Date: 2003-09-25
From: Long Pond Stream

To: Bodfish Farm Rd.
Miles today: 0.1

I woke up this morning in a world of pain! During yesterdays marathon hikeI blew out my right knee on one of the descents, and messed up my left hip flexor, the muscle that you use to lift your leg. I took a couple of Tylenol PM's, but when I woke up, I really hurt. I went down to breakfast, and seriously considered taking a zero day. We could not begin to afford it, given our schedule, but we talked it over. In the long run, we decided to hike out.   After saying our goodbyes, we jumped in the truck with Keith Jr. and went up the mountain. Like yesterday, we started with a mile and a half walk up an old logging road. We are both carrying 7-8 days worth of food, and our packs are HEAVY! Mine also felt totally unstable and, combined with my knee and hip, workedto make me utterly miserable. I was on the verge of tears and wanted to be anywhere in the entire world but here!   We got to the AT and walked exactly .1 of a mile when we came to a rushing creek. For some reason, Maine does not believe in bridges so we have to ford everything. This one was about 25 feet across, mid-thigh deep and fast. Not fast enough to send me running back to Shaws, but almost! Most hikers take a long time looking for a possible way to rock hop across fords like this, but there was no way I was going to be able to do that! Even if I had found enough well-placed rocks to get me across, I was too unbalanced to try it. With my over-burdened pack, and my phobia of white water, I knew it was smarter to just get in. So, with my sticks planted firmly, in I went.   It took me ages to cross....the rocks on the bottom were incredibly slick, and I spent much of my time hanging on to boulders afraid to let go! By the time I got all the way across, I was shaken, tired, in pain, and on the verge of tears. We climbed up onto a ridge overlooking the stream, walked about !fifty feet, and then climbed right back down again. I know, it makes no sense, but sometimes that is what the AT does! Coming back down to the water Bumpkin looked down and saw a fabulous campsite! A fire ring with a big pile of wood next to it, spacious flat tent sites, and a rushing stream which we had already crossed! She has been talking about taking a zero day in the woods every since we started this trip....it was the perfect setting...can you see where this is going?! Yep....we hiked .1 of a mile and stopped for the day! Yep...we are poor excuses for thru hikers! On the trail, this is called a "nero" day....almost zero mileage, but not quite! But we both felt really good about the decision, so there we stayed.   By 11:30, we had our tents set up and were cooking a hot lunch, something we would never do while hiking! Looking down into the water, I saw an awesome swimming hole so I decided to take a dip that was skinny! I got down to the water, peeled off my hiking clohes, and stuck my foot in. YEOW!!! That was the coldest water in the world! There was no way I was getting in there, so I threw my clothes back on and hopped back up to the campsite. Funny..I had just forded that stream and I do not remember it being that cold! Isn't it weird what fear can do to your perception? Ah well, it is for the best I suppose. I had no sooner thrown my clothes back on when three young men came hiking up! Now that's what I call timing!    By 12:30 I was asleep on my pad under the trees. I slept til 3:00, went to get my sleeping bag, and went back to sleep with the wind gently blowing and the pine needles decorating my sleeping bag. When I finally woke up, I told Bumpkin that I thought that yesterdays slack pack and night hike had taken a lot more out of me than I realized. I was starting to feel human again, and the thought of hiking tomorrow didn't fill me with dread like it had this morning.   As evening started to set, Bumpkin made a wonderful fire and we sat around it drying our socks. It wasn't long before Moon Shadow and Morph came hiking by, headed for the shelter. I had met Moon Shadow way back at Trail Days, and Bumpkin and Morph had hiked together months ago, so we had a nice little reunion. It didn't take long to convince them that there was room for two more tents, so they joined us.    We had a great time catching up around the fire, and bedtime came too soon for all of us. Lying in my tent, the sound of rushing water fills my ears and the smell of spruce and campfire fill the air. I am warm and cozy, and...I think...ready to hike again tomorrow. Love, Anna aka Mud Buttwww.trailjournals.com