Date: 2003-11-07
From: merck forest & farmland center

To: congdon shelter
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: scattered clouds

is it springtime already? amanda¢s boss said that the sun wouldn¢t shine again until the spring. well, when we woke up this morning, it was shining. i guess that maybe i slept straight through the winter. did i miss anything? what did i get for Christmas? any toys?okay, so it isn¢t really spring. but, the sun was shining this morning. hallelujah. i never thought i would see something so nice as the sun ever again. what a way to boost a person¢s spirits. just bring out the sun and, hey, look at those spirits sore.todd, amanda, and i took an early morning hike to the top of mount antone- the highest point on the merck property. from there, we had a great view of the surrounding mountains and of the merck farm. what? you want a little more information about this fabulous place where i¢ve been staying these past few days? very well, then. how about this:-the merck forest and farmland center was started in the 1940s by george merck (who also founded merck pharmaceuticals, but didn¢t want the two to be associated at all)-it was founded to demonstrate the sustainable practice of farming and forestry-there are 60 acres of farm and 3100 acres of forest-28 miles of hiking trails with cabins cover the property-the farm is completely organic-there are sheep, cows, horses, turkeys, chickens, and pigs- most of which are rare breeds-the main objective is education-500 gallons of syrup were produced last year at the centerfascinating stuff, huh? this is all rather abridged as relayed by miss amanda sprader. but, let me say- this place is great. i look forward to returning here one day. maybe i¢ll come back as a fulltime syrup maker. i got to watch part of that process today and was completely fascinated by it. i think it is something i could get into. especially if i had to taste each batch of syrup to make sure it was good. okay, i guess i¢ll taste some more syrup if i have too.we drove down towards the town of bennington to pick up the AT where it crosses route 9. amanda and todd decided that they wanted to hike in and spend the night with me. that was fine by me. to be in a town with someone i knew was great, but there is nothing better than being on the trail with friends. hiking together can be very motivating and very entertaining. (ask amanda about how she wandered off the trail twice today when she was leading). staying the night with friends is always great.we got to the shelter and strung the tent fly across the opening to make it fully enclosed. the wind was blowing and it was going to be a cold night. so, any little thing we could do to retain some heat would be good. if it were just me, i wouldn¢t really care. but, there are two guests in my ¢house¢ tonight.we sat in the shelter and talked by the light of a candle. dinner was served early and bedtime will come early as well. that is how it works out here this time of year. out here it is cold, we eat dinner early, and we go to bed at 7:00. i hope my two friends don¢t mind. of course they don¢t mind. i¢m really glad they are out here. this is great. it is almost like i am hiking during the regular hiking season and there is a community of other hikers out here. of course, that will all change again tomorrow. but, for now, i will enjoy it while it lasts.