Date: 2018-06-18
From: Churchill Scott shelter

To: Wintturi Shelter
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night's forecast called for a 90% chance of rain with hot temperatures. That meant we wanted to get as many dry miles in as possible. It was huuuumid! The wind was blowing a bit though so it did help keep us from sweating too bad but throughout the day I got used to my shirt being beyond soaked.The climb down Killington was easy and then we had a bit of "flat" along the edge of Kent Pond. Here is where we split off the Long Trail and headed east towards Hanover, NH. At Kent Pond there is a lodge that hosts weddings that the AT passes right by. Imagine hiking by as a wedding was going on!? Hiker trash photobomb! Two Clicks and I were both out of the groove today. We want to blame the humidity but who knows. It's like the male version of being on the same cycle. We seem to have matched up, for the most part, the days we feel good and the days we feel bad with a few exceptions.At the lodge, we walked around. It was pretty deserted but we opened a few doors until we found someone who worked here. We had no idea if they sold food or beverage but we had to try! It was right on trail! He said he didn't have Gatorade but did have sodas! We both got one and he brought them out with a glass of ice to pour them into. Fancy! You could tell he never really had hikers stop here for this haha.The sodas helped but the climbs today really kicked my ass. Sorry for the profanity but it really describes the situation. The climbs that are hyped up by everyone seem to be easier maybe because we're expecting difficulty. As for this section, My Quimby is tough! Maybe it was the humidity or lack of motivation but my legs were shaking afterwards and Two Clicks' were too. We stopped at the top to replenish our glycogen reserves as Hazmat would say.Side note: Hazmat is a dad that's finishing the last section of the AT. We met him just after Greylock and have been hiking around him since. He is a chemist by trade and always makes reference to chemistry talk. Reminds me of Mr Nash! He's a really cool guy and will be finishing the AT on Mt Moosilauke in NH with his kids in a few days. He has a really cool setup where he cooks muffins on trail along with eggs with his pot! It's so cool to watch. He's too smart for me but seems to like us. He refers to Two Clicks and I as the old men because we go to bed so early.Around 11 we stopped at a shelter for an early lunch. We had high hopes this would bring some energy back to us. A double dose of instant coffee cold brewed (just too lazy to heat it up) along with some food and my iPod after lunch really helped me push the last 10 miles of so. It's funny to think how many people reading this cringe when I say country music helped a lot haha.I stopped 2 miles before camp to venture up a side trail to what was called "the lookout." It wasn't that great of a view but it was a cool climb to a deck on top of the roof of this hut. In the distance I could see what looked like a storm so I made the stop quick and kept moving.Minutes from the shelter the sky began to darken. I had caught up to Two Clicks who passed when I took the side trail and we started moving quickly. With impeccable timing we reached the shelter as the heavy rain began! Perfect timing. We settled in as the shelter was already packed and claimed our spots. We then went down to get water in the rain which felt great after such a hot day. It was an early stop at camp around 3:30 but we had done good miles and today was tough. We may be altering our plans to stealth outside Hanover, NH tomorrow then officially cross the border Wednesday to give us enough time for a resupply and hanging out in town to eat! We shall see!P.S: I finally switched audible books. Lord of the Rings just wasn't doing it for me anymore unfortunately. I'm not saying I didn't like it but I just wanted something different. I'm reading Stephen King's book "The Stand" which if I like it will definitely last me until Maine knowing the length of his books.