Date: 2014-08-19
From: Lost Pond Shelter

To: Clarendon Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: clear sky

It was pretty cold last night and thankfully my quilt kept my cozy. I have to give a shout out to Enlightened Equipment for the quality quilts they make, I bought the Prodigy which has held up beautifully. Unfortunately Atlas wasn't as warm as I was and froze a bit during the night so it was a bit slow going this morning.    The beginning of the day was nice, not a cloud in the sky and temperature was warming up. The trail followed along a stream and passed along the shores of Little Rock Pond which was beautiful. There are so many swimming holes and lakes in Vermont it makes me jealous that I didn't get up here sooner when it was warmer out. We were making good time and decided to take a break at the Greenwall Shelter which was .2 miles off the trail.The trail got crowded before the shelter and the .2 mile walk must have been a deterrent for most because no one was there when we arrived. The shelter was a basic one but that privy was one of the best I've seen on the trail-spacious,clean, no smell and a lot of the natural light coming through the translucent ceiling, I enjoyed myself.   We had a big climb over yet another Bear Mountain (I believe that's the third one on the trail so far) and James,Atlas and I booked it up there. We kept on going and noticed a big group camped out near the next shelter, they look like a trail maintenance group as they all seemed to be wearing similar clothing and the the trail was marked off with ribbons with what needed to be done. They are part of a large group of volunteers that don't get the nearly as much credit as they deserve and are taken for granted for sometimes. On the way down Bear Mountain there was a cool view of the Rutland Airport and was even cooler because someone hiked up two lawn chairs and we sat there waiting for a plane to take off which eventually happened. We also had to be careful as there was a huge of wasps that had a nest buried in the ground and already stung a thru hiker and her dog. I've encountered more stings by insects than anything else and glad I'm not allergic because my trip would've been done a long time ago.   We had a few miles before we were done and while we crossing a suspension bridge, three people were coming the opposite way and asked if we were thru hikers and when we said yes, one of them handed each us a airplane bottle of liquor, it was random but amazing. Armed with newly acquired alcohol we climbed up and over a rock scramble and made it to the shelter.   The shelter was a gorgeous one with plenty of tenting spaces around it and a stream nearby. The caretaker even cut up wood to use in the fire pit which we did. There was a decent amount of people there including a group from a college, we've been seeing a lot of then on the Long Trail, I'm assuming it's some orientation activity. Puzzle,Mailman and No Rush were at the shelter which was nice,we've been leapfrogging them since Connecticut. It was fun times around the camping and staring up at the stars (I may have seen a UFO) and before long it was time for bed. Big climb over Killington Mountain tomorrow,just another day at the office.