View Full Version : What was your hardest day on the trail?
hopefulhiker
01-25-2008, 17:52
I think mine was the day that started out with the Deluxe breafast with Phat Chap and then had to hike up to Kinsman's pond shelter.. I had like 4 pancakes, eggs, sausage, bisuits,gravy, jam and so on and started out from some parking lot at 11:00.. I barely made it before dark.. I was used to the 20 mile days but that day I think I only made seven....
Jack Tarlin
01-25-2008, 18:00
We woke up in Full Goose Shelter on 12 Septemebr 2001, having heard about the events of the day before just before we went to sleep. We FLEW thru Mahoosuc Notch and then up and down Old Speck, before we got to Grafton Notch and were picked up by friends who brought us to Andover. All we wanted to do was to get out of the woods, find a TV, and a phone so we could call friends and famly members in New York and Washington. I've never hiked like that in my life and hope I never will again.
Mine was probably our first ever trip on the AT with some friends who had been hiking just a couple of years. We had no idea of how to prepare. We had 6 lb sleeping bags, nothing in plastic in case it rained. I carried a pack that was probably 50 lbs to start (I'm a 5'4" woman of about 115-120 lbs). We started at the Tripoli camp site and were headed up over to the Lehigh Gap eventually--but we never made it. It poured torrentially, my sleeping bag absorbed another 10 lbs of water. I had to walk over the knife's edge in the rain for a first hike out. There was flash flooding....and I saw the HUGEST spider I've ever seen in my life at the shelter we stopped at before getting off the trail.
I'm not sure, now looking back at it, why we decided we actually [I]liked[I] hiking on the AT. But that was quite a few years and several hundred miles later. And I continue to think about hiking pretty much every day I'm not doing it.
But that day was a b****... :)
Gum
Jan LiteShoe
01-25-2008, 18:30
Catawba.
The day before was hot, intensely humid, uphill and dry. I was dehydrated, and trying to beat the clock to get a meal at the famed Homplace:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=33815
The next day, I thought my hike was over. I stood up, and I fell down.
It wasn't that i wanted to stop. It was that I didn't think I was strong enough go on:
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=33816
Looking back, it weren't nothing another zero, some ibuprofen, lots and lots of water, and a high-calorie meal or two couldn't have fixed.
:sun
Toughest day of hiking....hmmm....
Mentally, my first day in the 100 mile wilderness took its toll on me big time.
Kirby
the third time i broke my foot in two years attempting the trail
SGT Rock
01-25-2008, 21:06
A 20 miler in Louisiana. It was freaking hot, the skeeters were trying to eat me, and of all things - good water was scarce.
Kelly's knob killed me. Sassafras Mountain in March. Who'd of thunk, 80 degree weather, sunshine and NO WATER!
Footslogger
01-26-2008, 01:15
Yesterday ...
'Slogger
Wayah Gap to Noc.... We decided to make this not only our 1st AT experience,but also our 1st overnight backpack experience. We had outdated equipment and were not in the best of shape. I had an old Kelty REdcloud 5400 pack and was carrying close to 50lbs in July. The 1st day wasn't that bad,but from cold springs shelter to NOC sucked,It took us about 12 hours to make that journey,we thought it would never end. But now with more experince,it would only take us half that. It is all about just going out there and doing it.:)Everything else falls into place.
River Runner
01-26-2008, 03:09
Sassafras Mountain in March. Who'd of thunk, 80 degree weather, sunshine and NO WATER!
Was that March of 2006? We were hiking Springer to Unicoi Gap that March & I think it hit 90 F on Cowrock Mountain.
davidmwe
01-26-2008, 07:13
My hardest day was the 2nd leg of this trip:
http://hiking.myfeedportal.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=20
"Köningssee, Steinernes Meer & Berchtesgaden" in The Austrian Alps (just over the German border)
I was totally out of it- later figured out it was the late spring snow fields, all slushy and wet, that really did me in that day, days really! For the rest, it was beautiful!
08/07 half way between Atkins and Catawba, I woke up one moring and I could not stand on my left foot. The water hole was dry and I had not seen anyone on the trail. I am glad I bought Leki poles because for the next 2 days I used them like crutches.
warraghiyagey
01-26-2008, 10:46
The days I woke up knowing they would be my last for that year.
Lone Wolf
01-26-2008, 11:03
gorham, N.H. to grafton notch, ME.
We woke up in Full Goose Shelter on 12 Septemebr 2001, having heard about the events of the day before just before we went to sleep. We FLEW thru Mahoosuc Notch and then up and down Old Speck, before we got to Grafton Notch and were picked up by friends who brought us to Andover. All we wanted to do was to get out of the woods, find a TV, and a phone so we could call friends and famly members in New York and Washington. I've never hiked like that in my life and hope I never will again.
Interesting story. I was in mid-town Manhattan on 11 September 2001 and was part of a team to evacuate our offices and shutdown the company for an unknown number of days. On 12 September 2001, I had to make a difficult decision on whether to proceed with my plans for a 1st section hike of the AT with my brother or stay home and help see the company through what followed. After discussing what might happen next with family and work, we choose to not let the terrorists win and went ahead with our plans. We checked in periodically, pausing briefly to make plans over the phone for needed activities in NY, and continued to hike our 1st 50 files of the AT from Salisbury CT, northward. On our last day we crossed the Mass. Pike to finish our hike when suddenly a convoy of Humvees appeared underneath. We waved through the fence on the overpass where someone had stuck some American flags and were proud to be Americans and felt safe in the knowledge that the U.S. of A. would stand strong in the face of such a villainous and cowardly attack on our soil. This was a difficult day for us leaving our hike and returning to a world that would not quite be the same in ways we could not anticipate.
South bound over the presidential range over two days. We were going to do it at an easy pace over 4 days, but the weather was so bad we just wanted to get to our cars in Crawford notch.
Was that March of 2006? We were hiking Springer to Unicoi Gap that March & I think it hit 90 F on Cowrock Mountain.
It was in 2005
Although I don't have that many days on the AT, last Oct was walking north, stopped for lunch at Cable Gap Shelter in NC. Loaded up on food and filled water bottles then headed north...about a mile or so came upon a switch back and right at the turn was a yellow jacket boil....was to late...they were upon me before I could do anything...bolted as fast I could run with pack for about 200 yds. They got me about 15 to 20 times on each leg...below the knees. Needless to say my pace into Fontana was pretty fast...only thing that seemed to ease the pain....just walk it off. Still was a great walk!!!!
Lion King
01-26-2008, 16:11
1998, sitting on a boulder right above tree line on Katahdin wondering how 6 months had passed so fast and what now?
Hating it was over, hating that I might never see these folks again, (Yogi & Booboo, Night Eyes, Jackrabbit slim)
and just the whole feeling that my life was changed forever and really sad that it was over.
but it wasnt.:D
PS
Now I am wondering how the hell 10 years has past so fast!???
Jimminy...
Last year, myself and 4 friends did a section hike in the smokies. We left Jacksonville, Fl in two cars at midnight and drove all the way through the night. We arrived at Cades Cove at 10 in the morning and began hiking towards Mollies Ridge. We got to Mollies a little after dark. All of our packs and equipment were very dated. I didn't even have a sleeping pad and almost froze the first night in the shelter. It was early March.
So after driving 9 hours through the night and then walking about 14, plus missing 2 spots to get water we were all feeling like crap. The rest of the week to Clingman's Dome was a breeze after that day though.
My wife and I invited a couple to go on a two day hike. The other woman was training for the Boston Marathon. It was hot and we were tired as we climbed Walnut Mtn trying to keep up with this lady and her husband. I looked back at my wife who hikes solely to be with me and she was so tired she was crying as she pushed herself up that mountain. We still had several miles to go.
The hardest day is always the LAST day. It means the journey is over...
(Though, life ain't too bad when you can ski every weekend. :D)
modiyooch
01-27-2008, 17:51
Aug 18, 2007 Crawford Notch to Lake of the Clouds. Not only was this the hardest day on the trail for mt, but the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. 70 mph winds (94 mph clocked at the top), no poles, low temps, freezing rain.
Aug 18, 2007 Crawford Notch to Lake of the Clouds. Not only was this the hardest day on the trail for mt, but the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. 70 mph winds (94 mph clocked at the top), no poles, low temps, freezing rain.
Welcome to Northern New England:welcome
Kirby
Mrs Baggins
01-27-2008, 19:08
Kelly's knob killed me. Sassafras Mountain in March. Who'd of thunk, 80 degree weather, sunshine and NO WATER!
We did an 11 mile day from Neels Gap to Low Gap. It was hot (late March) and when we reached a highway (I don't remember which one now) we could not find the water source listed in the Companion. I drink pints of water per day and had run through all of mine by Tenastee Gap. My husband went on ahead to get to Low Gap shelter so he could start pumping water and I stumbled on in the heat, nearly hallucinating from the heat and lack of water. Three people, two men and a woman, were catching up to me so I stumbled (literally) to the side of the trail to let them by. I said something about not having had any water in 3 hours (because that's how long I'd been trying to get to Low Gap from the highway - about 3 miles). The men just passed me by. The woman said "Yeah, one of the guys is out of water, too." Which meant that SHE and the other guy had water!! She said that the shelter was about 2/3 of a mile ahead and then just left me there, near collapse, and kept walking. No "here, have a sip of mine" or anything. She KNEW where the shelter was so she KNEW she'd soon be refilling if she was running low. But to me at that moment that 2/3 of a mile might as well have been several miles. When I finally got there a wonderful angel of a young man ran up to meet me with a Nalgene bottle full of water and pushed it into my hands telling me to drink it all down. My husband had told him and the hikers that were there that I was on my way in and he was in a hurry to pump water for me. In the meantime the other 3 set up their tent next to ours and NEVER even said hello, how's the hike, go to hell........nothing. She kept her back to me the entire evening and the next morning.
That sucks Mrs. Baggins. I'd have given you water. That day I climbed Sassafras, I had an apple in my pack. I held out till I got to the summit, then ate that apple. Haven't had one taste that good since. It saved my butt till I got to justus creek. Now I always try to leave town with an apple, just in case....
I woke up the day after I climbed Katahdin. I hiked to abol bridge with a broken leg. After 10 years of plannin it is hard to give up a dream. It was kinda purple and yellow and about twice the size it was supposed to be. The hike from the picnic table to the pay phone was the hardest hike of my life.
Clyde
Mrs Baggins
01-27-2008, 19:41
That sucks Mrs. Baggins. I'd have given you water. That day I climbed Sassafras, I had an apple in my pack. I held out till I got to the summit, then ate that apple. Haven't had one taste that good since. It saved my butt till I got to justus creek. Now I always try to leave town with an apple, just in case....
May I just say, if I am not offending you, God Bless You! When I posted this incident on Trailplace last year, Wingfoot castigated ME for even thinking someone might offer me water. He said that that lady "couldn't know where you head was, maybe you wanted to have some zen time." Uh...........NO. And hey, if I WAS doing that, she STILL could have offered the water and I would have said "Oh, no thank you. I am in the moment of seeking enlightenment in dehydration." :mad: In the several hundred miles we have done on the AT she was THE most thoughtless meanest person I ever met.
May I just say, if I am not offending you, God Bless You! When I posted this incident on Trailplace last year, Wingfoot castigated ME for even thinking someone might offer me water. He said that that lady "couldn't know where you head was, maybe you wanted to have some zen time." Uh...........NO. And hey, if I WAS doing that, she STILL could have offered the water and I would have said "Oh, no thank you. I am in the moment of seeking enlightenment in dehydration." :mad: In the several hundred miles we have done on the AT she was THE most thoughtless meanest person I ever met.
I was trying to figure out why that story sounded familiar, sorry that happened to you, quite upsetting:(.
Kirby
modiyooch
01-27-2008, 20:18
Welcome to Northern New England:welcome
Kirby I grew up on the coast. I know better than to be out in gale force winds. so, now I'm crossing Webster Cliffs. These winds literally knocked me to my knees several times, pushed me in directions that I wasn't headed, pushed me faster than I wanted to go, or just wouldn't let me go at all. It blew my partner's rain gear into the thicket, and luckily I was able to retrieve it for her. (She left the mt the next day when we summitted to the snow and icy top). Did I say that it was 90 degrees in NC when we left for Mt Washington. I will say that once the storm had cleared, it was also one of the most awesome hikes.
BigDaddy99
01-27-2008, 21:50
We woke up in Full Goose Shelter on 12 Septemebr 2001, having heard about the events of the day before just before we went to sleep. We FLEW thru Mahoosuc Notch and then up and down Old Speck, before we got to Grafton Notch and were picked up by friends who brought us to Andover. All we wanted to do was to get out of the woods, find a TV, and a phone so we could call friends and famly members in New York and Washington. I've never hiked like that in my life and hope I never will again.
You know, Jack, I was going to bring up something about Damascus, but when I reread and saw the date I let it go.
Ahh, memories.
dessertrat
01-28-2008, 00:07
In the meantime the other 3 set up their tent next to ours and NEVER even said hello, how's the hike, go to hell........nothing. She kept her back to me the entire evening and the next morning.
Were they very young?
Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch. My introduction to 1 1/2 mile an hour walking. After 1700 or so miles of 2 1/2 an hour, that change screwed with my mind. There are tougher stretches, but by the time I reached them I had already accepted the change in pace.
The 1st backpacking experience rings a bell with this one. The 2nd day of our 1st bp was crazy. We had 12 miles to cover and it was not going to come easy. It took us 12 hours to do it but by GOD we did it. That is what hooked us in. Addicted ever since!!!!!!!!:)
Mountain Dew
01-28-2008, 01:12
2003 "the year of rain"...
25 of the first 30 days it rained. Mildew was growing on some of our packs and gear. 4 states that we hiked through in that exact month set an alltime record for inches of rain fall. A hurricane hit. 2003 endured what other years have not in my opinion. Forget the drought years...I don't wanna hear it. lol
On the AT, probably the day I hiked into Gorham. Traversed the end of the Wildcat/Carter Range in a driving, cold rain with heavy winds. I remember crossing one of the slippery ridgewalks, and having to chase my pack cover which had been throw off my backpack. I slid in a big pile of mud descending down towards the Rattle River shelter and caked my nice white frog togs in wet nasty mud. I had no company on this misreble hike. To top things off I stood in the cold rain on Route 2 for over a half hour waiting for a ride. Probably one of my longest AT hitches. An AMC employee finally saved my butt and brought me to the Hikers Paradise.
On the PCT, during my first attempt I traversed one of the worst parts of the desert near I-10 in blazing 100+ degree temps, fighting an awful injury, knowing I was probably bailing for good that year. I couldn't find any other hikers around and sat under the Interstate bridge for hours, waiting out the heat, contemplating my trip. Spent an hour in the blazing heat trying to hitch to Cabazon, while all along I was on the wrong road. Ended up walking a few miles for no reason, getting nowhere. Eventually set up my tarptent in the dark (after being chased by a dog) finally fighting the vicious winds. I ended up losing a tent stake, stepping on a cactus and breaking my sun glasses all that night. The next morning I got up, walked back south to the highway and headed home for the year, conceeding to a painful injury and the reality that I was having a horrible time!
That sucks Mrs. Baggins. I'd have given you water. That day I climbed Sassafras, I had an apple in my pack. I held out till I got to the summit, then ate that apple. Haven't had one taste that good since. It saved my butt till I got to justus creek. Now I always try to leave town with an apple, just in case....
An Apple, huh?
Always have an Apple.
Mrs Baggins
01-28-2008, 07:27
Were they very young?
No! :mad: We were both 51 and I would say they were in their late 40's. One of the guys got on his cell phone and the whole tenting area could listen to his conversation loud and clear. He had moved up the hillside to make his call but he was so loud that we thought he was having a conversation with another hiker up there. He was apparently a business owner and was trying to run his business from the trail. We ran into to just him later on and he did the same thing - - got on the phone at the fire pit at the shelter and carried on a loud conversation. Just obnoxious.
Lone Wolf
01-28-2008, 07:29
cell phones are a fact of life on the AT now. one more good reason to stay away from shelters
gsingjane
01-28-2008, 08:54
I must be an unlucky hiker because two days actually come to mind.
The first was on our first bp trip ever, in 2005, and we were hiking from Mt. Algo Shelter to 10 Mile River in CT. It was early June but the weather had turned from 70's to 90's all in one go, which we didn't realize, and we were very inexperienced backpackers so we had lots and lots of stuff in our packs. We had had the Night of the Living Hellgrammites (horrible pinching bugs invading our broken tent all night long) two nights before and so were exhausted, but as we climbed away from Mt. Algo and up the mountain I felt at my lowest point. I was hiking fat and boy oh boy it hurt, big-time. I was crying as I went up the mountain, both because it was so darn hard and also because it was such a blow to my self-image. The good thing that came out of that trip was the resolution not to do that anymore.
The other hardest day I would say was on the IAT in WI last summer. We were absolutely swarmed by the most mosquitoes I had ever seen in one place before... hiked in our rain suits in the 90 degree heat (I figured this was the equivalent of a treadmill stress test... if I was gonna have a heart attack, I'd find out then and there) and then were road-walking for about 5 miles in the broiling sun, with my daughter complaining the entire way (I mean every single step). We finally sat down to rest on what we thought was the lawn of a church, but it tunred out to be a church that was converted to a house, and the lady set her Doberman on us... well I could go on but I should probably stop now...
Jane in CT
After much thought I think I would have to break it down to; Mental and Physicial hardest.
My hardest day physicialy was June 30, 2001. Had hiked into a 15 mile day into Ashby Gap. It was 96 degrees that day and I had pack rash and monkey but rash so bad I could just about walk. It's just one of those days that you can't forget. I just wanted to lay down and die.
My hardest day mentally was the day my hiking partner left the trail after we hiked together for 3 months. My will to continue had faded and it took a lot for me to continue without him.
BlackCloud
01-28-2008, 13:03
The Rollercoaster in No. VA. I actually finished off a 21 mile day with the Rollercoaster. What a mistake!
DawnTreader
01-28-2008, 15:24
2 days come to mind....
1st... leading a teen trip up and over saddleback in wet, windy, cold, 0 visibility, a sherpa sized pack load, and a nasty fever..
2nd... a true presidential traverse (~26 miles), on and off the AT in 15 hours....
and I'll add, the last day of my longest section, leaving my friends in Gorham...
since you did not specify the AT ...
My husdand passed June 2001 in CA. at age 71 and in Sept of 2001 I started home to GA. After all the stress of his death I needed some time alone, with nature, to reflect ... or so I thought...... I decided to hike the Grand Canyon. It was my 1st hike without him. I had to cut the hike short because I could not see 2 ft in front of me thru the tears. I still look back when hiking to see if he is behind me and always a tear falls. But I know he will always be there ... in spirit!
My worst hiking day was in 1978 in Olympic National Park, day 5 of a planned 9 day 100-mile loop hike around Mt. Olympus. My novice hiking partner had encountered compound blisters on day 3 (after three days of heavy rain). We lay over on day 4 and I doctored his blistered feet to the best of my ability. The sun actually came out on our lay-over day for a while.
On day 5 we started out but his feet quickly worsened and it was again raining heavy. We consulted our map and decided to take a side trail out to get him off the trail.
The longer we hiked the harder it rained. I said "Billy, this is insane. Let's stop." He said "I'm not stopping because once I take these boots off, I'm not putting them back on again."
The miles piled up and I watched my friend, in so much pain, that my own tired, sore feet and legs paled in comparison to the anguish on his face. We finally came to a forest service road and walked on. Finally someone came along and gave us a ride out. I checked the map later, only to realize we had covered 24 miles. Billy had done 24 miles with compound blisters on his heels of both feet the size of half dollars.
The worst kind of pain is not your own, but being helpless to ease another's.
since you did not specify the AT ...
My husdand passed June 2001 in CA. at age 71 and in Sept of 2001 I started home to GA. After all the stress of his death I needed some time alone, with nature, to reflect ... or so I thought...... I decided to hike the Grand Canyon. It was my 1st hike without him. I had to cut the hike short because I could not see 2 ft in front of me thru the tears. I still look back when hiking to see if he is behind me and always a tear falls. But I know he will always be there ... in spirit!Very touching . . . may you and he one day hike together again in the New Heaven and Earth." God bless you!
Impossible to single out a particular "hardest day." Hard, easy... plenty of both kinds of days. The title of the thread does bring to mind a verse that seems apropos...
Sometimes the lights all shining on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it's been
The day I was coming back down Katahdin.
Lone Wolf,
Was that hike from Gorham to Grafton Notch during Maineak's speedhike? Didn't one of ya fall asleep and walk into a tree? 52 miles?
bloodmountainman
02-02-2008, 01:45
The first one.
The first one.
I couldn't agree more.:)
I think mine was the day that started out with the Deluxe breafast with Phat Chap and then had to hike up to Kinsman's pond shelter.. I had like 4 pancakes, eggs, sausage, bisuits,gravy, jam and so on and started out from some parking lot at 11:00.. I barely made it before dark.. I was used to the 20 mile days but that day I think I only made seven....
Whatever trail, it's always the last day that is the toughest. I have to leave and go back to other stuff.:(
I think mine was the day that started out with the Deluxe breafast with Phat Chap and then had to hike up to Kinsman's pond shelter..
Nobo over Kinsman? From Eliza Brook? That's one of the most kick-ass climbs on the entire AT. (imo.) The view from the top is worth it though...
http://www.terrapinphoto.com/kinsman_cairn2.jpg
Jim Adams
02-02-2008, 10:03
the one w/o whiskey!
geek
Nobo over Kinsman? From Eliza Brook? That's one of the most kick-ass climbs on the entire AT. (imo.) The view from the top is worth it though...
I didn't think that section was too bad, but then I am just a giddy section hiker and I was not trying to do many miles that day. The big surprise here is walking NOBO through relative wilderness and then coming upon the SOBO day-hiking crowds on both the Kinsman's.
Jason of the Woods
02-02-2008, 12:02
I guess that I would have to ask why your Hubby didn't tell you to stay put and bring water to you? That would have been my first thought.;)
We did an 11 mile day from Neels Gap to Low Gap. It was hot (late March) and when we reached a highway (I don't remember which one now) we could not find the water source listed in the Companion. I drink pints of water per day and had run through all of mine by Tenastee Gap. My husband went on ahead to get to Low Gap shelter so he could start pumping water and I stumbled on in the heat, nearly hallucinating from the heat and lack of water. Three people, two men and a woman, were catching up to me so I stumbled (literally) to the side of the trail to let them by. I said something about not having had any water in 3 hours (because that's how long I'd been trying to get to Low Gap from the highway - about 3 miles). The men just passed me by. The woman said "Yeah, one of the guys is out of water, too." Which meant that SHE and the other guy had water!! She said that the shelter was about 2/3 of a mile ahead and then just left me there, near collapse, and kept walking. No "here, have a sip of mine" or anything. She KNEW where the shelter was so she KNEW she'd soon be refilling if she was running low. But to me at that moment that 2/3 of a mile might as well have been several miles. When I finally got there a wonderful angel of a young man ran up to meet me with a Nalgene bottle full of water and pushed it into my hands telling me to drink it all down. My husband had told him and the hikers that were there that I was on my way in and he was in a hurry to pump water for me. In the meantime the other 3 set up their tent next to ours and NEVER even said hello, how's the hike, go to hell........nothing. She kept her back to me the entire evening and the next morning.
earlyriser26
02-02-2008, 16:56
1)early March of 1978 I hiked from Davenport gap to cosby knob in 3 to 5 feet of snow. Started at 8AM and arrived at 10PM. Fortunately I had a good flashlite.
or
2) Climbing down from Mt Washington and having a bad fall on Madison (thought I broke my leg but only cut in up bad) and then missing the turn at the Osgood tent site. I finally followed the river for a long ways before I could find a bridge. I then had a very Weird hitch with a guy that kept offering me things to drink from a special open container. Not a good day.
fiddlehead
02-02-2008, 22:35
I can think of a few bad days out there, but I can think of much worse days when not hiking. Why look for the bad parts of something you love?
Did a hike here in Phuket yesterday on a trail i am trying to plan. Went with my friend, we found a small unknown beach and stopped for a great swim seen only to some fishing boats way out at sea. No trail to it, only bushwhacking. It was a great day for sure.
Point is, if you're not out there, (and adventurous) you don't find these wonderful things in life.