Day 142: Bromley Mountain

Day 142

Miles Hiked: 13.6

AT Milage:1655.9

This morning I woke up around 6:30 am after a great and warm night of sleep. I was slow to get ready because I was sore but my hip felt noticeably better. I ate a cold oatmeal packet and two packets of carnation breakfast before leaving camp and filtering water. My hip didn’t hurt at all today while I was hiking and I was so happy! It felt a little weak so I didn’t want to push it but the pain was gone.

Today’s hiking was some of the crappiest hiking I’ve had on the whole AT. The mud pits were everywhere! Even when it rained for five days straight back in VA, the trail still wasn’t this muddy. It wasn’t raining but I took several breaks to dry out my feet because the ground was so wet and muddy.

I didn’t see a single NOBO AT hiker all day. I did see several people going south bound, but I wouldn’t see another person walking the same direction as me until I arrived at camp, and even then it was only one person doing a short section.

Around noon the sun came out and I took advantage of it by laying out all my stuff to dry at a shelter. I passed the road the went into the town of Manchester Center and headed up Bromley Mountain. I filtered and carried three liters of water to the top of the mountain because I planned to camp up top and there was no water source at camp or for seven miles after according to the guide. I was doing my last three miles so slow but I think it was because the water was weighing me down so much.

On top of the mountain, I set up my stuff to sleep in the ski patrol warming hut. One NOBO section hiker showed up and then three SOBO hikers did as well. There were quite a few locals who came up separately on evening hikes with their dogs. I continued to dry my stuff in the sun and I walked around the top of the mountain to see the views of surrounding mountains. I sat on the ski lift to read my book and watched the sun set although it wasn’t very good.