Date: 2016-05-20
From: High on the ridge. Mike 681.9 

To: Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up this morning and I felt like I had been run over by a bus. Not only were my ribs sore, but my feet and legs also hurt. I over did it the day before doing 26 plus miles. I also did not have enough water when I stopped to camp. I was up until after 11:30pm journaling. Sometimes that is just the way it goes out here. I had big rewards for doing a big day, but this morning I paid for it. I started hiking going downhill for a change. It was slow going as my feet and legs took a while to loosen up. I also seemed to lack my normal energy. It seemed to take forever to get to the first shelter. Before I got there I ran into a spring and filtered and drank a bunch of water. It was the best water and sure enough my energy level and mood improved immediately. The sun was out in the morning and it was pleasant. The forecast called for rain later in the day and hard rain overnight. I was thinking about doing another really big day to try to get to Daleville a day early, but I could knew after my slow morning pace that this was not going to happen. I took my maps out and noticed a hostel which would make for a 20 mile hike. I decided to go for that. The thought of being dry was a motivating factor. The terrain was moderate through mid day. I stopped and had lunch at a river crossing with two section hikers going southbound. I was about to go up a mountain which has the distinction of having a area called the Dragon's Tooth. After lunch I started up and the accent up was not bad. However once up top that all changed. The next four miles or so were the rockiest and hardest hiking I have done so far. It was endless ups and downs. They were not huge ups and downs, but with the rocky conditions it was difficult. The weather also was becoming increasing overcast and the fog was starting to roll in. The wind picked up and it was wet, raw, and cool. This made the rocks slick which added to the difficulty. It is too bad because you could tell if it was nice out the views and landscape would have been very nice. The hardest part of the hike was the decent. It was very vertical and rocky. It was very slow going because one slip and I would be falling a long way down. It was treacherous. I made it to the bottom and thought I was through the rocks, but I was wrong again. The rocks continued on and off all the way to the road. One nice thing that happened though was all the Rhodo's were out in full bloom for the last few miles. They seemed to pick my spirits back up. I finally got to the road which led to the Four Pines Hostel just before 6:00pm. It was raining by this point. When I got to the hostel I put my pack in the hostel and they took us to the Homeplace Restaurant. I had all you can eat fried chicken with potato and green beans with rolls. It was really good. When back at the hostel I claimed a very dirty couch to sleep on. There are twenty or more people here tonight. Rucker was even here for a bit to check the place out before moving on. People are set up to sleep everywhere. Everyone is talking and having a good time. It should be an interesting night. I spent some time talking to Verge who is from Winchendon. She, like me spends a lot of time hiking Mount Monadnock. Small world. Her mom is a nurse who worked at Heywood Hospital and she is on the trail also, but she is ahead a few hundred miles. So today was not the best day, but it was not worst either. I am dry tonight. I am sleeping in a three bay garage with twenty other hikers. I am living the good life. Everyone here is positive and happy. Life is good.