Day 137, 7/15/15
Start: Greenwall Shelter
Finish: Rutland, VT
Miles Hiked: 25.2
Miles To Go: 488.3
Overall Miles Hiked: 1700.9
I had big miles on my mind for today, so I woke up at 5:30 and packed up in the rain. Within a few hours, the weather cleared up and it turned out to be a beautiful day. As I was coming down a steep slope, a rock ledge appeared on my left overlooking a small airport. There was a lawn chair on the ledge, so I sat and enjoyed a quick break. I was still wet from the rain and had to get moving to stay warm. The temperature dropped overnight and it was now in the 60s.
The big challenge for the day was Mt. Killington and it’s steep 2,500 ft. climb. I ate lunch at the base of the mountain and mentally prepared myself for a hard climb. When trying to pass the time and miles, I try to think of anything besides hiking. I think about family, work and funny things that have happened on the trail. I even do a lot of math. I’ll ask myself how many miles I have left to do and based on my current speed, try to figure out what time I’ll arrive at camp. I know it sounds crazy, but if I just think about hiking the day would never end. I was halfway into solving my 5th math problem when the trail finally flattened out; I had made it to the top of Mt. Killington. The actual summit is over 4,000 ft. and could be reached by taking a .2 mile side trail. I dropped my pack and headed up. The view was incredible. I could see for miles around in every direction. I could even see Mt. Washington, which is in the White Mountains in New Hampshire – I’ll be there soon!
The skies were clear of the rain that soaked me this morning and even though I had 7 miles left to go, I enjoyed Mt. Killington for over 2 hours – I even ate lunch at the ski lodge another short side trail away. There were plenty of tourists on the top of the mountain as well. Most of them took a gondola ride up from the valley below for $20. My view cost me much more than that, but made it all the more worthwhile.
Around 4:00PM, I finally started hiking again. The rest of the day went by without incident and I checked into the Hiker Hostel at Yellow Deli. It is run by a 12 Tribes spiritual community and I was a little hesitant at first about staying there, but everyone was super nice. I would definitely recommend to any future hikers…just don’t drink the kool-aid!
Day 138, 7/16/15
Start: Rutland, VT
Finish: Wintturi Shelter
Miles Hiked: 19.9
Miles To Go: 468.4
Overall Miles Hiked: 1720.8
I got a quick ride back to the trail after eating my free breakfast made by the friendly Yellow Deli staff. After 10 minutes of hiking, I noticed a sharp pain in one of my feet and when I removed my boot I saw I had a thorn in my heel. I got the thorn out with no problem, but my next step was costly. I tripped over a root and went down hard. My knees took the brunt of the impact as did my ribcage, when it hit a rock sticking out of the ground. It could have been much worse, but this was by far the worst fall I’ve taken. My chest seemed okay, but my left knee was throbbing – I couldn’t walk one step. It swelled up immediately, so I took off my pack and sat back down on the same rock where I removed the thorn. It took about 30 minutes before I was able to put weight back on my knee – I had no choice but to keep walking. It hurt for the rest of the day, but I think it is going to be okay.
My bad luck didn’t end there. Unfortunately, after my first few steps I noticed one of my hiking poles broke during the fall. I mainly use my hiking poles on steep ups to help propel me up the mountain and also on the downs to help take some weight off my knees. Well, since steep ups and downs make up 90% of the trail, I was moving slow without them.
I limped into a shelter for lunch and was surprised to see Roker and Miles there, who I haven’t seen since we went to Six Flags. It was good to catch up with them and I hiked with them, Pork Chop, Lightning and Tic Toc the rest of the day.
We arrived at the shelter and setup our tents. I get to see my wife, mom and dad tomorrow and I can’t wait! I’m planning on hiking 17 miles tomorrow, just short of Hanover, NH and they will pick me up on the trail. Should be a fun 3 days!
Midnight update – I heard something moving outside my tent and woke up. It didn’t sound very big, but was close enough to my tent to actually hit one of my tent lines – That kinda freaked me out! There was no moon, so I couldn’t see what it was. I decided it wasn’t a bear, so I am going back to sleep.
Day 139, 7/17/15
Start: Wintturi Shelter
Finish: VT 14
Miles Hiked: 16.4
Miles To Go: 452
Overall Miles Hiked: 1737.2
There were no more animal encounters overnight, so I was able to sleep uninterrupted for the rest of the night. Sleeping on the ground in the woods isn’t the most comfortable, so I’m lucky if I get 7 hours of sleep most nights, but it is usually broken up into 1 to 2 hours increments. I think the months of little sleep are starting to get to me as my energy has plummeted recently. I’ve been taking 5 Hour Energy which helps, but I still can’t seem to hike more than a few miles without fighting the urge to take a nap.
Luckily, today I had a pep in my step because I would be reunited with my mom, dad and my wife, Leigh. They are picking me up from the trail at VT Hwy 14 around 3:00, I just had to make it there.
I thought about how great it was going to be seeing everyone once again and the miles faded away. Even my third bear sighting couldn’t slow me down; I saw the bear, the bear saw me and we both continued on unfazed. Just after 3:00, I made it to the road crossing where we agreed to meet. I was a little early so I tried to clean up as best I could. A few minutes later a red rental car pulled up, all I could see was the grinning face of Leigh inside. They couldn’t get over how “thin” I was and were concerned I wasn’t eating enough!
I filled them in on my last few weeks out here as we drove to the hotel a few miles away. I knew I smelled pretty bad, but they didn’t seem to mind. After checking in, we grabbed a quick bite in downtown Hanover, NH at Molly’s Tavern. It felt like I was back home for the first time in a long time, felt pretty damn happy!
Day 140, 7/18/15
Start: VT 14
Finish: VT 14
Miles Hiked: 0
Miles To Go: 452
Overall Miles Hiked: 1737.2
I slept until 7:00 and then went downstairs with Leigh for breakfast. We had two full days at our disposal, but I didn’t care what we did as I just wanted to be with my family again. Ultimately, we decided to visit Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory in Waterbury, VT. We took a scenic drive through the back highways and talked the whole way. When we arrived at the factory, we were all shocked at how busy it was. People were lined up 100 deep to buy scoops of ice cream they could have gotten at the store down the street in considerably less time – Madness! The tour itself was underwhelming, but the drive was 100% worth it as we traded stories and laughed the whole way.
Tonight, dinner was at a nice steak and seafood restaurant. Leigh’s birthday was a couple of days ago, so at my request my dad arranged for a cake to be made and delivered to the restaurant. It was brought out after dinner as a surprise – Happy Birthday, Leigh! I love you!
Day 141, 7/19/15
Start: VT 14
Finish: Hanover, NH
Miles Hiked: 9.9
Miles To Go: 442.1
Overall Miles Hiked: 1747.1
Well I never thought today would come. Leigh took her first steps on the A.T.!
We woke up early and had my dad drop us off at the spot they had picked me up two days ago. We had about 10 miles to hike and with any luck would walk into Hanover, NH around noon, where the trail goes right through the center of town. Leigh was excited about sharing this experience with me; I was nervous she would hate it! In the end, it was great! She made the 1,000 ft. climb with no problems and was right behind me all the way into town. We met my mom and dad in town and then headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up.
Next, the 4 of us drove back to Killington where I was a few days ago and took a gondola ride up to the mountain top. We still had a quick side trail hike to the summit, but at least the gondola saved everyone from hiking up 3,000 ft.!
The summit was windy, but just as beautiful as it was the day I climbed up last week. What was even better was that I got to share this with my family. They couldn’t imagine me hiking all the way here from Georgia and seem to be pretty proud of ole PoBoy – I’m just happy to have an amazing family – Love you guys!
We finished the day at Thundering Falls and had dinner in the quaint town of Woodstock, VT before calling it a day.
Oh yeah, I crossed the VT/NH line today also! Only two more states!
Day 142, 7/20/15
Start: Hanover, NH
Finish: Hanover, NH
Miles Hiked: 0
Miles To Go: 442.1
Overall Miles Hiked: 1747.1
Leigh and my parents had to leave Hanover around 1:00PM, but before they did, we all had lunch with Rock Boat and Jeopardy. It was fun having these two worlds collide and everyone seemed to have a great time. I hadn’t seen Rock Boat or Jeopardy since I hiked ahead 7 days ago and it was great seeing them again. My parents were excited to meet some of the guys I’ve been hiking with and really enjoyed spending time with us. The time had come to say goodbye and I walked back to the car with Leigh and my parents. I hugged everyone and thanked them for taking the time to come visit. Hopefully, I’ll be home in about a month, I miss the hell out of them. I used the rest of the day to rest and resupply. The last leg of this adventure begins tomorrow morning!