Date: 2017-09-03
From: Peru Peak Shelter 

To: Stratton Pond Shelter 
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: light rain

9/3/17 Day 97 - 20.7 milesPeru Peak Shelter to Stratton Pond ShelterUp early and on trail by 7:00 in a light rain. Luckily the trail looks like it could be a bit easier today - we'll see. The views aren't really there in the rain so all you can do is put your head down and move along. The 1st climb was up to Bromley Mountain which is a ski resort in the winter. There is a warming shack at the top for the ski staff to and they leave it unlocked in the summer for the hikers. No electricity or water but there was a trash can in there so at least I could get rid of my trash. It was also nice to be able to eat a snack without being rained on. I hung out inside for about 30 minutes and put my wet rain jacket back on. I was a bit worried though because I had left my fleece layer on this morning because of the chill and now it was soaked as well. This is the 1st time I've let this get wet - it's supposed to be part of my dry emergency layer. Not sure what I'll do tonight if it gets cold. Went back out into the rain and was chilly from sitting around so I tried to pick up the pace but I was going downhill so it wasn't easy getting warmed up again. The rain was getting harder as well but there's nothing I can do about it. It's just an inconvenience at this point and I try not to let it ruin my day. Overall, I think I've been lucky with the amount of rain I've had to deal with. I was supposed to pass a shelter around lunch time but it was down a .4 mile side trail. It's so much nicer when they are right on the AT!! As I approached the shelter, I could smell a fire - awesome!! Not only can I have a dry lunch but maybe I can warm up too!!Spruce Peak Shelter is more like a cabin. It has a sliding barn type door and some windows and most importantly, a wood burning stove! There's also a table and benches in the corner. There were about 6 people here and I think 5 of them had stayed here last night and couldn't bring themselves to go out in the rain this morning. They all offered to make room when I came in soaked but I told them I'll just sit on the floor right inside the door - the place looked all nice and dry and I didn't want to track water and mud all through the place. I sat there and had my lunch but wasn't ready to head back out just yet. I decided to take off some layers and get close to the stove. It was too nice.  A guy named Just Jeff came in and I'm pretty sure I met him when I was down south, just couldn't place him. He was a trip though. We got talking about our experiences in the Smokies with permits and fees and all. He dried out his gear as best he could by the stove and headed back out. I wasn't ready to leave yet. I was starting to worry that I was going to end up staying for the night but I really wanted to make miles. It's just so hard to leave the warm dry cabin to go back out into the rain. After about 3 hours, I packed up and headed back out. Still had about 8 miles to go to get to Stratton Pond Shelter.  Terrain was easy but the trail was a stream in a lot of places. I had a hard time finding a good water source and my app said that the pond would be it for the shelter. I came to the pond and stood there in the rain for a few minutes contemplating if I really wanted to get water here or try my luck at the spring beyond the shelter. I caved and filled my water from the pond (after filtering of course). There was a caretakers tent set up right at the turnoff for the shelter. This shelter has a $5 fee that pays for upkeep and the caretaker. He called me over to his tent and asked if I was going to stay - I said I was pretty sure I was going to. He handed me a stack of oatmeal raisin cookies he said he mother had just sent him in a mail drop. They were awesome and gone in 2 minutes. His name was Varsity and he hiked the entire AT last year. He's from CA and wasn't ready to get a full time job when he was done the trail so he decided to do part time stuff for another year or so. That's how he ended up becoming a caretaker out here. They do weekly shifts or 10 days on 4 days off. Something like that. Their tent is set up on a platform, semi permanent, but he has to hike in and out with his other gear. Other than that, they just keep the site tidy and collect the fees. No cell service, no electricity, just a nice view of the pond and maybe a canoe to keep busy for the week. Not sure I could do that.Got to the shelter and it was almost full. There were a large group of French Canadians and a few others. There was also 1 bunk left - an upper of course. I started getting cold as soon as I stopped hiking and had to get into my dry stuff. Had dinner up in my bunk and was under the covers as soon as possible. Staying warm takes a lot of energy and I used it all today.