Appalachian Trail Day 133 - Upper Goose Pond Cabin to Washington Mountain Road (Mile 1555 to Mile 1566)

Last night I slept fairly well, but I was awakened several times by a really terrible odor. I think there's an animal crawling around outside of my tarp. I can't hear it, but I can smell it. It's a foul odor; very musky with a little bit of rotten meat mixed in.  I'm terrified it could be a bear, although it may be something as benign as a raccoon or possum. I take out my headlamp and shine it around and say firmly "if you are a bear please go away." I end up having to do this two more times throughout the night. Whatever it was went away for good and I was able to fall back asleep for an extra few hours.

There is not a flurry of activity this morning around the cabin. The vibe is very relaxed, and no one is in a big hurry to get back on the trail. John makes a huge pot of percolated coffee, and he is flipping pancakes for anyone who wants them. I accept the coffee but decline the pancakes, as my stomach feels a little off.

I am packing up my camp when my stomach clenches. I run for the privy that is thankfully very close to my hammock, and make it just in time to avoid disaster.  I wash my hands thoroughly with dish soap next to the dishwashing area, hoping it was a one time occurrance, but my stomach still feel upset. 

I chat for a few moments with the other backpackers around the picnic table. I thank John and his wife Kathy for being wonderful hosts, and use a QR code posted next to the picnic table to leave a donation to support the cabin.

I shoulder my pack and leave the lovely respite, so glad I made it here,  but with the regret I couldn't stay and relax longer. I depart the cabin by 7:30 AM, ready to seize the day. 

Unfortunately the only thing that will be seizing today is my stomach. I make it a mile before I have to drop my pack in a hurry and run into the woods, barely having time to squat behind a tree.  I am perilously close to the trail, and I pray that no one walks by or they will see me in all my glory. 

Fortunately,  no one comes by.  I hope that my body can rid itself of the bad cooties quickly, but dehydration could be of huge potential problem today. I chug a lot of water while hiking the two miles to meet my dad at the next road crossing.

I near our predetermined meeting spot, when I see Dad on the side of the trail. He walked in a little ways to meet me. We walk together back to his car, where he gives me a breakfast sandwich. I eat it unenthusiastically, knowing that I need the nutrition, but my stomach is getting more unsettled by the minute.  I think the cheese I ate last night was the culprit for my current situation. 

We discuss our meeting spot and I consult the FarOut app. My preferred pickup point is 16 miles up the trail, but there are many other road crossings prior to that if I have to bail on my hike today. I pack extra baby wipes and a Powerade while Dad fills up my water bladder to the brim with three liters of water from the 5 gallon carboy we brought for this purpose. I grab an extra pair of shorts and a plastic bag in case of am accident. 

Digestive upset is very common on the trail; long distance hikers carry a lot of food that probably shouldn't be carried into the wilderness without the benefit of refrigeration.  Hikers frequently pack pizza, hoagies, and even rotisserie chickens into the wild after a town visit. 

My favorite is cheese,  which I have carried for days and eaten successfully without issue for my entire life.  Lately, my appetite has increased so much I have eschewed individually wrapped portions in favor of larger packages of slices.  I guess I must go back to the tiny, pre-packaged portions to prevent this from happening again. 

Armed with everything I need for the day, I say goodbye and head up the trail which, of course, goes straight up the mountain. I am able to make it two miles before I have to stop again. 

The trail on top of the ridge is beautiful and peaceful. I am so thankful that if I'm going to be stricken with a malady, it's on this stretch of trail, which, after the initial climb, is the easiest elevation gain I've had in the last couple weeks. 

I plod along, taking it easy because I don't think I can eat anything,  and I don't want to bonk; that terrible situation when one's body gets depleted of glycogen stores, caused by inappropriate fueling during physical exertion. I sip on the Powerade and take frequent sips of water. After two hours I eat an apple, and although my stomach turns a little in disagreement,  it sits fairly well, even though I have to make another quick trip into the trees.

I stop by a pretty stream to find another hiker there filtering water. His name is Grave Digger, and he is from Germany, trying to thru hike the trail before his visa expires in mid September. He made it to Harpers Ferry, but due to the intense and unrelenting heat of the Mid-Atlantic, he flipped up to Massachusetts, hoping to escape to cooler climes. Today is his first day back on the trail, and he comments that he wishes it were cooler here. I tell him that the last two weeks have been crazy hot here as well.

I continue on the lovely trail and have my head down, focusing on my footsteps, listening to music, trying to distract me from my misery. My waste pack is extremely uncomfortable sitting against my stomach, and I consider stopping and taking it off and putting it inside my pack since I can't eat anything in it anyway.

I see a movement out of the corner of my eye and turn to see that I am face to face with a decent sized black bear less than 15 feet off the trail. 

Adrenaline kicks in and my first thought is to look around to make sure that there are no cubs behind me. At the same time I stand up tall and start to raise my poles to look as big as possible, as black bears have poor eyesight and will not challenge something they believe is bigger than they are. 

The bear sees me and literally jumps a foot off the ground. The bear then jumps behind a huge oak tree next to him, and clings to the side of the tree, peering out behind the tree from the other side. He instantly thinks better of climbing and jumps down and runs like a bolt of lightning in the opposite direction. 

The entire interaction lasted perhaps 30 seconds. I have no idea which one of us was more startled.  In retrospect I think it may have been the bear. The poor thing is obviously scared to death of people, which I am glad for, not only for my safety,  but for the security of the enigmatic creature.

A scared bear means that it's less likely to try to interact with humans and less likely to cause damage to property and eventually loss of life, either for a human or for the bear. Usually the interactions start out relatively harmlessly, with hikers leaving their food unattended. A morsel here and a scrap there habituates the bears to the availability of food when a human is around.  The next thing you know the bear is going into campsites and even inside of shelters to score an easy dinner.

I am shaking from the encounter yet also exhilarated. This was definitely the highlight of my day so far! Unfortunately the whole thing happened so fast I could not get any pictures, but I'm glad that the beast skedaddled so quickly that I couldn't even reach for my phone.

About a half a mile later I see something I have never witnessed before on the trail. A poster board announcing Trail Magic just ahead! The poster board is decorated with tiny multi-colored blinking lights. 

Fifty feet later I emerge onto a gravel forest road and see a red Tesla next to a net-enclosed camping pavilion. A man stands up and tells me to grab drinks and snacks from two coolers in front of the tent.  I take a Gatorade but decline the snacks, and sit inside the tent on a camp chair, protected from the mosquitoes.

Grave Digger comes by a short time later,  and we chat for a while.  The gentleman has a guest book,  which I sign before getting back on the trail,  grateful for the wonderful Trail Magic. 

An hour later,  I try to eat some Cheetos, one of my guilty pleasures on the trail. I love them and figure the salt would be good for me. All I have eaten today is an Egg McMuffin and an apple. I eat a handful and within minutes I regret doing so. My stomach is lurching. My goal was to hike 15 miles today, but don't think I can do this for another six miles, especially as hot as it is.

 I decide I am done for the day. I pull out my phone and see the next road crossing is two miles ahead.  I call my dad and tell him I'm pulling the plug on my hike and going to get a hotel room tonight.  He is available to come get me, and when I emerge onto Washington Mountain Road 45 minutes later,  he is already there waiting for me.

The ride back to Pittsfield is short, and 20 minutes later I am in my hotel room. Dad takes my dirty clothes to a nearby laundromat to clean them while I shower. I really enjoy being pampered like this! 

We talked about going out to dinner but I really don't think I can stomach much, so he drives to a nearby grocery store and picks me up some tomato soup and microwave ready lemon chicken piccata. I warm up the soup and it sits very well, but I will save the piccata for breakfast tomorrow. 

We hang out together in his room for an hour before I retire for the night. I can barely keep my eyes open and at 8:00 PM I am out. 

Today's Stats: 11.2 miles,  2,028 feet gain

Trail Stats: 1,566 miles,  305K feet gain