Date: 2013-07-04
From: Little Rock Pond Shelter

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: broken clouds

Day 7: Little Rock Pond to Peru Peak Shelter Happy Birthday America!!!It was a restless night for me, with only a few hours of decent sleep. I was awake around 2 a.m.; it was so dark, not even stars seemed to shine through the tree cover but at least there was no rain. I went back to sleep but only managed a few hours more before I awoke again and decided to get up. I was hopeful that the additional time without rain would mean a drier trail. I had breakfast in the company of Double-check and No Doubt and got a few photos together with them before we headed our separate ways. I took my time walking alongside the pond; stopping to take a few photos in the morning light which seemed to provide a better a little more color depth than the evening sunlight. My hopes for a drier trail while probably still reasonably well-founded were slightly deflated when within the first 20 minutes I had already traversed enough m@$! (mud is now a swear word) to cover my boots and halfway up the gaiters. Oh well¢¦ I¢ve decided not to dwell on it.Day 7- Lil¢ Rock PondThe morning had not only low-lying spots but a nice stretch that was high enough that it WAS quite dry and certainly pleasant to walk. I crossed a stream or two and finally made it to a forest service road which was well maintained and had a very clean privy. From that crossing I walked up the road a short ways before re-entering the woods and beginning a pretty long climb of about 1,400¢ over 3.5 miles or so. The first half a mile was the toughest just because in that short a distance you climbed nearly 500¢. After that it was just a steady, long climb essentially up to Baker Peak. It was a HOT day and I probably didn¢t hydrate near enough but I was reluctant to stop for any length of time, wanting to have a shot at a decent break at Griffith Lake. I was told Griffith Lake was a wonderful place to swim, and so I had my heart on doing just that. Day 7 Around the Big Branch AreaI stopped in at Lost Pond Shelter just to get some lunch and then pushed on the remaining 2 miles to arrive at Baker Peak. It was simply a gorgeous view from the rocky peak. Mountains surrounded me and again you could look into the several mountain valley towns in the area. I remained there for maybe 30 minutes, taking the opportunity to call Matt and say hello. It¢s been a little bit of time since I had to negotiate vertical rocks, and so I was quite uneasy on my feet as I was attempting to descend Baker Peak over what looked like the spine of the mountain. Rocks were sometimes quite a distance apart (for a short person like me), and so I had to either slide part-way down or use my hiking poles as 3rd and 4th hands to keep me connected with most of my weight on something solid. In all of this maneuvering (and some graceless falling), I lost my bug net bag which also had my trail data for the rest of today and tomorrow. Again¢¦ oh well, why bother dwelling on it since I couldn¢t do anything (I was not going BACK to get it). Thank God this was dry rock! I cannot imagine what hell it must be in the rain; say nothing of snow or ice! After making the sharp descents there was roughly 2 miles to get to Griffith Lake tenting area. Again, it¢s one of those funny things where you look at the map profile and see that it¢s really kind of flat looking... but that¢s not what it¢s like walking the ground! Again, m@$% and some sliding, some great puncheon but some slippery, as I arrived at the northern end of the lake area, I heard voices- kids mostly, but I didn¢t see them. The lake was to my right and to the left, a trail, in the middle of which was an emergency/construction orange cone and a sign saying ¢trail closed¢¢¦ I thought it was a good idea that I did not try to come by an alternate trail or I might have been disappointed at having found it impassable. I walked for what seemed a long time along the puncheon boards before finally arriving at a sign pointing to the left for the tenting area and the right for lake access. Turning right, I found a fire circle and some clothes and in the lake I saw a guy swimming. A quick conversation and I shed my pack, washed off my boots and then went completely clothed into the lake. It was FAB-U-LOUS! OMG, it was so warm in some spots and yet very cold in others. The bottom was a little rocky in spots but I had my Crocs on (again, thanks to Alana for carrying them into Gatlinburg a month or so ago). Day 7 Near Griffith LakeI had gotten so grubby and smelly since leaving Rutland, so this lake was a real gift from a place to cool off to a gigantic washing machine and a bathtub! It was a beautiful location and such an indulgence, I think it might be the best trail-related part of this section hike. If only it were closer to me¢¦ what a gift this place would be during the summer. And I did finally see the kids whose voices I heard earlier, they were all swimming and horsing around diagonally across from me. I guess there was yet another way to get to the lake. After some floating and swimming in the lake, I got out, dried as best I could in the afternoon sun and put my boots and damp socks back on to make the final mile of the day. It was a pretty section, again over puncheon boards, some of which were completely submerged in the recent rain-swollen lakes and marsh areas. I arrived at Peru Peak shelter and found two guys and a gal there drying things out and eating. Eventually the two gents moved on but the woman, I was to learn was a Science teacher from Canada who was out section hiking. Had a great conversation with her and then met a family who were also out section hiking. We all ended up sleeping in the shelter which was a pretty good-sized one. The family had brought confetti-poppers and snappers to celebrate the 4th of July, so it was nice to have our own little fireworks display out in the woods. Lots of mosquitoes here, I¢m throwing the bug net over my head and calling it a night. Just under 10 miles to go to get back to VT 11/30 and in to Manchester tomorrow; hoping that the hitch in is faster than it was last time. Day 7 Griffith Lake and Peru Peak ShelterGood night from Peru Peak Shelter, hope you all get great fireworks wherever you may be!!!More photos for day 7 of the trip can be seen at: 2000Miler_Day 7