Day 42: Lake View

19 July 2016 

Start: Bromley Mountain

Destination: Little Rock Pond 

Trail Miles: 16.8

Total Trail Miles: 336

State: VT

 

I hike 16.8 miles today. The first real day in my boots. I can honestly say my ankle feels better and so do my heels. But the rest of my feet are falling off. Imagine a hammer pounding the ball of your foot...about 250,000 times. I'm sure it will just take adjusting. I'm excited about the new boots and can barely feel the rocks under my feet! 

Today was a great hike.  The morning was bright with us all waking up to a beautiful sunrise. I slept well outside. No bugs on the platform and no dampness from the grass. I was alone in the ski lift all night. It was blissful after the people packed day. Then I put my headphones on (only one, have to hear the other hikers or animas coming upon me) and got on the trail around 6:30am. 

 

 

 

I ended up stopping at some point to nap. I didn't mean to nap. It just sort of happened. I saw this rock you might find in the Shire long enough to lay on. I immediately stopped, put my pack on it and laid down. 

I'm not sure how long I slept but apparently I needed it. It was also in the path of any hiker going north or south along the trail. So many people saw me resting and wanted to make sure I was ok. 

It also stormed on us today. As I'm going over Baker Peak...a sharp rock studded mountain peak not easily ascended when it's NOT raining...it started to rain again. 

Ok, so when I see it about to storm, I take some precautions now. I immediately take my shoes off and out my camp shoes on.  They're sandals. But they're hiking sandals. I've never hiked in them but put them on and shove my boots in my pack. I pretty much hate wet boots more than anything, so I go to great lengths now to avoid it. Well, let's just say I wouldn't recommend climbing over huge, sharp, wet rocks over the leak of a mountain in these "hiking sandals".  It was a harrowing and precarious situation to be sure, but I survived. No pictures as my phone was secured in my pack. It was a beautiful view though. 

The picture below was taken at an overlook point a few miles before I was supposed to stop for the day. There were lots of tent sites, but I'm still not keen on staying alone in a stealth site. 

I went on to rock pond, a beautiful pond with many tent sites located around it. It has a caretaker and here is a $5 fee to camp over night here. Several people moved on and I had almost the entire tent site to myself. 

I packed three beers out from Manchester and this was the second day I have carried them. I gave one to Mass and I drank one. They were glorious. I saved the last one for tomorrow.