Date: 2004-07-23
From: Before Stratton Mtn

To: Bromley Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

This time wake up was at a more reasonable hour of 7 or 8am. There was probably some part of me that said get out of here before you get caught. Stop setting a bad example too. It was a gray morning. In fact, suffice it to say the clouds had enveloped the mountain. Once again I was feeling fine.It was probably around 9am when an older couple stepped out of a little hut on the summit and greeted me. They were mighty nice and asked if I was the guy who was sick on the trail down there. What a relief. Not only had word traveled ahead of me but they understood. They invited me in out of the weather. It seemed other hikers did pass me by as I slept. Some of them knew me and passed my situation on to the care takers out of concern. It was probably Waterloo & Machine, they were great folks. They didn't know whether to wake me or not. Not waking me was certainly the right decision.The care takers offered me hot tea. After a bit I took them up on their offer and had 2 cups. They fired up the Coleman 2 burner stove and set me right up. Mmmm. I also asked if they had any powdered milk and they did. This went well with my cereal. They asked of my troubles and got the whole story with the 5 part harmony and everything. They said it sounded like Lyme disease and then told me stories too. These folks, Hugh and Jeanne Joudry, had been fire wardens in the tower here for years. Now they were retired but still hung out up here as care takers. I can't blame them though. What a great place to be. They had so much experience and offered so many good words they really made me feel much better. I signed their register and headed back out into the elements feeling pretty good.Three miles later, it was raining pretty good on my approach to Stratton Pond. The shelter was 0.2 mile off the trail but a little shelter from the storm seemed like a good idea. It would be nice to check the journal too. There was another guy there for a bit too. We had a nice chat and wondered about the weather as we devoured some snacks. He took off as I wrote in the journal then it was my turn to head back into the weather. Too bad the photos are lost.About 5 miles later was the 34 mark. There had been hope of sharing this milepost with Buick but this illness had taken care of that. Things were still going well. Maybe there was still a chance of finishing this thing. After all it was only 543.5 miles to go. The weather was getting better. That afternoon the trail crossed VT-11. It was time to hitch into Manchester Center for a serious resupply. It was a younger gang who gave me a ride this time. They were trying to convince me to join them at some fancy eatery or something but it was really all about the groceries for me. Fortunately these places were across the street from each other.Actually, the Grocery store was in a little shopping center. Next door to it was an EMS store and next to that a pizza and sub shop. Perfect. After a little eggplant Parmesan it was time to shop. This shopping spree was very health conscious. Fortunately this store had everything. The EMS even had instant Gatorade mix in quart size packets. I gave away some extra moo powder and Tang to some other thru-hikers who were also seeking shelter from the showers under the awning in front of EMS. EMS also topped off my fuel bottle with Coleman fuel by the ounce. There was a Friendly's in the parking lot. So with an ice cream cone in my hand the hitch back to the trail began. A young woman gave me a ride this time. That was nice.It was only a couple of miles and less than a thousand foot climb up to Bromley Mountain Shelter but it was a late start at 8pm. There was a family group painfully hiking up the soggy trail. With a few words of encouragement I passed them by, then it started to rain. I was real tired by the time I reached the shelter. This had been a 16.3 mile day with a town stop. That was ok.This was a new post and beam shelter built just last fall. It was nice but all the trail relocation was pretty muddy in this rain. There were some other folks there but the family may have tented when they arrived so there was plenty of room. There was a big roof extending from the front of the shelter over the table. That gave us plenty of places to hang dripping clothes and room to cook too. It was a good night for a wet one. Unfortunately there was a dog in the shelter with dog tags. That may sound innocuous enough but every time he got up or shook his head they jingled and just like an alarm clock, woke me up. This was another lousy nights sleep. Not what the doctor ordered.