Date: 2021-06-15
From: Rte 4 AT crossing

To: The Lookout
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: mist

Can¢t say enough about how well we were treated by the Yellow Deli/12 Tribes people during the two nights we stayed there. They were only interested in making sure we were comfortable and had what we needed. They even offered to bring us breakfast early as we were leaving at 7am, a half hour before they normally served. Just kind, odd people. Our shuttle driver arrived at 7 to take us up to the trail. Tom is a retired army colonel and is not what you would call the current stereotypical Vermonter. He¢s be an awesome neighbor to have. Whenever you were bored you could wander over and strike up a conversation about nearly anything and he¢d be off an running with an entertaining and blunt opinion. Started hiking at 7:30 with a plan to go just over 17 miles for the day. There were two steep climbs today over 800 feet each and for the day my Garmin watch claims I climbed the equivalent of 419 flights of stairs. I hiked most of the day around Quiksilver, though he dusted me on the first climb. At the top of that is where we saw the bear print in the mud underneath a power line clearing. Thankfully, the trail wasn¢t going the same direction as the bear. 10 miles in we stopped at a shelter for a break and a bite to eat. There were signs posted about recent bear activity there and that the bear had been aggressive seeking food. Iceberg arrived after a few minutes and we kept our eyes peeled for any wildlife. I was hoping that any bear would prefer Iceberg¢s tuna wrap instead of my peanut butter and frito tortilla burrito.  Luckily, only a chipmunk came by to check out the offerings. Then it was 7.3 uphill miles fo go to our campsite for the night with one more climb to do to get there.  I also had to make sure and get water about three miles from the destination, as that was the last water before the dry shelter.  I normally carry two liters at the most as I hike, but took and extra liter and a half from the stream.  Doesn¢t sound like much, but that¢s nearly 10% of my normal pack weight  We arrived at The Lookout at 3:30pm.  It¢s a privately owned cabin that they open for hikers to use.  There is a widow¢s walk deck on the roof that you reach by a steep ladder and are then treated to some amazing views of the surrounding mountains.  Iceberg is sleeping inside with two hikers who were at the hostel with us but who hiked in SOBO from a road a few miles away and spent the afternoon ¢blazing¢ up on the roof. Quiksilver and I both set up our hammocks outside, though it¢s raining lightly right now and may rain some more tonight  I¢m not equipped to sleep in a shelter and didn¢t want to hang from the rafters, in case other hikers showed up later who wanted to stay inside.Tomorrow I¢ll likely hike another 15 or so miles over some roller coaster ups and downs, then Thursday hike into Hanover  I didn¢t start out liking Vermont much, but the last three or four days of hiking have been pretty nice.  At some point tomorrow afternoon I should cross the 1000 mile mark.  That seems like a lot, until I realize that still leaves 1193 to go!Ah well, one step at a time. This¢ll be fine.