It rained all night long. I guess I expected that but I did ask God if he could move the clouds a bit north or south of us? And you know what? As soon as we packed up this morning, the rain stopped. That was a fast answer to prayer. Thank you Lord.

The morning was wet and soggy with the mud and endless puddles, but there was no rain falling. Blue and I moved quickly. We climbed atop Baker Peak early in the morning. It was more of a rock scramble with partially open ledges. The views to the west from Baker Peak take in much of the Taconic Mountain Range, specifically Dorset Peak. We were covered in clouds so not much to see, but we did stop for a bite to eat.

The morning hike down was really nice. Mostly in the forest and fairly easy going. We ran into a group of eleven backpackers who were headed southbound to Griffith Lake. We stopped and chatted for a bit and then they made a gauntlet of sorts that Blue and I had to pass through. Ends up they are from a local Facebook group for new backpackers. Most of them were 18-20’s just having a grand time.

Blue and I stopped at Lost Pond Shelter in hopes that we could dry out our tents. The sun wasn’t shining and there was no breeze to speak of. So when we left, our tents were still quite wet. We need a little wind or heat to help the process along. We ate a bit more and carried on.

All was going great, hopping along rocks and doing my best to dodge mud puddles, and dirty puddles, until…Somehow when I hopped across these two large rocks which a creek flowed below, I slipped and my leg went in between the two rocks. And down I went! Poor Natalya, she thought for sure I broke my leg. I was all contorted and my ankle was turned sideways, while I was facing backwards. I have no idea how on God’s green earth I didn’t break or seriously injure myself. I was able to get my leg out and Natalya helped me up. Then we accessed my battle wound, cleaned it up the best we could with river water, and an alcohol wipe. Ouch, that hurt. Then Natalya gave me one of her big bandaids and I wrapped my leg with curlex tape and off we went. Those angels, once again, they were working big time to keep me moving down the trail.

We stopped at the next shelter, Little Rock Pond and once again, tried to dry out our tents. Both Blue and I had our lunch. Same yummy tuna with triscuits, kettle chips and my vitamin water drink I concoct each day. Theo was at the Shelter drying his clothes out. Everyone got soaked the last few days. Theo is hiking the Long Trail which follows the AT for a bit longer, before heading north in Vermont, while the AT heads slightly east to New Hampshire. We stayed for about an hour, waiting for our gear to dry. Then packed up and headed to our final destination.

With just one more climb, up and over Rock Garden and White Rocks. Blue was letting me lead today. Yesterday she took off like a Stallion and today, she’s feeling more like a donkey. Not that there’s anything wrong with donkeys, they’re just a bit slower. This hiking thing is a dance that you must play. Pace yourself grasshopper and you will have a much better go of it.

I kept my eye out for a good stealth camping site. Sure enough, there was a couple of good flat spots near the White Rock Junction. There’s a ton of garden art with rock cairns stacked in many ways, and symbols made in rocks. There was even a huge rock sculpture that spelled out God. It is a beautiful spot to call it a night.