Day 150
Start: Griffith Lake
End: Ledge Site on Bear Mountain
Miles Hiked: 16.5
Miles on AT: 1685.7
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Last night, I had a wonderful sleep. The key to sleeping well on the trail is ear plugs. I wear them almost every night because the tiniest rustle of a leaf or gust of wind can keep me awake and wondering if an ax murderer is out to get me. With ear plugs, I’m blissfully unaware and can sleep with no worries.
That morning, I had breakfast by the lake with the Glitter Gang and got “glittered” myself. Today, I would hike with streaks of glitter underneath my eyes. I liked it! Having breakfast with us was a father-son duo. The son was profoundly autistic and almost non verbal, but had been hiking with his dad for decades now, since he was a kid. According to his dad, he loved every moment of it and always asked when the next trip was going to be. It was really inspiring to see the dedication, love, and care this father had put into making memories with his son and challenging him to do more than others thought was possible.
There’s a lot of talk about representation in the outdoors these days, but one thing we don’t really see represented are people with intellectual differences out on the trail. When I saw that young man with his father, I saw someone who just loved being outside, no matter what their perceived abilities were. There are also many people out on the trail with invisible illnesses or disabilities that go unrecognized. You don’t have to be the strongest or fastest hiker to enjoy the outdoors. As long as you get out there, that’s all that matters.
After saying our farewells, I continued on the trail. The trail was pretty easy today, with no large climbs until the end of the day. I turned on my audiobook, put one foot in front of the other and kept moving. For lunch I stopped at Little Rock Pond Shelter and had lunch on a rock by the lake. It was a slightly overcast day that called for rain, but it hadn’t come yet.
As I was eating, I heard a large splashing in the lake to my left. To my surprise, I saw a happy Golden Retriever living his best life, swimming around without a care in the world. And, no, he wasn’t just walking in the water, he was swimming. I swear he was doing his own form of laps because he would swim out and then swim back in, out and in, over and over. He put a huge smile on my face.
After lunch, it was time to tackle the first big climb of the day. Before I started the steep part, though, a familiar face called out to me from up ahead. It was Cinderella! She had flipped up to Katahdin sometime after Virginia and now we wereerting again! She gave me the intel on the Whites in NH and assured me that if I made it this far, I could conquer them. The Whites were still a while away but I was definitely intimidated by them. But, her words gave me a bit of ease.
After we chatted for a while, I continued north and she south. The climb was a good one, not too hard, but just challenging enough to feel good about reaching the top. Up there, I had a snack while I enjoyed a little scrap of cell service. Then, it was back down.
I wanted to reach a shelter, but the sky was looking ominous and I didn’t want to get soaked. So, I found a stealth site and headed to it. Just as I arrived at the site, the first drops began. I quickly set up my tent and cooked my dinner before the downpour began. Perfect timing! It was nice to be in camp a little earlier today. But, before I knew it, the sun went down and the day was over.
And that’s day 150.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.