Day 157
Start: Stealth Site
End: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles Hiked: 14.2
Miles on AT: 1783.7
Follow my journey on Instagram (@jenbrownhikes) for more updates!
I started this morning with a traverse across a big and a good 1200-foot climb. I was still feeling a bit sluggish and not in the mood for hiking, but at least I knew I had a full can of Coke to motivate me to get to the top. The bog was beautiful in the morning light, and I took the climb nice and slow.
At the top, I was greeted with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. I had to admit, the weather had been magically wonderful for the AT, which is known as a notoriously rainy and wet trail. Today, the air was mild and still reminiscent of summer. I couldn’t complain at all. I sat at the view, sipping my Coke and enjoying the last of the cookies I had been gifted in town.
After a while, I moved down the mountain and took a longer snack break at the bottom. One thing that hadn’t faded in the trail was my appetite, that was for sure. A few more hikers passed me by, but instead of following them on the trail, I opted for a short road walk that was a little longer than the trail, but flatter. I had another large climb coming up, so I decided to save my energy for that.
Along the way, I passed some beautiful country homes and more apple trees (although I didn’t try them this time.) I climbed another 1200 feet up to Lambert Ridge and enjoyed a nice lunch splayed out on the rocks in the sun. I could see a few clouds starting to roll in, but they didn’t look threatening yet.
My next steep climb was Smarts Mountain, where I would be rewarded with a fire tower with a view. I love it when I can climb a mountain and actually get a view at the top instead of feeling lost in the trees. As soon as I started the climb, I knew it was going to be a little painful. It was steeeeep! I just tried to keep a steady (slower) pace while keeping my breathing even. Luckily, it wasn’t a long climb, and I eventually got to the top where I could catch my breath. A large group of Dartmouth freshmen were congregated around the bottom of the fire tower, but, after navigating around them, I finally got my view.
And, wow, was it gorgeous! I’m sure to a lot of people all of these views look the same, but to me, it’s always a breath of fresh air after looking at trees all day. After a few minutes up there, it was time to head down. The clouds were getting a bit darker, so I found a water source, filtered enough to get to my shelter, and headed on down.
On the way to the shelter, it started to mist a bit, so I knew I had to get all of my things set up at the shelter before the sky opened up. After my last climb, I finally made it to the shelter and, wow, was it busy. Not only were there about 5 other section/thru hikers, there was also another large group of Dartmouth freshmen. I guess I was going to start seeing a lot of them since it was the beginning of the school year and prime time for bonding excursions.
After I got my tent set up, I ate dinner and chatted with the other hikers. The cool thing about this shelter was that it lived up to its name: Hexacuba Shelter. The shelter was constructed in the shape of a hexagon with 2 sides open for access. Plus, the privy, named the Penta Privy, was, you guessed it, built in the shape of a hexagon. Someone must really have loved geometry!
Just as I had predicted, the sky opened up within an hour of me arriving. Luckily, I stayed dry, but the Dartmouth students weren’t as lucky. There was some issue with their tarp and it wasn’t keeping them dry. Before we knew it, 10 college students came over to the shelter with their wet bags and tried to pile in. Eventually, everyone found a spot in the shelter, but I was happy to have my tent to escape to.
With the patter of the rain lulling me to sleep, I closed my eyes, grateful for rest from a day full of climbing.
And that’s day 157.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.