July 25, 2018 – Daily Stats – End to End on the Long Trail
- Hiked 11.1 miles
- Start: Appalachian Gap mile 106.8
- End: Lincoln Gap mile 117.9
Slack Packing is Awesome!
Having the day off yesterday was wonderful! It was such a treat and Val offered True Friend and me another treat. She offered to help us slack pack for the day. Slack packing is when you leave behind most of your gear to make your hike faster or easier. The initial ascent had a series of ladders. I was immensely grateful that we were able to climb up and over without our packs on.
Ski it if you can!
The weather was dreary as we carried on at a brisk pace. I delighted in crossing over the many ski resorts and had True Friend take a picture of me on Mad River Glen’s single chair lift. I have heard many adventurous stories about this ski only resort and the slogan is Mad River Glen Ski it if you can! This winter I really would like to plan a trip in which I ski all the resorts I hiked across on this trail.
Slack packing past an accident
We continued on, traversing Sugarbush, another ski resort, on our hike. Unfortunately, just past the final summit we saw a gentleman that had fallen. His friend said he could not move, but they had already been in touch with 911. It was unsettling to say the least and we watched our foot placement much more closely.
As we passed the injured man did lift his head to see the women hiking in dresses. He said a few words and seemed to be of the mindset that if you hike enough eventually you will need help along the way. We offered what we could, but ultimately headed on our way.
When first responders started to pass us we gave them updates about the gentleman and wished them well.
River of Gratitude
True Friend and I often practice gratitude on the trail. We even go through a river of gratitude activity in which we get into a flow of expressing what we are thankful for. On this day, we were both grateful to know there are people who will go above and beyond to help if we need it.
We ended the day with dinner at a local smokehouse and dog snuggles.