Day 29: Over the Camels Hump and Down in the Dump

• Montclair Glen Lodge (175, Rock Rabbit) to Duxbury Road (182.9). Friends House (Anniversary and The Historian)
• 1686 ft ascent, 4072 ft descent, 730 ft/mi
• Bonus Miles: Unknown

After a month, last night was our first night apart. It has been an easy integration of habits. We are different, but similar in our wit and expectations of the world. We have traveled together for weeks at a time in the past so falling in step on the trail did not take much acommodation. Being separated did. Rock Rabbit was worrying about us, down on the ground below him and we were worried about him up on the mountain in the cold. 

View from the Support Role

We quickly took on the trail support role. By following the Farout tracking and occasional messages, we figured out Rock Rabbit’s pace and could pretty accurately pinpoint his location. 

We still felt concerned that he was OK. Was he making it over the Camels Hump safely? Did he feel the loss of his group safety net? Would his dinner be good? Did he have enough water? We could only wait to find out. 

View From the Mountain

Rock Rabbit was comfortable that we were OK. He had met our friends 30 years ago on an earlier visit. We had planned to see them in a few days. 

Still, how was The Historan? Did his wrist hurt? Would it heal well? How was Anniversary? Did she really mean she was OK abandoning the thru hike? 

The Big Question

What comes next? Should The Historian go wait with our friends in New Hampshire while Rock Rabbit and Anniversary went on? Should he fly home to Montana? Should we all quit? Can we support Rock Rabbit to finish his thru? How would we do that? 

All of the questions had no answers. We would have to reconvene and reassess. 

On Towards Camels Hump

When we separated, we expected Rock Rabbit to take two short days to go up and down to Duxbury Road. 

On the Camels Hump day, Rock Rabbit departed camp at dawn. The weather was glorious and the promised views tantalizing. 

Sunrise was stellar. Rock Rabbit even got a time lapse photograph that included a little bird zipping through. 

What Am I Doing? 

The actual hump was everything it was promised to be. Hard and somewhat threatening. 

After a brilliant sunrise, the wind kicked up bringing with it fog and a light rain. 

Down below, we got the followong message :

Confidently Worrying 

The message encouraged us, he was making progress. It also concerned us. Mist is another word for water on rocks. Water on rocks was what split us upk. Wet rocks were risky. 

We redoubeled our efforts to send good thoughts and trust Rock Rabbit’s competence. 

See you at Three

Our next message from Rock Rabbit projected a 3 pm arrival at Duxbury Road. 

We borrowed our friends car and drove up to where he was scheduled to emerge. It was a quiet ride. We were pretty certain we would retrieve Rock Rabbit whole and in good cheer, but having never done this before, we had a level of uncertainty. 

It was with enormous relief that we saw him standing to the side of the trailhead parking lot looking only a little worse for the wear. 

A Moose

We heard the story of the descent. It was hard. But, there was a reward. As a quiet solo hiker, Rock Rabbit came upon a moose browsing. He even managed to get a photo. 

And Some Easy Trail to End

The last bit of trail Rock Rabbit traversed to Duxbury Road was gentle and bespeckeled with fall leaves. It was a wistful walk, filled with relief and melancholia. 

Was this the last mile for our trip? Does it end with a sigh? Will we follow T.S. Eliot’s 1925 poem “The Hollow Men?” 

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang, but with a whimper