Date: 2011-07-20
From: (103) Little Rock Pond Shelter

To: (104) Tuceer Johnson Shelter (burned down)
Miles today: 31.0

Recently the nights have been very cold in the mountains, and last night was no exception. While the days remain hot thanks to the nationwide heat wave, at night the temperature drops dramatically, which I attribute to a combination of being farther up North and the higher altitude of the mountains. In addition to numerous and constantly enlarging mountains, Vermont is also a very muddy state. I do not know why, but the trail is full of mud pits resembling quicksand, that never seem to dry up, but that do succeed in covering me from head to toe with dirt. I hiked through these pits and over mountains all day in the heat, while constantly being followed by several of the biting black flies which I now hardly notice (The Flies started a few days ago; they land on my head a hundred million and a half times a minute, and for every single one I kill another takes its place). The hardest part of the day was a three or more mile hike upwards to the top of Shrewsbury Peak, a highly eroded path full of awkward rocks and roots. Several times my hiking poles pulled apart from the roots or mud. I was later rewarded for my efforts, however, by trail magic! It was a cooler full of soda, which I enjoyed with some South Bounders. We sat sipping soda, and the newbie hikers marveled at how small my pack was, so I gave them some tips for getting their own pack weight down (throw out everything) and how to do big mile days (throw out everything and wake up early) so that they might stay ahead of winter. In the evening I ran into a porcupine in the woods. He puffed up his quills for an attack, but I really wanted a picture so I unfolded my sleeping pad and used it as a shield to get as close as I dared and then snapped my camera. It was not as exciting as a Moose or a Bear, but still dangerous, so I guess I¢ll take it¢¦At nightfall I reached the point where the AT and Long Trail cease to coincide, splitting off from each other (after over a hundred miles) un-dramatically and into slightly different directions. It was the end of my hike, a 31 mile day. I had done it! I had successfully completed back to back 30 mile days (keeping the oath I made to Helm in Virginia that I would work my up to such consecutive mileage), and also back to back days where I hiked for over 14 hours straight¢¦ and in Vermont of all places! I felt absolutely rugged after such monstrous mileage, and couldn¢t help but be proud of the fact that as the terrain and temperature worsened, I got faster. My feet felt like they were going to fall off, and I longed to go to sleep. The shelter was supposed to be a ways down The Long Trail, but after an hour of searching I learned from a sign that it had burned down (It was dark out and I was nearly to tears from pain and frustration). I was unable to find any flat ground in the woods so, using my almost dead flashlight for light, I set up my tarp right smack in the middle of the AT/Long Trail intersection and went to sleep (I figured I would be packed and out of the way before anybody went by).I am now two days behind Wakarusa, but will have to slow down tomorrow as I am low on food and need to resupply in Killington, and a few days later in Hanover (Dartmouth College) so that I will have supplies before entering The White Mountains of New Hampshire. I predict that I will catch Wakarusa somewhere in the Whites, as they are incredibly mountainous.