Laurel Ridge Campsite to Shay’s Rebellion Monument – 11.1 miles
Wednesday, October 10th 2018
Well… today will break yesterday’s record of highest elevation on the trail so far… I’ve got Mt. Everett to look forward to! 2602 feet! My legs were not sharing my excitement and instead were asking if it was time to go home yet. I politely told them to shut up. I was really struggling with these mountains. The climbs were taking forever but the descents were even worse! The views though… were really something. I felt very satisfied with what I was accomplishing and knew I only had 11 miles to go today. The day started immediately with a climb up Mt. Race… which was a 700 foot climb over two miles up to 2365 feet… not terrible. Then down again and repeat… this time up 700 more feet over just 0.7 miles to Mt. Everett. This was a tough one… but I took my time. It was mostly rocks and they were very slippery. At the top there was a nice guy there with his dogs who was kind enough to take my photo. I didn’t pause as long as I should have to take in the views because my blood was really pumping and I was just so anxious to bang out the rest of these miles… and I was a bit nervous about the descents…my knees were really starting to protest. Down, down, down… almost 2000 feet to MA 41… I was in such pain when I reached the bottom and so rattled by so many close calls with missteps on the slippery rocks that almost sent me over the edge that I made the decision to ditch my pack behind a tree along the edge of the road and hike the next two miles to my car and then drive back and retrieve my pack. I was EXHAUSTED. About halfway down when I was REALLY missing my poles I grabbed two sticks and started using them almost like crutches to support my weight while I descended. Either my physical condition had really deteriorated lately or this Taconic Range was really a killer! Anyway… I made it Shay’s Rebellion Monument and poetically re-enacted a rebellion of my own! I had been victorious!
Wherever I May Roam 