Date: 2010-07-31
From: Bennington

To: Black brook camp
Miles today: 22.6

Restless sleep last night. I knew better than to tent on solid compact sand. I broke a tent stake trying to get the bugger in the ground. If it rains hard enough between now and then, I¢ll get wet in my tent without it. Last night was warmer than I¢d expected it to be. The lower elevation paid off in a peaceful if not restful night in Vermont. The fleece vest from Tom¢s hiker box helped keep my core temperature up during the night. My extremities were pretty left out in the cold however. One more night in my purple fleece bag liner and I¢ll be in my ¢Cadillac¢ of a 15 degree bag!My current plan of assaulting Manchester, Vermont is to get Benedryl and hike out 5 miles on the 2nd. Chew on some pink pills and catch up on my Zzz¢s!Today I cross into Green Mountain National Wilderness! I love wildernesses. They¢re never what you¢d expect them to be. They¢re wild, but they¢ve got more civilization in them than you¢d imagine. I like the idea though. These parks typically have little signage and minimal human impact. No chainsaws allowed here so blow-downs (fallen trees) are typically seen across the trail in places called, ¢Wilderness¢.This Vermont place is pretty amazing. It¢s knocking my socks off today with its strikingly apparent healthiness. Old birches and moss as far as my sleepy eyes can see. The mud¢s not even sticky. You can step in it and your shoes stay clean. I know, it¢s because it hasn¢t rained yet, but it¢s still cool to imagine non-sticky mud.¢Teflon Mud ¢¢¢ should be a Vermont trademark.I laugh at all the foot prints leading straight through the black fluffy bogs. A few hikers take the direct approach. They go as the crow flies and hit it head on without care of their footwear. I¢m not one of them, but occasionally I¢ll take a running leap into the soft loamy soil. Today, I encountered three squirrels with dark brick brown coloring and mangy wiry tails. My first red squirrel sightings! The total number of eyeball bugs does not reach the double digit mark. Only 9 eye-bombers encountered. Incredible! It¢s enough of a reason for me to give Vermont the dubious honor of being called my favorite state since Virginia! It¢s cold enough that don¢t sweat as I hike uphill. No clouds in the sky! 43 degrees on the 31st of JULY, is a dream to a North Carolinian. The radio stations here play cool hippy minimalist songs! Coffee house production quality music! I think I could live here! The views already remind me of the Smokey¢s! So wild and untamed here in the Green Mountains!Passed a SOBO at Hells Hollow where he told me the next 7 miles were like walking on carpet! I¢m already flipping out about how pretty this place is, and now this? Flat ground? You could push a wheel chair through this area for a while. I was smiling and laughing at what I saw at Porcupine vista! Baby blue crystal skies just over jagged pine tree tops. Bob Ross couldn¢t do Vermont any justice. Eat your heart out happy little clouds! There was another amazing beaver pond just before the first shelter I encountered for the day. I could see for a mile across a black mirror reflecting the sky on the water surface. I must be dreaming! There¢s a hobbit sized beaver hut right near the trail, but I didn¢t see any residents.I was shocked to find a genuine piped spring on top of Glastonbury! Can¢t recall seeing one of those since PA! The ice cold water runs straight out of the mountain rocks! New experiences to come from here on out and I¢m getting exasperated with anticipation! I was feeling good so I climbed the 3700ft by 12:30pm. I started this morning at 7:00am at have taken my sweet time since then. My head tells me to rush for lower elevations but my feet are on strike! They¢re picketing and holding up signs that say, ¢No More Rushing!¢Glastonbury shelter was pretty chilly so I didn¢t stay long. For lunch I drank some Irish black tea, sunflower seeds and the rest of my blueberry granola. I couldn¢t eat all of the granola earlier but the 3500ft climb brought out my appetite. Even though that Gatorade crap made a huge mess in my food bag, I still love it. Carrying a liter of Gatorade is a treat to this sugarless lipped hiker. I loved how I felt today with plenty of energy and general lack of parched cotton mouth. Water is plenteous here. I tried imagining what it¢d be like to ski the trail. How do you keep from getting lost on the way back down? You can¢t see the trail if the ground is covered! Would the snow pile higher than the white blazes? How would you avoid all the trees?The Glastonbury observation tower was the best thing I¢ve seen on the trail since Virginia! The mountains are huge scary blue beasts waiting for me. I take picture after picture and just can¢t capture this landscape. I got the same helpless feeling that I experienced on Wesser observation tower in NC. The feeling of dread and excitement fight it out in my mind. It¢s most obvious to me that I¢m not in Kansas anymore. The world is a whole different color spectrum here. Things are not like they were when I left the trail. Life is good here. Nature is happy here. There¢s something in the forest in New England that will help me to realize what the woods are all about. I¢m about to get an education in Vermont. I¢m about to learn what wilderness is all about. This is the way it should be!Taking it nice and slow to Kid Gore shelter didn¢t keep my right knee from feeling like the Tin-man¢s knee. I¢m walking like I¢ve got a Forest Gump brace on my leg. It hurts to bend and lift it. My left leg feels funny from picking up all the slack. If I kept moving with no breaks the right knee warmed up and hurt less. Tried to stay focused and not get distracted at all the beauty all around. Couldn¢t help but notice a giant heap of grape sized turds by South Adler brook. Found out later that I¢d seen my first mound of moose poop. A section hiker named Dodger and his companion were making a bet as they left the observation tower earlier today. They bet the first to see a Moose gets a free beer from the other.What¢s the plural form of Moose? Meese?Feeling the old fun gauge plummet due to tired feet and aching right knee. I¢ll give myself a break at Story Spring Shelter. I ate dinner at 5pm with a group of people hiking the Long Trail in Vermont. I¢d love to go further but we¢ll see after eating. Found out from NP (No Promises) that the Greenhouse Hostel in Manchester requires reservations! Excellent information to know! Couldn¢t make the call there at the shelter, but I got through later that day. I¢ve been hearing good things about Green Mountain. $15 includes Ben and Jerry¢s! Felt the urge to leave when the Long Trail hikers and SOBO¢s started in with the same old questions. Everyone but me has Nalgene. I¢m so much cooler than them (smirk). Ghost, a SOBO hiker, tells me about Killington¢s as I ate couscous and three string cheeses. I couldn¢t really pay attention to what he was saying because I was busy thinking about how awesome my meal was. Pasta + cheese = happy. More sparkly sweet crystal spring water straight from a rock at the shelter! How do rocks make water? It¢s a mystery but damn they¢re good at it. I¢m feeling better now that I¢ve taken a break and eaten. Time to get moving!Walking with the phone in my hand to find a spot to call the hostel felt pretty silly. Here I am in the woods and I¢m staring at the fluorescent lights and waiting for the illusive reception bar to appear. I could have been missing something, but Ben and Jerry¢s ice cream was on my mind. Pretty chill evening hike to Black Brook. NP is here. Scared I¢d freak her out by camping here since she¢s all alone. She beat me to this place but I¢d been planning to stop here already. I¢m being ridiculous about whether she¢s paranoid or not, but I choose to remain on the opposite side of the river. I get water from the stream by the campsite and it¢s yellow in hue. Typical of the rivers and streams here. Tannon, it¢s called. It¢s a substance emitted from the roots of trees and it stains the water. I guess I could be wrong though. It could be something else. Maybe there¢s a Twinky factory around the bend here. Maybe tomorrow I¢ll get to go swimming in a pool of Twinky goo. I¢ll be stained yellow then.Here we are again. This place has the lowest elevation around. Running for sunrise on Stratton fire tower in the morning seemed like a good idea at the time. I even set my alarm clock for at an insanely early start. We¢ll see.