Date: 2011-07-29
From: Seth Warner Shelter

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

Got up a little later than normal because I had intended to do a shorter than normal day. The terrain was also easier than it had been so it was easier to move faster too. The news on the trail was an afternoon/evening rain storm. My thinking was that I still could leave a little later than normal but still get to the next shelter in time to set up before the rain. I had breakfast while others lingered at the shelter with me. At this shelter, there were people hiking both north and south on the AT and the LT (long trail). The AT and the LT are the same trail for 105.9 miles. The LT breaks off and goes to the Vermont-Canadian border while the AT goes eastward into New Hampshire. The LT was completed before the AT. The idea of the LT was extended to a trail that followed the Appalachian mountains across multiple states. Given that, the two groups wouldn't see each other after we crossed the Maine Junction, where the AT and LT split into separate trails. But for the time we were together, we shared stories and enjoyed one another's company. After a while, I finished packing and headed down the trail. Not too far down the trail, it seemed that the terrain changed. I don't know of it was just the anticipation of being in Vermont or the terrain really was different. Either way, I was excited to be in another state. Like Connecticut, it was the first time being in this state and I did it walking rather than driving in a car. I spent the majority of the day enjoying the beauty of the forest. There wasn't any mountain top views so the only beauty was that which was in the forest. I spent most of the hike just thinking through some personal issues. Most of these I have worked through but there are some tough ones that needed more thought. I stopped for the usual hungry hiker breaks with lunch done at the first shelter along the way. I studied the guide book once more and reminded myself that there was a steep downhill to the road crossing for Bennington followed by a steep uphill. Other than that, getting to the shelter wasn't going to be that hard. As I approached the downhill, it began to drizzle. I wasn't worried because the harder rain was supposed to come later on. When it has been dry for a while, the trees absorb a lot of the drizzle before it hits the ground. This was important because the steep downhill was a rock scramble. Water on rocks makes them very slippery which can be a disaster in a downhill rock scramble. I just slowed the pace down to allow time to be deliberate in how I planted my foot on each step. All was going well until the rocks began to get wet. I planted my left foot on what I thought was a good spot on a rock. When I shifted my weight to that foot, it got kick forward then slipped off of the rock completely. Down I went on my butt. My momentum was enough to cause me to start sliding down the rocky steps. The scary thing that happened was my right leg got folded under as I slid down the rocks. I knew that my knee could be slammed into a rock face causing an hike ending injury. I managed to roll toward my left side to get my right knee up off the rocks to prevent that from happening. I came to a stop on the side of the hill, on my belly with my knee in pain. I had bent it more than it was capable of being bent. I was still thankful that it wasn't injured worst. I got up, shook it out a little and walked around on it. That help loosen it up a little. The pain seemed to subside quickly. I really believed I was spared a knee injury. I collected my poles and finished the descent. What stunk was that I was almost done with rocks when I crashed. As I walked, the knee ached. I thought just moving around would take care of it so I crossd the road and started to climb the next hill. The ache began to become more intense the more I climbed. I decided it would be better to be in town if the knee got worst than in a shelter on the trail. So I headed back down the hill, changed into my town clothes (they don't stink as much) and hitched into town. The motel I was taken too had just filled up so I had to walk up a hill to another hotel. I got checked in and collapsed in the room. The knee was definitely in need of care. I got ice in a bag and iced it down. I also took some ibuprofen. Rather than spend money on dinner at a nearby restaurant, I ate one of my trail dinners on the porch of the motel. At that point, the rain was coming down pretty hard. In a way, I was happy that I was in town. I would have had my tent up in time but it's still allowed me to avoid getting the tent wet. After dinner, I decided to head down to the restaurant to have a beer and a snack. The calories would help and the walk wasn't that long. After that, I headed back to my room and went to sleep.