[at-l] day three

[cvano at tmail.com]

Nice log and recap.  Even though things didn't go as planned, sounds 
like there was some fun in there somewhere.  Thanks for posting it.

I'm planning to get up in the cold, perchance some snow this weekend 
with a meetup.com group.  Got about 763 lbs of new winter/alpine gear to 
test.  Only about 5 miles in and 2000' up, then camp and come out 
Sunday.  Still, its better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!  
C

On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 9:23 am, Felix wrote:
> So, I slept on. Had a nice evening/night, in fact. That all would 
> change. I
> woke up to a pleasantly chilly morning. Seemingly clear. I'd say the 
> temps were
> in the mid 20s based on the amount of ice in my water bottle. some, but 
> not a
> lot. There was a fresh dusting of snow and the ground looked pleasantly
> crunchy. I love crunchy ground. Crunch means, usually, not muddy.
>
> I got up to get my food bags and everything felt fine. When I reached 
> out to
> retrieve the bags, however, something very painful happened. I assume I
> slept 'funny' (am sure of it, in fact) and when I reached out, 
> something very
> bad happened in my neck and shoulder. As the weight of the food bags 
> was
> transferred from the 'hanger' to my arm, it felt like someone had stuck 
> a knife
> in my back. "That ain't good" was my thought. I was right.  I got back 
> over to
> my sleeping bag and laid down. This may have been a mistake as getting 
> up was
> nearly impossible. Though, I really needed to lay down.
>
> So, I cussed a little bit and tried to make the pain stop. In certain
> positions, it didn't hurt at all. Other positions caused sharp, 
> shooting pains
> down the left side of my body. I couldn't even take my hat off. (it 
> really
> isn't a hat. It's a balaclava. Not to be confused with baclava.) So, I 
> made
> breakfast and thought out all of my options.  After I had breakfast 
> done and
> most of my stuff packed up, I went to the privy (which is close to the
> shelter). I realized when I couldn't get out of the privy that I had a 
> semi-
> serious situation at hand. Something about the way I had to hold the 
> door open
> and step down made the left side of my body sorta stop working.  So, I 
> had to
> prop the door open and climb down backwards.
>
> Hmmm..."This ain't good" I thought again. I decided to finish packing 
> and hike
> out to the trail (.17 miles) and see how I felt. Once there, it was 
> about a
> half mile back to a road crossing where I could hitch back into Dalton. 
> Or, I
> could go left, the direction I SHOULD have hiked, and see how I did. 
> The actual
> hiking part was not bad. I had two huge 'holes' in the backs of me feet 
> that
> hurt. But, once they were warmed up, they weren't much of a problem. I 
> got to
> the AT and turned left.
>
> My plan was to hike to either Blotz Rd or Pittsfield Rd. If my neck was 
> fine by
> then, I'd keep hiking as planned. If not, thumb out.
>
> I got to Blotz Rd and it was snowing and my neck was still killing me. 
> the
> hiking itself was fine. But, if I slipped (as one is prone to do when 
> crossing
> wet, frozen rocks, roots, bridges and the like), the jarring to the 
> body that
> resulted was excruciating.  There wasn't much traffic and I wasn't even 
> sure
> which way I was supposed to hitch hike. It appeared on the map that 
> Pittsfield
> Rd. was a little more heavily traveled than Blotz Rd. So, I hiked on. 
> It was a
> little more than 3 miles from Blotz to Pittsfield and I made really 
> good time.
> This made it even more frustrating to have to stop hiking. I hike 7-ish 
> miles
> in less than 3 hours. That's not too bad.
>
> But, I knew that even if I made it to the planned spot for the night, 
> Upper
> Goose Pond, that getting set up and the the nightly chores would be a 
> real pain
> in the neck. (Hey! Look! I made a pun!!!) So, at Pittsfield Rd., I 
> stuck a
> thumb out. Third car by stopped and I told the guy I wasn't sure which 
> way I
> should be hitching. I told him that I needed to get to Route 20. "Oh, 
> F***" he
> said. He proceeded to tell me my best plan, which was to go to Route 8 
> and then
> south to Route 20. So, I got in and he turned around and took me back 
> the way
> he'd come from. Had a nice, expletive-filled conversation with him. He 
> seemed
> to be an 'old hippy'. Nice guy. He dropped me off on Route 8 just south 
> (I
> think) of Washington, MA.  It was in the middle of nowhere!
>
> 6 or 8 minutes later a young kid came by in a pick up truck. "Where you 
> going?"
> he asked. "Route 20" I replied. "Wow! That's a long way." I was 
> surprised to
> hear him say. "How far?" I asked. "About 6 miles." I guess he and I 
> have
> different opinions of 'long way'. "Well, I'm not going that far. But, 
> I'll get
> you closer." He ended up taking me all the way to Route 20. Nice kid.
>
> After standing on a seemingly not-heavily-traveled section of Route 20 
> for
> about 25 minutes, a guy with a Vermont license on an old, beat up 
> Cavalier
> station wagon stopped. I got in and talked my way about 25 miles past 
> where he
> was going. Another nice guy. He even paid two tolls on the Turnpike and
> wouldn't take any money. He brought me to within 5 miles of Pilot's 
> house. She
> was just leaving for a speaking engagement and was able to pick me up 
> and bring
> me back to her place. (The man's name who gave me such a sweet ride was 
> Mike
> Walls, of Becket, MA. so, if you ever see him on the road with a flat 
> tire,
> help him change it for me)
>
> Once back here, I took a hot shower and went to bed. Before I knew it, 
> I had a
> horrible headache, a fever, the shakes, the sweats and an upset 
> stomach. I'm
> not sure what that was all about, but it made me really, really glad 
> that I
> bailed when I did.
>
> Epilogue: Steak is best when eaten.
>
> --
> Felix J. McGillicuddy
> ME-->GA '98
> "Your Move"
> http://Felixhikes.tripod.com
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> at-l at backcountry.net
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Beyond this point
There be dragons...

Chris ~ S/V Drifter
Anacortes, WA. ~~~_/) ~~~