I awoke promptly at 4am and started breakfast. I normally don’t start eating in everyday life until I’ve been up for a few hours, but I knew I was going to need every bit of nourishment for the long day I was about to have. I drank a full liter of water, and ate as much as I could choke down when I wasn’t even hungry. I packed up camp and hit the trail by 5am.
The first few miles was the dreaded soft, muddy, tall grassy atv corridor, the Lake Francis Trail. I came out to a bridge where a few early birds were going to spend the morning fly fishing just before 6am. One of the gentleman smiled as we started to pass each other and said, “you look like you’re on a mission this morning!” I replied, “yes, I’m hiking the Cohos Trail from Canada to Crawford notch and I have to get to Coleman State Park today”. To which he replied, “Oh, wow! Good luck to you, then! How exciting!” We exchanged have a good day and off I went.
Back into the corridor. I finally hit the six mile view as it was starting to rain around 7am. I came to the end of corridor to Cedar Stream Road around 7:30am. Shortly after I came out onto the road, I startled a black bear foraging off in the bushes. He scurried quickly across the road, but I still managed to get a quick video of him running off.
By this time it was starting to rain hard. I pulled out my pack cover and put it over my backpack. For nearly two hours, it poured on me until I reached the end of the road. I turned down Deadwater Road for another hour of hiking in another downpour. I came upto a large trail kiosk where I took cover from the storm, took a break and messaged a friend back that I was in good spirits, halfway to Coleman and pushing on.
I put my pack back on and headed up Deadwater Road until noontime where I finally made it to Grandview. I scared off a couple of deer trudging up the atv trail. I plopped my gear down and decided to take my lunch break at the Snack Shack (which was closed). By this time, the rain had finally stopped and it was starting to clear. I enjoyed the view and let my feet air out for a bit as they were wet and starting to blister. I took a few more photos and videos for the road and continued on.
I turned onto McAllister Road and headed toward the abandoned homestead. I took my camera out and shot some video. This was a section of the trail I was really looking forward to seeing. By this time, my feet were really bothering me, and the sun was starting to beat down on me, so it was hard to fully enjoy the views of Monadnock Mountain just over the border in Vermont.
As I continued down the road, I saw some turkeys and moo cows in the pasture. As I came upon them, they ran away from me. Looking down at myself wearing all black, I’m quite positive they thought I were a black bear. I called to them and said hello and they stopped running away and looked back at me. We exchanged gazes and off down trail I went. I finally came to the intersection of Bear Rock Road. I followed it until I came to the intersection of Heath Road where my feet were hurting so bad I had to stop and remove my trail runners. I put on my camp shoes so my feet would dry and sat down for a much needed break around 4pm. I was only 2.5 miles from Coleman State Park at this point. I was so close, but in so much pain. My pack, which only weighted around 22lbs felt so much heavier than that.
I was hoping for some kind of miracle, the strength to push on, anything at this point as I was starting to panic a little inside my head. It was still early enough for me to make it to camp even if I hobbled there, but I worried if I would be able to keep going tomorrow. To my surprise, an older gentleman and his dad pulled up in their truck looking for directions to the park. They saw how tired I was and asked if I needed a ride. I kindly declined and told them what I was doing. I asked if they wouldn?t mind taking my pack to my camp for me and I?d be able to slack pack. They absolutely came through for me and I am so grateful. I managed to hobble down the seemingly endless 1.2 mile road into Coleman State Park.
I arrived at my camp to my pack waiting for me and quickly set up my tent as I boiled water for my chicken and dumplings. I did not want to eat at all and it took everything I had to choke down half of it. I opened all my blisters to relieve the pressure and allow them to dry out overnight. I climbed into my tent and I was out.
