Saturday, 18 August, Day 39, 8.4 miles, Cool Camp site near
Three Mile Road, by Crocadilly - Today we had a
relatively easy slow low mileage hike day as poor Rampage is still not feeling
very well and it is our first day back on the trail since he got sick. In the
morning after a quick resupply at the local co-op and being given some great
fresh home grown tomatoes and other goodies from a lovely family taking a
holiday in Vermont (gotta love trail magic!) we got going. Again it was great
having so many people coming up to us asking us if we were hikers and chatting!
We caught up with Weezy and his dog Aisha (we have no idea where the others are
other than that they have been sucked into the wormhole that is the
marvelousness of Hanover and who knows when they are likely resurface again!).
We also ended up catching up with Old Smoke too which was great! The trail took
us right from the town and back into the woods again. We met up with everyone
for a lunch stop on a road after several miles. We decided to just hike another
threeish miles to the next road so as not to push it. I hiked with Rampage and
Old Smoke whilst Papa Wolf drove in the car with Tail bone in order to help the
ladies find somewhere suitable to camp for the night. The three miles zipped by
and before we knew it we had reached the road much to the relief of Rampage.
Papa Wolf and the ladies had found a great spot to cowboy camp on an island
surrounded by small brooks just off the trail. It was perfect! I knew that I
was likely to end up wet somehow here though! We had a great campfire going and
as it was a Saturday night I decided to have a couple of New Hampshire's finest
beers with my dinner which Papa Wolf had prepared! And yes I did end up in the
drink … I was on an island of sorts (no raging rivers or anything) but during
one trip across the shallow brook I slid off a rock and ended up with a very
wet right foot. Of course it was the first night I had had to wear socks with
my crocs and so I carefully put them by the fire to dry and kept a good eye on
them as I know many socks have been lost whilst being dried on the campfire!
Despite keeping a close eye on them my liner sock still ended up with a giant
burn hole in it - I guess that covered two of the four elements. J
Sunday, 19 August, Day 40, 15.0 miles, Fire Tower stealth
camp and Super 8 Motel…will explain. J
The saga of Crocadilly - I felt okay when I got up but it soon
became clear to me that I had come down with the same bug as Rampage.
Unfortunately so too had Mango. I suddenly felt really sick and it was all I
could do to get my stuff packed up and stagger back to the car. After much
deliberation we decided that whilst Papa Wolf and Rampage would continue to
hike, myself, Mango and Tailbone would head back to the Super 8 and get a room.
It felt like the longest drive and it was all I could do to muster the strength
to get out of the car and get a room sorted and climb into bed. And so here I
am … back at the Super 8 … again!! I was so frustrated to be missing a day of
hiking. But there was nothing I could do about it - this bug has been doing the
rounds so it wasn’t really surprising that we are all coming down with it. I
was just hoping I would escape it!
Papa Wolf's day - Having had this stomach
bug a few months ago, I had much sympathy for Crocadilly and Mango. I did
remind them that I did a 20 mile day when I awoke with these symptoms and did a
total of 75 miles before I got better…oddly, they did not care and told me to
pound sand. J All joking
aside, a comfy bed close to a loo was exactly what they needed so the Super 8
was the best idea. After the ladies left, Rampage, Ole Smoke, Wheezy and I
headed on our way. It sounds strange,
but hiking with a full pack with no vehicle support was such a wonderful
experience. It felt great to be back to the basics…heavy, but great. The trail
itself today was a good combination of ups and downs. It also gave us a nice taste
of what we can expect from the whites. The last four miles of the day was a relatively
steep, rocky assent to the fire tower were we planned to camp. With a full pack
it was a difficult, but very rewarding climb with an awesome campsite and
sunset as our reward for our efforts. It is nice to be back in the deep woods.
With luck, Mango, Crocadilly and Tailbone will join us tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment