Date: 2007-07-15
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: few clouds

I got up earlier this morning. I crawled out of my sleeping bag around 6 AM. Dolly and Gaiter Girl were already up and packing up their gear. I sat at the picnic table and ate my oatmeal bars and poptarts. Gaiter Girl and Dolly both left the shelter by 6:30. It was overcast and I was debating whether to start hiking or try to wait until after the rain passed over. At 7:30, I decided the weather wasn't going to clear and I needed to hike regardless of the rain. I was hiking along and decided to take a picture from a foot bridge across Lye Brook. I took the picture and saved it on my phone/pocket pc/camera. As I attempted to put the stylus back into the phone, the phone slipped from my hand falling onto the wooden foot bridge. The phone bounced ejecting the battery and battery cover. The battery and battery cover landed safely on the bridge. The phone however did a swan dive off the side of the bridge plunging 8 feet down into about 8 inches of water. This was fortunate and lucky. The brook below was mostly boulders and the phone landed between these. I went down and retreived the phone and then found the stylus in the river about 4 feet away from where I found the phone. I am probably also lucky the battery came out before the phone went in the water. I shook out the water and removed the mini SD memory card. At least all my pictures and journal entries would be safe on the card. I collected my things and headed up the trail. About a half mile along I was replaying the events in my mind. I remembered placing the phone in my crocs so it could dry and I placed the stylus, battery, and battery cover in the top of my pack. Hmmm....where did I place the memory card. I searched and could not find the card. I put my pack down and headed back to the bridge. I found the memory card on the hand railing where I left it.I had been thinking of taking a zero day. I haven't taken a zero since Duncannon, PA and just need to slow down and get organized again. After the phone incident, I decided I would zero at Manchester Center. I reached the trail head at VT11 and VT30 around 1:30 and a few minutes after I arrived a man who runs a taxi service pulled into the parking lot to drop off a hiker. He gave me a ride to town for $10 since he was already there. (normally $15). I headed to Sutton's Place (hiker friendly place) for $45, but his place was full. Many places are full because there is a month long horse event in town. Mr Sutton called the Casablanca Motel. They had one room available for $80. The taxi driver took me over there.I met three ladies at the motel that are here working at the horse show. I talked to them for a while and they gave me a beer. Then I cleaned up and walked over a mile back to town to do laundry. I stopped at The Sirloin Saloon for dinner. The sign said Fine Dinning which I knew meant Expensive. I started with the shrimp coctail. It was on special buy one for $9 and get the second for $1. Then I moved on to the all you can eat salad bar and finished with steak and a baked potato. It cost me $50 before I got out of there, but it was wonderful.I returned to the motel to rest.