This is it. The last leg of this crazy journey. Mile 222.2 to 273.
DAY 18: Rte 15 to Corliss Camp
9:24-6:21
11.4 miles
Oh man, what I didn’t see today. Giant boulders, boulders on top of mountains, a healthy garter snake, a baby chipmunk. Oh, AND A MOOSE. A young bull, no taller than me, almost black and trotting way more quietly than Catskills bear. Ravens. All types of fungi. Lots of moose tracks, more moose than people on parts of Laraway. A little tiny black and white bird. Hairy woodpecker (the third maybe). Several grouse. Heard 3 owls tonight, one barred.
Trail overall was easy today, unnecessarily steep going up Laraway – just pitched so I needed to bear down on the poles. Ran down some of the descent though. And finally met a hiker named Gandalf! Shin splints better w/ Advil but temps in the 80s is killing me.
DAY 19: Corliss to partway up Belvidere (more than 1 mile)
8:51-just before 5pm
11.1 miles
Today hurt, and there weren’t good views. There were stairs in the afternoon, steep things, that led to a partial view of a pond. I cursed a lot. But I did see three types of frogs and those cute warblers and more moose evidence and a snake that may or may not have been a garter snake.
It’s been warm lately and it’s tough to motivate myself without moving equating a comfy temperature. And I want my puppy. And husband. And to not aggravate the shin splints. I want to be done. But here I am in my tarp, listening to the wind, and it made me sad to think I soon won’t be eating instant mashed potatoes and tuna out of a pot as the sun goes down. This is normal for me now and I’ll miss it too. 8:15pm right now and I am gonna get so much sleep!
DAY 20: Belvidere Mtn to Hazen’s North Camp
8:48-6:06pm
10 miles
Fire tower on Belvidere was worth the sidetrip, could see all the way to Camel’s Hump. About 70 miles away. So I guess I saw into Canada too.
Someone passed me this morning on Belvidere, maybe Loppers. She sent me the message “light a fire under your @$$ & catch up” through two SOBOs, which cheered me up. The terrain was disheartening though. But I saw a grouse clucking & doing its grouse thing. Saw lots of them, heard more barred owls, stuck my foot so deep in mud I thought I’d lose my shoe. No snakes but more wood frogs & hairy woodpeckers.
Cold night tonight but sat out & saw 3 shooting stars while talking to SOBO Buckeye from Australia. Saw a flicker too & heard a grouse clucking, maybe saw the international space station.
DAY 21: Hazen’s North to Laura Woodward
8:37-5something
8.6 miles
One more day. 8.7 miles. Then 1.3 to the parking lot.
Easy trail today for the first half, wish it had been like that earlier. Went over 3 small peaks before Jay though, which just felt cruel. Jay itself wasn’t so bad, dayhikers everywhere but it meant most of the trail was easy. Met 4 SOBO hikers up top – Bloomer, Hot Sauce, & another lady & guy whose name I missed. Loppers had been there an hour or so earlier, a SOBO here at Laura Woodward told me she was shooting for the end. Finally got a good look at the ruffed grouse today on the way up Jay.
In the hammock staring up at the stars again. I need to do this more.
Saw another flicker today too, and robins. What are they doing this far north?
DAY 22: the end
7:25-12:40 or so
8.7 miles + 1.5 to car
Done. Got up with enough time to watch the sunrise, got moving, and banged it out. Loppers was waiting at the end with snacks because she’s awesome. We gave her a ride to Burlington and I found my Moose Tracks ice cream, & pulled pork yet again, at Route 4 Country Store. Saw a little brown snake, chickadees (not sure if boreal or black-capped), more moose tracks, and a Lola dog. And SOBO hikers. And I prayed every day I was out here.
100% completion
- Miles: 273 + 4.1 + 1.3 + whatever to lookouts = 280 approx.
- Blisters: 6 (one on heel, 4 on hands from ski poles, one from playing guitar at Inn @ Long Trail)
- Pulled pork sandwiches: 4
- Non-pulled pork sandwiches: 2.2
- Trekking poles broken: 1
- Bruises: countless
- Times I dropped f-bombs or spoke angrily to inanimate objects: countless
- Nights under the stars: 2
- Zeroes: 0
- Nights in hotels: 2
- Dead toenails: 2
Lumba Hikes 
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