Slackpacking, in case you don’t know it, is when somebody with a car shuttles your pack from one location to another, so all you’ve got to carry during that stretch is maybe a daypack. And sometimes not even that.
Foot travel purists might think it’s a breach of the Backpackers Code to let someone shuttle your pack for you. And I can understand that point of view — the old me would have decried the use of fossil fuels just to lighten one’s burden for a few miles. But I’m not the old me anymore, and today I was mighty glad of the opportunity. My feet needed the break.
Of course, it’s not like I took the day off. I still did a good 14 miles (in Tevas, in case you’re wondering). But it really does make a difference when you don’t have to carry an extra 30 to 35 pounds or so.
It took me about a mile to stop limping.
I’m not even sure why I was limping. Neither foot hurt more than the other. I don’t believe any part of my body was telling me to limp.
I think it was all in my head (yes, I know, that’s part of my body). I think my brain was telling me: “You had a brutal day yesterday. You should be limping today.” And so I limped. And of course, once you start limping, it takes an act of will to stop.
From Winchester to Hinsdale, I followed the Ashuelot Rail Trail, some of which you can see in the video above. I love it when trails actually go in the same direction I want to go. Then in Hinsdale, I got off the trail to make the obligatory lunch stop at Bacon Me Crazy.
And in the afternoon, I stumbled upon another rail trail (unnamed and apparently unknown to Google) that followed a different river (the Connecticut River) all the way into Brattleboro.
The railroad bridge was still there, and wasn’t fenced off. Presumably people are allowed to walk on it. But the wooden railroad ties were rotting through, and I didn’t feel particularly steady on my not-quite-healed feet, so decided not to chance it. Yet another sign that I’m not the old me anymore.
Tonight is First Friday in Brattleboro: basically a giant block party. Off to explore what there is to see …
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