Date: 2015-07-08
From: Riga Shelter

To: Route 7
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

Why are M&Ms so addicting?! I have been considering lately which variety is my favorite. And by that, I mean, I am considering it now as I am picking the pretzel and crispy ones out of next week's trail mix. I really like the pretzel ones. Those may win first prize. I also really like the crispy ones (I AM SO HAPPY THEY MAKE THESE AGAIN). Dark chocolate and mini are good, too. Plain are so-so. I don't really go for the peanut or peanut butter ones as often, and have given a lot of these to Chris.Someone needs to come slap me so I stop eating these. I have to fit in that dress in THREE DAYS. I can't believe the wedding is already almost here. I am super excited, but also terrified by the passage of time. I crossed into Massachusetts today! WHAT THE HECK. Only four states left?! I thought your life was supposed to flash before your eyes right before you kick the bucket, not WHILE you are living.It was so overcast this morning that I didn't get to see quite the brilliant sunrise that I was hoping for. It was still pretty and I still enjoyed it, though. The sun was bright and round in the sky, peeking through the clouds. I packed up and headed out before any of the other girls got up. I always try to be really quiet when I leave, but sometimes it's just so hard to get organized. I'm always afraid I'm going to leave something behind.As soon as I started hiking - actually BEFORE I really even got hiking, I was still on the freaking blue-blaze trail connecting the shelter to the AT - I managed to slip and dunk BOTH of my feet in the brook. Fantastic. Yesterday, even though it was so ridiculously hot out and I really would have enjoyed a nice shower, I used my umbrella because I wanted to keep my socks dry. NO HOPE OF THAT TODAY. Wet feet suck. At the end of the day, my toes look like they have been attached to a dead body that has been floating in the sea... all white and pruney and zombie-esque. Yuck. Oh well. I shrugged it off and hiked on, knowing that I would be heading home tonight and would get to wash and dry those socks. What does it say about my life that the idea of doing laundry thrills me? It really does, though.Issue #2 of the day, about 30 seconds into my hike, was the CHAFING. GOOD LORD, THE CHAFING. I was already raw from yesterday, and had put my wet, damp, smelly, dank, nasty, disgusting, sweaty hiking clothes back on. I had wanted to wear fresh underpants, but forgot to bring them with me when I changed. I figured I would just end up gross again anyway, I might as well wear the dirty ones again instead of rummaging around for clean ones, waking up my new least-favorite ridge runner. HUGE MISTAKE. I got about 300 feet down the trail before it became clear that I could NOT hike like that. I dug out my clean (dry!) panties, and dropped my pants in the middle of the trail. I didn't even care. It was 6:00. The only other person at the shelter (besides the YMCA group, and there was no way they were getting up anytime soon) was headed south. I wasn't worried about anyone crossing my path.With a fresh coat of Body Glide and dry underwear, I felt much better. The hike continued!I anticipated a long, slow morning. And I hiked a long, slow morning. I'm not used to climbing mountains anymore! The ascent up Bear Mountain wasn't so bad, and I got to the top to see a beautiful view of... clouds. Yippee.Luckily the Aussie Legs had warned me that the descent was a little... well... dangerous. Especially in the morning drizzle, those rocks were WET. I slipped and slid and butt-scooted my way down.My reward for my butt-scooting? Crossing into Massachusetts. And then, Sages Ravine! SO PRETTY. Strolling along the stream, hearing that rushing water sound, feeling the cool air rising off of the water... it was amazing. I love New England. Smaller waterfalls poured off of the sides of the trail to join the stream and tumble down over the rocks. Mist hung in the air over the surface of the water, the warm humidity of the dawning day versus the chilled water. At one point, I saw Moosehead and some guy I didn't recognize across the stream. I waved at them, and Moosehead yelled, "Thanks for the trail magic!" I'm passing that along to all of the picnic contributors: Moosehead says thanks! I think it might be one of my favorite parts of the trail so far.Mount Race was also pretty awesome. Again, the views were disappointing, but the exposed ridgeline was so cool. You could lean over, peer down, and imagine how painful it would be to fall. Very painful. Deathly painful. Why is being scared so fun sometimes?And then came Mount Everett. I CRAWLED up Mount Everett. I definitely do NOT have the problem of not having enough calories for energy (trust me on this one), but I was tired and sluggish on that climb. Plus I had to painstakingly plan my steps, carefully testing my weight over and over and over, so I didn't slip and fall. I slipped like 9090 times today anyway, but still, NO BLOOD! I stopped at Glen Brook Shelter, which was in a gorgeous pine grove. The forest floor was carpeted in needles. It was so beautiful, I decided to eat lunch there. Even though it was before 11:00. I also ate my afternoon snack. I have a problem.I lolligagged at the shelter for a good hour or so. It was nice to relax. I have been so busy at home and on the trail lately. I took the time to pluck my eyebrows (thrilling, yes? A lunch break well spent... I can't look too much like the hooligan hobo I am for Jeralyn's wedding). I signed the register book, "Stopped for an early lunch. Why am I always so hungry?!" and stamped it with my awesome stamp. I saw that the Aussie Legs had stayed there the day before the picnic, and had written about their anticipation of trail magic. The day I picked them up, Muddy Duckling had been so funny, saying "What if it rained and they cancelled the picnic?! We'd have no way to contact Red Panda!" Since they don't have American phones, they can only communicate long-distance over wifi. "I still would have come to get you!" I cried. I wouldn't have abandoned them on the side of the trail.I continued on, eventually passing Jug End, where Moosehead and his friend, who is hiking with him for a few days, were sitting and eating lunch. There was another gorgeous view there - and by then, the sun had burned off most of the morning fog. Slowly, it was turning into a beautiful day. At this point, it was about 1:00. They were eating two hours after I had eaten lunch. Such a glutton, I am. That tuna bagel and CLIF bar were so good, though... my tummy deserved an early treat after climbing so many mountains. I talked to Moosehead and friend for a while, and then Silent Force, who I apparently met at Max Patch (I am so freaking terrible at remembering people), arrived. Another wonderfully nice hiker.The descent from Jug End wasn't too bad. A few steep slippery parts, but no falls. I crossed the road where I picked up the Aussies Sunday morning, and where Carol and Eddie had dropped them back off on Monday (thanks, guys!). It looked different from the trail, rather than my car. Perspective!A mile past that, I crossed route 41. Dad had deposited one of the coolers I packed full of trail magic there yesterday morning. I got there at 2:00. It was empty except for a few wet wipes, a roll of TP, and a few packs of hot cocoa. Usually, hikers coming upon an empty box are severely disappointed. The sight of a cooler brings hopes of magic, dreams of cold drinks or delicious snacks or FRESH FRUIT. When it's empty, though, those hopes sink faster than lead in water. Today, however, I was very pleased to find an empty cooler, which had "Trail Magic for Thru-hikers, <3 Red Panda + Friends + Family" written on it (I did that). The magic had been passed along successfully! Hooray! I wrote a note of apology to anyone who would be passing by in the next few hours. They had missed the magic Mom and I picked up the cooler a few hours later.Small story: When I asked dad to drop off the coolers, I had put only one jug of water in the trunk of my car for each of the three coolers. He had asked me what they were for, and I explained that I had bought them so that hikers could fill up their water bottles without having to waste the time and resources to treat stream or spring water. However, when I came upon the cooler today, there were FOUR empty plastic gallon jugs. My dad, sweetheart that he is, had stopped at the supermarket and purchased more water to leave out for the hikers. Isn't my family great?I had three miles to go until I reached Route 7, my appointed meeting place with my mom. In those three miles, I passed three southbound hikers. First was Chimney, who is thru-hiking southbound. He asked me my name, and then told me that he had seen Chris yesterday (apparently my name came up in conversation). Then we grew too agitated by the mosquitoes munching on us nonstop, so we ran away in an attempt to get away from the bloodsucking little jerks, yelling "NICE TO MEET YOU!" and "HAVE A GOOD HIKE!" behind our shoulders as we went in our separate directions.Next, I met a girl who I ran into a lot in the beginning of the hike, and have seen on and off (near the Blackburn Center, and at Harpers Ferry) but whose name I can't remember. At this point it's too embarrassing to ask her name.Lastly, I met Hyrobics (I think that's how she spells it), who was hiking with a group that Chris was a part of for a while before we started hiking together. I was super surprised, because I expected her to be way ahead of me. She had been putting in a lot of long days for a while. She told me that she had to get off the trail for a while, going to a hospital further north, because of a blood infection. Jeez. I'm glad she's okay and back on the trail. She was heading south to Salisbury to fill in the section she missed, then planned to head back north again. Let me just say, again, I am so glad that I haven't gotten seriously sick or suffered any serious injury on the trail. I don't know how I've been so lucky.When I hit Route 7, I sat under a tree and relaxed, writing thank you notes to picnic contributors while I waited. Klank walked by, heading to a nearby garden center to ask if they had a hose he could use to fill up his Camelbak. See? If there had still been water in those jugs, he could have filled it up there. Eventually, my mom-hero arrived, and I pitched Gertrude into the back seat. I stank all the way through the drive to pick up the cooler and then home. Then I showered. Then we went to the store to buy more thank-you notes and a card for JERALYN'S WEDDING. My friend is getting married. It is SO WEIRD. I am getting so old!Of course, I forgot to look at electrolyte tablets (pizza fairy bought me a ton of Powerade to drink this week, but next week I won't be able to carry it from home since I won't be home!) and New Skin. Next time! I need to make more lists.And then, most wonderful of all, my mom bought me a salad for dinner. A salad. With chicken (PROTEIN!). It was delicious and amazing and filling and I didn't really need to eat M&Ms for dessert but it's a full-blown addiction at this point. Tomorrow I will have to resist, as the big dress-day draws nearer.So today was pretty amazing. The trail was gorgeous. I got to come home, and take a shower, and eat dinner with mom and Dan. Tomorrow I will slackpack, and then Friday is errand morning and rehearsal dinner afternoon!I am thankful for my dinner, my wonderful amazing parents and pizza fairy, and the bed I get to sleep in tonight. Also for M&Ms, although my life would be much simpler without them, because my butt would be smaller and less chafe-y. I am thankful that Jeralyn's wedding is soon, giving me another excuse to take a break and spend time at home. My feet have been feeling so nice with all of these zeros and short days lately. I am thankful that I will be reunited with an awesome friend soon, and get to celebrate an amazing day with her! I'm also really grateful that she has put up with me as a terrible bridesmaid, as I have basically done nothing to help her since I've been on the trail (sorry, Jer, I love you!)