Day 3 - "Up and Down and Up and Down"
Updated: Jun 18, 2022
Okay, so maybe 16 miles doesn’t seem like much to you, but you are probably used to driving to a restaurant some evenings, or maybe driving back and forth to work every day. Nice roads, pavement and, oh yeah, you have a car.
Try walking 16 miles in Vermont forest, up and down Vermont Hills. Up and down and up and down and up and down over and over and over again, all the while suffering from a terrible ass chafe… and this activity is expected to be carried on day after day after day!
Today I was lagging behind both Aeriel and Dad, going pretty slow. I am still in quite a bit of pain and found it to be increasingly more intolerable as the day went on. I have begun hypothesizing about potential treatments for the chafing. The consensus is baby powder – I will be sure to pick some up at my first town stop.
I almost fell into a brook today, barely catching myself at the last moment, so that was wonderful...
Even with all of that though, we made 16 miles to the Happy Hills Shelter. It’s an interesting place made of stone instead of logs. It has one smaller opening in the front of the structure instead of the normal large opening on the side like most of the other shelters we have seen. The one downside? The mosquitoes are terrible!!! So many of the little shits!! They buzz buzz buzz around non-stop, and they attack any bit of skin you leave exposed. They seem to be attracted to the dark dampness insides of the shelter… too bad!
There is a glorious privy here too, the nicest one I have seen yet! “Privy” is just another term for an outhouse and most we have come across are small, cramped, smelly, and infested with flies. This one, by contrast, is roomy, well-engineered, and new. Dad says that if it starts to rain he may decide to sleep there. It is that nice!
Dinner tonight is mac and cheese, I’m excited for that! I’m starting to get super hungry and can’t seem to eat enough! I estimate that I am burning between 4,000 and 6,000 calories a day out here, and I seriously doubt I am eating that much. The hiker hunger is real.
Like what you are reading? Purchase the full print in softcover or hardcover from Amazon by clicking: HERE
Don't forget to leave a review!!
