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Day 28: In a Moment, the World Is Different
Cowels Cove (170) to Montclair Lodge (175, Rock Rabbit), Friend's house (off 171.5, Anniversary and The Historian) 1555 ft ascent, 1345 ft
Day 27: Pushing the Limits of the Definition of Hiking
And so it begins. We have finally reached the start of the hard part of the Long Trail. My concern with being able to manover the climbs in these upcoming sections is growing. Failure at thru hiking the Long Trail is not acceptable to Rock Rabbit or me. The Historian is easier about it. He cares about the backpacking. For him, hiking and camping are rewards of their own. They are sufficient and fulfilling as they are. If I cannot make this section, it will be a failure to me. My stomach is doing flip-flops as we move to the point of no return for Canels Hump.
Day 26: Hitting the Thru Hiker Doldrums
White Horse Inn off Appalachian Gap (164.8) 0 ft ascent, 0 ft descent Bonus Miles: 0.0 There is a point on any long hike when you have
Day 25: So Much Food!
We arrived at the White Horse Lodge last night. When we were planning our trip, I was overwhelmed with the costs and complexity of lodging in the Sugarbush area. Somehow i stumbeled on to the Whitehorse Lodge by looking at an internet map on my home computer. I placed a call to ask about their facility and the ease of hitchhiking to them. Mike and Dana immediately folded us into their care. They had space, they would fetch us and return us to the trail, and they had laundry. Our itinerary dates changed by a couple of days and they still were accommodating. When we had to make our bad weather escape, they figured out where we were and scooped us up as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
Day 24: Our First Bad Weather Alternate
The Long Trail is not like the Appalachian Trail. In fact, the Long Trail is not like any other trail we have hiked. The Historian has hiked a little over half of the AT and I have hiked all of it. Years ago, we did the Wind River High Route. We have hiked on the Pacific Northwest Trail, in Glacier National Park, in Bavaria, Switzerland, and gone hill walking in Scotland. I have even hiked part of the Great Wall of China. The closest experience to the LT was hill walking in Scotland. The biggest difference is that in Scotland people know hill walking is dangerous. the Long Trail has a much more subtle reputation. It is only 273 miles long, how hard can it be?
Day 23: “You Must Be Thru Hikers, You Stink”
We are sure people must have thought it, but never before has anyone ever looked us straight in th eye and proclaimed, "You stink." It isn't as if we did not know, we have been out for 6 days now. We do stink. We tried all sorts of ways to reduce our smell, but even our best efforts left their scent of hard work. I got to thinking about how many subway rides at rushour I had politely refrained from commenting same while people were jammed in with their arms raised holding on to the overhead bars. It set us to wondering whether the person who said it had lower social boundaries or if our odor was significantly louder than the traditional social boundaries.
Day 22: What Hath the LT Wrought
The night was cold and clear. I made two foreys, both times shivering in awe at the dark sky. The first run was about 2 am. The sky was alight with stars so thick it looked as if someone had run a white watercolor brush against a glossy blue-black sky and then tossed countless diamonds into the air. I stood transfixed by the knowledge this and more was over our heads every night but through our choices to light the world with electricity, we failed to see them. When I went out at 5 am, the horizon was lit by a streak of red-gold with the planets Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn emblazoned above on a navy blue sky. It, and the temperatures were breathtaking.
Day 21: A Bright Day After a Dark Night
Some nights last forever. The night at Sucker Brook Shelter was one of those. The howling wind and hammering rain drowned out the moon's light. Nothing was dry. Even tucked back in the shelter, our hydrophobic down quilts felt moist and sticky. Anything outside of the confines if the quilt felt wet and cold. Anything inside the confines of the quilt felt damp and sticky. The night drove away all thoughts of day.
Day 20: Soggy Mode Engaged
Today was supposed to be a mellow day with an early evening. Sometimes life throws a curveball. When life involves a lot of people trying to make decisions, milling around in a confused group, curveballs can be flying all around. Suddenly, it is life in a food processor.
Day 19: Cruel, Cussed, Convoluted, Contentious, Contour Lines
We learned a big lesson today. The Long Trail cannot be read on a map like most trails. It is not like we haven't sort of figured this out, but today we understood it dynamically in a way heretofore unknown to us. We planned on a decent day, 9 miles, since Farout indicated it was largely level, 1765 feet ascent and 1280 feet descent, 340 feet per mile. The day ended up quite differently and we never left the redline.
