It was a long 18 miles, but worth getting to the next shelter. It was suppose to rain all day with possible thunderstorms. It didn’t happen till late afternoon. I was blessed. I got to the shelter, got in under the shelter and in 5 minutes it started to rain hard. Was I so lucky, or blessed. I will say I blessed. Thank you.
Today I had to climb a 1,000 foot high mountain. The trail had a moderate grade. I was able to climb most of it without having to stop to get my breath. Much better than my first week on the trail. The trail was rocky and muddy. That made the going harder. I am liking my boots as they are handling the rough terrain better than the lighter weight shoes I see people wearing. Mine, also stay drier.
Over all it was a good day. The concern on my mind is that I have to do the same day for the next 5 days. Along with that it is going to rain hard on Sunday. I am going to look at another possible pickup point to go into Allentown.
I am thinking that I need to tell more about the different hikers. They are interesting. Here are the people that were at the shelter.
Lief and Debbie. I am very impressed with them. Debbie said a year ago they were just sitting watching TV, eating snacks, getting heavier, and unhealthier. They decided to do something about it. So, it was hike the AT.
They started hiking the end of March. They are slow. They say they are going about 1 1/2 mph. They have had major problems. Problems that would have sent me packing home. First, he is carrying a CPAP machine. He carries two batteries for it. He about four to six days before they have to go somewhere to recharge. Next, after being out for a short time he got Shingles. They had to go get that addressed and healed. He said he would have quit, but she wouldn’t let him. Then, he had a fainting episode because his blood pressure dropped. When Debbie checked the drug out the web there was warnings about not doing physical exercise with that prescription. They had told the doctor and pharmacist about hiking the AT, but neither questioned using that drug. The good thing was his blood pressure has dropped because of hiking the trail, exercise. They have him on a new drug. He also told us that in three weeks of hiking he has lost 30 pounds. He thought some of that was water retention. He is still a large man, but had a lot of energy. As I said, I was very impressed. It made me realize my sore feet are a poor excuse for questioning hiking.
Many people I have camped with have said that I am doing a lot with doing 15 plus miles a day. I feel that I am a moderate hiker. Many of the people I see are hiking at, or faster, the same rate.
Another person at the shelter was Chills. I met him about a week ago. He was at the shelter the night before. He is about
40. He didn’t think he could make it the 18 miles to this shelter. He did it. Unfortunately, he and Nicholas, were a little behind me and got caught in the rain when it started. He chose to keep hiking and not put on rain gear. He was soaking wet. His pack was dry though. In the rain you have to keep your pack dry. You do not have to keep yourself dry. Chills chose to put up his tent rather than sleep in the shelter. There was plenty of room, but he chose to camp. It had stopped raining when he set up his tent. He did start later. He came down to the shelter to cook his dinner with us. He hasn’t been hiking to long. He is doing a flip flop, which means you start at Harpers Ferry and hike to the end. Then come back and hike the southern half. That way you avoid the bubble of hikers. I think he is still getting his hiking legs and wondering if he really wants to do this.
40. He didn’t think he could make it the 18 miles to this shelter. He did it. Unfortunately, he and Nicholas, were a little behind me and got caught in the rain when it started. He chose to keep hiking and not put on rain gear. He was soaking wet. His pack was dry though. In the rain you have to keep your pack dry. You do not have to keep yourself dry. Chills chose to put up his tent rather than sleep in the shelter. There was plenty of room, but he chose to camp. It had stopped raining when he set up his tent. He did start later. He came down to the shelter to cook his dinner with us. He hasn’t been hiking to long. He is doing a flip flop, which means you start at Harpers Ferry and hike to the end. Then come back and hike the southern half. That way you avoid the bubble of hikers. I think he is still getting his hiking legs and wondering if he really wants to do this.
Nicholas. He is younger than me. I would way about 25-30. He grew up in France. Then migrated to Canada. He started in the Yukon for several years. He now lives in Quebec. He is hiking a section. Many people hike sections. Over several years, maybe many, they hike the entire section. He will hike for another week, then his girlfriend will pick him up. He says his girlfriend worries about him. He carries a satellite reporting device. I have seen several of them. They send a position report every mile or so. You can also record a couple messages which you can tell the satellite app to send. For example, I am at camp for the nigh and all is okay. I have camped with him at a couple shelters. He says he is having a tough time doing the longer miles. Again, getting his hiking legs.
When we both left this shelter he said he wasn’t going to make it to the shelter I was going to. As I hiked I felt he might. He
did. It was good to see him. I gave him a bad time and told him I thought he would make it. At the next shelter you can get pizza.
did. It was good to see him. I gave him a bad time and told him I thought he would make it. At the next shelter you can get pizza.
Pictures:
1. A creek I passed. There use to be mining if this area. I wonder if this is from that. I wonder if my filter would remove the color? Doubt it.
2. A sign talking about the past. I marvel when I see signs like this. This is in the wilderness. I wonder what towns and roads use to use this area.
3. The shelter I stayed out.
No comments:
Post a Comment