Date: 2021-06-07
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Kid Gore shelter
Miles today: 18.74
Weather: clear sky

¢Twas truly a ¢green tunnel¢ day, as the AT is sometimes called. Walking through the rocks, roots, ruts and mud of forested southern Vermont.  Early in the day I had a long and steep downhill to Rte 9 which goes into Bennington and I was glad it was mostly dry.  After crossing the road it was right back up again for about 8 miles until you reach Glastonbury Mountain. Was another hot day in the mid 80¢s so I did make a concerted effort to not just carry water, but actually drink it - I¢m told that¢s key.While hiking today I tried to remember as many names and faces as I could from my third grade class with Mrs Olsen (who often wore dresses far too short, according to some).  Then I had a Bob Marley tune running through my head and I¢d occasionally sing out ¢Buffalo sol-DIER¢ to the trees.  Lots and lots of toads of all sizes were hopping around including one that had a reddish tint to it.  Do toads crossbreed with other species of toads?  What¢s the zip code of every place I¢ve lived in my life?  What were the addresses? I wonder what recalls Ford has issued since I¢ve been gone from work.  I hope they replaced the laminator that broke  - Marisol or Annette can get that handled.That¢s kind of a typical ¢what do I think about when I¢m hiking¢ montage.  It¢s amazing what will just float in to my mind, rattle about for a few minutes, then float away.  Just the other day I remembered my Aunt Bernie teaching me a song about John Brown¢s baby having a cold upon it¢s chest while we were on a car ride more than 45 years ago.  Why? Who the heck knows.  But there it was, parked on some dark alley in the synapses of my brain to emerge, unbidden, almost half a century later when walking in the Massachusetts woods.  I pulled into the Glastonbury shelter at 12:30 and took a half hour break before deciding to move on, now that the predicted thunderstorms were to arrive at five instead of two.  I chatted briefly with someone hiking the Long Trail and a section hiker named Red Raven who it turned out was a yooper.  She lived outside Escanaba for many years and also went to school in Grand Rapids.  The four miles from the Glastonbury shelter here to the Kid Gore shelter were pretty rocky and getting them done before the rain made me happy.  The shelter itself had no room for tents or hammocks by it, but there¢s an area 200 feet further up the trail that supposedly had space.  Well, there was space for one tent and one hammock and both were claimed.  If I had only a tent, I would have been out of luck.  I did find some good trees to hang from with rocks underneath, so as long as I¢m careful getting in and out, all should be well.After setting up and cleaning up I went back to the shelter to eat some dinner.  There was another Long Trail hiker and a section hiker staying in the shelter and two AT hikers as well - Iceberg and Quicksilver. Iceberg is finishing his Covid-interrupted hike from last year and Quicksilver is a fellow flip flopper who is also a Michiganian, hailing Livonia. Red Raven then turned up as well and everyone talked about all things trail. I bragged about the time in the Shenandoah¢s where I stayed in my rack for 14 hours without having to get up to urinate - maybe my proudest accomplishment to date.  As a fellow hammocker, Quicksilver said that there is a technique to being able to pee into a bottle without leaving one¢s hammock. I have to tip my cap to him, as I think I lack the coordination to pull that trick off. The rains started at 5, so I got under my tarp and into my hammock just in time. About 5:30 a big thunderstorm passed just south of here and we got hammered with rain for almost an hour. I think I¢m well situated to ride out the other storms headed this way though I do expect to have a lot of damp gear come morning. I¢ve got a 1700 foot climb tomorrow up and over 3940 ft Stratton Mountain. I called and reserved a bunk at the Green Mountain House hostel in Manchester Center for Thursday night as I desperately need to do some laundry. I¢ve also been going over my kit in my mind the last few days and plan on making some changes when I get to Hanover, NH in 10 days or so.  I¢m going to try and shave another 2 2 lbs from my set up.  We shall see.