Hey again hikers!
So, I completed my 4 day mini-hike, got some great feels for equipment. I thought I could skimp on camp shoes... but decided that's a luxury I'd rather not give up as the trails indeed are quite muddy. Gonna switch to a gas stove instead of my Esbit tabs; again, for the luxury of a fast boil time (I also found my Esbit had trouble bringing more than 2 1/2 cups of water at a time to a full boil). I also may switch to boots instead of trail runners after spraining my ankle the 2nd day of hiking (before going up Mt. Mansfield).
Gear aside, the hike did spur some questions. First and foremost... the Long Trail on the southern side of Mt. Mansfield (between Butler & the Forhead), is just over a 1,000 ft acsent in 0.8 miles, so pretty steep, lots of scrambling & ladders. In fact (much to the amusement of my hiking companion),
there was one ledge in particular that almost scared me to the point of paralysis. Kind of a "holy *, if my hand/foot slips I'm dead." moment. Anyway, just as we neared the top of the acent, we met another hiker going South WITH A DOG! For those who have (or who have seen) dogs go from the Forehead to Butler... how is this possible for the dog!? Sometimes I can see how a dog would go around a ladder, but in these areas, short of carrying the dog down, I don't see how it's possible. And for some of the ledges... just WOW? Seems to me the dog would look at a ledge and then look back with that same look I gave my hiking compainion, "You want me to go where!?"
Second, on our last night out we slept in a shelter with a SOBO E2E hiker, and the next morning asked if we could pack out any trash for him (since we were getting picked up by car in just 7 miles). He declined, and it made me question my offer. Is it generally okay to offer to pack out trash for other hikers? I assumed it would be a generous offer, but then thought it might be misinterpreted as offensive. Thoughts?
In conclusion, best part of the hike: waking up to an incredibly bright sun just over the horizon, no clouds, making breakfast, packing up camp, and taking a picture before departing, only to glance at the time stamp and realize it's 4:50am.