Day 30: Alouette, Twilight Zone, and O-Positive

Summary
May 25th

Mohican Outdoor Center to Brink Road Shelter

NOBO mile# 1318.4

Tolmann’s daily mileage 14

Tolmann’s total mileage 294.7

Aaallll a-wet-a, I am all a-wet-a…*

*to the tune of “Alouette”

Woke up to rain this morning. As expected. The kind of rain that you can’t escape. That soaks everything, no matter how you try to protect and cover things. I packed with difficulty. Then I went and had breakfast with Tilly and Hops in the common room. I had to wait until 9 for the center to open to pay for my campsite, so I took advantage of the wifi to upload yesterday’s blog.

When the store opened I discovered they had breakfast sandwiches and mocha. So I had to try that. I was obviously avoiding stepping into the rain. 

I finally gave into the necessity of donning my pack and starting the soaking process. 

The new shoes quickly became wet shoes (unlike my boots, they are not waterproof). 

About 30 minutes in I noticed that one of the new trekking poles was wobbling, and when I tried to collapse and re-expand it, it failed to stay locked open. So trekking pole #2 bites the dust. I spent the next 15 minutes scouting for a suitable stick to replace it. Not long after, the rain intensified and the wind was blowing up from the edge of the ridge. I suddenly fervently wished I had taken a zero at Mohican, but I also was unwilling to retrace my steps and go back.

So the morning passed slowly and kind of miserably, as I passed cloud enshrouded overlooks and the rain blew up my rain kilt. 

Another group of school-aged kids passed as the day went by; this appears to be a school outing of some kind. Once, while I was resting, a section hiker called O-positive passed me, and then we leapfrogged a number of times. 

The trail was pretty soggy, and the rocks and ledges kept getting slicker and more slippery. It took extra care to avoid a tumble. 

The afternoon was getting on when I saw O+ up ahead. He said, “You’re just in time!” Then he said”, “The rocks are very slippery here!” My heart sank. “Did you fall?” 

“Yes!”

“Are you OK?”

“You’re just in time!” he repeated. 

By now, I was close enough to see the blood on his face. 

“I hit my head on that rock,” he said, pointing to a jagged outcrop. 

I looked more closely. It appeared he had two lacerations, one on his forehead above his right eyebrow, and the other above it more on top of his head. Luckily he was bald-ish, so it was easier to see the extent of the damage. But there was a fair amount of blood all around both eyes and dripping off the end of his nose. 

He held up a gauze pad with duct tape. “Could you put this on? I put Neosporin on it.”

So I put hand sanitizer on, then took the “bandage” and pressed it to his forehead. It didn’t really have enough tape on it, so I asked him to get my roll of tape out and we added some. Then he put his hat on it. All the while I’m looking at him for signs of confusion, dizziness or other warning signs of concussion. He told me that he planned to walk another 7-ish miles to the next road crossing, but I asked him to consider checking in at the shelter where I hoped Tilly and Hops were, since they are both nurses. Also the name of the shelter (Brinks Road) implied a nearby road, so maybe he could get picked up. 

He seemed determined to walk, so I asked if he wanted me to walk with him, and he seemed grateful and accepted. I walked behind him for awhile, watching for any balance issues, but he seemed ok. At one point he invited me to pass him, but I said I felt better hiking behind, and that I might even slow down some more (so he wouldn’t feel pushed). 

As happens, we eventually came to a steep ascent, which slowed me for real, and he got out ahead and I could no longer hear or see him. When I got to a more manageable part of the trail, I tried to pour on some speed, but I couldn’t catch up. I started worrying that maybe he had fainted or fallen and I had walked by him, but it made no sense to go back since I had no clue where to look. I had to make it to the shelter and confirm he had shown or not shown. The next miles were really hard; they had a real Twilight Zone feel to them. I began to think I had imagined my encounter with O+. I needed to rest but couldn’t. Plus there was a point where my map app was telling me I was moving in the wrong direction, although I knew I was right. Then my brain played tricks with me, because I seemed to recognize the trail as if I was going backwards. Tired brain. 

In the end I reached the blue blaze for the shelter, and there were Hops and Tilly. They said a guy had stopped and told them about this guy “Tolmann” who had helped him, and could they tell him that O+ was walking out on the road to be picked up by his friend?

So, although I’m still concerned about O+ making it out ok, at least he got to the shelter before moving on. 

So I was able to take advantage of the shelter to get into dry clothes and to warm up. And shortly thereafter, Meeko came in, so this little tramily is getting a Shelter night together. 

Now it’s dark, and I hear thunder in the distance. 

Tomorrow I should hit the 300 mile mark.