I’ve now had 2 months to reflect on my trek and to try and let my body recover so I thought I’d also share some of my post-run thoughts, feelings and experiences.
My goal has always been to inspire people to generously use their specific God-given gifts to help others in need. One doesn’t need to have loads of money to donate, or to dedicate one’s life to operating a mission in a 3rd world country. Instead, I hope I inspire my Boy Scouts to get out there and enjoy the wilderness instead of playing video games. I hope I inspire my Type A friends and acquaintances to recognize that Type A energy can be directed toward other things besides work. I hope I inspire others to find any little way to get into action on a social topic that may seem insignificant, but truly is significant to those living it. And most importantly I hope I inspire those people whose names are on the back of my shirt fighting for their existence to never give up because we are supporting them. We should all be continually searching for ways to make a difference!
Though I’m a very private man with respect to my relationship with God, I can also say I found new ways to become closer to Him through my experiences. As Henry David Thorough once said (I’m paraphrasing since I cannot find the exact quote), if you want to see God, do not go to the cathedral, instead go to the mountain top and you will view Him as He is truly meant to be seen.
Last year, a boy I never met but I took pictures for on my runs and sent messages of encouragement to, took a turn for the worse shortly after my Pike’s Peak Ascent ended. Mikey Czech died a month later and his death affected me profoundly. Sadly, again this year a young man whom I have never met but works at my company was given some horrible news on 9/27 that his cancer had returned and there were no options for him. Over the last 6-months as he battled leukemia and miraculously found a 1 in a million bone marrow donor, I have never seen my company mobilize for any other cause like it did to help Nick find a that donor. When given the bad news, he thanked his doctor for giving him a chance… 6 days later Nick lost his battle but was courageous to the end. I am deeply saddened by Nick Glasgow’s death, once again it is sobering news that only drives me harder to raise awareness to defeat this horrible disease. My heart goes out to his mom Carole and the rest of Nick’s family who supported him so much throughout his battle. Cancer, and the devastation that it brings to families sucks…
Firsts for me on this trek:
• Never logged more than 100 miles running in a week before - 152.9 miles
• Never ran more than 20 miles twice in a week before – did it 5 days in a row
• Never crossed a whole state on foot before – ran MA from its northern to its southern border
• Never pushed myself so close to the edge of physical and mental failure
• Never ran more than a few steps wearing a backpack
• Never missed my family so much!
I’m not sure what next year will bring for me and fundraising. Hopefully as the economy turns around I can start to build up my R4OPL organization but for now I have put it on the back burner and am focusing on little things I can do locally to help others. I have to work to support my family and to send my children to college so that takes up a large chunk of my time, but I will continue to find ways to make a difference. My next really big challenge will be the Trans-Rockies Run the summer of 2011 and we’ll see what 2010 brings. And yes, I am still looking for a team mate for that TR Run!
What cannot be overstated is the impact the support provided by so many different people makes in my efforts. Running an event like this can seem thankless at times because my donations go to large organizations… very, very good organizations… where I am just a small fish (I have raised over $6K in the past 2 years). So my friends, newly-made friends, and family who encourage me and donate to my causes makes all the difference. Your encouragement, your generosity and your active involvement enable me to succeed because without you I would surely wither and fail. So thank you my friends for taking part in every way that you do… an encouraging note at a crucial time in my training regimen made a huge difference, all of your encouragement and notes on Facebook and Twitter during my run was HUGE at some very tough times on the trail, and your donations WILL make a difference… the next time you hear about a Habitat Home dedication you can know that some of your money may have helped get that family out of a roach-infested inner city apartment and into a simple but clean home! And one day, when a cure for cancer is found, you can know that your contribution helped make that happen. It doesn’t get much better than that for a warm feeling and to make you want to do more!
I am… Running for Other People’s Lives!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Scott's Ultra Challenge - Day 7
Day 7 – Dedicated to my family (Jan, Derek, Erica, Mom, Dad, Karen and Auntie Ruth)
Start: River Rd in Kent, CT
Low point: 397 ft River Rd in Kent, CT
High point: 1,403 ft Schaghticoke Mtn in Kent, CT
End: Hoyt Rd in Sherman, CT
Distance: 16.25 miles
After a second night on a comfortable bed I felt MUCH better this morning! My feet are still terribly sore but the swelling has gone down and I can again wear my beloved NewBalance 909 trail racing shoes so I can fly to the finish line! I brought very little food of any sort with me because I intended to keep going until I got to the end… plus I couldn’t stand to eat another energy bar! I did bring some Cliff Shot Blocks which I still like eating and it gives me needed electrolytes to go with the water I’m drinking.
Today is dedicated to my family. That’s because on this final day I know that this crazy trek would have been impossible without their support and love and encouragement… aside from my Mom and Dad telling me I was TOO OLD to do something like this! One of the most inspiring moments was when my son Derek told me one night on the phone that he was proud of me and what I was doing. Imagine that, my 17 year old son proud of his old man! Erica stuck a note of encouragement in my new supplies that I picked up on Wednesday that brought tears to my eyes. That resupply point with my parents was crucial to getting through the week too! And then there is my wife Jan… she sacrifices the most for me… all the hours of training takes me away from them, she follows me to my races and dropped me off way up in VT just to drive home alone, and she is always encouraging me to keep going when it would be far easier on her to suggest that I not push myself too hard. Yes, God works his ways on me through my family as well.
I started the day by bounding up St John’s Ledges and built a cairn on top of Caleb’s Peak that hopefully other hikers will continue to build up as they pass by. I remembered the section from St John’s Ledges to Rte 341 in Kent as being rather short but it took way longer than I thought to complete it despite moving at a very fast pace. I guess I remembered wrong. Running up Mt Algo is no easy task but I knew that was the last tough climb so I pushed up it and would take a mid run rest just south of it near the edge of the Shaghticoke reservation.
The day had turned beautiful after two rainy or dreary days on the trail. The morning fog burned off to leave a wonderfully sunny day as my last day on the trail.. if not a bit too warm. On my mid-run rest I called Jan to tell her when my ETA at the end was and then I was running against the clock for the rest of the day. I really didn’t want to be hanging out at the end waiting for her to get there, nor did I want her waiting a long time for me because that section at the NY line has NO mobile phone coverage.
When I got to Bull’s Bridge I knew I had about 6 miles to go, 147 miles down and just 6 to go! Yes! From there on my pace quickened with every ½ mile. As I ran along the ledge above the Housatonic River heading towards the 10-mile River campsite I was flying! I love the camping area at the confluence of the 10-mile and Housatonic rivers! It is so peaceful, and so relaxing to hear the rapids of the Housatonic and the babbling 10-mile. The shoreline covered with rocks worn round and smooth by time and water is beautiful. The footbridge that allows the AT to cross the 10-mile river is called the Anderson Footbridge. Ned Anderson was the man who blazed the original AT path in CT many years ago and he maintained the whole length of CT himself for quite a few years before the AMC was formed. What an impressive feat to blaze 62 miles of trails!
I headed down the trail and the only thing in my way of finishing was 10-Mile Hill so I charged up it… and then jogged up it some more… and then walked up it a bit further… and then I cursed it! Man that last mountain kicked my butt!
At the summit of my final climb, on my final day, I paused in the sun to think about what I had accomplished, who I had accomplished it for, and whom I was helping by doing this. I did it to honor my friends, loved ones, and loved ones of friends who had lost their battles with cancer. I did it to encourage people don’t even know who are battling cancer and other debilitating diseases right now who need to know that we are there supporting them. I did it to help those good people in search of decent housing all over the world who just need a chance to get their lives and their children’s lives on the right track. And I did it for me… to make a difference in a world where one can get swallowed up chasing the money trail or living the good life. I built a classic “Redfern Cairn” atop 10-Mile Hill to honor everyone I ran for, with rocks in the shape of an “R” like we have done on mountain tops in WY, AK, SD and other places we have hiked. I said a short prayer thanking God for giving me the strength to finish this trek when I seemed so beaten on the second day, and I headed down the “hill” towards the finish at the state line a mile away.
The end was anticlimactic… unlike an organized race there was no ribbon at the end or finish line, no cheering fans, just one loving wife waiting to congratulate me, take the obligatory final photo, and take me home.
Peace my friends.
Start: River Rd in Kent, CT
Low point: 397 ft River Rd in Kent, CT
High point: 1,403 ft Schaghticoke Mtn in Kent, CT
End: Hoyt Rd in Sherman, CT
Distance: 16.25 miles
After a second night on a comfortable bed I felt MUCH better this morning! My feet are still terribly sore but the swelling has gone down and I can again wear my beloved NewBalance 909 trail racing shoes so I can fly to the finish line! I brought very little food of any sort with me because I intended to keep going until I got to the end… plus I couldn’t stand to eat another energy bar! I did bring some Cliff Shot Blocks which I still like eating and it gives me needed electrolytes to go with the water I’m drinking.
Today is dedicated to my family. That’s because on this final day I know that this crazy trek would have been impossible without their support and love and encouragement… aside from my Mom and Dad telling me I was TOO OLD to do something like this! One of the most inspiring moments was when my son Derek told me one night on the phone that he was proud of me and what I was doing. Imagine that, my 17 year old son proud of his old man! Erica stuck a note of encouragement in my new supplies that I picked up on Wednesday that brought tears to my eyes. That resupply point with my parents was crucial to getting through the week too! And then there is my wife Jan… she sacrifices the most for me… all the hours of training takes me away from them, she follows me to my races and dropped me off way up in VT just to drive home alone, and she is always encouraging me to keep going when it would be far easier on her to suggest that I not push myself too hard. Yes, God works his ways on me through my family as well.
I started the day by bounding up St John’s Ledges and built a cairn on top of Caleb’s Peak that hopefully other hikers will continue to build up as they pass by. I remembered the section from St John’s Ledges to Rte 341 in Kent as being rather short but it took way longer than I thought to complete it despite moving at a very fast pace. I guess I remembered wrong. Running up Mt Algo is no easy task but I knew that was the last tough climb so I pushed up it and would take a mid run rest just south of it near the edge of the Shaghticoke reservation.
The day had turned beautiful after two rainy or dreary days on the trail. The morning fog burned off to leave a wonderfully sunny day as my last day on the trail.. if not a bit too warm. On my mid-run rest I called Jan to tell her when my ETA at the end was and then I was running against the clock for the rest of the day. I really didn’t want to be hanging out at the end waiting for her to get there, nor did I want her waiting a long time for me because that section at the NY line has NO mobile phone coverage.
When I got to Bull’s Bridge I knew I had about 6 miles to go, 147 miles down and just 6 to go! Yes! From there on my pace quickened with every ½ mile. As I ran along the ledge above the Housatonic River heading towards the 10-mile River campsite I was flying! I love the camping area at the confluence of the 10-mile and Housatonic rivers! It is so peaceful, and so relaxing to hear the rapids of the Housatonic and the babbling 10-mile. The shoreline covered with rocks worn round and smooth by time and water is beautiful. The footbridge that allows the AT to cross the 10-mile river is called the Anderson Footbridge. Ned Anderson was the man who blazed the original AT path in CT many years ago and he maintained the whole length of CT himself for quite a few years before the AMC was formed. What an impressive feat to blaze 62 miles of trails!
I headed down the trail and the only thing in my way of finishing was 10-Mile Hill so I charged up it… and then jogged up it some more… and then walked up it a bit further… and then I cursed it! Man that last mountain kicked my butt!
At the summit of my final climb, on my final day, I paused in the sun to think about what I had accomplished, who I had accomplished it for, and whom I was helping by doing this. I did it to honor my friends, loved ones, and loved ones of friends who had lost their battles with cancer. I did it to encourage people don’t even know who are battling cancer and other debilitating diseases right now who need to know that we are there supporting them. I did it to help those good people in search of decent housing all over the world who just need a chance to get their lives and their children’s lives on the right track. And I did it for me… to make a difference in a world where one can get swallowed up chasing the money trail or living the good life. I built a classic “Redfern Cairn” atop 10-Mile Hill to honor everyone I ran for, with rocks in the shape of an “R” like we have done on mountain tops in WY, AK, SD and other places we have hiked. I said a short prayer thanking God for giving me the strength to finish this trek when I seemed so beaten on the second day, and I headed down the “hill” towards the finish at the state line a mile away.
The end was anticlimactic… unlike an organized race there was no ribbon at the end or finish line, no cheering fans, just one loving wife waiting to congratulate me, take the obligatory final photo, and take me home.
Peace my friends.
Scott's Ultra Challenge - Day 6
Day 6 – Dedicated to Darryl Redfern, Pat Ecklund, and Marie Budrow
Start: West Cornwall Rd in Sharon, CT
Low point: 393 ft Skiff Mtn Rd in Kent, CT
High point: 1,260 ft Surdham Mtn in Sharon, CT
End: River Rd in Kent, CT
Distance: 14.1 miles
My feet were still swollen and numb when I woke up. The only shoes I could fit my feet into were my hiking boots which meant I had to try and put up 30 miles on Saturday in hiking boots which didn’t look positive to complete my trek. I asked for help from my son Derek in the form of a partner to help me make it. I really liked having Derek hike together with me today and having a companion for a day after 5 days of mostly being alone. He probably quickly got sick and tired of my bantering on about everything as we hiked briskly but I had a lot to say after so many days of solitude. The pace was not fast enough and after about 7 miles it was clear that we were going to need about 12 hours of hiking to get to the end and that put us into the dark near 9pm. I didn’t want that and was starting to think about how and when to stop for the day…
We were really cruising on the flats along the Housatonic River but my feet were cramping up and sore. We stopped to filter some water for lunch and met two guys who were bird watching. They had a cool modified iPod Touch that had a speaker attached to it. They could select a bird by name or picture and it would screech out the bird’s call in order to try and attract it. A short ways down the trail we saw a bald eagle fishing on the Housatonic River. Never before have I seen one in the wild here in CT. I sure wish I had an opportunity to get a picture before he flew away! I’ll bet the bird watchers would have loved to see this sight!
In the end we called it quits at only 14.1 miles which was quite early in the day… the finish line would have to wait until Sunday. We decided that instead of trying to start climbing St John’s Ledges, we would walk out River Rd to Route 341 in Kent, have Jan pick us up and take us home. Since we had no overnight gear packed the only option was to go home for the night and drive back the next day which felt like even more of a cheapening of my trek but there was no alternative, I had no change of clothes, I had no camping equipment.
I hope my feet are better tomorrow and I can run out the final day in style!
Start: West Cornwall Rd in Sharon, CT
Low point: 393 ft Skiff Mtn Rd in Kent, CT
High point: 1,260 ft Surdham Mtn in Sharon, CT
End: River Rd in Kent, CT
Distance: 14.1 miles
My feet were still swollen and numb when I woke up. The only shoes I could fit my feet into were my hiking boots which meant I had to try and put up 30 miles on Saturday in hiking boots which didn’t look positive to complete my trek. I asked for help from my son Derek in the form of a partner to help me make it. I really liked having Derek hike together with me today and having a companion for a day after 5 days of mostly being alone. He probably quickly got sick and tired of my bantering on about everything as we hiked briskly but I had a lot to say after so many days of solitude. The pace was not fast enough and after about 7 miles it was clear that we were going to need about 12 hours of hiking to get to the end and that put us into the dark near 9pm. I didn’t want that and was starting to think about how and when to stop for the day…
We were really cruising on the flats along the Housatonic River but my feet were cramping up and sore. We stopped to filter some water for lunch and met two guys who were bird watching. They had a cool modified iPod Touch that had a speaker attached to it. They could select a bird by name or picture and it would screech out the bird’s call in order to try and attract it. A short ways down the trail we saw a bald eagle fishing on the Housatonic River. Never before have I seen one in the wild here in CT. I sure wish I had an opportunity to get a picture before he flew away! I’ll bet the bird watchers would have loved to see this sight!
In the end we called it quits at only 14.1 miles which was quite early in the day… the finish line would have to wait until Sunday. We decided that instead of trying to start climbing St John’s Ledges, we would walk out River Rd to Route 341 in Kent, have Jan pick us up and take us home. Since we had no overnight gear packed the only option was to go home for the night and drive back the next day which felt like even more of a cheapening of my trek but there was no alternative, I had no change of clothes, I had no camping equipment.
I hope my feet are better tomorrow and I can run out the final day in style!
Scott's Ultra Challenge - Day 5
Day 5 – Dedicated to Avi Ben Stella and Lisa O’Malley
Start: Riga Lean-to in Salisbury, CT
Low point: 540 ft Dugway Rd in Salisbury, CT
High point: 1,738 ft Lionshead Mtn in Sharon, CT
End: West Cornwall Rd in Sharon, CT
Distance: 21.1 miles
Good morning… what a horrible night sleeping on the hard deck in the lean-to last night. To make things worse, there were branches and acorns falling on the corrugated steel roof of the lean-to all night. The acorns sounded like ball peen hammers rapping on the roof so sleep was hard to come by. The temp overnight dipped below 40 and my sleeping bag and liner rated for 46 degrees together left me cold and shivering all night even in my thermals. The lean-to faced the wind and would have offered a great view on a warm, clear summer night but last night it just tortured me. Early this morning the rain came so I’ll be starting my run today in the cold rain. Bummer, but it had to come… I couldn’t expect clear days for a whole week! I got up shivering still and without any oatmeal or tea in my pack, I’m heating water to drink to warm my insides. Breakfast will come later in the town of Salisbury, CT when I hit the local grocery store for more supplies. Good ol’ CT!
Today is special because I am meeting my family tonight to camp and I can’t wait to see them! Some nights I just texted with them and other nights I briefly spoke to them but I sure do miss them right now! Time to get out there on the trail and knock off another 21 miles…
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What a nasty weather day today was! I ran for miles in a light rain before arriving at the market in Salisbury where I bought some fresh fruit and a muffin for breakfast and a nice turkey wrap for lunch. As I exited the market two rather stylish women walking in sneered at me all soaking wet and packing food into my backpack. As they walked past one said to the other quite loudly, “I’d never want to be one of those AT hikers on a day like today!” Hee, hee… little do they realize that we love this stuff! I’ll trade dressing up and putting on airs any day for a day communing with nature. Even bad days like today are sent by God to cleans and nourish the earth… the complexity of making water collect in the atmosphere and then fall from the sky is something to marvel at!
By 9am it was a steady rain but it didn’t bother me anymore. I was disappointed by the AT reroute since it was all on roads but in reality there is no other way to temporarily reroute the AT so it made sense. The gathering rain just hit me harder and more directly on the open road than under a dense forest canopy. I ate lunch on Belter’s Bump and you know you’re thoroughly soaked when you sit out in the rain eating your lunch on a big old rock without even attempting to shield yourself from the rain. A NOBO thru hiker passed and stopped to talk for a few minutes. His trail name is Turtleback and he had tried to hunker down in his tent for the day and put up a zero but the steady rain began filling the tent with water so he decided that if he was to get wet he might as well add on some miles in the process. As I looked at him with his dark green poncho draped over him and his backpack, I instantly knew how he’d gotten the name Turtleback Unfortunately he was not going to make Katahdin by December and would have to wait until spring to finish up.
The heavy rains now had been going strong for over 4 hours and when I got to Falls Village the water falls at Great Falls were fantastic! Boy oh boy was the Housatonic coming over the falls furiously! I paid too much attention to the falls and got off onto a side trail that was no longer the AT. I could see where the AT was above me but there was a muddy embankment separating us, and being rather lazy at this point, I didn’t want to back track ¼ mile so I decided to climb this steep muddy embankment and save time. I got about ¾ of the way up and was sinking 4-5 inches into this very odd, loose kind of sandy mud when I started sliding back down so I grabbed the trunk of a small tree to steady myself and the tree started moving with me! I realized that the whole side of embankment had let go and I was sliding down a mudslide! I rode it about 20 feet to the bottom and decided I wasn’t going to be getting up that embankment today so with very muddy legs now, I headed back around like I should have in the first place. Had I followed the rules of “Leave No Trace” and stayed on the path, that would have never happened!
It was pouring buckets now, I was so wet… and muddy… that I didn’t care where I stepped anymore. I didn’t attempt to hop over puddles because even my feet in my Gore-Tex running shoes were soaked. The Gore-Tex at this point served to keep the water in and create nice individual pools for my feet! And then it got worse… a fierce thunder and lightening storm came, and being outdoors, I had to start thinking about safety. The next lean-to on the AT, Pine Swamp Brook, was the one I was headed to for the night so I wanted to get there fast and get out of the weather but I had a number of mountain summits to go over in between and I did NOT want to be on one with lightening striking because a few were exposed summits and I had no desire to be the tallest object on a mountain top during a storm.
As I approached the summit of each mountain I would wait for the thunder cell to pass and then I’d sprint up and over the mountain during quiet periods of the storm. I know they say to wait 30 minutes between thunder claps but I didn’t have that sort of time so I’d wait about 10 and then make a break for it. As I stood still in between each time I started realizing how bad my feet were today and grudgingly I called Jan and told her that I needed to stay indoors tonight to give my body a chance to recover. I knew the kids would be disappointed at not camping outside but I was hurting and feeling badly and if I was to finish this run I needed to take care of my body right now.
I got here to the lean-to hours before Jan and the kids are scheduled to meet me here so I called her and told her I’d meet them down at the road so they didn’t have to hike a mile in the rain to meet me and then turn around and hike a mile back out to get to the car and drive to the motel.
My feet are so sore! I was very cold when I got here so I changed into some dry clothes to keep warm while waiting and I even draped my sleeping bag over me to keep warm. I still have no blisters or hot spots on my feet but they hurt in many different places and I just discovered that two toes on my right foot are 100% numb from the ball of my foot up to the tips. I guess that is why I have been stumbling more on the rocks lately because I can’t use those toes for balance or feel the contour of the rocks like I am used to. I sure hope they come back afterwards. My feet are clearly swollen too… looking at them out of the shoes they don’t have the same lean look to them so when I spoke to Jan earlier I asked her to bring both a dry pair of trail running shoes for tomorrow AND my big old hiking boot in case I can’t get my feet into trail running shoes.
The end of the day today has been unsettling, I feel mortal again… like Tuesday. At least today my mind is willing, just my body is spent after 120 miles in the last 5 days. I need to get out of the cold and rain because I’m feeling much worse physically and I got soaked to the bone by the driving rain all day. I feel as if I’m cheapening my trek by not camping out tonight, but I know I need some rest badly and have not been getting it on the hard ground and wooden lean-to floors.
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Boy oh boy was it great to see my family’s smiling faces and get hugs and kisses from them! We checked into a ratty little motel close to the trailhead for the night. It felt wonderful to take a shower for the first time in 5 days! I don’t think I have ever gone that long before! Then we had dinner at the Wandering Moose Café where I ate a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs. When we got back to the room I passed out big time sitting upright I was so tired and never really got my gear situated for the next day when Derek and I were going to attempt to put up 30 miles for the day and finish my trek in six days instead of the planned seven. I felt the need to get this done sooner than later with the worsening condition of my feet.
Start: Riga Lean-to in Salisbury, CT
Low point: 540 ft Dugway Rd in Salisbury, CT
High point: 1,738 ft Lionshead Mtn in Sharon, CT
End: West Cornwall Rd in Sharon, CT
Distance: 21.1 miles
Good morning… what a horrible night sleeping on the hard deck in the lean-to last night. To make things worse, there were branches and acorns falling on the corrugated steel roof of the lean-to all night. The acorns sounded like ball peen hammers rapping on the roof so sleep was hard to come by. The temp overnight dipped below 40 and my sleeping bag and liner rated for 46 degrees together left me cold and shivering all night even in my thermals. The lean-to faced the wind and would have offered a great view on a warm, clear summer night but last night it just tortured me. Early this morning the rain came so I’ll be starting my run today in the cold rain. Bummer, but it had to come… I couldn’t expect clear days for a whole week! I got up shivering still and without any oatmeal or tea in my pack, I’m heating water to drink to warm my insides. Breakfast will come later in the town of Salisbury, CT when I hit the local grocery store for more supplies. Good ol’ CT!
Today is special because I am meeting my family tonight to camp and I can’t wait to see them! Some nights I just texted with them and other nights I briefly spoke to them but I sure do miss them right now! Time to get out there on the trail and knock off another 21 miles…
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What a nasty weather day today was! I ran for miles in a light rain before arriving at the market in Salisbury where I bought some fresh fruit and a muffin for breakfast and a nice turkey wrap for lunch. As I exited the market two rather stylish women walking in sneered at me all soaking wet and packing food into my backpack. As they walked past one said to the other quite loudly, “I’d never want to be one of those AT hikers on a day like today!” Hee, hee… little do they realize that we love this stuff! I’ll trade dressing up and putting on airs any day for a day communing with nature. Even bad days like today are sent by God to cleans and nourish the earth… the complexity of making water collect in the atmosphere and then fall from the sky is something to marvel at!
By 9am it was a steady rain but it didn’t bother me anymore. I was disappointed by the AT reroute since it was all on roads but in reality there is no other way to temporarily reroute the AT so it made sense. The gathering rain just hit me harder and more directly on the open road than under a dense forest canopy. I ate lunch on Belter’s Bump and you know you’re thoroughly soaked when you sit out in the rain eating your lunch on a big old rock without even attempting to shield yourself from the rain. A NOBO thru hiker passed and stopped to talk for a few minutes. His trail name is Turtleback and he had tried to hunker down in his tent for the day and put up a zero but the steady rain began filling the tent with water so he decided that if he was to get wet he might as well add on some miles in the process. As I looked at him with his dark green poncho draped over him and his backpack, I instantly knew how he’d gotten the name Turtleback Unfortunately he was not going to make Katahdin by December and would have to wait until spring to finish up.
The heavy rains now had been going strong for over 4 hours and when I got to Falls Village the water falls at Great Falls were fantastic! Boy oh boy was the Housatonic coming over the falls furiously! I paid too much attention to the falls and got off onto a side trail that was no longer the AT. I could see where the AT was above me but there was a muddy embankment separating us, and being rather lazy at this point, I didn’t want to back track ¼ mile so I decided to climb this steep muddy embankment and save time. I got about ¾ of the way up and was sinking 4-5 inches into this very odd, loose kind of sandy mud when I started sliding back down so I grabbed the trunk of a small tree to steady myself and the tree started moving with me! I realized that the whole side of embankment had let go and I was sliding down a mudslide! I rode it about 20 feet to the bottom and decided I wasn’t going to be getting up that embankment today so with very muddy legs now, I headed back around like I should have in the first place. Had I followed the rules of “Leave No Trace” and stayed on the path, that would have never happened!
It was pouring buckets now, I was so wet… and muddy… that I didn’t care where I stepped anymore. I didn’t attempt to hop over puddles because even my feet in my Gore-Tex running shoes were soaked. The Gore-Tex at this point served to keep the water in and create nice individual pools for my feet! And then it got worse… a fierce thunder and lightening storm came, and being outdoors, I had to start thinking about safety. The next lean-to on the AT, Pine Swamp Brook, was the one I was headed to for the night so I wanted to get there fast and get out of the weather but I had a number of mountain summits to go over in between and I did NOT want to be on one with lightening striking because a few were exposed summits and I had no desire to be the tallest object on a mountain top during a storm.
As I approached the summit of each mountain I would wait for the thunder cell to pass and then I’d sprint up and over the mountain during quiet periods of the storm. I know they say to wait 30 minutes between thunder claps but I didn’t have that sort of time so I’d wait about 10 and then make a break for it. As I stood still in between each time I started realizing how bad my feet were today and grudgingly I called Jan and told her that I needed to stay indoors tonight to give my body a chance to recover. I knew the kids would be disappointed at not camping outside but I was hurting and feeling badly and if I was to finish this run I needed to take care of my body right now.
I got here to the lean-to hours before Jan and the kids are scheduled to meet me here so I called her and told her I’d meet them down at the road so they didn’t have to hike a mile in the rain to meet me and then turn around and hike a mile back out to get to the car and drive to the motel.
My feet are so sore! I was very cold when I got here so I changed into some dry clothes to keep warm while waiting and I even draped my sleeping bag over me to keep warm. I still have no blisters or hot spots on my feet but they hurt in many different places and I just discovered that two toes on my right foot are 100% numb from the ball of my foot up to the tips. I guess that is why I have been stumbling more on the rocks lately because I can’t use those toes for balance or feel the contour of the rocks like I am used to. I sure hope they come back afterwards. My feet are clearly swollen too… looking at them out of the shoes they don’t have the same lean look to them so when I spoke to Jan earlier I asked her to bring both a dry pair of trail running shoes for tomorrow AND my big old hiking boot in case I can’t get my feet into trail running shoes.
The end of the day today has been unsettling, I feel mortal again… like Tuesday. At least today my mind is willing, just my body is spent after 120 miles in the last 5 days. I need to get out of the cold and rain because I’m feeling much worse physically and I got soaked to the bone by the driving rain all day. I feel as if I’m cheapening my trek by not camping out tonight, but I know I need some rest badly and have not been getting it on the hard ground and wooden lean-to floors.
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Boy oh boy was it great to see my family’s smiling faces and get hugs and kisses from them! We checked into a ratty little motel close to the trailhead for the night. It felt wonderful to take a shower for the first time in 5 days! I don’t think I have ever gone that long before! Then we had dinner at the Wandering Moose Café where I ate a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs. When we got back to the room I passed out big time sitting upright I was so tired and never really got my gear situated for the next day when Derek and I were going to attempt to put up 30 miles for the day and finish my trek in six days instead of the planned seven. I felt the need to get this done sooner than later with the worsening condition of my feet.
Scott's Ultra Challenge - Day 4
Day 4 – Dedicated to Mikey Czech, Therese Carroll, Billie Haines, Grumpy Strolin
Start: Tom Leonard Lean-to in Great Barrington, MA
Low point: 700 ft Rte 7 in Sheffield, MA
High point: 2,624 ft Mt Everett in Mt Washington, MA
End: Riga Lean-to in Salisbury, CT
Distance: 24.1 miles
Today was a neat day, I felt the best physically that I have felt the whole trip! Todd was just starting to stir in the lean-to when I left and I wished him luck on his trip out. I was admittedly sore at the start of the day… my shoes were inflaming the tendon on the top of my left foot; it hurt for the first few miles but it went away as I loosened up.
Since the water was not very appetizing last night, I decided to leave camp without any of that brownish-yellow stuff in my bladder (hydration bladder that is) and I’d fill up at the next spring. That was a really BIG mistake! It took me 5 miles to find water this morning… the next few springs were even worse with weird orange fuzzy stuff growing on the rocks and many others were dried up.
After descending from Mt Werner on which the lean-to sat atop, I had miles and miles of flat fields to run through before getting to Jug End and my 3 monster climbs for the day. I could see Mt Everett in the distance and it looked like it was SO far away. It was a little intimidating to see how far I had to run just to get to the tough part of my day’s run. It was a day made for cruising and making some great time! At times I could see the trail heading back into the woods on the other side of a farmer’s field, but the trail circumnavigated the huge fields of hay, corn and other vegetables. I’m sure some less sensitive hikers probably traipse through the farmers’ fields and give the rest of us a bad name. I measured myself up alongside of one of those huge hay rolls… they are much taller in person! Slowly Mt Everett was growing closer and I began to get excited at the prospect of another monster climb, but on the way I was treated to a historic marker as well. I ran past the monument marking the place of the final battle of Shays Rebellion in Sheffield, MA. Until today I did not realize that I failed to properly plan for lunch today. When I got to Sheffield I realized that there was no place to buy my lunch for the day unless I wanted to run 2.5 miles out of the way and back. Since I had already extended my run today by 5 miles, there was no way I could add on another 5, so I stopped in an art shop, bought an OJ and chugged it before heading on down the trail. My lunch was going to consist of Cliff Shot Blocks and an energy bar… man I hate those energy bars already! I liked them one at a time on my weekly training runs, but what was I thinking in planning to eat them for breakfast and mid-meal snacks EVERY day!?
Though the fields were easy running, Jug End was a welcome sight to break up the monotony, if not a tough climb to start the first of 3 killer mountains. After Jug End I headed up Mt Everett, it slowly grew steeper and at one point I came upon a group of young ladies from a local soccer team whose coach drove them to the top and made them run back down… I was happy I was running up rather than down, but I will have to run down the other side eventually. I also ran past a section where a tornado had knocked down a group of trees near the top many years ago, some of them were massive and small 2 foot sections were cut from their trunks so hikers could pass by without having to climb over or walk around them.
When I finally reached the summit I found yet another group of Princeton students there taking a lunch break. Man they are everywhere this week! Though I had not met this group before, every group I came upon felt like my old friends now because I had come across so many of them over the past 4 days. They were a great group of kids and I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch break with them. As I have mentioned so many times before during this trek, when I really was in need, I believe God was there helping me through the actions of others. Today, he was helping to get me through my poor meal planning. The Princeton kids asked me to share their lunch because they had far too much food and didn’t want to carry any more than they had to. We ate cheese, sausage and crackers, joked and laughed and then they serenaded me with a rendition of one of my favorite songs… Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody! I took a video of them singing which you can see on my R4OPL Facebook page. Their hospitality was very much appreciated but they will need their college educations because their singing skills won’t sustain any of them ;-) We took a few pictures together and I said goodbye and headed down the south slope of Mt Everett with a full stomach and a lightened heart from the new friends I made.
From the summit of Everett until I got here to Riga campsite, I would be running on all granite rock face and loose rock. It was torture on my already sore feet! Coming down Everett was very slow, it was steep and smooth rocky faces that I did NOT want to fall on because it would tear my skin up from head to toe.
Race Mountain was fantastic! Standing on the granite ridgeline on the summit I had an awesome 360 degree view looking north past Everett to Greylock in the distance, I could see into NY state to my west and to the south I could see Mt Frissell on the MA/CT border and Bear Mountain in CT… yes CT! I decided to take another video atop Race as I turned in a circle to share the beautiful view with my friends when I returned. Heading down the south slope I ran along a steep ledge on the east side… it was really cool running only a few feet from the edge of a ledge that dropped precipitously to the valley below. The weather front was coming now and the wind was howling. It was getting chilly and the sun was starting to set so I picked up my pace again. I felt great! I had climbed two of the three monster climbs and still had a ton of energy. I found an area of Sages Ravine that I had never seen before… the river running through it was beautiful with the waterfalls and deep pools below each of them. On a hot summer day it would be an excellent place to soak in the cool mountain water!
I bounded up Bear Mountain as I raced the setting sun. The north face is steep and rocky and you don’t run up it, you scramble up it on all fours but it was exhilarating! These are the times when having my fingerless gloves comes in handy, I can grip the rock but most of my hands are protected from falls and sharpies. I reached the exposed summit, took a few obligatory pictures and continued on the last 2.5 miles to my campsite.
Riga campsite is very cold tonight and the wind is blowing hard. I am concerned for hard rain tonight and limbs falling on my tent so I set up my tent in the lean-to. The tent is to keep the wind off me since the fast falling temp will likely go into the high 30s and my sleeping bag is only rated to 55 degrees. Surprise, surprise I shared the camp yet again with some Princeton kids and spent the evening sharing stories with them. As I settled into my sleeping bag for the night, I enjoyed my Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bars that Jan slipped into my supplies… man was that a delicious treat!
Today was dedicated to Mikey Czech, Therese Carroll, George “Grumpy” Strolin and Billie Haines. George was my father-in-law whom I wish I had known better before cancer took his life… Jan always had neat stories about him and I admired his ability to quit smoking cold turkey… one day there was a pack of cigarettes nailed to his mantle and he never smoked again. He was one tough dude to quit like that! I didn’t know Mikey, Therese or Billie but thru stories from their loved ones I feel like I knew them. Mikey was a young boy who lost a very quick battle with cancer last year, but in that short amount of time he taught us all how to fight hard, face adversity with a smile, and live life to its fullest.
Good night my friends… I do not expect sleeping on a wooden floor tonight to be fun but at least it’ll be safe. Tomorrow brings rain and a reroute of the AT due to a bridge closure for construction… hopefully its not too difficult to follow.
Start: Tom Leonard Lean-to in Great Barrington, MA
Low point: 700 ft Rte 7 in Sheffield, MA
High point: 2,624 ft Mt Everett in Mt Washington, MA
End: Riga Lean-to in Salisbury, CT
Distance: 24.1 miles
Today was a neat day, I felt the best physically that I have felt the whole trip! Todd was just starting to stir in the lean-to when I left and I wished him luck on his trip out. I was admittedly sore at the start of the day… my shoes were inflaming the tendon on the top of my left foot; it hurt for the first few miles but it went away as I loosened up.
Since the water was not very appetizing last night, I decided to leave camp without any of that brownish-yellow stuff in my bladder (hydration bladder that is) and I’d fill up at the next spring. That was a really BIG mistake! It took me 5 miles to find water this morning… the next few springs were even worse with weird orange fuzzy stuff growing on the rocks and many others were dried up.
After descending from Mt Werner on which the lean-to sat atop, I had miles and miles of flat fields to run through before getting to Jug End and my 3 monster climbs for the day. I could see Mt Everett in the distance and it looked like it was SO far away. It was a little intimidating to see how far I had to run just to get to the tough part of my day’s run. It was a day made for cruising and making some great time! At times I could see the trail heading back into the woods on the other side of a farmer’s field, but the trail circumnavigated the huge fields of hay, corn and other vegetables. I’m sure some less sensitive hikers probably traipse through the farmers’ fields and give the rest of us a bad name. I measured myself up alongside of one of those huge hay rolls… they are much taller in person! Slowly Mt Everett was growing closer and I began to get excited at the prospect of another monster climb, but on the way I was treated to a historic marker as well. I ran past the monument marking the place of the final battle of Shays Rebellion in Sheffield, MA. Until today I did not realize that I failed to properly plan for lunch today. When I got to Sheffield I realized that there was no place to buy my lunch for the day unless I wanted to run 2.5 miles out of the way and back. Since I had already extended my run today by 5 miles, there was no way I could add on another 5, so I stopped in an art shop, bought an OJ and chugged it before heading on down the trail. My lunch was going to consist of Cliff Shot Blocks and an energy bar… man I hate those energy bars already! I liked them one at a time on my weekly training runs, but what was I thinking in planning to eat them for breakfast and mid-meal snacks EVERY day!?
Though the fields were easy running, Jug End was a welcome sight to break up the monotony, if not a tough climb to start the first of 3 killer mountains. After Jug End I headed up Mt Everett, it slowly grew steeper and at one point I came upon a group of young ladies from a local soccer team whose coach drove them to the top and made them run back down… I was happy I was running up rather than down, but I will have to run down the other side eventually. I also ran past a section where a tornado had knocked down a group of trees near the top many years ago, some of them were massive and small 2 foot sections were cut from their trunks so hikers could pass by without having to climb over or walk around them.
When I finally reached the summit I found yet another group of Princeton students there taking a lunch break. Man they are everywhere this week! Though I had not met this group before, every group I came upon felt like my old friends now because I had come across so many of them over the past 4 days. They were a great group of kids and I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch break with them. As I have mentioned so many times before during this trek, when I really was in need, I believe God was there helping me through the actions of others. Today, he was helping to get me through my poor meal planning. The Princeton kids asked me to share their lunch because they had far too much food and didn’t want to carry any more than they had to. We ate cheese, sausage and crackers, joked and laughed and then they serenaded me with a rendition of one of my favorite songs… Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody! I took a video of them singing which you can see on my R4OPL Facebook page. Their hospitality was very much appreciated but they will need their college educations because their singing skills won’t sustain any of them ;-) We took a few pictures together and I said goodbye and headed down the south slope of Mt Everett with a full stomach and a lightened heart from the new friends I made.
From the summit of Everett until I got here to Riga campsite, I would be running on all granite rock face and loose rock. It was torture on my already sore feet! Coming down Everett was very slow, it was steep and smooth rocky faces that I did NOT want to fall on because it would tear my skin up from head to toe.
Race Mountain was fantastic! Standing on the granite ridgeline on the summit I had an awesome 360 degree view looking north past Everett to Greylock in the distance, I could see into NY state to my west and to the south I could see Mt Frissell on the MA/CT border and Bear Mountain in CT… yes CT! I decided to take another video atop Race as I turned in a circle to share the beautiful view with my friends when I returned. Heading down the south slope I ran along a steep ledge on the east side… it was really cool running only a few feet from the edge of a ledge that dropped precipitously to the valley below. The weather front was coming now and the wind was howling. It was getting chilly and the sun was starting to set so I picked up my pace again. I felt great! I had climbed two of the three monster climbs and still had a ton of energy. I found an area of Sages Ravine that I had never seen before… the river running through it was beautiful with the waterfalls and deep pools below each of them. On a hot summer day it would be an excellent place to soak in the cool mountain water!
I bounded up Bear Mountain as I raced the setting sun. The north face is steep and rocky and you don’t run up it, you scramble up it on all fours but it was exhilarating! These are the times when having my fingerless gloves comes in handy, I can grip the rock but most of my hands are protected from falls and sharpies. I reached the exposed summit, took a few obligatory pictures and continued on the last 2.5 miles to my campsite.
Riga campsite is very cold tonight and the wind is blowing hard. I am concerned for hard rain tonight and limbs falling on my tent so I set up my tent in the lean-to. The tent is to keep the wind off me since the fast falling temp will likely go into the high 30s and my sleeping bag is only rated to 55 degrees. Surprise, surprise I shared the camp yet again with some Princeton kids and spent the evening sharing stories with them. As I settled into my sleeping bag for the night, I enjoyed my Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bars that Jan slipped into my supplies… man was that a delicious treat!
Today was dedicated to Mikey Czech, Therese Carroll, George “Grumpy” Strolin and Billie Haines. George was my father-in-law whom I wish I had known better before cancer took his life… Jan always had neat stories about him and I admired his ability to quit smoking cold turkey… one day there was a pack of cigarettes nailed to his mantle and he never smoked again. He was one tough dude to quit like that! I didn’t know Mikey, Therese or Billie but thru stories from their loved ones I feel like I knew them. Mikey was a young boy who lost a very quick battle with cancer last year, but in that short amount of time he taught us all how to fight hard, face adversity with a smile, and live life to its fullest.
Good night my friends… I do not expect sleeping on a wooden floor tonight to be fun but at least it’ll be safe. Tomorrow brings rain and a reroute of the AT due to a bridge closure for construction… hopefully its not too difficult to follow.
Scott's Ultra Challenge - Day 3
Day 3 – Dedicated to Serv Gonsalves
Start: Upper Goose Pond in Lee, MA
Low point: 853 ft Hop Brook in Tyringham, MA
High point: 2,116 ft Mt Wilcox in Monterey, MA
End: Tom Leonard Lean-to in Great Barrington, MA
Distance: 24 miles
What a huge difference last night’s sleep on a comfortable bunk made! I am still very sore but my mind is now at full strength and I am excited to get 8 miles down the trail this morning to see my Mom and Dad for the purpose of reloading with supplies for the push into CT tomorrow. Last night, my spirit broken, I was looking forward to seeing them to have them take me home, but today I have a renewed confidence and determination to make it to the end.
Time to pack up and head downstairs for some blueberry pancakes and syrup! Mmmm! This will be a nice break from my energy bar breakfasts.
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Overall today was a MUCH better day than yesterday. I only saw two people though the whole day so it was quite lonely. Seeing Mom and Dad 8 miles into my morning to resupply was really nice… and they were relieved to see me alive too (inside joke). As usual Mom brought me WAY more food than I asked for to take with me for lunch that day. I would have loved to bring that extra banana, orange and sandwich but I had no room for it. As it was I had to literally stuff the rest of the food into my refilled backpack. I ate as much of the excess as I could before leaving them and that really helped me on my 24 mile day. My bear bell I wear on my pack to let animals and people know I’m coming came in handy today. Dad could hear me coming from quite a ways away and was ready to snap the obligatory picture of me coming out of the woods.
Not only was today light on people, but it was also light on views. Most hills and mountains were treed in at the summit and I ran through a bunch of fields. There was a fabulous view tonight from the tent platform at the Tom Leonard Lean-to where I am spending the night. A guy named Todd from North Carolina is also spending the night at the lean-to. He is sleeping in the lean-to but I’ll be in my tent on a soft patch of ground under some pine trees since the lean-to only has hard plywood bunks. It’s a huge lean-to! There are 4 bunks and then a loft where a good 6+ more people could sleep on the deck. The stream at the campsite runs reddish-brown, even when filtered, the water is an unappetizing yellow though it tastes fine. I felt like I was drinking urine…
Todd and I built a nice fire in the fire pit outside the lean-to and we swapped hiking stories and information about our home lives late into the evening while snacking on dry roasted peanuts that Jan sent along as a treat. Thanks dear they were delicious! Todd writes books about his hikes and adventures and I hope to see myself in one of them one day. Good luck on having them published one day my friend!
My nice soft tent spot should make for a good night’s sleep. NOT! I’m smarter than to expect that after the results of my first night on the ground. Looking at the weather forecast, tomorrow night and Friday look to be nasty. Rain is supposed to come in tomorrow evening so I have decided to go an extra 5 miles beyond my planned campsite in Sage’s Ravine to get up and over Bear Mountain in CT and stay in one of the two lean-tos heading down into Salisbury. I hate to sleep on a hard wooden deck but I also hate to sleep in potentially heavy rain with my tarp tent. I also don’t want to be scrambling up the steep north slope of Bear Mtn in the rain Friday morning. Those rock faces and ledges would be treacherous in the rain.
Today was dedicated to my buddy Serv Gonsalves who lost his battle with cancer last year. His death hit me hard and caused me to decide to honor him by putting his name and picture on the back of my running shirt. That idea quickly morphed into raising money and awareness for cancer. And then I got crazier… I ran races up Mt Washington, Pikes Peak in a summer blizzard, and Mt Mansfield before this AT trek came to be. So thank you Serv for inspiring me both last year and again this year to persevere with my challenges. I do wish he were around to tell me how crazy I am in doing this!
Tonight is very chilly, so sitting around a warm fire for the evening was real relaxing before climbing into my sleeping bag to reflect and write in my journal. I’m still really surprised that I have not had any foot problems yet. No blisters, no serious hot spots, and my legs felt a bit stronger and less sore today. Less sore, but still quite sore none-the-less.
Start: Upper Goose Pond in Lee, MA
Low point: 853 ft Hop Brook in Tyringham, MA
High point: 2,116 ft Mt Wilcox in Monterey, MA
End: Tom Leonard Lean-to in Great Barrington, MA
Distance: 24 miles
What a huge difference last night’s sleep on a comfortable bunk made! I am still very sore but my mind is now at full strength and I am excited to get 8 miles down the trail this morning to see my Mom and Dad for the purpose of reloading with supplies for the push into CT tomorrow. Last night, my spirit broken, I was looking forward to seeing them to have them take me home, but today I have a renewed confidence and determination to make it to the end.
Time to pack up and head downstairs for some blueberry pancakes and syrup! Mmmm! This will be a nice break from my energy bar breakfasts.
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Overall today was a MUCH better day than yesterday. I only saw two people though the whole day so it was quite lonely. Seeing Mom and Dad 8 miles into my morning to resupply was really nice… and they were relieved to see me alive too (inside joke). As usual Mom brought me WAY more food than I asked for to take with me for lunch that day. I would have loved to bring that extra banana, orange and sandwich but I had no room for it. As it was I had to literally stuff the rest of the food into my refilled backpack. I ate as much of the excess as I could before leaving them and that really helped me on my 24 mile day. My bear bell I wear on my pack to let animals and people know I’m coming came in handy today. Dad could hear me coming from quite a ways away and was ready to snap the obligatory picture of me coming out of the woods.
Not only was today light on people, but it was also light on views. Most hills and mountains were treed in at the summit and I ran through a bunch of fields. There was a fabulous view tonight from the tent platform at the Tom Leonard Lean-to where I am spending the night. A guy named Todd from North Carolina is also spending the night at the lean-to. He is sleeping in the lean-to but I’ll be in my tent on a soft patch of ground under some pine trees since the lean-to only has hard plywood bunks. It’s a huge lean-to! There are 4 bunks and then a loft where a good 6+ more people could sleep on the deck. The stream at the campsite runs reddish-brown, even when filtered, the water is an unappetizing yellow though it tastes fine. I felt like I was drinking urine…
Todd and I built a nice fire in the fire pit outside the lean-to and we swapped hiking stories and information about our home lives late into the evening while snacking on dry roasted peanuts that Jan sent along as a treat. Thanks dear they were delicious! Todd writes books about his hikes and adventures and I hope to see myself in one of them one day. Good luck on having them published one day my friend!
My nice soft tent spot should make for a good night’s sleep. NOT! I’m smarter than to expect that after the results of my first night on the ground. Looking at the weather forecast, tomorrow night and Friday look to be nasty. Rain is supposed to come in tomorrow evening so I have decided to go an extra 5 miles beyond my planned campsite in Sage’s Ravine to get up and over Bear Mountain in CT and stay in one of the two lean-tos heading down into Salisbury. I hate to sleep on a hard wooden deck but I also hate to sleep in potentially heavy rain with my tarp tent. I also don’t want to be scrambling up the steep north slope of Bear Mtn in the rain Friday morning. Those rock faces and ledges would be treacherous in the rain.
Today was dedicated to my buddy Serv Gonsalves who lost his battle with cancer last year. His death hit me hard and caused me to decide to honor him by putting his name and picture on the back of my running shirt. That idea quickly morphed into raising money and awareness for cancer. And then I got crazier… I ran races up Mt Washington, Pikes Peak in a summer blizzard, and Mt Mansfield before this AT trek came to be. So thank you Serv for inspiring me both last year and again this year to persevere with my challenges. I do wish he were around to tell me how crazy I am in doing this!
Tonight is very chilly, so sitting around a warm fire for the evening was real relaxing before climbing into my sleeping bag to reflect and write in my journal. I’m still really surprised that I have not had any foot problems yet. No blisters, no serious hot spots, and my legs felt a bit stronger and less sore today. Less sore, but still quite sore none-the-less.
Scott's Ultra Challenge - Day 2
Day 2 Stats:
Dedicated to Nick Glasgow
Start: Crystal Mtn Campsite in Dalton, MA
Low point: 1,112 ft Gulf Rd in Dalton, MA
High point: 2,220 ft Crystal Mtn in Dalton, MA
End: Upper Goose Pond in Lee, MA
Distance: 25.75 miles
Okay, lets just get one thing straight this morning… I was WRONG… sleeping with no sleeping pad was NOT fun last night. My thin sleeping bag was no help and I served to heat the cold ground and rocks underneath my tent. I was cold and wicked uncomfortable all night and got very little sleep. I am sore everywhere now and my leg muscles (quads) are so sore I can barely stand up. Sitting here in my tent this morning I have decided I’ll probably have to start out walking to get my legs loose enough to run… I’m so sore I can’t really even stretch out my muscles because they feel as if they’ll rip in two.
I really needed my thermal tights last night but didn’t pack them and I broke a cardinal rule in Boy Scouts and did not put on a pair of clean, dry socks and base layer before going to bed so my feet and core were cold too. I won’t forget that step tonight!
I have no blisters or hot spots on feet thank goodness but I am already getting chafing elsewhere and its NOT comfortable. Time to dig into my medical bag. My pack is also sitting perfectly so far. My shoulders are not sore, nor are my hips which I thought would happen with 17 lbs bouncing on my back as I run. Its different than just hiking with a pack… the bounce between strides makes a tight fitting pack all the more crucial. If only my legs were in as good a shape as every other part of my body! You know I’m hurting when the college kids got up and broke camp before I did!
Crystal Mountain is shrouded in clouds and mist this morning which makes the constant wind cold and raw I set up my tent in the only direction I could given the limited space and it faced the wind last night… not good. My tent is designed to let the air flow through it for good ventilation, which is nice in warn weather or when you have a toasty warm sleeping bag and pad. Last night it acted as a wind tunnel and I was quite chilly.
Well I’m not gonna make it 26 miles down the trail today unless I get out and on the trail soon…
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Today was a brutal day. I knew day 2 was going to be really hard after a tough Day 1 made me sore, but I never imagined this. I’m now sitting on the porch of the Upper Goose Pond Cabin relaxing but this day was anything but relaxing. I’m embarrassed to say that I was so close to quitting multiple times today and was totally miserable. I was sitting at the bottom of the pit of despair most of the day and I am quite sure I would have quit had it not been for 3 small acts of generosity that saved me at my lows.
I was only about 1 mile into my 26 mile day and was hurting so bad that all I could think about was running out to a road somewhere and having Jan come pick me up. At that point I stopped briefly and said a short prayer… I told God that this was very important to me and I could really use some inspiration. It was strange, as bad as I felt I didn’t ask for much, nor did I complain about being stuck in this 45 year old body. I took a drink and started to run again, and as I rounded the next turn in the trail my friends from Princeton OA were there and they lined the trail and clapped and cheered me on as I passed. I told them how much I needed that, wished them well and continued up the trail towards Dalton, MA. As I ran away I looked up briefly and thanked God for that inspiration he brought me, my spirit was rejuvenated and I had a bit of a spring to my stride again.
I got lost once today, no not in the wilderness but on the streets of Dalton, MA! A unknowing non-hiker decided to staple their tag sale sign over the blazes (markers) on the telephone poll that marked where I was supposed to turn. I ended up running another 6/10 of a mile down the wrong road before I figured out something was wrong. Had I had my AT maps handy it would have been intuitively obvious where to turn but I was in a fog and simply following blazes. Another 1.2 miles added to a day I already couldn’t see myself completing.
I came up with a survival mantra that I told myself over and over again… “Every step you take gets you closer to home, and every stride you run gets you there quicker” Amazingly it worked great! It never failed to get me running again even though I felt like I couldn’t run another 10 feet. And once I got running, it was usually easy to stay running until something stopped me. It was like autopilot… the faster I ran, the less time I had to think about how much I hurt because I was too focused on the terrain ahead of me and where I needed to put my foot next.
I ate lunch along Branch Rd near a peaceful pond, the sun was strong and I actually got a bit of a burn on my face. It felt good to rest since I was so sore. A couple came down from the nearby October Mtn campsite and we chatted for a while. They live in MA and decided to camp on the AT after having talked about it for years… they weren’t hiking though, just enjoying the outdoors. The saw how small my pack was and asked if I needed food because they had lots in their cooler in the truck. They were very kind… everyone out here on the AT willing offers to share food, medical supplies, and knowledge. What a nice escape from the reality of our world.
Getting going after lunch was real hard and I was running very slowly today so I wasn't looking to get to camp until near nightfall. My morale had plummeted again and I was again thinking that I couldn’t make it, I was very frustrated. I looked up again and without asking for anything in particular spoke to God and said something like… “That inspiration was nice this morning but its all gone now and I have no idea how I can continue on” I then promptly tripped over a root or rock and almost fell flat on my face. I decided then that if I was to have any further conversations with God that I would do it while standing still for my own well being. A very short time later I could hear people ahead of me and my bear bell signaled them I was approaching too. It was another group of Princeton OA students, a group I had not seen before, but instinctively they parted on the trail to make room for me to pass and cheered me on while hooting and hollering. I have to say that timing is everything and I sure needed that second bit of inspiration right then!
There really wasn’t much to see on Day 2 since I was in heavily treed areas and I didn’t take many pictures because my attitude stunk so bad all day. After mile 20 or so every step was torture on my legs and I had no energy. When I finally reached the footbridge over the Massachusetts Turnpike, I was toast. I was glad because I knew that camp was only 1.25 miles away but I was hurting so bad that even that knowledge didn’t raise my spirits. I called Jan from the overpass because I figured I could get good cell phone coverage on the Mass Pike… I’m sure she could tell from my voice how down I was. I talked to her about quitting and she tried to pick my spirits up as best as she could but no amount of encouragement was going to help me… I was a beaten man at that point. I feel really bad, because I know she is probably concerned for me this evening.
That last 1.25 miles was horrific… it was all steep uphill which I somehow missed on the map and that made me even angrier. I just wanted to get to the campsite. I was also angry because the cabin had closed 2 days ago and I would have liked to sleep in a rustic old AMC cabin. When I finally got to the turn off I realized that the cabin and campsites were yet another ½ mile off the trail! “Man, give me a break!” I thought.
Getting to the campsite was good. I limped in to find all the campsites filled by those darned OA students again! They weren’t the groups I had seen earlier, these were new groups and they had every right to the spots they took. I couldn’t see that though, I was angry because they took all the decent spots and I angrily tossed my pack onto another rocky patch of ground. I grabbed my towel and face cloth and headed to the lake to wash up… I was in no mood to talk to anyone. I decided then and there that when I met my parents to get resupplied the next morning I was going to instead tell them to take me home. I was a broken man and it really hurt to admit that I felt defeated. I had a battle raging in my head… on one hand I couldn’t push myself any further physically or mentally… on the other hand I couldn’t possibly quit, that just isn’t who I am but I knew I didn’t want to be here right now. I looked skyward again and complained to God in a manner far less constructive than I had earlier today. I’m sorry to say there was definitely no request or thanks in our conversation this time, and it was much more accusing and irreverent.
As I walked past the cabin to the pond there were people on the front porch which I assumed were college kids taking advantage of the tables. I ignored them as I walked past, I was angry and I did NOT want to socialize tonight. Someone called out to me though and invited me up on the porch, I felt obligated to go say a quick hello. It was the caretaker and he asked if I wanted to stay in the cabin tonight. I was confused and I’m sure I looked the part so he explained that there were plenty of bunks and I was welcome to use one… and he just picked blueberries so he’d have blueberry pancakes for us hikers in the morning. Every bit of anger, every bit of hopelessness drained out of me in that instant and I graciously accepted his offer. I said I needed to wash up and then I’d bring up my backpack.
I soaked my legs in the icy water as I washed up and it felt good but did little to reduce the pain in them. I changed into clean clothes in the seclusion of the pond and headed back to the cabin with my pack. Kevin (the caretaker) took me up to the second floor and I saw those glorious 2x4 and plywood bunks with mattresses! I was going to get a decent night sleep tonight!
The cabin is very simple with no electricity or water. It has a few gas lamps downstairs, a gas stove, and a big room for eating and relaxing. There are jugs of pond water on the porch that you need to use your own filter on but that is fine for me. I need my headlamp to get around after dark with no lights but again that is okay with me.
I boiled my water for dinner and started rehydrating my dehydrated meal as I sat and talked to my new friends… Two young women (trail names Itchy and Misty), a couple from Newport, RI, and the caretakers for the week Kevin and his fishing buddy George.
Itchy and Misty are section hikers who had started a few days ago at the MA/CT border and heading north thru MA and VT to the NH border before calling it quits for the winter. They are taking time off between high school and college to do as much of the AT as possible. The couple from Newport (I forgot their names already) are heading south into CT but have aspirations of hiking end to end. They own a sail-making business and she came from New Haven, CT and he from Massachusetts originally so they felt like neighbors.
Today was dedicated to Nick Glasgow, a young man I have never met who works for EMC on the left coast. He has Leukemia and just received a successful bone marrow transplant a month ago and is weathering the tough period where your body may reject the foreign matter placed in it. I’ve been following his progress for many months and pray that he continues to beat back the cancer. Gosh I wish we could defeat this disease!
I stretched my leg muscles in the dark at my bunk for the first time during my trek. My muscles were extremely tight but stretching was good for them, and having climbed into my sleeping bag I know that I will be okay come tomorrow after a very good night’s sleep.
Dedicated to Nick Glasgow
Start: Crystal Mtn Campsite in Dalton, MA
Low point: 1,112 ft Gulf Rd in Dalton, MA
High point: 2,220 ft Crystal Mtn in Dalton, MA
End: Upper Goose Pond in Lee, MA
Distance: 25.75 miles
Okay, lets just get one thing straight this morning… I was WRONG… sleeping with no sleeping pad was NOT fun last night. My thin sleeping bag was no help and I served to heat the cold ground and rocks underneath my tent. I was cold and wicked uncomfortable all night and got very little sleep. I am sore everywhere now and my leg muscles (quads) are so sore I can barely stand up. Sitting here in my tent this morning I have decided I’ll probably have to start out walking to get my legs loose enough to run… I’m so sore I can’t really even stretch out my muscles because they feel as if they’ll rip in two.
I really needed my thermal tights last night but didn’t pack them and I broke a cardinal rule in Boy Scouts and did not put on a pair of clean, dry socks and base layer before going to bed so my feet and core were cold too. I won’t forget that step tonight!
I have no blisters or hot spots on feet thank goodness but I am already getting chafing elsewhere and its NOT comfortable. Time to dig into my medical bag. My pack is also sitting perfectly so far. My shoulders are not sore, nor are my hips which I thought would happen with 17 lbs bouncing on my back as I run. Its different than just hiking with a pack… the bounce between strides makes a tight fitting pack all the more crucial. If only my legs were in as good a shape as every other part of my body! You know I’m hurting when the college kids got up and broke camp before I did!
Crystal Mountain is shrouded in clouds and mist this morning which makes the constant wind cold and raw I set up my tent in the only direction I could given the limited space and it faced the wind last night… not good. My tent is designed to let the air flow through it for good ventilation, which is nice in warn weather or when you have a toasty warm sleeping bag and pad. Last night it acted as a wind tunnel and I was quite chilly.
Well I’m not gonna make it 26 miles down the trail today unless I get out and on the trail soon…
-------------------------------------------------------------
Today was a brutal day. I knew day 2 was going to be really hard after a tough Day 1 made me sore, but I never imagined this. I’m now sitting on the porch of the Upper Goose Pond Cabin relaxing but this day was anything but relaxing. I’m embarrassed to say that I was so close to quitting multiple times today and was totally miserable. I was sitting at the bottom of the pit of despair most of the day and I am quite sure I would have quit had it not been for 3 small acts of generosity that saved me at my lows.
I was only about 1 mile into my 26 mile day and was hurting so bad that all I could think about was running out to a road somewhere and having Jan come pick me up. At that point I stopped briefly and said a short prayer… I told God that this was very important to me and I could really use some inspiration. It was strange, as bad as I felt I didn’t ask for much, nor did I complain about being stuck in this 45 year old body. I took a drink and started to run again, and as I rounded the next turn in the trail my friends from Princeton OA were there and they lined the trail and clapped and cheered me on as I passed. I told them how much I needed that, wished them well and continued up the trail towards Dalton, MA. As I ran away I looked up briefly and thanked God for that inspiration he brought me, my spirit was rejuvenated and I had a bit of a spring to my stride again.
I got lost once today, no not in the wilderness but on the streets of Dalton, MA! A unknowing non-hiker decided to staple their tag sale sign over the blazes (markers) on the telephone poll that marked where I was supposed to turn. I ended up running another 6/10 of a mile down the wrong road before I figured out something was wrong. Had I had my AT maps handy it would have been intuitively obvious where to turn but I was in a fog and simply following blazes. Another 1.2 miles added to a day I already couldn’t see myself completing.
I came up with a survival mantra that I told myself over and over again… “Every step you take gets you closer to home, and every stride you run gets you there quicker” Amazingly it worked great! It never failed to get me running again even though I felt like I couldn’t run another 10 feet. And once I got running, it was usually easy to stay running until something stopped me. It was like autopilot… the faster I ran, the less time I had to think about how much I hurt because I was too focused on the terrain ahead of me and where I needed to put my foot next.
I ate lunch along Branch Rd near a peaceful pond, the sun was strong and I actually got a bit of a burn on my face. It felt good to rest since I was so sore. A couple came down from the nearby October Mtn campsite and we chatted for a while. They live in MA and decided to camp on the AT after having talked about it for years… they weren’t hiking though, just enjoying the outdoors. The saw how small my pack was and asked if I needed food because they had lots in their cooler in the truck. They were very kind… everyone out here on the AT willing offers to share food, medical supplies, and knowledge. What a nice escape from the reality of our world.
Getting going after lunch was real hard and I was running very slowly today so I wasn't looking to get to camp until near nightfall. My morale had plummeted again and I was again thinking that I couldn’t make it, I was very frustrated. I looked up again and without asking for anything in particular spoke to God and said something like… “That inspiration was nice this morning but its all gone now and I have no idea how I can continue on” I then promptly tripped over a root or rock and almost fell flat on my face. I decided then that if I was to have any further conversations with God that I would do it while standing still for my own well being. A very short time later I could hear people ahead of me and my bear bell signaled them I was approaching too. It was another group of Princeton OA students, a group I had not seen before, but instinctively they parted on the trail to make room for me to pass and cheered me on while hooting and hollering. I have to say that timing is everything and I sure needed that second bit of inspiration right then!
There really wasn’t much to see on Day 2 since I was in heavily treed areas and I didn’t take many pictures because my attitude stunk so bad all day. After mile 20 or so every step was torture on my legs and I had no energy. When I finally reached the footbridge over the Massachusetts Turnpike, I was toast. I was glad because I knew that camp was only 1.25 miles away but I was hurting so bad that even that knowledge didn’t raise my spirits. I called Jan from the overpass because I figured I could get good cell phone coverage on the Mass Pike… I’m sure she could tell from my voice how down I was. I talked to her about quitting and she tried to pick my spirits up as best as she could but no amount of encouragement was going to help me… I was a beaten man at that point. I feel really bad, because I know she is probably concerned for me this evening.
That last 1.25 miles was horrific… it was all steep uphill which I somehow missed on the map and that made me even angrier. I just wanted to get to the campsite. I was also angry because the cabin had closed 2 days ago and I would have liked to sleep in a rustic old AMC cabin. When I finally got to the turn off I realized that the cabin and campsites were yet another ½ mile off the trail! “Man, give me a break!” I thought.
Getting to the campsite was good. I limped in to find all the campsites filled by those darned OA students again! They weren’t the groups I had seen earlier, these were new groups and they had every right to the spots they took. I couldn’t see that though, I was angry because they took all the decent spots and I angrily tossed my pack onto another rocky patch of ground. I grabbed my towel and face cloth and headed to the lake to wash up… I was in no mood to talk to anyone. I decided then and there that when I met my parents to get resupplied the next morning I was going to instead tell them to take me home. I was a broken man and it really hurt to admit that I felt defeated. I had a battle raging in my head… on one hand I couldn’t push myself any further physically or mentally… on the other hand I couldn’t possibly quit, that just isn’t who I am but I knew I didn’t want to be here right now. I looked skyward again and complained to God in a manner far less constructive than I had earlier today. I’m sorry to say there was definitely no request or thanks in our conversation this time, and it was much more accusing and irreverent.
As I walked past the cabin to the pond there were people on the front porch which I assumed were college kids taking advantage of the tables. I ignored them as I walked past, I was angry and I did NOT want to socialize tonight. Someone called out to me though and invited me up on the porch, I felt obligated to go say a quick hello. It was the caretaker and he asked if I wanted to stay in the cabin tonight. I was confused and I’m sure I looked the part so he explained that there were plenty of bunks and I was welcome to use one… and he just picked blueberries so he’d have blueberry pancakes for us hikers in the morning. Every bit of anger, every bit of hopelessness drained out of me in that instant and I graciously accepted his offer. I said I needed to wash up and then I’d bring up my backpack.
I soaked my legs in the icy water as I washed up and it felt good but did little to reduce the pain in them. I changed into clean clothes in the seclusion of the pond and headed back to the cabin with my pack. Kevin (the caretaker) took me up to the second floor and I saw those glorious 2x4 and plywood bunks with mattresses! I was going to get a decent night sleep tonight!
The cabin is very simple with no electricity or water. It has a few gas lamps downstairs, a gas stove, and a big room for eating and relaxing. There are jugs of pond water on the porch that you need to use your own filter on but that is fine for me. I need my headlamp to get around after dark with no lights but again that is okay with me.
I boiled my water for dinner and started rehydrating my dehydrated meal as I sat and talked to my new friends… Two young women (trail names Itchy and Misty), a couple from Newport, RI, and the caretakers for the week Kevin and his fishing buddy George.
Itchy and Misty are section hikers who had started a few days ago at the MA/CT border and heading north thru MA and VT to the NH border before calling it quits for the winter. They are taking time off between high school and college to do as much of the AT as possible. The couple from Newport (I forgot their names already) are heading south into CT but have aspirations of hiking end to end. They own a sail-making business and she came from New Haven, CT and he from Massachusetts originally so they felt like neighbors.
Today was dedicated to Nick Glasgow, a young man I have never met who works for EMC on the left coast. He has Leukemia and just received a successful bone marrow transplant a month ago and is weathering the tough period where your body may reject the foreign matter placed in it. I’ve been following his progress for many months and pray that he continues to beat back the cancer. Gosh I wish we could defeat this disease!
I stretched my leg muscles in the dark at my bunk for the first time during my trek. My muscles were extremely tight but stretching was good for them, and having climbed into my sleeping bag I know that I will be okay come tomorrow after a very good night’s sleep.
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