Vacation all I ever wanted...vacation all I ever needed...
Today can be best summed up in two words: humid and water.
We were on trail by 6:30 am with 7 climbs for the day and roughly 18 miles planned. The first four climbs: Bruce, Buchanan, Domey's Dome, and Gilpin occurred within the first 5 miles and it was super muggy. I was dripping with sweat the whole time. I packed out 1.5 L of water but it was gone by VT 242.
No water sources! I climbed Jay Peak dry and that is when I began to experience pain in my CHEST! I stopped and tried to slow my heart beats but they wouldn't slow down. I told Whitetail something was wrong when I saw him at the summit. There were a group of hikers there and several of them gave me water and suggested that I might be severely dehydrated. One suggested that my intake of advil may be the problem. Regardless, I needed to get to water and it was 1.5 miles downhill.
I walked.
I got to Laura Woodward Shelter and downed 3 L of water and within an hour I began to feel better. i.e. I was back to my talkative self.
My water bladder was bone dry after hiking 4 miles to Shooting Star Shelter. No water at Shooting Star Shelter. In fact there was NO WATER for the final 5 miles. We attempted to hitch at VT 105 just to get water but stopped attempting after 30 mins. I began hiking in just my compression shorts to keep my body temperature as cool as possible. Climbing Carlton Mtn didn't help with my body temperature reduction at all.
I was beyond parched by the time I reached the northern terminus and the Canadian Border. I was more excited to find water at that moment than have my picture taken. Pathetic.
I made it to the Journey's End Shelter by 5:30 pm, got water, waited 15 mins for treatment, and then drank 2 liters. I attempted to eat dinner (rice, granola bar, and gummies) but my heart kept feeling funny. I thought that after 1.5 hrs I would feel recovered but I didn't.
My heart raced after I stood from giving back to nature. That's when I decided I needed to get to town tonight in case there was something seriously wrong with my heart. It was 7 pm. I packed up all my gear and Whitetail did the same. We proceeded down the 0.7 miles to the Journey's End Road. We, then, walked the 1.2 miles to North Jay Road at which point I dialed the Bed and Breakfast and they came and picked us up.
I still wasn't feeling right when we arrived at the B&B, so Sam called the paramedics. Not kidding. The paramedics arrived and did some tests to determine if I needed to go to the hospital or not, which included the usual blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and a heart rate monitor. Gratefully, I passed all the tests. The paramedics best guess is that I became extremely dehydrated, wasn't eating enough calories, slightly anemic, and overheated climbing Jay Peak and that I really never recovered. They said the advil probably didn't interfere at all.
Wow. So instead of chilling in the woods tonight contemplating what this latest journey meant to me, I'm sprawled across a bed in a Bed and Breakfast in North Troy, VT. Nevertheless, I am very grateful to be healthy and appreciative of the opportunity I was given to hike the Long Trail.
Next big adventure? Getting back to my truck in North Adams.
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