So far, Chuck and I are two for two in terms of having one day on our hikes where we screw up logistically and have to pay for it. Last night was the screw up and today we paid. Although we passed two water sources (one was a stream we had to actually cross) in our last mile and a half, we didn't fill all our water bottles. I can only say that water had been so plentiful all day yesterday, we started to just assume water sources would be abundant all along the trail. Unfortunately for us, our last water source for the next five miles was one mile behind us on the trail. For those who read my Pennine blog, you may remember that we didn't get water at the start of day one either.
Fear not, dear reader, obviously we survive!
When we started the day, we weren't too worried about the water situation. From our camping spot, we were watching hikers pass us on the trail without even noticing we were there. Their heads were down, and they were focused on the hike. We started our day's walk in great moods. It was a little chilly, or at least we thought it was, although the sun was out. I kept most of my layers from yesterday on, not trusting that the sun signaled warmer temperatures. It was a beautiful start to the day.
One mile in, however, we started to climb Sassafras Mountain. And here is where I seem to have lost my brains. It was a steep climb, 12% grade on average, over a mile, and the sun was shining. I am a slow climber on the best of days. Well... I can climb at a decent pace for a short period of time, but on extended climbs, I'm slow. I was already out of water, the sun was shining down and yet it never once occurred to me to take off some of my many layers. So I was hot, tired, and thirsty instead of just tired and thirsty.
When we climb, Chuck usually goes ahead of me and waits at the top. He was sticking with me today though, which I appreciated, going ahead a bit and then waiting every few hundred yards. I was getting passed by lots of other hikers. I started to get frustrated. All of my insecurities about my abilities, my worries about making Chuck's hike miserable with my slowness (both of which were challenges during the start of my Pennine hike), they all came rushing back. I started wondering if I could call Jill and have her come pick me up. And, I got emotional, teary even.
Chuck was struggling too. The lack of water was giving him a migraine, and he needed to keep moving to try to get to some water. He encouraged me to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. To try to thwart the headache by finding water, he had to move on at a faster pace than I could manage. I watched him go and felt a little sorry for myself.
I lumbered on, and finally, finally I reached the top. Chuck was nowhere in sight. There was nothing to do but keep going. As I headed down toward Cooper Gap, I caught sight of Chuck at last, almost at the bottom. It gave me a little boost of encouragement. He wasn't THAT far ahead of me.
As I approached the bottom of the hill, I saw that a number of hikers had stopped in Cooper Gap and there was a truck there as well. It was my first experience of trail magic. Captain Guts, a man from Peoria who had attempted to hike the AT the past two years, had decided that this year he would play trail angel instead. He remember this section of the trail as one without much water, and so he brought a cooler full sodas, hot dogs and a little grill, and big jugs of water. I don't know that a cold root beer has ever tasted so wonderful!
We relaxed in the sunshine, refilled our water bottles, drank some soda... life was good again! Reinvigorated, we set off again. Justus Mountain was almost as steep as Sassafras Mountain, but the climb was only half a mile, and with a jolt of sugar from the soda, I was not going to be conquered by it. And I wasn't.
The descent was long and lovely. We were finally enjoying the day, although there was still plenty of ice around.
When we reached Justus Creek at the bottom, we made sure we filled up all four bottles and both of our camelbacks. There was a campsite right above the creek, and so even though we had only done five miles, we decided to call it quits.
All in all, it was a hard day. Chuck's migraine was still plaguing him, and I was starting to get hints of a migraine as well. But, the people at the campsite were all very nice, and Chuck eventually felt well enough to do some socializing. I stayed in the tent, not quite past my headache. We had an early night with hopes that tomorrow would be better.
Fear not, dear reader, obviously we survive!
When we started the day, we weren't too worried about the water situation. From our camping spot, we were watching hikers pass us on the trail without even noticing we were there. Their heads were down, and they were focused on the hike. We started our day's walk in great moods. It was a little chilly, or at least we thought it was, although the sun was out. I kept most of my layers from yesterday on, not trusting that the sun signaled warmer temperatures. It was a beautiful start to the day.
One mile in, however, we started to climb Sassafras Mountain. And here is where I seem to have lost my brains. It was a steep climb, 12% grade on average, over a mile, and the sun was shining. I am a slow climber on the best of days. Well... I can climb at a decent pace for a short period of time, but on extended climbs, I'm slow. I was already out of water, the sun was shining down and yet it never once occurred to me to take off some of my many layers. So I was hot, tired, and thirsty instead of just tired and thirsty.
When we climb, Chuck usually goes ahead of me and waits at the top. He was sticking with me today though, which I appreciated, going ahead a bit and then waiting every few hundred yards. I was getting passed by lots of other hikers. I started to get frustrated. All of my insecurities about my abilities, my worries about making Chuck's hike miserable with my slowness (both of which were challenges during the start of my Pennine hike), they all came rushing back. I started wondering if I could call Jill and have her come pick me up. And, I got emotional, teary even.
Chuck was struggling too. The lack of water was giving him a migraine, and he needed to keep moving to try to get to some water. He encouraged me to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. To try to thwart the headache by finding water, he had to move on at a faster pace than I could manage. I watched him go and felt a little sorry for myself.
I lumbered on, and finally, finally I reached the top. Chuck was nowhere in sight. There was nothing to do but keep going. As I headed down toward Cooper Gap, I caught sight of Chuck at last, almost at the bottom. It gave me a little boost of encouragement. He wasn't THAT far ahead of me.
As I approached the bottom of the hill, I saw that a number of hikers had stopped in Cooper Gap and there was a truck there as well. It was my first experience of trail magic. Captain Guts, a man from Peoria who had attempted to hike the AT the past two years, had decided that this year he would play trail angel instead. He remember this section of the trail as one without much water, and so he brought a cooler full sodas, hot dogs and a little grill, and big jugs of water. I don't know that a cold root beer has ever tasted so wonderful!
We relaxed in the sunshine, refilled our water bottles, drank some soda... life was good again! Reinvigorated, we set off again. Justus Mountain was almost as steep as Sassafras Mountain, but the climb was only half a mile, and with a jolt of sugar from the soda, I was not going to be conquered by it. And I wasn't.
The descent was long and lovely. We were finally enjoying the day, although there was still plenty of ice around.
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| My only picture of the day |
All in all, it was a hard day. Chuck's migraine was still plaguing him, and I was starting to get hints of a migraine as well. But, the people at the campsite were all very nice, and Chuck eventually felt well enough to do some socializing. I stayed in the tent, not quite past my headache. We had an early night with hopes that tomorrow would be better.
That sounds pretty miserable. I love that trail magic guy! What a cool guy to come support others, and bring root beer. I'm the same as you, I like to take pictures but when I am hurting or struggling, I don't pull it out.
ReplyDeleteHi Sonja! Captain Guts was an unlikely looking angel, but an angel all the same! He was planning to go along to all the spots where he'd wished someone had been when he walked.
ReplyDelete