Date: 2018-07-16
From: Williamstown 

To: Bridge Over City Stream
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: moderate rain

Day 103- A very inexpensive resupply at Dollar General was the first thing on our to-do list today followed by a stop to my favorite breakfast eatery, Dunkin¢ Donuts! There¢s just something so New England about it for me. After we indulged, the friendly staff at the motel gave us a ride back to the trail-head, we already knew it was going to be a hot one today. Luckily the trail provides. Someone had some ice pops in a cooler near the road and then at the last house before we stepped into the forest, someone had a little sign saying we could take water from their hose. Speaking with transparency, broken seal was not a happy camper this morning to be hiking. For him the idea of laying in bed in an air-conditioned room with junk television playing sounded kind of appealing. Instead, here we were. Being a sweaty mess as we crossed from Massachusetts into Vermont and onto the LONG TRAIL!I¢ve noticed another shift amongst hikers recently which is that a lot of people are becoming focused on the end. We¢re meeting people who are speeding up to meet deadlines and everyone is doing some planning or at least discussion as to what comes next. It¢s hard though because we still have almost 600 miles to go; you¢re definitely not close to finishing but I can tell people are getting eager to reach Katahdin and be done. The height of Broken Seals frustrations today was when we passed multiple dry water sources that were supposed to be reliable according to the guidebook. He had to hike back a bit to a puddle he saw to get a splash of water before we moved on. Again though the trail provides, no more than five minutes later we see a car parked on a forest service road with hikers sitting around it.Hooray! Trail Angel Ken was there with all kinds of goodies including apple cider donuts and long trail beer! How fitting for the first 10 miles of the Vermont. Most importantly though, he had water! I never imagined water would be an issue here in New England but it feels so precious right now.After good conversation we filled all of our bottles, and hiked on into the afternoon. Broken Seals spirit was totally rejuvenated and we had great engaging conversation all the way to the shelter. It¢s amazing that after 102 days we can still find great things to talk about.Rattler, Red Panda, Running Grizz, and 47 were all at the shelter when we arrived a little before 5 PM. We snacked and laughed before all six of us kept going as there was supposed to be a reliable source 3 miles before the steep decent to the road into Bennington, but it was dry as well so we started the descent. It wasn¢t the end of the world, and when we got to the bottom there was even more true magic in the form of hot cocoa packets and a reliable water source. We could hear thunder and it was already later than we had planned on hiking so all six of us set up our shelters and bundled in before the heavy rains came. In general, we timed it perfectly even though Broken Seal probably could¢ve used an extra minute or two to set up the bear hang as he got a bit wet. Finally after a long day we got to eat in the tent together and take a look at the last section of maps that Rattler had just mailed in. What lies ahead looks menacing but definitely within our ability level.