Date: 2004-09-01
From: Danby-Langrove Road

To: The ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂSecret ShelterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: scattered clouds

¢Rabbit, Rabbit¢ (and ¢rabbit¢ just in case). There, now I should have good luck throughout the month of September! (I¢ve recently heard from a very reliable source that you¢re only supposed to say ¢Rabbit¢ twice but old superstitions are hard to break. Does this mean that I¢m becoming superstitious about my superstitions¢¦ hmmmm!)Considering the fact that I didn¢t get to the trailhead until after 10:00 this morning, the fact that I still managed to get in a ¢20-miler¢ today is quite remarkable. I started out under gray, threatening skies which help kept temperatures cool throughout the day definitely a contributing factor. Toward evening things cleared up and the temperature began to drop, so tonight will be one of the coldest in a long time.I had several hours of solo time during which I was treated to the sight of a loon fishing and preening on the Lost Pond, -- an open, airy spruce forest topping the crest Bear Mountain where tiny fir seedlings covered the forest like a green shag carpet instead of the usual pervasive ferns, -- and lunch in a ¢hole¢ alongside the bottom of a waterfall created by the confluence of several of the innumerable streams and brooks I crossed throughout the day.I should point out that when you approach a stream or a proverbial, ¢babbling brook¢ on foot on an overcast day like today, is always a bit of a test of your perceptive skills. At first, the soft ¢whooshing¢ sound almost always sounds like that of a distant highway, which, by checking your map, can easily be eliminated as the source. Once the highway notion has been set aside, the next thing that comes to mind as the cause of the rushing sound which is now getting noticeably louder with each step is that it¢s an approaching wind rustling through the trees. This theory can be easily dismissed by feeling the air and by checking out the tops of the trees overhead: no motion up top means, no big wind coming your way. Inevitably, then, the next hypothesis you form is that the rain that¢s been holding off is finally going to let and what you¢re hearing is the sound of it moving through the trees toward you. It¢s just about at this point that you¢re getting ready to take your pack off and rig up for rain that you realize the real source of the sound you¢re hearing is just another Vermont stream, rushing from one beaver pond to another, playing a head game with your auditory discernment skills. But I fall for it EVERY time! (The one time I thought, ¢Aha! It¢s just a stream up ahead,¢ if proved to be a rain shower and I got soaked!) I don¢t know why a stream can¢t just sound like a stream not like a highway or a growing wind or approaching rain and keep things simple.About mid-afternoon, I was overtaken by ¢Squatter¢ a young Thru Hiker who was moving at a pretty good, slightly ahead of his two NOBO companions, ¢Swix¢ and ¢Mama¢s Boy.¢ I fell in behind ¢Squatter¢ and we talked and walked for an hour or so before stopping for a break with the other two. They are all really fine men and I enjoyed their company and conversation. Throughout the day we had all heard confirming stories from SOBO¢s whom we passed that we should avoid the Governor Clement Shelter. These sentiments continued the comments in one of the AT Companion books. It seems that local youths like to use the shelter as a party spot and it¢s not a very comfortable place for AT hikers under those conditions. Instead, of staying there everyone suggests that we head to the ¢Secret Shelter¢ which is not marked on any maps nor is it in any of the directories. The ¢Secret Shelter¢ has been built by a couple of AT supporters on their own private property about 2/10¢s of a mile off the Trail. Directions to it are found in a Ziploc bag attached to a tree just before the place where you turn off to go to it. (Going to it felt a little like I¢d imagine it must have felt going to a speakeasy back in the days of prohibition!) The shelter is small but lovingly made and they¢ve even put in a privy that most take a lot of work to maintain. The owners had even left three cold beers in the nearby stream much to the delight of my traveling buddies, especially when they learned that I don¢t drink.¢Swix¢ made a big fire, around which we sat while eating our dinner and took turns answering the question, ¢Which day in your life would you like to do over, exactly the same way if you could?¢ But, now it¢s time for bed. The temperature¢s dropping and the fire is low. Life is good.