Date: 2010-07-17
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Island Pond
Miles today: 11.6

It's hard to complain when I'm sitting on a rock overlooking this beautiful lake as dark settles in, my clean skin being caressed by the gentle, but constant breeze, without a thing in the world to do but journal and then crawl into my cozy hammock to read and then sleep peacefully. The water laps softly at the rocks, while the crickets sing the background music. My friend Boomer is close by in his tent, but right now, it's just me and the world. This is one of the most peaceful evenings I've had on the trail. That said...   Today was just brutal! When I set out this morning to hike an intended 14 miles, I thought I had a short, relaxed day ahead of me. Wrong! I've now done 11 and a half that felt like 20! I thinks it's been a combination of the terrain and the heat, but almost everyone else seems to feel the same way. The tough terrain has consisted of rocky climbs and descents all day. The easiest of them have been challenging on my muscles - lots of big steps. The toughest have been stretches of actual bouldering requiring the use of my hands, too. At one point on a steep climb, as I boosted myself up, I hit my pack unexpectedly on a rock jutting out above. It threw my balance backwards, and though I caught myself, I think I narrowly missed a bad fall. It amazes me sometimes how many near-misses like this there are, and yet I just continue on, relatively unscathed.   I think all of this would be much, much easier to handle without the heat. I've lived most of my summers in the oppressive Georgia heat, so I didn't expect to struggle with it so much. We've been experiencing temps in the 90s (or higher) for several weeks now, with just a couple of short breaks. It makes everything harder. I get tired much more easily and take breaks about twice as often. I guzzle through water and must carry more, as water sources are still spread far apart and are often well off the trail. I still need lots of fuel and nutrients, but have to force down most meals, because the heat zaps my appetite.   Basically, if every day were like this, there's no way I'd have made it this far! But... every day is NOT like this. Chances are, tomorrow will be better. All my struggles and frustrations aside, there were good things about today. I continually saw other thru-hikers. I rarely hike with other people, but today I spent at least 10 minutes or so hiking and talking with each of the following - Tom Thumb, Boomer, Eric the Red, and Scat Tracker and Unicroc. I also sucked down a delicious, refreshing fruit punch drink from trail magic left by Tom Thumb's family. I saw a leech for the first time while getting water from a pond outlet. It came up attached to Boomer's bottle. Does anyone else think they look like aliens?   Best of all, this evening has been wonderful! As I came around the edge of Island Pond, I saw Boomer, who had decided to camp there. It was about 2.5 miles before the shelter, but the decision was easy. We have a beautiful campsite overlooking this incredible lake. A cool breeze has been blowing since we got here. We both set up camp and then went for a swim, as many others were already dong. The water was the perfect temp for swimming and was insanely refreshing. I washed my salty clothes and then swam waaaay out to the rocky island in the center. It was a lot farther than it looked, and I later felt a bit crazy for expending even more energy, but now I'm glad I went. I climbed out and sat up on the rocks, and it was unbelievably peaceful.   Boomer and I chatted as we cooked and ate dinner. One of the toughest things about today I haven't mentioned yet - chafing! Today, I feel like I chafed everywhere it's possible to chafe. Of course, as an AT thru-hiker, I know that can't possibly be true. Anyway, the very worst of it is along my underwear line in my crotch. Sorry for the detail here, but this had a great impact on my experience today. What just this morning, was normal skin, was later angry, red, inflamed stuff. It hurt like hell with every step I took! It helped a little when I took off my underwear and went "commando" but each step was still quite painful. Body Glide didn't seem to help this one. I now, however, have a new love for Australia. While cooking dinner tonight, I winced with every step each time I got up. I decided maybe some cortisone cream would help. Boomer then offered me some cream that is sold OTC in Australia, but is prescription-only here. It's an anti-inflammatory cortisone cream. This stuff is amazing! Within minutes, that red, angry skin was just a calm pink, and once again flush with the skin around it. Best of all, it didn't hurt anymore!!! Boomer is officially my hero for the evening (smiley face).   Update, from 7:30 am the following morning - I've been up for over an hour, sitting in peace looking out at the lake. It is still and tranquil. New York may be hell to hike, but it is, indeed, beautiful.