Date: 2022-07-19
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter Mile 1753.6

To: Lyme-Dorchester Rd Stealth Site Mile 1771.6
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

We had two big climbs for the day, and with the predicted higher temperatures and humidity we decided to get out at 6:30 to try to beat the heat a little bit. We weren¢t successful, but did manage to get out by 645, witch is earlier than usual. In the morning we saw both Blue and Timex on the trail. The rocks are still slippery and Blue slipped and fell, breaking the tip off the trekking pole. I also had a couple little slips but didn¢t actually fall.Comments in the FarOut app, dedicated there were some yellow jacket nests at the boardwalk over a marsh in the morning. However we didn¢t see any signs of a nest or yellow jackets at all. We did however, proceed cautiously just in case. It looked like there was very little water for the second half of the day, so we had partially filled up the our CNOC bladders at the last reliable water source prior to climbing Moose Mountain. A group of five younger hikers that was at the shelter two nights ago rolled in, as well as Talus, Waffle, Blue and Timex. Most of them just filled their water bottles, but didn¢t carry extra water. The first climb was over Moose Mountain South and North with a relatively flat ridge walk in between. At the top of Moose Mountain South we were rewarded with some views to the mountains we just came from. Coming down from the top of Moose Mountain, we saw a whole lot of hovering bees coming out of the ground. I¢m not sure what kind of bees they were but we ended up detouring into the woods to avoid them. For the next quarter-mile we found the random hovering bee over the trail, but if you got close to them they would dart off to the side but then return when you passed. Fortunately no one got stung.I had forgotten to look for a while where my 900 mile mark occurred, and when I happened to look at the app coming down from Moose Mountain I found I had already missed the 900 mile mark. Since we had heard there probably was going to be trail magic at the bottom, we decided to push on and do the marker there. Of course, I forgot all about it and actually didn¢t remember it again at all today. I do need to do it in the morning. At the bottom of Moose Mountain we found some trail magic being run by the parents of a southbound hiker named Field Trip. Had a hotdog, chips, fig newtons, two sodas, and some clementines while we were there. Also able to top off the water bottles from water jugs they had. It was definitely a welcome respite from the warming day.We left the trail magic feeling nice and cool, but within minutes we were sweating again as we went through an open marshland and started a long steep climb. This is one of the steepest claims we¢ve done so far, and I calculated the average grade to be 15% (1200 feet in under 2 miles). I¢m not sure this mountain has a name, but coming down there are some nice overlooks at Holts Ledges with some really nice views down into the valley.Coming down from Holts ledges I was having some trouble with the belt on the pack irritating me. At the lunch spot, I had tied up one of the side of the buckles so I could make the hip felt shorter. Then I had wrapped my ankle brace around the waist belt and I think that was irritating my hip. I was able to get the waist strap tight enough to have the pack actually stay on my hips, which it has not been happening for the last couple of days. My guess is I¢m still losing a little weight despite trying to eat as much as possible. Orchid and I switched packs as her pack has a smaller waist belt than mine. We ended up only switching personal items like our sweat rags, which meant that I was trying to use her fabric water bottle holder instead of my stiff one. At one point while trying to get the water bottle into the holder, I ran right into the blunt end of a log. It caught me straight on the quad, and stopped me dead in my tracks. It was immediately clear that I¢m going to have a pretty good size bruise there, and hopefully not too much trouble walking tomorrow. I completely blame Orchid¢s pack for this accident!At the bottom of the last descent there was a brook to get water and stick our feet in the water to cool off. This was a really nice cold brook and it felt wonderful on this hot day. I poured some cold filtered water over the bruise, as a makeshift ice pack as I thought it wasn¢t good to get fully in the water as the leg was still bleeding. However, I also managed to step on a loose rock, slip off, and bruise the top of my left foot. We were originally planning to stay at Trapper John Shelter, halfway down the descent, but it wasn¢t clear the water was still flowing. We ended up deciding to go to the bottom of the mountain and camp at some established sites near a parking area and brook. We had a little road noise, but it was a gravel road and didn¢t have a lot of traffic. The brook was pretty nice and we had dinner by the brook. I had some difficulty hanging the bear bag. The first branch I used broke off. By the time I found another tree it was already getting dark. We¢re camped here with Talus, Waffle and another northbound Hiker that rolled in about 9 o¢clock.With the humidity, nothing dries overnight which means everything you were wearing last night is still wet with sweat in the morning. It¢s such a lovely feeling to put it back on. Steps 30500Weather Forecast: 89/65 chance showers or Tstorms