July 21 Zero Day Two
My face looks normal again. I realized that I didn’t explain in my previous entry why I had skipped ahead to Hanover. I got stung or bitten on the forehead by something nasty and my eyes swelled almost shut. I got a ride to the hospital in Hanover from some trail runners, and then a botanist from Dartmouth. The doc told me to hang around for a couple of days just to make sure it didn’t get worse. That was Wednesday. Fortunately, when my friend Skyman got into town on Thursday the swelling had gone down significantly. And now it’s gone. Thankfully. So today Skyman and I went from our motel two miles south of town to the co-op to get food for lunch and dinner. Salad, veggies, some local Brie, salami and some fruit sounded good. We spent the day laying around eating and talking. I washed some of my hiker clothes in the sink and put them out in the sun to dry.
July 22 Mile 456.8 Thistle Hill shelter
Sigh.
I have a lot to think about.
July 23 Mile 478.3 Stony Brook shelter
A big day today. According to my Fitbit I climbed 567 floors today which is a record. Lots and lots of ups and downs. I felt good until about 2:30 (9 hours after I started hiking) and then I felt tired. But I met my goal, and tomorrow I hike 8 miles to highway 4 which goes into Rutland. I have a box of food waiting for me at the PO that I sent ahead from Hanover. And my new shoes are not working out, so my mom sent me another pair of the old shoes, only new! Confusing! I’ll stay the night in Rutland at the Yellow Dei, which is a donation based hostel. They have free showers and laundry so that will be nice.
Exhausted and ready to sleep. Soon!
July 24 Mile 484 Rutland
I woke up to some sprinkles so I packed up my stuff quickly before it really started to come down, which wasn’t long. I hiked uphill in the rain for some time, listening to season 2 of Serial. I’ve really gotten into podcasts lately and they help during the times when I just need to hike to make miles.
I did not sleep well last night and I decided that I had had enough of the thin foam mat I’ve been sleeping on. I walked into Killington and went straight to the gear shop and bought an inflatable mat. I am so happy.
So here I am at the Yellow Deli Hiker Hostel, showered, waiting to do laundry. It’s a good place to be in cold, rainy weather. It feels like April. All the locals say the weather is not usual for this time of the year.
So I’ll download some more podcasts, eat and rest.
A Tent in the Whirl of the Universe 