Miles: 11.5; Elevation gained: 1,200 ft

We are back on Trail and I am again playing catch up here due to rain, internet signal, and fatigue. We set the return date for Wednesday, August 15th. We got a ride back to the trail head above the Mountaintop Inn in Chittenden.

The ankle: I think it was a pretty bad sprain, and at first I did the whole RICE thing (rest, ice, compression, elevation) to heal it. Then I read and and watched vids to the effect that sprains don’t heal on their own, and that ice should be applied as pain relief only, and all the other stuff was bunk as well. The idea is that the body knows best: it sends “nutrients” to the injury to heal it, hence the swelling, and that to prevent this is just interference. Moreover, once the swelling subsides somewhat, the ankle should be massaged and tested to prevent scar tissue from locking it up. So 2 days after I rolled it I started moving around on it, stopped icing, and refrained from anti inflammatories. On Tuesday the 13th I loaded my back pack and took a practice run in the fields and woods behind the house. It was only 1.5 miles, but it felt ok and I decided to keep the appointment with Larry the plumber and his pickup truck for 7:30 Wed morning. I wrapped the ankle in tape (another video!) and having reached the extraction point on the fire road below the trail, we were back at it.

It was 1.2 miles back to Logan Shelter, where there was a group of incoming Cornell freshmen on an orientation outing, and we hiked the 9 miles or so up to Brandon Gap which is crossed by Route 73. I had to be super careful about foot placement, especially descending, cuz I felt like the slightest wobble would rip the ligaments again and we’d be done for sure. Another challenge was that Cliff’s (euphemism alert!!) enthusiasm was on the wane, which produced a litany of “why are we doing this, why did I agree to this, my summer is wasted,” etc. This came from his having been in the house for 4 days seeing me laid up, measuring the size of my affected foot, and deciding there was no way we would continue. He was in a bit of shock to find himself grinding up and down roots rocks and mud again.

We got to Brandon Gap a bit late in the day, but proceeded up the north side up a slope called Mount Horrid. About halfway up there was a very nice set of cliffs overlooking the Gap and decent views east and west, which was doubly nice as we’d hiked for 2 days in solid woods with even the peaks we climbed socked in by trees.

As we got to the peak we started to hear thunder getting closer and set up tent in the best spot we could find, flat and soft enough but with a bunch of bear droppings the whisked away as best we could (don’t it make you wanna back pack??). We got rained on, and water came in but only on me, which given Cliff’s mood was probably for the best!

Miles: 11.5