Date: 2014-07-06
From: MA 2

To: Congdon Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

If you want to know where we are now...you'll have to find us on the AT in VT which is also the LT for a long stretch...Woke up rested and breakfast energized us for the hiking today - it is time to go into Vermont today! The hotel owner took us back to the trail at 8 am and dropped us off and wished us luck - nice management at the Williamstown Motel!Took the hiking day today at a very nice relaxed pace - we were not in a super big hurry since we had a shorter day and we were easing ourselves back into hiking mode after our rest day. We conquered the first big climb at our own pace and with one steep rocky section near the top. As we closed in on the MA-VT border Lynx came up behind us and passed us before stopping at the sign - we haven't seen him since the Northern Shenandoahs! He had taken a week off in his home state Connecticut to see family and work on wedding planning with his bride-to-be - good luck to him on his marriage! We chatted around the sign and headed on north - we may run into him again.Lots of mud on the trail in Vermont - guess it is not called Vermud for nothing! So far it has lived up to its reputation that we heard from other thru-hikers but is not a huge deal - we just have to take a little more time getting passed those points. Also ran into several big rocks that were balancing on rocks underneath and were very cool - they look as if they were almost placed there by hand. Whether science or a greater power something amazing out there is doing great work!There a lot of lady hikers out today - we have seen the most long-distance female hikers on the trail today than over a lot of the AT we have hiked! At our first rest point at the Seth Warner Shelter we met a man and wife out for the weekend hiking the trail back to MA. Ran into two ladies from Boston and chatted with them for a while about the trail and hiking the AT - they are thinking of continuing doing sections of the AT as time permits them. Passed three girls resting by the trail and chatted with them briefly before moving on - they are all around my age. After walking down to a brook for water and lunch we ran into Giggles who is a female thru-hiker and we exchanged pleasantries before she motored on. From our lunch stop we only had four miles left and we enjoyed the scenery along the way. So far Vermont has been in a nice forested are for the most part and I love walking in the woods! Passed by a dammed up beaver pond that was nearly at eye level as we walked by - very cool photo opportunity! After the last peak of the day we crossed the 1600 mile mark - wowser that is amazing! We have been hiking for a long time.Arrived at the shelter but decided to hammock in the campsite - the shelter was pretty beat-up and dirty! We camped near the old gentleman we met up on Race Mountain - neat running into him again! Found out his name is Lone Wolf and he hiked the trail in 2009. He is also a beekeeper from Michigan with a Minnesota accent! A very friendly talkative fellow he made for some good conversation throughout the evening.Lots of people coming into camp tonight! A trail volunteer named Bill and his two dogs stopped by the shelter and took out some trash from the privy - a local who decided to give back to the trail since he hikes it so much. We met Looper for the first time since he ran into our trail magic after Fort Montgomery and it was cool to meet him! Bubba also showed up at the shelter as well as the three girls from earlier. Many others showed up throughout the evening - a full camp tonight! We have not had a full camp in a while!Nice evening around the campfire with the three girls who just graduated college and were hiking the Long Trail (LT). This is their first long distance hiking trip so they were still in the learning stages of the trip. Learning quickly though and very fun to talk to - even saw them do acro-yoga! Talked with Lone Wolf as well and went to bed early - very sleepy for some reason!