Wicked's Hiking Log

August 8, 18:00, Little Rock Pond Shelter: I got my new boots -- only $25.00 -- and they feel great. I got lucky this time. My last cheapie boots fit lousy and gave me blisters. These fit great. I've cut some unnecessary equipment and my pack weight is the same as when I left the trail on Friday night. And the clincher: all along I've been struggling with my pack, adjusting everything, trying to make it comfortable. Today, I looked it over carefully and I discovered some adjustment straps I'd been overlooking. All this time I've felt like my pack didn't fit right. Now that I've made this one last adjustment, it feels like half the weight!

Big mileage tomorrow - probably Killington. Yep, I'm so full of myself that I'm planning on doing my longest day yet -- over Killington, a mountain higher than any I've ever climbed. I can do it, too! My only bad point is that I left my hiking stick up near Burlington. I guess I'll have to walk back and get it, huh?

OK, bear story. I've finally got one. On Friday, I staggered into Lost Pond Shelter and dropped my pack. I pulled out my food bag to make lunch and I realized I needed water first. OK, grab the filter and bottles and wander down to the stream. I got my water and came back. What happened next proved to me beyond a doubt that I'm a real thru-hiker now. There was a bear just poking his (her? I didn't flip the bear to check!) nose into my food bag. It never really occurred to me that this was a bear. It was something trying to steal my food! Never, ever, EVER try to take food from a thru hiker! I came running up screaming and yelling, "Get the Hell away from my food!" The bear gave one look over its shoulder at me -- I don't know if it looked guilty or scared -- and ran for the hills. I don't know what I'd have done if it hadn't run. I just don't have any recipes for bear. I'd have to improvise.

For those who've never met black bears face-to-snout, think of them as 400 lbs chipmunks. They're scared of people, but eager to swipe food if they can. If you let them, they'll come right up to eat from your hand. My advice: don't. Feeding wild animals of any size is a bad idea. It's bad for you, and bad for them, since they'll learn to look at humans as a source of food.

You'll note I said nothing much about my town day in Burlington. It was fun, but it didn't have a lot to do with the trail. I guess I just don't consider the city to be meat for my journals.

The caretaker just came by to pick up the fee for the shelter. (This one is a fee shelter - assorted sites along the Long Trail have a $5 overnight fee for caretaker salaries for environmental considerations. Some areas really need it, too!) I guess that means bedtime has arrived.