Full Goose Shelter
Today I woke up feeling much better. It seems my sluggishness yesterday was likely a byproduct of my time in town. To much food and not enough exercise. Another thing that had me very worried was my feet. They were very tender so that walking or even standing was painful. In talking with Flyaway though I found out he got the exact same symptoms whenever he spent too much time in town. His usually went away after a couple days. Mine feet felt much better this morning so I suspect that Flyaway is right.
The morning went well. I stuck with Flyaway and Mr. Fred as I wanted to make sure I had company for a section coming up, Mahoosuc Notch, which is rumored to be the toughest mile on the AT.
Along the way I saw numerous toads as I have been seeing for most of the last week. What I had failed to mention was that in the last few days these, though they look similar to the American Toads I had been seeing all over, let out little croaks when I picked them up.
The first mountain of the day was Mt. Sucess. It was a rather easy climb as the shelter from last night was much of the way up. Up on top I was treated to a 360 degree view of the the mountains and forest all around. I could see the next saddle and was pleased to see it had an alpine medow.
This would be repeated all day, great summit views with soft grassy medows between. The air was clear and though the sun was hot the mountain summits had nice breezes. For me it was bliss.
The only thing that distracted from this was the portion of the trails that went up and down. The construction was perplexing at best with steep hazardous rocky stretchs. A few of them had ladders or other aids to climb up and down them however where improvments were made sometimes were challenging sections and just as often were easier that many we were forced to climb. At one point I distincly remember a 5-6' drop off without even a foothold chipped in the rock or another 3' overhang to clamber down. I have no idea how AMC decideds where to put their trail improvments but for me it makes no sense.
Today I crossed into Maine, the last state I will hike. It feels great to be in state 14 finally afer months of effort. New Hampshire was home to roughest and most poorly built trail on the AT but also home to the most stunning mountain tops. I am not sure how I will remember the state. I suspect the photos will bring me back.
The ups and downs of that day, though challenging, were not exhausting so that when I got to camp I still had some pep left in me. However not wanting to do the Notch alone I waited for Flyaway and Mr. Fred who were, lets say, not pleased with the conditions of the rise and falls. As a result we will do the Notch in the morning.
The nausea I have had the last few days that I thought had passed came back this afternoon to my disappointment. It is getting much worse too. I hope it gets better tomorrow or else I think I will have to see a Dr. in Andover.
------------------------------
Get your service for FREE when you refer friends and family to PocketMail!
No comments:
Post a Comment