Hike/Trekking 4:15:07 [4] 12.09 mi (21:06 / mi)
Lockdown AR - Stage 2
The bushwhack...
Terribly unlucky conditions, and one of the deepest holes that I have ever fallen into. Entirely miserable for the last 2 hours, more so than can be explained with words.
Frustration comes from all angles for this. I started my trek in the best place that I could find online (best parking lot), but I trekked through 2 parking lots that would have been ideal had I known about them. They are on the SGL map, but not anywhere else online. I then misjudged elevation completely. My plan was to use the AT as a southern starting point and bushwhack north from it, but I gained 1000' in less than a mile, and used more time than I wanted on trail. I started my dive off of the trail early, and kept crossing old roads/trails, which meant piles of thorns on top of the already annoying millions of rocks. The 2nd half of the stage was supposed to be a rerun of a KGMAR trek from a few years back, but the wheels really fell off at the Schuylkill. There was a particular spot that Kevin and I crossed that year, where the water was around knee deep. With the recent weather, the river was much higher and was ripping. I gave it a try, but nearly lost my life slipping in the water. I slunk back to the side where I started, and tried to come up with a new plan. The only way to get to the section where I needed to be (and where I could find the features to meet the stage requirements) was across the river. The closest bridge was 2 miles away, so it became a 4 mile run to get to the SGL. There I found a parking lot that was in my ideal location - ugh. With all of the extra energy expended, I was low on food and began bonking soon after setting off from there. Slow pace, nausea, headache - the works. I ended up using more trails that I wanted...because I could barely see straight.
Glad to be done with it.