Long Trail: Day 10-13
Day 10: Distance hiked: 23.1 miles
I left Emily Proctor Shelter at 5:45 AM after getting up at
5 AM. The early morning hike felt great in the cool air. I climbed both Mt.
Wilson and Mt Cleveland and then made great time to Glen Cooley Shelter. I
stopped at the shelter, had a snack, and then climbed Mt Grant. Mt Grant had a
beautiful pine forest on top. I then descended
to Lincoln Gap before starting up Mt Abraham. It was rocky path for most of the
way up. I stopped at Battell Shelter for a snack and chatted briefly with a
large family from Vermont. There was some scrambling near the top of Mt Abraham
before reaching the summit. The mountain had stunning 360 degree views. After
staying on the summit for about 15-20 minutes, I left again and the trail
stayed along the ridge. I stopped briefly on top of Mt Abe and then climbed Mt.
Ellen. I decided not to stop at Glen Ellen Lodge (it was too far off trail) and
then climbed General Stark Mountain, stopping briefly at Stark’s Next Warming
Hut for some water. Next, I made a steep descent to Theron Dean Shelter and
thought about calling it quits for the day. I was completely exhausted and I
could hear thunder rumbling nearby. However, I knew that the only way to ensure
I made my pickup time the next day was to continue on, being that there was still
two hours of daylight left. So I left Theron Dean Shelter and continued the
steep descent. I immediately thought better of my decision though as it started
raining about 15 minutes later which made the slippery descent even worse. I
kept hiking and made it to Appalachian Gap in the rain and then kept on hiking
up the other side. Molly Stark Mountain was very steep and rocky and the rain
made it all the more difficult. I had to be very careful not to fall and hurt
myself. A couple miles into Molly Stark Mountain the rain let up. Although my
goal had been Birch Glen Camp, the sun had begun setting and I was completely
exhausted so I searched for a place to hang my hammock off the trail and found
a decent spot among some trees. It had been a very long day.
Watch the vlog of
this portion of the hike here (Part 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYU8m7OiLpI
Day 11: Distance hiked: 17.6 miles
Set alarm for 4:30 AM and started hiking at 5:15 AM. I knew
I would need every minute to arrive on time at the pickup point I had arranged
with Jill, the sheep farmer. I made a steep descent down to Birch Glen Camp and
met Kevin and Kevin, two section hikers. I then continued to hike and came to
Cowles Cove Shelter at 7:30 AM and met Count, someone’s name I had seen in the shelter
logs for many days. I then got water and pushed on. A sign at the shelter had
read that the next 5 miles would be especially grueling and could perhaps take
5 hours. Not the best sign to see when these next 5 miles were part of a 17.6
mile day over some of the hardest mountains on the Long Trail. The next 5 miles
were exactly as stated but I was able to keep a decent pace. I climbed Burnt
Rock Mountain and enjoyed the amazing views and the rock scrambling involved.
The trail descended again only to climb Mt Ethan Allen. It was a tough climb
and there was only one good view from the North summit. It was then another
steep descent to MontClair Glen Lodge where I filled up my water bladder. It
was then a very steep ascent up Camel’s Hump. Camel’s Hump was my favorite
mountain on the trail with 360 degree panoramas and lots of rock scrambling.
Incredible. I stayed on the summit for 25 minutes or so and then started the 6
mile descent. Longest, hardest descent of my life. I’m usually really good on
the descent, but this descent caused my feet and legs to start hurting (rare).
It was a seemingly never-ending descent. Very hard to do at the end of the day.
Finally made it to Duxbury Rd where Jill from the sheep farm was to pick me up.
As I waited, a group of older hikers talked to me and after hearing I was a
thru-hiker, gave me an IPA from a small cooler they were carrying. It was
incredible sitting in the parking lot and drinking that IPA. I also changed
into my cleaner camp clothes and washed off with a wet toilette to try to hide
multiple days of stench for the ride. Jill then picked me up and told me about
the sheep farm. I took a shower and her husband then cooked an incredible
dinner and Jill also did my laundry. My room was great, spacious, and clean. I
then waited for Adam as his flight had been canceled. Adam was supposed to meet
me that night at the sheep farm.
Watch the vlog of
this portion of the hike here (Part 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYU8m7OiLpI
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Weathertop Sheep Farm |
Day 12: Distance hiked: 9.1 miles (+1.5 to gas station, +.3 to Buchanan Shelter)
Woke up and had an amazing breakfast. These farmers can
cook! Really enjoyed laying on a soft bed, planning ahead, and waiting to hear
from Adam about his flight. He was trying to fly standby that morning. At 11:15
AM, Adam said that he had made it onto the flight! Yes! I immediately packed up
my stuff and Jill drove me back to the trailhead at Duxbury Rd. The plan was to
knock out several more miles (road miles at this part of the trail) while Adam was
in the air and then he would meet me at a bridge before crossing the Winooski
River. This would save us time and hopefully allow us to hike past Buchanan
shelter that night (to help with the next day). As Adam flew, I hiked to this
point and arrived at 12:45 PM. His flight arrived at 1 PM so I knew I would
have to wait about an hour or so before he arrived. Meanwhile, I set my pack
down and watched the locals swimming in the river and jumping off the
pedestrian bridge. I was excited to meet up with him and get the hiking
started. I had no cell phone service at the bridge (cell phone service was horrible
for me all over the trail) and had no way of knowing how close Adam was or what
had transpired. At 2:30 PM, I started worrying and borrowed a local’s cell
phone and called Adam. Although he had made the flight, his pack did not.
Devastating. Now we had to adapt and come up with a new plan on the fly. The
problem was that Adam was brining all my food for the next three days. I had
not wanted to bother Jill the sheep farmer with another ride into town so I had
arranged with Adam to bring my food for the next three days. Now I had no cell
service, no ride possibilities, no food, and it was already close to 3 PM. In
order to stay on schedule, I had to at least make it to Buchanan shelter
somehow. I started walking along the trail north until I got cell phone service
and that called Southface to try to use her internet availability to figure out
how I could get food. She located a gas station 1.5 miles away (not in the
direction of the trail) so I started walking to that gas station on the street.
After walking that distance, I found out that the gas station had closed a year
ago. Frustrated and dejected, I started the 1.5 mile hike back to the trail,
sticking my thumb out along the way. Very soon thereafter, I got picked up in a
pickup truck from a guy named Bobby. Bobby saved me in multiple ways. Not only
did he drive me the 7-10 miles to a Richmond grocery store, but he then waited
in the truck while I shopped, and then drove me all the way back to the trail.
Incredible trail magic and trail angel. It was then 4:30 when I started hiking
on the trail again and after an exhausting climb up to Buchanan Shelter (and
the longest .3 mile descent into Buchanan shelter), I arrived at the shelter at
7:30, met a father and son team (Kevin and Kevin going south), and started
setting up for the night. I hung my hammock in the shelter at first but then
later moved it outside due to how hot the temperature was in the shelter due to
the full enclosure.
Watch the vlog of
this portion of the hike here (Part 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYU8m7OiLpI
Day 13: Distance hiked: 14.4 miles (+.3 Buchanan uphill!, +.4 miles to get water at Taylor Lodge)
Left around 6:15 AM and was feeling good. Summited Bolton
Mountain by 8:30 and then stopped at Puffer Shelter. Great view at Puffer.
After that things started to go downhill. Rash, ankle, ridiculously humid,
dehydration. Drinking water as much as possible but dripping sweats through my
clothes. Diarrhea. Stopped at Taylor Lodge and had long trek to get water.
Water filter also really hard to pump, making all of this exhausting. Hiked
back out and felt extreme fatigue. Rash also making each step painful. Stopped
mid trail and changed into my relatively clean, dry camp clothes in order to
try to reduce the pain from the wet clothes rubbing on the heat rash. I also
sat down on the trail and ate more food to see if that would give me more
energy. I felt a little better and pressed on past Butler Lodge to ascent Mount
Mansfield. Lots of ladders, ledges, and scrambling on Mansfield. I reached a
stage of total exhaustion when nearing the Forehead of Mount Mansfield. Once on
the forehead, it was still a very long hike to the actually summit. When I
finally arrived on the summit, completely fatigued and walking very slow, it
started to thunderstorm. The rain then made the all rocky summit a very
slippery place when descending down the other side. When I finally arrived at
Taft Lodge, about .8 miles off the summit, my spirits lifted as I had made my
rendezvous destination and Adam had made it to the Lodge as well! We talked
briefly on the deck of the lodge before I went in, changed clothes, got water
and then caught up in the lodge. A half hour later a very severe thunderstorm
hit the mountain and it felt so good to be fully enclosed in Taft Lodge. It was
the best possible place to be during that storm and Adrian and Sasha had left
about 15 minutes prior and must have really gotten hit hard. Saw Shoe Gazer
again and another thru hiker.
Watch the vlog of this portion of the hike here (Part 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYU8m7OiLpI
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