Transcription of journal page photos can be found below. A more traditional blogpost of this hike can be found HERE along with lots of pictures.
- Trail Map Says: 8.4 miles
- Laura’s Watch Says: 10.72 miles
- Elevation Gain (Cumulative): 2,042 ft
- Elevation Loss: 2,598 ft.
- Start Time: 9:42 am
- End Time: 5:36pm
- Active Hiking Time: 6:14
- Average Pace: 34:54/mile (best: 23:33/m, worst.
- Average Heart Rate: 132 bpm (peak 166) 52:02/m)
Dudes. That was really hard. Harder than I remember our 12-mile Tetons being, which is the only full-pack comparable hike I can think of that we have done, and that was at elevation! The humidity is a little to blame, but mostly it was my overpacking. I overdid the food, for real. After all that overthinking I did. I’m going to have to make some decisions, which is the worst. I paid for all that food!
It took us awhile to get out of Kincora because it was dark and we slept rather late, then Bob turned up and chatted while we had coffee and oatmeal.
The trail started kindly, level along a former railroad bed, then dipped down a few hundred feet to a river and Laurel Falls (a different one), where we enjoyed the pretty view and a couple of snacks (eat the weight!!). The trail continued pleasantly along the river for a bit, and then we started going up, and my many limitations began to show.
My hummingbird heart (or Grinch heart, if you will!) is mostly to blame. I’m in the habit of calling a pause to a hike when my heartrate hits 150bpm, but it happened so fast, I decided to hold out for 160bpm. Even so, we had to stop for me all the time. Dustin is used to me, and Hobz had been warned, but I still felt like I should have been doing better. I do better in the mountains! Hobz was very patient and only mocked me for my heavy bag as much as I deserved.
We also discovered on the uphill portion of the hike that my watch gives me a lot more credit than I deserve. My watch reported 7.4 miles when we stopped for lunch, while Hobz’s trail map only showed official progress of 4.9 miles. That’s some serious slippage. It also means when I told Hobz I could manage 25-40 minute miles, based on the miles my watch reports, I was big fat lying. Poor Hobz.
Around mile 5, Hobz yelped and shouted “RUN RUN RUN!” I did my best impression of running up the trail, Hobz right behind me. Dustin ran down the trail. The hornets that had been stinging Hobz stayed where they were. It took us a few extra minutes to cheer Dustin on as he bushwhacked his way off the trail to get around the nest. That was our 52 minute mile.
We limped into Boots Off Hostel later in the day than expected. They have the most wonderful shower I’ve ever tried, not to mention clean dishes, live music, and no nooks that might have been hosting mold colonies. We pitched our tents in the closest available space and set about cleansing, feeding, and now plotting about tomorrow’s hike, which is scheduled to be about twice as awful as today’s hike. Gulp.
Thither & Yon 