Date: 2003-07-04
From: Seth Warner Shelter (2180') 

To: Hell Hollow Brook (2480') 
Miles today: 14.7

"Just say NO!...to drugs"   Aloha! It's the wee hours of the evening, something like 7:30p, and I'm comfortably tucked into my tent listening to the Hell Hollow Brook gurgle by, the wind blow the tree leaves 60' up and trying desperately to keep my eyes open long enough to chat with you. The reason for the eyelid fighting? Certainly not the distance walked though it is actually respectable. Nor is it even the hotter and more humid weather experienced today. Nope, this fight with the eyelids is due totally to drugs. Don't get so excited; it's cold medication drugs, that's all. The stupid head and chest cold has decided to hit me one last time.   I awoke this morning realizing quickly that the head and chest stuff was still with me. Thinking I'd fix that easily enough, I popped two Tylenol Cold pills as I had earlier in the week. Don't know what was in these different from the last but they sure did a number on me. I literally walked the first four miles with my eyes almost closed. Unbelievable. Any time I stopped to take a break I was asleep within minutes. It really didn't matter what position I was in either. Just could not keep my eyes open. That became quite obvious after falling twice. Neither serious. One I just sat down and one looked like I was doing the limbo with one hand on the ground. Nothing hurt, just eye opening. At lunch I finally gave it up and enjoyed a tuna salad from Harmon Hill (2325') overlooking Bennington, VT and then took a power nap. Upon awakening the drugs seem to have worked their way out of my system. Yeah!   Strangely I felt much better, head and eyes, after the nap. It was still miserably hot and humid for hiking UP mountains but I was breathing easier if nothing else. Breathing easier and dripping gallons of sweat. That I can live with.   In route to my original destination of a shelter a couple of miles back I met Ursula. Ursula is a 31-year-old doctor hiking the Long Trail. Her first day on the trail was yesterday. We hiked off and on together throughout the afternoon and are now camped at the same illegal spot. Nice gal.   Along the way we were discussing trail angel acts and the fact that we both would love to have a coke after arriving at the bottom of our steepest descent for the day. We hadn't ended that conversation by 5 minutes when we happened upon two cases of coke sitting trailside. Trail Angels! One can had been taped asking that it be left for "Patch" but the rest were up for grabs. Awesome! It wasn't overly cold but it was wet and cool. Perfect for immediate drinking. Now tell me, how cool is that!   It really was perfectly placed because immediately following the cokes was a road and then the steepest ascent for the day. If I had gone the whole way it would have been rising terrain for pretty much 10 miles. I didn't go that far though. Instead I decided to make it to the shelter marking 13 miles for the day and see how I felt. Again, oddly, after cooling off I felt the best I had felt all day. I was ready for more... food. Somewhere along the line I had decided that I would do something I had never done before - cook dinner and then hike some more. Pretty cool.   Ursula joined me for dinner and the after dinner hike. We didn't go all that far but we did cut into the major UP looming tomorrow. We are now camped illegally near a babbling brook and quite content with our decision to do so.   I could have gone on and hoped for a campsite at one of the next two vistas ahead but chose instead to stay here where the water is located. On top, though there are probably many little campsites available, it's still a hit or miss when you get there. We chose the known... with water! By the faraway sounds of fireworks that may or may not have been a good decision. Guess we'll never know. That's really about all there is to tell you. Since arriving I've done my chores and taken another Tylenol Cold pill. That's the reason for the eyelid fighting now. I'm hoping that since it did such a good job of putting me to sleep while I was walking that it should help me sleep like a baby tonight and awake to a cleared head for the first time in a week. My fingers are crossed. This head thing is going to drive me nuts!... or nuttier.   Now though, before the head hits this little keyboard sitting in my lap, I'm going to say good night early. It's not even completely dark yet but my eyes say otherwise. So you take care, sleep well and enjoy the fireworks. I think I'm going to see stars myself.   Happy 4th of July. Do something patriotic. And remember, just say NO to drugs!BSandTs: tons of sweat, scratched a mosquito bite until it bled (does that count?)AandPs: arches... but better. Put my old inserts back in and changed the tying. Not perfect but better. Also head and chest colds... they suck.MandGs: feet, head, chest, and a 46 year old body.... waah!Critter count: 1x Red Eft, 3x tiny toads, 1x black and yellow garden snake, 6x chipmunks, and 2x thru-hikers saw two moose. (Can that count for me too?)