Date: 2010-05-30
From: Conn 4

To: Mt.Easter Rd. NOT Sharon Mtn Road 
Miles today: 6.8

I am going to slack pack today from Conn 4 trailhead up to the AT and out to Conn 7 about 12-13 miles. I am getting a late start with a 15lb pack..mainly water and food weight... I hope to see a few more thru-hikers today.Well, as usual, I had good intentions of getting an early start. However, the good life makes me soft and lazy.... Donna, got up and made Michaela and I some eggs and bacon....Yum, Yum... She was off to pick Travis up, and plans were for me to be gone to the trailhead by the time they came back....Well, I showered becuase I like those kind of things, and I had some more coffee and before you know it they where back already.....yes, they had bets going if I was still here or not...Funny stuff...I made it to the trail head with a backpacker standing on the shoulder of the road as I turned around to go back and park, he flagged me down... He was a trail runner and had a bag of trash that he collected along the tril, already ...about 10-15lbs worth which is still in my trunk.....After parking, a Jeep pulls up from NY with three guys from VA and two guys from NY heading North for section hiking....the last I saw of them.I just love being on the A.T.. It was hot and humid already. I was carrying two liters of water. I usually don't carry as much at a time. I like to hydrate at night and at breakfast time then I will pump my water when I get thirsty enough. I like to do this so I don't carry so much weight. My pack was light, but my body was heavy. I was 187lbs when I left. I weighed 184.4 when I got back that is a lot of water weight. Unfortunately after only 4.5 miles miles my feet felt bruised and sore all over. I didn't have any V-I. So, I felt like I was just pushing myself to get the miles in at this point. I checked my directions and there was a road in two miles. I called my support team for help. I tell you I need to loose at least 10-15 lbs....I just kept saying that to my feet. Each rock I would step on and roll my feet over was like...dull numbing pain. I wanted so badly to get the section I had planned done to save all the running. I wanted to do the 11.5 mile section. I thought this should be no problem for me...wrong. My feet are just not taking to all the rocks and tthe extra weight they are carrying around... However, I am taking a lot of pics and I am loving the great day I have to myself. I plan to meet Donna on a road called - Sharon Mtn Rd - in the A.t. Thru-Hikers 2010. My iPone is in the red and going quickly. I call Donna an hour later and she has found the road with the gps... I get to the road and it is a dirt road. I call Donna and let her know this and she is on the road but it is a dead end... Should I use my phone to pull up a map? I do and it tells me that I am on Mt.Easte Rd not Sharon Mtn road. I call her and tell her the good news, and I start walking towards West Cornwall Rd which I crossed two miles prior on the A.T.. I walked another 1-2 miles on dirt road and wait....she arrives 10 minutes later what timing....It is amazing how you can go from not knowing where you are at to being in the world daily luxuries....such as cars, food, water, showers, etc..... Oh, How I love the trail... Well, my feet were sore for a few days after the hike. I had new boots and some new $40 ortho's I bought. However, I took thte original inserts out of my boots and put some rubber inserts and then the new orthos on top. Thinking this would give my maximum comfort. However, I think this provided to much arch support and my feet had a hard time compensating. So, for three days after my hike my right arch was bruised like a stone bruise on the bottom.