Sunday, July 14th, 2024, 0600-1530
Beehive Creek to Lost Creek camp, mm 163.5
17 miles, Gain: 3240′, Loss: 4180′, elevation 6080′
Contrary to the title of this blog, I did not have a bear encounter. But it felt like I had a bear on my back all day…a saying often used to describe when a runner loses steam just before the finish line. This honestly felt like one of my slowest days ever on a trail, similar to the day I climbed through the Mahoosuc notch on the AT. My legs just felt so tired and I had low energy in general. But I guess I was doing pretty good because Alex said he felt great and I was able to keep up with him. In fact, I was the first to arrive at our campsite. But all my miles came so slow. My Garmin watch logged me in at 30 minute per mile pace or slower all day.
I was off to a great start with the morning light on the Beehive massif. The trail climbed to a shoulder where I could take in the splendor. The green meadows crawling up to meet the rock faces presented such a stunning contrast. If it wasn’t physically possible to walk the jagged ridgelines, at least the next best thing was following along the base of these sheer rock faces. They were so enchanting.
The trail dove back into some dense woods and bounced around like a pin ball all morning. Calling it a roller coaster would be too cliche, but it was pretty similar. The views disappeared for quite awhile but every now and again, I caught glances of peaks. Alex and I hop scotched each other all day but both stopped for an early lunch at High Rock camp. It was surrounded by springs and therefore inundated with mosquitoes. I stayed only long enough to snack and filter water. I even put my wind pants on. I added them to my pack for this segment and was very glad I did. At 3 oz, they were a lightweight but very functional item. I wish I’d had them on the PNT.
I set off to conquer the 7 miles to the next campsite. Alex was still taking a reading break. He cracked me up with his long, impromptu, partial camp set ups. He loved to spread his tyveck groundsheet and pull his pad and quilt out for numerous naps and reading sessions each day. I was too fastidious and nit-picky about my gear to bring much of anything out until my final campsite, but admired how comfortable he made his breaks. I caught him as he had breakfast in the morning and then he caught me again just before lunch. Then I got ahead at the end of the day… I was too impatient to take long breaks.
The 7 miles felt like 10. They really seemed long. My watch confirmed that the app’s distances were shorter than what my tracked steps were. But I guess watches can be wrong too. I hiked a whole convoluted series of in and outs, ups and downs and even a short blue alt that turned into a fun bushwhack. The final few miles went over a very hot and dry ridge, the least fun part of the day. But I did see a cute snowshoe hare.
Because of the difficulty, Alex and I both were inclined to stop at the Lost Creek camp. It was just too nice to pass up. There were even camp chairs and a table. We’d been planning to go another 5 miles to the next site, but there was just no way. Plus, I didn’t want to keep outpacing the others. I hoped they would catch up so we could camp together and be in sync with our plans going forward. Michelle rolled in not long after Alex and I officially made the camp our home for the night. We were all waiting for Woody to show but he never did. This was the camp he had on his schedule, so it was unlike him to not make it. We tried sending messages to his Garmin but mine wouldn’t go through. We were a bit worried about him, but figured he’d turn up the next morning.
