I need some help understanding the gray periods in the timeline graph. I have read the article at the following URL, but I'm mystified at all the gray periods that keep appearing on the second hop (the ISP's gateway/modem) and ONLY on the second hop. I have seen brief gray periods on other hops occasionally, but not very often. Also, I've tried changing the trace interval and setting the Packet Send Delay, but nothing seems to help. I do not recall ever seeing this problem before the last upgrade to 5.11.5.6618.

https://www.pingman.com/kb/article/gray-periods-in-the-timeline-graph-30.html