Miles Hiked: 10.6
Hours Hiked: 8
I was used to the trail in Maine where you didn't cross a town for days at a stretch. I don't know what to do with myself here in Vermont where I have access to a town every few days (if I was hiking more miles in a day I could be in town every night if I wanted to). So, this morning I hiked for about an hour, then hitchhiked into Manchester Center and spent a few hours at a coffee shop charging my phone and computer battery and talking on the phone with friends.
Story time: (First, a marathon is a running race that is 26.2 miles long.)
About four years ago I signed up for the Chicago Marathon. After completing the 24 week training schedule and following it religiously I was unable to complete the marathon because I attended a family funeral in Virginia the day of the marathon. My good friend, Laura, had a similar experience several years ago in which she signed up for and trained for a marathon but was unable to go to the race. So Laura and I started talking last summer about when we could run a marathon. Months ago we signed up for the Cape Cod Marathon in Fallmouth, MA which will occur on Sunday, October 28, 2012. We thought it would be a fun experience if we did it together, and we signed up with plenty of time to properly train for it. We began training for the marathon at the end of April, about five months ago. But shortly after training began I received notice that I would lose my job. Laura was moving and working and in school, and had trouble fitting the training schedule into her busy life. I sat on the couch and ate Doritos instead of running and Laura concentrated on finishing school and her job instead of running.
Recently Laura and I talked on the phone and realized that we are still signed up to run a marathon on October 28 in Fallmouth, MA, even though neither one of us has trained for it. We decided that we will still go. We decided that it will be a lot of fun, no matter what happens and that our goal will be to finish the race. The race course will close after six hours, so if it takes us longer than six hours to complete 26.2 miles we will know we finished, but the race organizers will not recognize us as having completed the race. Wish us luck!
In Manchester Center, VT today I purchased running shoes, running shorts and running socks in anticipation of the marathon. I have little idea how to train for a marathon while hiking, but we'll see how it goes. I have been asking every hiker I see for advice and the hikers who are also runners have told me that I have to chose one or the other/ that if I want to complete the marathon I should stop hiking now, and go run every day instead in running shoes and on a road. But I'm not ready to stop hiking yet.
Tonight I just kept hiking until it was close to dark and found a place to camp near a stream. Camping at a location that isn't a designated shelter or campsite is called stealth camping. Tonight was my first solo stealth camping experience and it was a lot of fun. I am proud of myself for feeling comfortable and being self-sufficient for a night in the woods. I felt at home making camp, building a fire, cooking dinner, hanging my bear bag, using the 'toilet-trees', and getting water from the stream.
The couple who offered me a ride from Manchester Center back to the trail head had a van full of supplies because he had planned to section hike along the Appalachian Trail. She piled in the back to make space for me and my pack. This is a picture of her in the back of the van.
Spruce Peak Shelter
The trail
This is near where I stealth camped, the bridge over Winhall River.
Hiking Shoe and Running Shoe (and socks)
The fire I built
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