Photo Album #1 | Photo Album #2
Sun 23
⁃ Camp 0.6 N of Ore Hill Campsite
The start of ascent up mosilake had a bunch of pretty waterfalls. The summit had a giant crowd of day hikers. The rest of the trail today was actually a trail (unlike 90% of the last 400 miles).
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So far the Mont Blancs suck. They like to roll a lot more (esp at the toe), the extra cushion makes them harder to confidently balance on, as the cushion will compress as you load more weight on them (and is exacerbated by the non-solid sole vs the solid sole on the Lone Peak). One benefit I’ve seen is the improved tread grip. The cushion helps a bit on the sections where I’m walking on large gravel (2-4” rocks). The real issue though, is the much tighter toe box. In the first 3 miles I was already having significant pain from the ball of my right foot, mainly on the edge/side. I was also having issues with circulation because of how tight I had to tighten the laces to stop them from rolling on my feet. Two adjustments I made throughout the day seemed to help a lot: (1) adding a knot midway thru the laces, and. (2) removing the insoles.
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Managed to snag a bit of trail magic in the form of soda, granola bars, and a PB+J (strawberry) during one of the road crossings this afternoon.
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While I’m enjoying these well maintained Dartmouth Outing Club sections of trail, I though of a few bacronyms for the AMC:
Appalachian Money Club (not my own invention)
Anti Maintenance Club
Appalachian Mud Club
Appalachian Mountain Concussion
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Welp, the Mont Blancs seem to be causing some small blisters to form. Also, the bumps from the indeterminate rash have turned into tiny (thankfully painless) blisters from being exposed to a bit of moisture all day. Since they’re so small, there’s so many, so many have already popped themselves, and my feet are almost ready to shed a layer of skin, I popped most of them before going to bed to let the skin underneath dry overnight.
On the subject of the random rash I got, it seems to be mostly receding, with no itchiness or irritation, with them slowly scabbing over and fading away. I’m still taking the antibiotic steroid, and antihistamine (and will continue to do so until I finish them).
Mon 24
⁃ Camp 0.1 N of Lyme-Dorchester Road
While I haven’t quite hit the bubble yet, I have hit the ripe blueberries! At least on Mount Cube. Especially on the N peak where there aren’t as many hikers on it, meaning more blueberries left for me.
Tues 25
⁃ Camp at Velvet Rocks Shelter
Just when I thought wild blueberries were great, today I managed to snag some wild red and black raspberries on Holt’s Ledges and in the fields before it.
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Oh my god the mosquitoes are back. At least for these last 5 miles before Hanover.
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I think tonight I hit 440 miles, or 20%. So I just have to this 4 more times and I’m done. Wow, that’s still a lot to go.
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