Make it count: Day #155

Friday, August 14th - Day #155 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 15.0
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 2093.6/2,193 (95.47%). 99.4 miles left!!!

Monson (2078.5) to Long Pond Stream Lean To (2093.6) - tent at Long Pond Stream Lean To

Total ascent - 2,896’
Total descent - 3,139’

Total states completed - 13/14

**No rain - Nice weather day. Not quite as hot as the past few days. Highs in the low 80’s.

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99.4 miles left to go!!!! Tomorrow I’ll be passing over the 2,100 mile marker. 7 more days to go on my journey. A week from today - if all continues well - I’ll be summiting Katahdin.

1 day down in the 100-mile wilderness. Not a great one for me. Last night - my private room at the Hostal sat above the picnic table and fire pit located outside. There were several hikers partying well after midnight out there. I couldn’t get to sleep from all the noise. Because of this - I was really weak and fatigued today. I fell behind everybody and they had to wait on me at breaks. And - this made me angry because I couldn’t keep up (it’s a competitive thing). Then - I stopped talking because I was mad (keeping in my feelings) - and things just progressively got worse from there.

Oh-boy. Days like today are so challenging for me. I know I have this competitive mindset - I know it shouldn’t be a big deal if I’m the last guy in - but it’s so hard to control that fire sometimes. Another point - when you’re hiking with 4 people and you fall behind a 1/2 mile or so - it’s also kind of scary. You really have no backup. If something happens to you - they would never know it. Now - I’ve hiked the better part of the AT all by myself - so this emotion really shouldn’t matter at this point - but I guess I’ve been hiking with people so frequently lately - I’ve come to depend on it. I’d compare this to having a spouse, kids, roommates - you get comfortable when people are around - when they’re not - sometimes it can feel isolating. Live and learn.

I just need to keep positive. Tomorrow is only 10 miles - but a really tough 10 miles. The day starts with a 1,700’ climb right out of the chute. I might start before everybody else and see how I’m doing.

The hike today had some beautiful scenery. Lakes everywhere. We saw 3 beavers in this bog - unbelievable. It’s fairly rare to see a beaver - but 3 of them (including a baby) is really special. There were several creek crossings. On one of the crossings - I put on my camp sandals because we had to wade knee deep to get across. All good.

OK - it’s 8:50pm - I definitely need sleep tonight. I’ll sign off for now. No cell signal - I’ll try to post on the mountain top tomorrow.

Here’s to remaining healthy and strong!