our other ones since we had to patch nearly twenty holes per pad due to how they are manufactured, not holes we put in them. For the first time in weeks we slept without ending up on the ground with a deflated sleeping pad under us. That, combined with the cooler weather, left me too cozy to be motivated. Our first alarm went off at 5:45a. It was 7:30a when we really started moving. But our late morning came with a price, we didn’t get our sixteen miles in. We only covered about twelve – twelve challenging miles. We came across other hikers who were commenting on how slow they felt they were moving and our creeping progress was vindicated. The terrain was proving to be a bit more than we expected. It seems like a waste of the cool weather to be hiking low mileage days. However, I’ve heard you must embrace what the trail directs. If the trail requires you to slow down, then do. Don’t try to fight against it.
Most of the day was spent going up and then down, then up and down. Sometimes it offered spectacular views of lakes or mountains and other times you were searching for footholds in a rock face to climb up boulders. Today we hit a place called, “The Lemon Squeezer”. It’s a tiny space between two boulders where hikers often have to remove their packs to be able to navigate. Warthog went first. Success. I went second but decided to leave my pack on. I made it with a little squirming. Later, I found holes where I had rubbed my pack against the rock. It ate through both the bottom of my backpack and a dry bag that holds our food. To say I am frustrated that my stubbornness damaged my equipment is putting it lightly. The pack will get fixed. Until then, I’ve learned my lesson. Err on the side of taking care of your things. Everything we have is limited, therefore it is valuable. To break something means you have to wait miles upon miles until you get into town to fix or replace it. I do not wish to repeat my mistake. I want to keep my gear functioning well.
We ran into a bit of trail magic this afternoon. Earlier it had been a water drop where local “angels” leave water for hikers during the dry season. Later it was snack trail magic! The trail angel’s name is John. He’s Pig Pen’s boyfriend. We met her twice in the same day weeks ago, once at trail magic and another time when we were at the one thousand mile mark. Pig Pen has been off of the trail fighting plantar fasciitis so John has spent the last few days slack packing her and was waiting on the side of the road at the pick up point. I had some cookies and Warthog had a Coke, both of us choosing our preferred sugar.
Just before we arrived at the trail magic we hit the “less than 800 miles to go” mark! It seems so weird to be counting down. But also very exciting. We are making progress!
Afterwards, as we were hiking, we hard a loud crack and looked over to watch a branch fall out of the sky and thud onto the ground. I looked over at Warthog who is always patient, but I can tell thinks I’m ridiculous with how careful I am to choose where (or, rather, under what) we camp. I tell him regularly, “I’ve seen trees fall for no reason.” When the branch fell he looked back at me with incredulity. “Ok, yeah… I see now.” Or something like that came from his lips. I said, “Look around, no wind or anything!” We both walked on having received the reminder to stay careful when we set up camp.
We arrived at the shelter just before 6p. It’s early, but the other option was to push another four miles to a shelter without water. We decided to pass and wake up early to cover the miles tomorrow.
Photo Above: Traildog Maple keeping watch at a shelter.
Warthog finally got a fire started. We’ve been getting into camp too late for him to have one. Campfires are therapeutic for him. They were banned in all of New Jersey. Now that we are in New York, he’s excited to be able to relax at the end of the day with one. It’s early enough that I get to catch up on some photo editing. These last few weeks have been far too busy for me to stay on top of it all. I have a lot to process yet!
It’ll be another cool night. It was mid 60’s today and will drop into the 50’s again at night. Last night it was perfect sleeping weather, which I’m grateful for. I kind of hope the weather continues like this. It’s been nice to be so cozy in the tent.
-ansel