The Beginning of the End

I’m writing this from Manchester Vermont, at mile 1655, which is just beyond the three-quarter mark of the trail. Here, I took my first shower in over a week, a new record for me. After being pampered with 5 showers over the mere 52 miles of Connecticut trail,  I managed to pass through all 90 miles of my home state of Massachusetts (and another 50 miles of Vermont) without a single one. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Massachusetts. It had moments of feeling like the northeast hiking I know of rocky climbs to foggy summits, but also many pleasant, distinct, wooded sections I didn’t know I’d love so much.

More than 100 days in, I’m still having fun, but I do have more moments when I find myself looking forward to relaxing in one place without the (self-imposed) burden of needing to get miles in. Mind you, I’ll still be getting miles in, but there will be fewer miles (or they will be on a bike). After a series of breaks in NYC, White Plains, and Connecticut, I feel immersed once again in trail life, which I’m enjoying after having one leg in and one leg out for a while. 

The terrain has continued to get more rugged. I’m hiking more hours than ever (last week, I hiked the most hours of the entire trip, over 57), but certainly not more miles. I’ve had to recalibrate my speed expectations to go from 3mph (2.5 with stops) down to 2.5 mph (2 with stops).

There’s lots of fun stuff to look forward to as I enter the end of this adventure. As a guy told me, unprompted, on the way down from Mount Greylock, “all the good shit is in front of you.” I’m excited about my last few meetups on trail, getting to hike through the White Mountains, and am finally allowing myself to think about Katahdin. It was in the White Mountains last year, with my dad, that I was seriously considering this adventure. In a funny coincidence, it seems likely we will be hiking together through a very similar, if not identical stretch of trail we hiked then.