August 5, 2013

August 5, 2013- Day 7

Start: US Rt 2
End: Gentian Pond Shelter
Daily Mileage: 11.8
Total Mileage: 46.1

Today was a day full of thoughts on the trail. I think the breathtaking views and long miles encourage deep thinking. I contemplated which I would write about first: the trail or the thoughts.

First, the trail...
We woke up at 7 am at the hostel, packed up our stuff (my pack is so heavy today... I know I have WAY too much food packed) and headed out to drop our car off at the Top Notch Inn. On our way there, we saw our new trail friend, Bane. He needed a ride to Walmart, so we brought him there before dropping off the car. By 9am, we caught a hitch from the hotel where we left our car to the trail. The trail started on a road for about .5 miles and then on a dirt road before turning up for a steady, but relatively easy climb (easy compared to what we have been climbing) for about 3 miles. The whole way up, we kept seeing moose scat... But where are the moose?!?! We also saw 2 snakes on the way up... Ewww!! After climbing some ledges (or sidewalks of the mountains as I call them), we reached the top. We were surrounded by wild blueberries, so DDL and I picked a bunch and ate them. They were awesome!! We descended Mt. Hayes and then climbed Cascade Mountain where we had views of the Walmart we have repeatedly visited over the last week. Once we arrived at the side trail for Trident Col Campsite, we stopped for a snack break. We were 6.9 miles in and still had 4.9 to go. We came to a big pond a few miles later where two young girls doing a 4 day section hike had set up camp. They pointed and said, "The AT goes that way." Against our better judgement, we listened to them and quickly found ourselves walking in deep mud that was not the AT. We turned around and found the correct path. Ughhhhhh. Frustrating. We climbed up Wocket Ledges and had more beautiful views. Earlier on, a SOBO (southbound AT thru hiker) told us that the shelter that we planned to stay at did not have a good water source (a complete lie) so we pumped water at the next stream which was the last water source listed in our guidebook before the shelter (also a lie). There was one last climb before a relatively flat, but VERY muddy and boggy section and then a descent to the shelter. We finally arrived at the side trail and then walked the .2 miles to the shelter. We arrived about 6pm and we were exhausted. Bane and Double Nickel walked in just a few minutes behind us. There is also a group of seven 15 year old girls here who have walked from Katahdin and are headed to Carter Dome and then Rt. 16. They are walking it over 7 weeks, but not stopping in any towns!! Awesome accomplishment for them! We hung out with Bane and Double Nickel for a while before retiring to our tent for the night. There are platforms and a bear box here, which are always much appreciated. It is a cold night so I am bundled in socks (I NEVER sleep with socks), pants, an under armour turtle neck, a fleece, my down jacket, a hat, gloves, and in my sleeping bag. Burrrrrr. I'm sure that I will have no problem sleeping though. My knee is hurting quite a bit, but I'm hoping it feels better in the morning.

Now the thoughts....
While climbing today, I was humbled. Everyday in "normal" life, I, as most of us do, worry about what I have to do, where I have to go, what I want to do, what I want to get, who I need to see, etc. Basically, the common thread is "I." My daily ongoings in "normal life" are very "me-centric." Now, I don't mean that in a selfish way, because I truly don't think I'm selfish, but in more of a busy, "want to cross things off my to do list" kind of way. More of a what I have/want to do, buy, see, etc. is the driving factor of my day. When driven by these things, we often lose the sense of how small we are, as an individual, in this world. In this universe. There is nothing to humble you more, to make you realize just how small you are, and to take the feeling of unwarranted importance away, than climbing a mountain. Now, these mountains that I climbed today are not the largest mountains in the world. They are not even the largest on the AT; yet they still made me feel like I am such a small part of something so much bigger and something much more important. Definitely a thought to take home with me.

Today, I also realized that when walking in the woods, all of my senses are alive. I hear the sound of the earth under my feet. I hear the birds and frogs around me. I hear the wind blow and the water flow. I see the vibrant green of the canopy against the brilliant blue of the sky. I see the rays of sunlight passing through the trees. I see the shiny specks of mica (thanks Brian!) in the rocks. I touch the trees as I pass and the rocks as I climb with my hands. Sometimes, I even touch the rocks and dirt with my butt as I fall (seems to be happening more this year. I think I'm up to 3 falls). I smell the pine needles. I smell the recent spray of a skunk. I even smell the dirt. And today, I got to taste the wild blueberries! I feel so alive.

Peace Be The Journey
~Flicka