Thursday, June 30, 2011

Days 57 and 58

Andrew Thompson: AT Record-Holder
Day 57: NH 25A to Franconia Notch - 35.5 miles.
This was the hardest day yet on the Trail.  I know there will be harder, but the mileage, the accumulation of fatigue, and the tough terrain took their toll on this day.  Mt. Moosilauke was really neat and Andrew ran with me in this section.  The next section was 16+ miles unaided over the Kinsman Mtns to end the day.  It was tough and slow with lots of hand-over-hand climbing.  I was determined to not be out after dark on this day and pushed very hard to make sure that I wasn't.  16.3 miles in 6.25 hrs sounds super slow, but I can assure you it was not.  Absolutely amazingly beautiful country here in NH, but in the same breath tough and unforgiving.

Day 58:  Zero Day.  I was pretty whipped after yesterday and woke up to driving rain this morning.  I got up and got ready to go, but made the decision at 7am that climbing up to 5,000' and doing a 28 mile day with no aid-spots (read bail-out spots) in weather that was 48 deg and driving rain at 1,500' would not be fun and potentially dangerous.  I really needed a day to rest-up for the final push anyway and I think my wife has been missing me a little bit.  I don't think 30 years from now I'll care whether I finished the AT in 69 or 70 days, I just want to make sure I can finish in one piece at this point.

3 comments:

  1. Good call man, you'll probably enjoy today relaxing with your wife more than you'd have enjoyed it on the trail! Wish you luck for your last couple weeks out there!

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  2. A zero day is certainly ok. Glad you got to run with Andrew a bit and I am sure he got you physched for the push towards the finish as it is quickly approaching!

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  3. Hey, everybody deserves a zero day sometimes. I have really enjoyed following along with you on the blog. It will be over before you know it, then real life will kick back in. Enjoy.....

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