Date: 2022-08-01
From: Garfield Ridge Campsite Mile 1831.4

To: Ethan Pond Shelter Mile 1846
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: moderate rain

I tried some changes to breakfast, adding both hemp seeds and olive oil to my poutine oatmeal. Unfortunately this makes the pot greasy and the oatmeal doesn¢t really absorb the oil. In addition, my system didn¢t really tolerate this well so I¢m not sure I will continue with the olive oil at breakfast. Felt very discombobulated this morning and got out of camp about 30 minutes after Pilgrim and Orchid. At one point I lost my toothbrush bag for about 10 minutes because I put it someplace stupid.Leaving camp we had a steep descent that was partially in a stream and waterfall. The water source for the camp goes down the middle of the trail for quite a while in a steep section which makes it slippery and tricky to get down. Fortunately I did not have too many issues with slipping, but definitely had to watch the footing and which rocks you stepped on. 2.1 miles into the day I hit the 1000 mile mark and I stopped to create a marker and take pictures. Hard to believe that it¢s been 1000 miles since I started in Shenandoah but it¢s been an incredible journey so far. I am absolutely glad I took the leap of faith and that I¢m on this journey. It¢s been one heck of an experience. Not long after, I had to make a dash into the woods as breakfast came out with a whoosh. Fortunately, although the trail is rocky there were places to go off trail which is not always the case. It¢s not the going problem that makes pooping in the woods challenging, but the finding of a spot that is private and where you can dig a hole.I stopped at the Galehead Hut for a desserty item and to top of the water bottles. I had an excellent blueberry cake. I spotted an inflatable pool behind the hut for the crew. It¢s not clear if they get to heat the water or if they just use the sun to warm it up.Coming out of Galehead Hut there¢s 1000 foot climb to the top of South Twin Mountain. I caught Pilgrim about 3/4 of the way up the mountain and we hiked together for the remaining portion. Sasquatch and timber passed us on the climb and I found out Timber got his trail name from stepping on a rattlesnake. There were quite a few hikers at the top, including Polaris, and we spent a while just relaxing and taking in the views before it got too hot in the sun. Coming down from South Twin Mountain we started the Zealand traverse and headed over towards Mount Guyot. I end up climbing to the peak but it turns out it¢s not a 4K mountain, even though it¢s over 4000 feet. After that we headed up and over the ridge and started down towards the Zealand Hut. On the way I missed the turn off for the summit of Zealand mountain, but headed out to the Zealand cliffs which had excellent views out into the Pemigewasset Wilderness. You could actually see the trail across the way where it was cut on the side of the mountain. It probably followed an old logging railroad path as about a century ago all this land had been clear cut before becoming a national forest. It¢s a relatively long descent down to the Zealand hut by Zeeland Falls where I stopped in the hut for a bowl of soup and my second pastry item of the day. In addition, there was some trail magic that had been carried up about 2 miles from the trail head and I got a doughnut as well. I ended up being there for almost 1 1/2 hours as it took me a while to finish eating everything. Afterwards it was a small descent until we started the flat section of trail to get to the shelter tonight. Much of that 5 miles was flat trail with no rocks and it was nice to be able to make good time for a change.We¢re staying at the Ethan Pond shelter which is just uphill from the actual pond. Some hikers had spotted a moose earlier in the day, but we were not so lucky. For dinner I borrowed Pilgrim¢s stove and had a hot meal which was a little bit easier to eat then the cold soaked version. However, wasn¢t that hungry so I¢ll be carrying out some Ramen. Got to bed early as we¢re getting up earlier than usual to make it down to the route 302 parking lot for a pick up in the morning.Steps 31600Weather Forecast: 85/61 partly sunny