Date: 2006-07-04
From: Seth Warner shelter

To: Bennington, VT
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: 0

Independence Day, July 4, Freedom Day. Aren¢t we lucky to be able to wake up and do the things we want to do, and go places we want to go, and say what is on your mind.        Well, I¢m up by 5am working on my feet. The swelling is down and the pain is at a minimum. Two Step was up by six and we were on the trail before 7. It¢s very muggy today, but it is summer, you know. The sweat is already pouring down my face, and the smell from my shirt really reeks. You know, the smell that goes up your nose and burns your eyes, as bad as ammonia. My shirt says it all. Same Shirt, Different Day.        The terrain wasn¢t bad, a lot of short ups and downs, and we got rained on for a short time.        When we got to the Congdon shelter, the Jukebox Girls were there for a break and they treated us to a song before we left . They were pretty happy about getting to Bennington because there¢s a party for the hikers.        The last mile of the descent to Bennington was very rocky. You really had to be careful with every step. Even though I was careful, I managed to step on a rock that had a little sand, and down I went. Two Step was ahead of me and yelled back to see if I was okay. I yelled back I was fine, but I did come away with a sore butt. Then when I thought the descent was going well and I was only a few hundred feet from the bottom, the unexpected happened. As I was coming down a steep rock step I misjudged the distance because I am blind in my right eye which effects my depth perception. With that being said, I came down real hard, first I heard a snap, and then the pain shot from my right foot to my head. All I could think of is, this can¢t be happening. I was still able to walk okay and made it to the road by 1o¢clock. I thought about going to a doctor or emergency room, but there really isn¢t much you can do for a broken toe. Lots of vitamin I.        I really thought we could hitch a ride with no problem, but we ended up walking the three miles, up hill, in the hot sun, all the way to the Greenwood Lodge & Campground. I should have taken Two Step¢s offer for him to walk to the campground to get the RV and drive back to get me. That would have been the smarter thing to do, but I wasn¢t thinking straight, and I¢m a bit stubborn. The Jukebox Girls got a ride in about 5minutes or less. Sometimes it pays to be a girl.         Once we got to the RV we sat and had a good laugh because he stayed about a couple hundred yards in front of me for the whole three miles. He must have seen the steam bellowing from my head. Ha!!!!!!         Navi wasn¢t at the RV because she wasn¢t back from Chicago yet, it would be a little later.        We got the keys to the RV and drove to a country store that was just across the street from the sign to the campground. We got food, cold drink, then sat on the front porch and relaxed. I was so hot, soar, and tired, all I could think of was getting off my feet. Then we went back to the campground and set up at our site. Once that was accomplished, I took my boots off and man were my feet swollen, and the toe I think is broken is very red right now, and very soar to the touch. Hopefully, one zero day will be enough to recover.        When Navi got back later, we went to town to eat and talked about the last few days events. Then it was time to just chill.