October 13th Miles - 18 Weather - Rainy, windy, and cold until 1/2 hour before shelter. Then nice and sunny. I woke up at 5:30 but felt obligated to go back to sleep. Can't wake up 29 other people just because I want to get an early start...So instead, I went outside to take a leak, then went back to bed. I started a trend - half a dozen other people got up to go take a leak, too. With all that rustling around, I wouldn't add that much more noise...so I got up and started packing at around 6:30. I made breakfast out on the porch. BRRRR! Went back inside to eat my scalloped potatoes and ham, and talked with the caretaker's father. It was the caretaker's last weekend, so his family was up to help him pack out. Interesting bunch! I gave them my hiking hiatus card, and the address for backpackgeatest.org. They were really excited about it :-) I think I have now told the entire state of Vermont, top to bottom, about backpackgeartest.org. If for some reason you haven't heard of it, head over and check it out! I've gotten a lot of great free advice and gear from them. You can too. :-) www.backpackgeartest.org I bounced on down the mountain and up Smuggler's Notch road. It started to rain harder, so I hiked faster to keep warm. I was grooving to my radio, practically running up the trail. I was so happy I finally found Polka again! People kept looking at me funny as I would zip past....Must be the Polka. I zipped up to the Sterling Pond shelter and had lunch of thai rice noodles, tiny dried shrimp, mushrooms, and unidentifiable spice packets. Three nice people from Burlington where also there. Another guy dropped by for lunch. We got talking, turns out he's a pharmacutical rep. He gave me a CombiVent pen to add to my medical pen collection. :-) I forgot to tell him my viagra joke! "Did you hear about the guy who got the Viagra pill stuck in his throat? He had a stiff neck for weeks." It was only 10 miles to the road from my lunch stop, so I decided I'd hike out that day, instead of spending the night at Bear Hollow shelter and hiking out the next. I hiked to the top of Whiteface Mountain and called mom to tell her to pick me up in Johnson. Peter answered and said he'd come pick me up. Turns out mom wasn't there, but was in the emergency room at the hospital. Peter and I pulled up at the rendevous point at exactly the same time, 10 minutes earlier than we were supposed to. We drove to the hospital, where I proceeded to purposely annoy the idiot doctor on call. He was mean, and had done nothing helpful to mom the whole day she had been there. They hadn't even fed or given her water. Mom was hooked up to monitors that showed her blood saturation. When she would yelp in pain, the monitor graph would go haywire and look like the mountains in Utah. To amuse ourslves, Peter and I would poke her to see what the monitor would do. Interesting :-) We sprung mom from the hospital and went out to eat. I woke up this morning (the 14th) antsy to get back on the trail. Now what am I going to do to amuse myself? I'll keep you posted. Check out the future plans page, as that's where I'll be putting links to future projects. My latest concept project is "Religious For A Year" To do this, I would investigate a religion a year. I would becoming a practicing member of that particular faith by going to church services, celebrating the holidays, observing the religious rules, and educating myself with as much information and experience on that particular religion as I could. I would go in-depth as possible. I would pick a different religion each year. This project would be long term, in the neighborhood of 10 years or more. I would have a website (of course...:-) ) To track my progress and share with other people the intriguing things I've learned, and to foster understanding between different religious groups. At the end of my project, I'm expecting to be baptised in the religion that makes the most sense to me, become a great religious philosopher who can explain the meaning of life, or go crazy and live out my days in a tinfoil-lined cave to keep God from reading my thoughts. It should be interesting :-) |
September 21st Wow, it is so wierd to be off the trail! I miss it. I've been cleaning up my room and my house. I have an insulation crew coming over, and need everything spic and span. When the insulation is done, I can finish spackling my sheetrock walls and paint them! Then come the bookshelves, the books, and moving everything in. To follow my progress on the house while I'm home, go to I'll be back on the trail soon. Only about 70 miles to go! |
August 31st Miles - more than 20 Where - Goddard Shelter to Stratton Pond tenting area Weather - Slightly better Today was a horrible, rotten, terrible, no good, very bad day. It started with me ambling out of the shelter, straight into a ferocious wasp. The sting looked like a bloodblister. It was bright and angry red, and felt like I was being repeatedly flogged with a porcupine tail. My whole lower arm swelled up. I couldn't touch it the rest of the day without wimpering. I then climed to the top of a nearby firetower, and was greeted by the awe inspiring site of...... nothing. We were socked in. Too bad too, because this view would have allowed me to see "More wilderness than can be seen at once on any point of the Long Trail". I called mom and got 20 minutes taken off my phone time for the pleasure of hearing an automated voice tell me the line was busy. Coming down the mountain I slipped, twisted my ankle, pulled a muscle in my thigh, fell, and skidded through the mud on my butt. To console myself, I ate some jelly worms. They gave me heartburn. I arrived at Stratton Pond just as the sun was setting. Several people told me the caretaker had JUST left to guide some people to the overflow campsite. I needed to camp there and pay him, so I set off in hot pursuit. An hour later I had asked everybody on the whole island where the caretaker had gone, bawled my eyes out, and tripped over every damn rock on the trail. I had to hike with a flashlight. It was pitch dark. Oh yeah, I'm scared of the dark. I finally got back to the shore where I started, and cried my eyes out. It was dark, I was tired, and I had walked way too many miles. The caretaker must have heard, because he popped out of his previously vacant tent and came over. He had taken a different path back, and totally missed me on the trail. He soothed me with a story about his own horribly rotten day that had happend that week, and lead me to a campsite not 5 minutes away. When I asked how much it was to camp there, he said it was free camping for people from Maple Corner that night. (Editorial: Maple Corner is part of the village where I live, home to the Men Of Maple corner nudie calendar. My dad is in he next one. You need one. :-) ) Men of Maple Corner 2003 Calendar I set up my hammock, got in, and immediately fell to the forest floor, bruising my butt. I had already walked 20 miles by this point and was sore enough. In between all of this, my iodine pills walked off. Since my filter went kablooie yesterday,my only recourse to water purification was to boil it. Talk about a pain in the butt! The next morning I woke up, got up, and immediately fell over. I was so stiff, I could hardly walk. I felt worse than 95% of people in old folks homes look. Flash forward to what it'll be like to be old! |
- Long Trail - Journals and Pictures |
August 28th, 2002 Miles - 6.1 from Pine Cobble approach trail to Seth Warner Shelter. Weather - Overcast, partly sunny Yesterday we drove from our house to a National Forest campground near Manchester, VT. I bought a few essential camping supplies at a country store ... namely, dark chocolate and caramel macadamia nut turtles. Most of them dissapeared before they ever saw the trail. Today we drove to the approach trail and had lunch. The approach trail is freaky! It starts right outside of the entrance to a posted development. People in Saab's and BMW's kept giving us the hairy eyeball as they drove past. Mom and I had lunch in the parking lot. Shrimp salad, homemade salsa, sunflower seed bread, and lots of other yummy stuff. Half of a chocolate turtle dissapeared. Some licorice wheels bit the dust. Mmmmm...... I set off up the trail around 1pm. It was very wierd to walk away from my mother and into the woods. Zeke, our dog, didn't care. He was happy to just pee on the "Pine Cobble Trail" sign. The Pine Cobble Trail takes you from civilization, to the top of a mountain and the start of the Long Trail. The above picture is me finally at the LT (Long Trail) start sign! I stayed in my hammock at the Seth Warner Shelter site that night. Had an interesting conversation with an Appalachian Trail southbounder. Boy, did he love to talk! He was still talking to me after I had said goodnight and was walking to my hammock.. |
Heather on top of Pine Cobble |
Puncheon Bridges |
Aug. 29 Miles - 7.3 Where - Seth Warner to Congdon Shelter Weather - Wet, boggy, raining, pouring, yucky, cold I packed my things up under the shelter of my Hennessy Hammock, due to the light drizzle. The guy camping next to me was jealous and impressed about my hammock. He wished he had a sheltered place to pack his things up under. I started hiking in a light sprinkle, which soon turned into a complete downpour! To keep myself amused, I sang songs I made up. I must have sang the soggy song a couple hundred times by the time I got to the shelter. Another girl (Bluebird) and I had just gotten comfy, when a college orientation group from Yale dropped in. I thought you had to be smart to get into Yale. Apparently not. They dripped all over the shelter, shoved our stuff aside to sit on the bunks and leave little puddles, and they generally hogged the place. They at least kept their packs outside, on the picnic table and under a tarp. I don't know why they bothered with the tarp, as everything of theirs was wet already. They were all totally soaked and ill prepared. Most people only had ponchos, and they were all wearing cotton, even the leaders. The leaders were the biggest morons I've seen leading in a long time. The leaders were the ones who encouraged the kids to come inside and sit on the bunks, saying "Don't worry, it'll dry eventually" After they had sat around for about an hour and thouroughly froze their butts off, they moved on. They were heading to Harmon Hill, to camp under tarps. Harmon Hill is an exposed summit. It was blowing rain. Hmmm.... I told them they should all camp in hammocks instead. :-) |
"Soggy" Soggy soggy soggy, I'm up to my ears in mud soggy soggy soggy I'm about to say UGH! Soggy soggy soggy, I'm up to my ears in muck soggy soggy soggy, this weather really sucks! Soggy soggy soggy, oh where is the sun? Soggy soggy soggy, this weather really isn't fun! Soggy soggy soggy, I'm now on my knees soggy soggy soggy Please sun, please! |
Goddard Shelter through the mist |
Trees near Harmon Hill |
August 30th Miles- 14.5 Weather - Sucky Where - Congdon to Goddard Shelter My filter exploded on me this morning while trying to pump enough water for the walk out. I swore at it, and used iodine instead. I packed up and hiked out 4.2 miles to rendevouz with mom for resupply.The last mile was steep! It was essentially on long, winding, slick stone staircase. Mom could hear my hiking poles clicking on the rock all the way down. I am impressed by the trailwork that went into that stretch - wow! We toodled around Bennington for 3 hours, searching in vain for a new water filter. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a pair of new shoes, and gave mom my soggy ones. After resupplying with 7 days of food, I headed back up the trail. It seemed to take forever! I was in the middle of a long littany of curses and gripes about having no water and what would happen if the shelter wasn't around the next bend ... when I rounded the corner and found myself face to face with it. There were two people inside. They looked at me kind of funny. They were nice, an engineer and an acountant from CT. I had supper of corn chowder with cute little Jewish soup croutons, hot cocoa, and chocolate pudding. Goddard Shelter is beautiful! It's built of naturally grey logs, has enough space for 12, and overlooks a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains. I wouldn't mind living there. |
Hammocking near a stream |
August 31st Miles - more than 20 Where - Goddard Shelter to Stratton Pond tenting area Weather - Slightly better Today was a horrible, rotten, terrible, no good, very bad day. It started with me ambling out of the shelter, straight into a ferocious wasp. The sting looked like a bloodblister. It was bright and angry red, and felt like I was being repeatedly flogged with a porcupine tail. My whole lower arm swelled up. I couldn't touch it the rest of the day without wimpering. I then climed to the top of a nearby firetower, and was greeted by the awe inspiring site of...... nothing. We were socked in. Too bad too, because this view would have allowed me to see "More wilderness than can be seen at once on any point of the Long Trail". I called mom and got 20 minutes taken off my phone time for the pleasure of hearing an automated voice tell me the line was busy. Coming down the mountain I slipped, twisted my ankle, pulled a muscle in my thigh, fell, and skidded through the mud on my butt. To console myself, I ate some jelly worms. They gave me heartburn. I arrived at Stratton Pond just as the sun was setting. Several people told me the caretaker had JUST left to guide some people to the overflow campsite. I needed to camp there and pay him, so I set off in hot pursuit. An hour later I had asked everybody on the whole island where the caretaker had gone, bawled my eyes out, and tripped over every damn rock on the trail. I had to hike with a flashlight. It was pitch dark. Oh yeah, I'm scared of the dark. I finally got back to the shore where I started, and cried my eyes out. It was dark, I was tired, and I had walked way too many miles. The caretaker must have heard, because he popped out of his previously vacant tent and came over. He had taken a different path back, and totally missed me on the trail. He soothed me with a story about his own horribly rotten day that had happend that week, and lead me to a campsite not 5 minutes away. When I asked how much it was to camp there, he said it was free camping for people from Maple Corner that night. (Editorial: Maple Corner is part of the village where I live, home to the Men Of Maple corner nudie calendar. My dad is in he next one. You need one. :-) ) Men of Maple Corner 2003 Calendar I set up my hammock, got in, and immediately fell to the forest floor, bruising my butt. I had already walked 20 miles by this point and was sore enough. In between all of this, my iodine pills walked off. Since my filter went kablooie yesterday,my only recourse to water purification was to boil it. Talk about a pain in the butt! The next morning I woke up, got up, and immediately fell over. I was so stiff, I could hardly walk. I felt worse than 95% of people in old folks homes look. Flash forward to what it'll be like to be old! |
September 1st Miles Hiked - 11.3 Miles Hitch-hiked - 11.6 Today I woke up with Chinese food on my mind. Specifically, a good buffet. I hiked the 20+ miles yesterday so I could get into Manchester today, before the town closed down for Labor day. One word on that strategy ... OW. But it was so worth it! :-) I hiked 10 miles to the road, and stuck out my thumb. Everybody who zipped by was an out of stater. Why do out of staters never pick up hitchhikers? After the hundredth car buzzed by, It brought to mind a favorite quote: "If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?" Finally, a big truck with VT plates pulled over. Nice people! Cute dog. They dropped me off in front of EMS, gave me their number and an offer of a place to stay the night. I bought a new filter at Eastern Mountain Sports, and a boatload of candy, a box of sugar, an orange, and a fruit cup at the grocery store. In the middle, I had a big plate of garlic chicken with veggies at a Chinese restaurant, and got 6 steamed dumplings for the road. Whoever designed this shopping plaza must have had hikers in mind! EMS, Chinese, pizza, grocery store.... I headed out and had my thumb out for 3 lights before almost getting run over by another truck with VT plates. Nice guy! Cute dog. He dropped me off at the trailhead and headed north, to camp out at the next trail. I walked in a mile and camped at the Bromley tenting area, next to a nice couple with a cute dog. Devoured the dumplings with some hot cocoa and pudding. |
Trail near Bromley Mountain |
September 2nd Miles - 15.6 Tired. To sum it up: Hiked a bunch. Met people on top of a mountain who knew mom and me when we lived in East Dorset. Met other north bound Long Trail hikers. Sharing shelter with them tonight. Ate polenta cheese soup and handful of candy. Yum. Bedtime. |
Nice new outhouse |
Cool rock piles |
Heather hiking through a pine forest |
September 3rd Miles - 16.5 Where - Big Branch Shelter to Emerald Lake State Park I didn't write this entry until days later - been too busy! Had a great walk through cool pine forest to White Rocks, where you're suddenly dumped into a clearing filled with eerie human made rock formations. On a lark, I called mom from the cliffs of White Rocks and asked her out to dinner at the next road crossing. She threw together some resupply food and came down. We had dinner at the Whistle Stop cafe, and camped at Emerald lake State Park that night. Our neighbors stayed up till 3am getting drunk and being loud. I felt like strangling them. I probably would have been cheered on by the other neighbors! Mom got even less sleep than I did, as her CPAP machine died and her oxygen tanks developd a leak and ran out. The next morning when I went up to pay, I noticed the park was run by the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps! We got to stay for free on account of me being on the hike to raise money for them. :-) |
September 4th Miles - 3.4 Where - Trailhead to somebody's back yard. Today for fun and excitement, I was almost shot and killed. Mom dropped me off at the trailhead around 3. I hit the trail smelling good, after a shower and laundry. I hiked about 1.5 miles to the top of Beacon hill, where I cooked a supper of chicken, stuffing and gravy. I had been having a bad feeling all day, like something awful was going to happen. Dark clouds started rolling in. It looked like it was going to rain. It just felt really ominous and creepy. I had passed Clarendon shelter on the way up, and didn't want to camp at the next one, Clemment. The Green Mountain Club advises against hikers camping there, bcause a lot of rowdiness goes on there from ATV'ers and locals. I walked another mile or so and set up my hammock off trail and back in the woods. I had been hearing kids fooling around on ATVs all day, and didn't think much of it. I left my pack packed, something I never do...just in case I had to flee quickly. It was getting dark, so I crawled into my hammock and tried to get settled. That's when I noticed that the kids with ATV's had stopped. It was quiet for a while, and then I heard the gunshots. I jumped out of my hammock and hit the ground! The gunshots started getting closer. A shot ripped through the air and not 100 feet away, one of the bullets struck the ground. ACK! Figuring this was not the best place to camp, I untied the hammock and started frantically stuffing it into my pack. I tied on my shoes, strapped on my headlight, and ran down the trail. About a half mile down the trail, I froze. There were lights ahead of me. Not only were the kids behind me still shooting things at random, but I heard gunhots up ahead! I realized the lights were actually a house, and ran towards it. Terrified, I rang the doorbell repeatedly. Nobody was home. I was on a deserted country road. There were no other houses around. I did the only reasonable thing to do - sat on the back lawn and cried. Then I wrote a note, basically explaining that I was almost shot, I was scared, and I hoped they didn't mind, but I would really feel a lot better staying on their back lawn that night. I stuck it on the garage door and started to look for a good spot. That's when the owners drove up. They were nice, and let me stay on their porch. |
Hiker suspension bridge |
Long Trail signage |
September 5th Miles - 12 Where - A backyard to the Inn at the Long Trail. I climbed Killington, had lunch on top, and went to the Inn at the Long Trail. On the way there I helped a lost couple find their way own - they had been directed down the wrong trail. I met all of the other Long Trail hikers I had been trying to catch up to since the start! There were 6 of them. I couldn't get excited about food there. I camped across the street in the woods, and had half a pop tart for supper. The good news is, I didn't get shot. :-) |
Two roads diverged... |
September 6th Miles - a whooping 5.4 Where - Inn at the Long Trail to Rolston's Rest shelter Woke up, packed up, and went across the street. I had the most delicious french toast! Mmm, it's so nice when other people cook and clean up after you. I lounged around, called mom, talked to fellow hikers, and finally hit the trail at 10:50. When I was telling mom about almost being shot, she said "Don't worry, I've been shot at a lot of times while backpacking, and I'm still here!" Well gosh mom, that's really comforting. :-) Today I passed the point where the Long and Applachian Trails split to go their seperate ways - the AT to Maine and the LT to Canada. What a difference! It was like turning off of a 8 lane highway, onto a 1 1/2 lane dirt road. Hardly any people, the trails weren't as well kept, and the register books dated back several years, instead of a few months, like usual. For supper I had chicken stew, hot cocoa, and I baked some date nut bread. 4 other hikers showed up between 5:30 and 8:30. |
New shelter |
September 7th Miles - 15 where - Rolston's Rest to Sunrise shelter Weather - Too hot Water drank - 2.5 gallons Times I've peed by the side of the trail today - 19 Times I've peed with my backpack still on - 2 My favorite kinds of natural toilet paper: 1) Hobblebush. Wide, huge, fuzzy leaves. Available almost everywhere in the northeast. As a bonus, it turns orange, purple, yellow, muave and speckled in the fall. 2) Mooseleaf Maple. With leaves as big as dinner plates, it's hard to miss! 3) Ferns. For when you just have to go NOW and the previous two aren't available. Use 3 or more fern tips at a time. Lots of little frondlets for good moisture wicking. 4) Clintonia. It often grows near ferns, and is good for variety. Smooth, elongated oval shaped leaves. |
Hobble bush leaf |
Blackberries make horrible toilet paper! |
September 8th Miles - 16.5 Where - Sunset shelter to Skyline Lodge Moose poop piles seen - 23 Moose poop piles people had written things with - 2 Yesterday I met a south bound LT'er who had totally blue lips and fingers. Today I look the same. I think I'm turning into a blackberry! I must have eaten a quart today... This morning I discovered that I'm a Polka fiend. I listened to it all the way up Mount Horrid and over the other side. I was really bummed when it stopped coming in! Today the weather was hot and humid, and the water scarce. I went 9.5 miles between water sources, and when I finally got to the next one, I had to pump it out of a slimey and cootie infested beaver pond. I waded out in the muck for quite a ways before it was deep enough to filter. I pumped just enough water for dinner and quickly made dahl soup with dumlings. I was starving! I had vanilla pudding and hot cocoa for dessert. |
Sunset at Skyline Lodge |
September 9th Miles - 7.6 Where - Skyline to Cooley Glen shelter People seen - 5 As if nonstop country music isn't bad enough, airwaves today were completely hogged by people talking about September 11th. For reprieve, I switched from station to station. I had a real craving to hear Cake and Britney Spears, but got Elton John and Celine Dion instead. There were a lot of gorgeous views today! The trail stayed on or near the ridge most of the day. Food eaten - Carrot cake Clif bar, couscous curry, leftover dahl soup, spicy peanut noodles, ginger granola, chocolate covered coffee beans, 1 bite melted milk duds, and a blueberry cake/muffin I baked today. Drinks - 1.5 gallons water 12 oz each: Pina colada, iced tea, mint cocoa (twice), Mocha and apple juice. |
Hiking out for a day off |
September 10th Miles - 4.7 Where - Cooley Glen to Home Hiked out and met mom at the trailhead. We both pulled up at exactly the same time! Talk about timing.... |
Some vaccum packed suppers |
September 11th-13th The 11th was my first zero mile day in exactly two weeks! I took time off to fix some things around the house, update this page, help mom with food, etc. They weren't really days off..:-) |
September 13th Miles - .5 Where - Journey's End Trailhead to Journey's End Camp Wow, a whole half a mile - I'm wiped out! :-) I waved bye to Mom and Zeke at 3:33, after a bumpy ride to the trailhead. I arrived at camp 20 minutes later. I wished I could have walked further! It would have put me in camp right near dark, though... I called mom to tell her I was in camp, but my phone started speaking french to me! My phone was as confused as I was, and wouldn't let me call home. I'm guessing it's because you dial 1 before the number to dial long distance in both Canada and the U.S., and my phone couldn't tell what I wanted to do. I'm sharing the shelter with me, myself and I tonight. A couple and their dog passed by at 5:30, planning to tent out. Maybe I'll catch up to them tomorrow! In the mean time, my company is the radio. No Polka, alas, but there's a really good and funny program on NPR tonight. I relaxed to the sound of a gentle sprinkle outside, over a supper of corn chowder, hot cocoa, and some cracked pepper crackers. For entertainment on this leg of the trip, I've brought along "Jitterbug Perfume" by Tom Robbins, and "Love" by Leo Buscaglia. I've read about 100 pages of Jitterbug Perfume already today. Maybe I should bring more books... |
Heather in Canada, at the northern terminus of the Long Trail |
Sign near Canada |
Journey's End Camp |
September 14th Miles - 12.6 Where - Journey's End to Jay Camp Weather - fantastic, some great views! Wow it is gorgeous up here! I'm glad to be back up north. The mountains are more rugged, like the ones I have at home. It's the Vermont I know and love up here. Everything just smells so earthy and leafy and quintessentially fall up here. With every step, my shoes crunch zillions of beech, birch, and maple leaves. Mmmmmm..... my nose has been in euphoria all day. Today I got to see and be in Canada. I'm always amazed at the amount of work that goes into cutting the border swath. I wonder how easy it would be to walk the border from here to the west coast? What would I see? How long before border officials would apear out of nowhere and demand to see my passport? When mom used to live in Derby Line, VT, she was always accidentally wandering over the border while picking blackberries. Border officials would suddenly pop out of nowhere. I had fantastic views from on top of Jay Peak today. It really brought into focus how much I love walking through the woods all day, especially when I get to be on top of mountains like Jay. I'm just so happy to be back on the trail! |
Enjoying a sunny day in the mountains |
Sir Wellington (top) and Tennesse Traveler (bottom), AKA Dave and Brandon |
September 15th Where - Jay Camp to Hazen's Notch Camp Miles - 6.9 Weather - Thunder and lightning started at 1am and hasn't stopped yet CRACK! Lightning flashes through the air. Ka-BOOM! The shelter shudders. Thunder off in the distance rumbles, making the shelter quiver slightly. And so I woke up this morning, with the rainstorm still going strong. Thank goodess this shelter has a new metal roof on it! I got up at my usual hour of 6am, and had a liesurely breakfast of rice with raisins, walnuts, brown sugar, and other good things that mom put in it. (milk?) The thunder and lightning stopped at 8:50, so I hit the trail. The rain was still going quite strong! I gave up trying to be prissy and keep my feet dry around 9am. Waterbars? What are waterbars? The trail crew seems to have forgotten to put any in, so most of the trail resembled a fast moving stream. I got to be a little kid again though, and splash through the water with abandon. Squish squish squish :-) I hit Hazen's Notch Camp 4 hours later, and decided to be lazy. Heck with hiking! The next camp was 4 hours away. Two guys showed up an hour or two later and are spending the night. I didn't get to see much scenery due to the mist, but the trees are quite pretty. There are a lot of birches and beeches in the area. |
The hiking trail |
Heather, Dave and Brandon at Spruce Ledge |
Huge honking boulder in Devil's Gulch |
The trail through Devil's Gulch |
September 16th Miles - 15.5 Where - Spruce Ledge to Roundtop Weather - ooooohhhhh....fall Dave and Brandon are planning on hitting the same shelters as I - Spruce Ledge and Roundtop. It's a good thing they're nice, and not wacko sex perverts. :-) I breakfasted on hash brown fritters and some leftover cinnamon raisin bread/rolls/cake? I baked last night. I hit the trail ahead of the guys, in a light drizzle. Got to Tillotson Camp around noon and had lunch with the guys. A little ways down the trail we hit two northbounders, and asked about the upcoming shelters. At first we thought they were joking - sliding glass doors and skylights? When we got there, many tired hours later, we found it to be true! Ok, the doors weren't glass, they were wood .. but they had very nifty windows in them. To get there, we had to go through Devil's Gulch. The name should give you a hint. Devil's Gulch is a valley of sorts, framed on one side by soaring cliffs, and bordered on the other side by a large lake. In between it is filled with ferns and boulders. Very large, upright boulders. Huge honking, mama pajama boulders. Geez, can't you get a trail crew in there and blow up some of them with dynamite? They were most inconvenient to crawl over, especially at the end of a long day. The guys arrived shortly before me. They were so tired, they tried fruitlessly to yank open the doors until they realized that the doors slid to the sides.... Supper was to die for. I had baked bean soup with a side of scalloped potatoes drenched in cream and bacon, dessert of rice pudding, and hot cocoa. The guys helped me finish it :-) |
Sunset at Spruce Ledge |
Roundtop Shelter, also with skylights |
Dirty shoes, Bright leaves |
September 17th Miles - 15.5 Where - Spruce Ledge to Rountop Shelter Weather - sunny but cool, just the way I love it Seeing myself thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail seems like a much more concrete reality now. I'm really starting to get a hang of this hiking thing. The days seem to fly by. I love being able to zone out while hiking and just enjoy the crunchy leaves, the sun, the trail, and being able to loose myself in thought for hours on end with no human distraction. When I get into camp though, I'm easily distracted. I've been lagging way behind in my journal writing! In fact, I'm writing this journal entry on the 21st. :-) It's not my fault Dave and Brandon are interesting! It's nice to have companionship at night. Brandon reads us a story every night, usually from a book found in each shelter. Last night it was Ernest Hemmingway's old man and the sea (?) The night before it was a story part made up, and part taken out of a boring brittish history bok. Today's hike was supposed to take 10 hours, but we're just so good, we blew off a couple hours of time. I started out ahead again, and caught up with each other for lunch at Corliss Camp. My lunch was couscous curry, crackers and energy bars. The hike was pretty but uneventful. I was in a good mood for the last mile of the hike today, and managed to do it in 15 minutes. I baked raspberry almond bread as a pre dinner treat, then had polenta cheese soup and hot cocoa. Mmmmm....it was too much, but the guys helped me finish it. :-) The poor things are subsisting on freeze dried food. That night we had a campfire and watched the stars. |
Cliffs at Laraway Mountain |
Heather before bed |
September 18th Miles - 3.6 Where - Roundtop Shelter to the Long Trail Tavern parking lot Weather - Very misty I started my morning with 6 grain pancakes with real, powdered maple syrup and a couple of fake sausage patties. We flew down the trail! Partway there I rang up mom on my cell phone and asked her to come pick us up an hour early. Good thing too, as we made 3.6 miles in 1 hour and 15 minutes. We dropped Dave and Brandon off at the Johnson Post office for their food drop. They're continuing on to Mount Mansfield. I'm continuing on to home for a few days of work and rest, before I hit the trail again. |
All it needs is a nose... |
September 21st Wow, it is so wierd to be off the trail! I miss it. I've been cleaning up my room and my house. I have an insulation crew coming over, and need everything spic and span. When the insulation is done, I can finish spackling my sheetrock walls and paint them! Then come the bookshelves, the books, and moving everything in. To follow my progress on the house while I'm home, go to I'll be back on the trail soon. Only about 70 miles to go! |
On top of Mount Abraham |
September 23rd Miles - 1.7 Where - Road to Batell Shelter It's hard to get back into the flow of journal writing when the trip is start and stop, on trail and back home, as much as it has been. Although detrimental to my journal writing, ready access to home has been great for my packweight! I've been able to dump extraneous gear easily, and get more just as quick. My packweight has gone down significantly since the start of my trip. The insulation crew called to cancel this morning, minutes before they were supposed to be here. Heck with home! I cleaned myself of sheetrock dust, got my camping gear together, and hit the road with mom. I hit the trail at 4:44. Got to camp 1 hour later. Nice place, the shelter was on the slopes of Mount Abraham. I got to know the other two people staying there, over dinner. They recognized me by my food! Turns out Dave and Brandon had stayed with them further up the trail, and had raved about my food. I recognized them by their previous journal entries. We stayed up till 10 playing gin rummy. Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! It went down into the high 30's. |
Dreamy poofy clouds |
September 24th Miles - 14.9 Where - Batell to Cowles Cove I was having a great dream this morning... So good, I didn't bother to get up until almost 7. I dragged myself out of bed and into the chilly mountain air. Ack! Brrrr! Freezing! Te great thing about freezing weather, are the crisp, clear views. What a site from the top of Mount Abraham! The chilliness brings out the gorgeous fall colors, too. The fallen leaves are a lot brighter! Crayola could learn a thing or two... Not too much wildy interesting today ... though I did peak around Theron Dean caves. I also ran into Acorn, a girl who started up in Canada with her cat! She had to leave it with friends in Johnson ... it was having a rough time with all of the rain. When I started up in Canada I was only a few days behind her. I had been trying to catch up, so I could pet her kitty. :-) |
Looking up to Camel's Hump summit |
For when it's too steep - ladders! |
September 25th Miles - 11 Where - Cowles Cove to the new Bamforth Ridge Shelter I think my guidebook is lying. There is no way in heck that felt like only 11 miles! Gawd, Camel's Hump is grueling. It's got a false summit, too. Just when you think you're almost there, out pops another 1000 feet up! Whatever saditistic individual decided to put a trail on that side of the mountain, on that particular route, needs to be flogged repeatedly with the guidebook. On the other hand, I saw some great new views I hadn't seen on the other Camel's Hump trails. :-) I ran partway down the mountain, thinking I'd get shuttled across the river (The bridge is out, they have a shuttle available for hikers), resupply from mom, and get a day ahead of schedule. I arrived at the Bamforth Ridge shelter at 2pm. I tried calling mom to tell her to pick me up and bring food, but she was at a Dr's appointment. The shuttle left at 3. My guidebook said it was another 2 hours to the trailhead. I wasn't sure if I'd make it, so I had lunch and stayed the night. Good thing too, because I met a wonderful, funny couple! The guys I stayed with the previous night arrived 5 hours after I did. Hmmm, I guess running really helps with the time... |
Mist in the morning |
Some lunch stuff |
September 26th Miles - 2.7 Where - Bamforth Ridge to River Road Trailhead If I had continued walking yesterday, It would have taken me 2 hours to do a section the guidebook thinks should take 5. Yay for running! :-) I walked to the trailhead, expecting to be resupplied and go on hiking. Mom had ulterior motives though, and wanted me to come home off the mountains for the hurricane/tropical storm and pick / process all of the basil before it froze. So I did ... and have been up to my ears in basil all day. I don't think we'll run out of pesto this winter! I'm staying home until the insulation crew finishes. I hate hopping on and off the trail, and having to hike on a schedule to get to a certian road crossing in time. The insulation crew should show up, and finish, by the end of the first week of October. Or else....:-) I'll get back on the trail in October, and won't get off until I finish! |
Basil |
Trees around a beaver pond |
Buchanan Shelter |
October 11th Miles - 7.7 Weather - 50's, overcast, windy With all of the lip service President Bush has been giving the issue of accountability ... it makes me wonder, what would happen if meteorologists were held fully accountable for their weather forcasts? It was supposed to be sunny and beautiful today. :-) I'm actually glad it wasn't! Cool, overcast weather is the easiest to hike in. It also makes the leaves *pop* more vibrantly. The hills are ablaze in a full-fledged riot of color! It's absolutely gorgeous. The only green I saw most of the day was on the spruce, fir, and other evergreen trees. There are a few pockets of green deciduous trees here and there...like at the shelter I'm staying at tonight, Buchanan. Buchanan Shelter would make a fantastic cabin if you put some more windows and a woodstove in. It's a very pretty place! I especially like the enclosed porch with picnic table for cooking out on. For supper, I had chicken stew with bacon and gravy, and hunks of chocolate walnut and penuche pecan fudge I bought today. The fudge is pure sugar! Mmmmmm..... It's only 7:30, but I'm going to curl up in my nice warm bag and go to sleep. I can see my breath - it's freezing! At least it isn't snowing. :-) |
A lot to overlook in the fog. :-) |
Lunch at Taylor Lodge |
Boardwalk over Mount Mansfield |
Heather on Mount Mansfield |
Butler Lodge - Looks just like Taft Lodge |
Smuggler's Notch road |
Bear Hollow Shelter |
I climbed down this ladder. Scary! |
Through caves on the Wampahoofus Trail |
Scenic Overlook |
Mmmm, 'shrooms... |
October 13th Miles - 18 Weather - Rainy, windy, and cold until 1/2 hour before shelter. Then nice and sunny. I woke up at 5:30 but felt obligated to go back to sleep. Can't wake up 29 other people just because I want to get an early start...So instead, I went outside to take a leak, then went back to bed. I started a trend - half a dozen other people got up to go take a leak, too. With all that rustling around, I wouldn't add that much more noise...so I got up and started packing at around 6:30. I made breakfast out on the porch. BRRRR! Went back inside to eat my scalloped potatoes and ham, and talked with the caretaker's father. It was the caretaker's last weekend, so his family was up to help him pack out. Interesting bunch! I gave them my hiking hiatus card, and the address for backpackgeatest.org. They were really excited about it :-) I think I have now told the entire state of Vermont, top to bottom, about backpackgeartest.org. If for some reason you haven't heard of it, head over and check it out! I've gotten a lot of great free advice and gear from them. You can too. :-) www.backpackgeartest.org I bounced on down the mountain and up Smuggler's Notch road. It started to rain harder, so I hiked faster to keep warm. I was grooving to my radio, practically running up the trail. I was so happy I finally found Polka again! People kept looking at me funny as I would zip past....Must be the Polka. I zipped up to the Sterling Pond shelter and had lunch of thai rice noodles, tiny dried shrimp, mushrooms, and unidentifiable spice packets. Three nice people from Burlington where also there. Another guy dropped by for lunch. We got talking, turns out he's a pharmacutical rep. He gave me a CombiVent pen to add to my medical pen collection. :-) I forgot to tell him my viagra joke! "Did you hear about the guy who got the Viagra pill stuck in his throat? He had a stiff neck for weeks." It was only 10 miles to the road from my lunch stop, so I decided I'd hike out that day, instead of spending the night at Bear Hollow shelter and hiking out the next. I hiked to the top of Whiteface Mountain and called mom to tell her to pick me up in Johnson. Peter answered and said he'd come pick me up. Turns out mom wasn't there, but was in the emergency room at the hospital. Peter and I pulled up at the rendevous point at exactly the same time, 10 minutes earlier than we were supposed to. We drove to the hospital, where I proceeded to purposely annoy the idiot doctor on call. He was mean, and had done nothing helpful to mom the whole day she had been there. They hadn't even fed or given her water. Mom was hooked up to monitors that showed her blood saturation. When she would yelp in pain, the monitor graph would go haywire and look like the mountains in Utah. To amuse ourslves, Peter and I would poke her to see what the monitor would do. Interesting :-) We sprung mom from the hospital and went out to eat. I woke up this morning (the 14th) antsy to get back on the trail. Now what am I going to do to amuse myself? I'll keep you posted. Check out the future plans page, as that's where I'll be putting links to future projects. My latest concept project is "Religious For A Year" To do this, I would investigate a religion a year. I would becoming a practicing member of that particular faith by going to church services, celebrating the holidays, observing the religious rules, and educating myself with as much information and experience on that particular religion as I could. I would go in-depth as possible. I would pick a different religion each year. This project would be long term, in the neighborhood of 10 years or more. I would have a website (of course...:-) ) To track my progress and share with other people the intriguing things I've learned, and to foster understanding between different religious groups. At the end of my project, I'm expecting to be baptised in the religion that makes the most sense to me, become a great religious philosopher who can explain the meaning of life, or go crazy and live out my days in a tinfoil-lined cave to keep God from reading my thoughts. It should be interesting :-) |
October 12th Miles - 15 Weather - I've seen better What a day! Last night the wind blew continuously. I woke to the sound of a branch sliding down the metal roof. Screeeeeaaach! The wind blew so hard today, that I kept feverently praying that a tree wouldn't fall and squish me flat. There were quite a few fresh blowdowns in the middle of the trail. I kinda zoned out until I got to Mount Mansfield. I popped out from the solitude of trees, and into a large crowd of people. Freaky! There's a toll road up the mountain. A lot of tourists come up in during fall foliage, and today was no exception. They were all blown away that me, a girl, backpacked up the big, steep mountain, alone for goodness sakes! There was a lot of fawning going on. I soaked it up :-) Mountain Mansfield is my favorite mountain so far. It's rocky, windswept, and has two miles of narrow, beautiful ridgeline with gorgeous views. The only bad thing is, I was almost blown off the mountain. The good thing is, so was everyone else. It was funny to watch :-) Kind of like when Dan Rather was on TV reporting a hurricane, and had to hold onto a telephone pole to keep from blowing away... Mount Mansfield is Vermon't highest mountain, at 4,393 feet. The ridgeline is said to resemble a human face when viewed from down in the valleys. When hiking south to north, you go over the Forehead, Nose, Upper and Lower Lips, Chin, and the Adam's Apple. I hiked down the Chin to Taft Lodge, and just barely squeaked in! I was the last person to get a bunk. Taft Lodge is the biggest shelter on the trail, having room for 24. That night 30 of us packed in, some sleeping on the floor and tables. I've discovered the downside to my fabulous food. Everybody was eyeing me as I baked and ate my pre-dinner blueberry cake. I would have shared if there had been only a few people. Instead, I had to be selfish and eat the whole thing myself. How awful. |
