Date: 2003-11-03
From: happy hill shelter

To: thistle hill shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: overcast clouds

and, why wouldn't it still be raining when we woke up this morning? it only rained all through the night (which did make for very good sleeping with the pitter-patter of rain on the tin roof) and all day yesterday. so, of course, it was still coming down this morning. verb and i were talking about how much our packs weighed. he couldn't believe how heavy my pack is. he said that since the trail goes through or near so many towns in vermont, he has decided to carry only 2 or 3 days of food at a time. i was reading from my guidebook the towns and what kinds of services they have to offer. verb said that he would treat me to a cheeseburger and a milkshake when we hiked through the town of west hartford today. rain or not, that was motivation enough for me to get up and get packed. the rain tapered off just as we were about to start hiking. we started down the trail in a thick fog. i took it slow at first so that my ankle could warm itself up at its own leisurely pace. it was definitely strange hiking with someone this morning. verb has bad knees so he is always hiking at a slower pace and i have a bad ankle so my pace has been reduced to his. all the way to town we talked about the food we were going to have and especially what flavor milkshakes we'd be having. we both quickened our paces as much as we could. one thing i will say about vermont is that there seems to be a lot of road walking. i walked on the road for a couple of miles yesterday, and then we walked on the road for a few more miles today. it didn't take us long to get to rick and tina's general store. we were both a little wet from the light drizzle that had started up on our way into town, so it was nice to get in out of the rain. we dropped our packs on the front porch and took our seats at the lunch counter. we were the only customers in the place. a woman came out from the back (i assume it was tina), took one look at us, and asked if we were hikers. we told her that we were and at first she couldn't believe that we were out on the trail this time of year. i ordered a cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate milkshake. tina said that they don't have milkshakes this time of year. i wish you could have seen the look on verb's face upon hearing this. i thought he was going to cry. we were both bummed out that we couldn't have milkshakes, but i was able to find a worthy substitute- a quart of chocolate milk. i do like milk and i do miss milk more than anything else when i'm on the trail. so, i drink a quart of milk at a time out here like it is only one of those little half-pint cartons from elementary school. the burger and the milk hit the spot. and, i might have found one of my new favorite snacks for the trail- the hostess apple pie. two for a dollar (they were one dollar-even because it would appear as though they don't have a sales tax in vermont). the kicker is that there are 480 calories per pie. on the trail you are always trying to consume as many calories as possible since you are constantly burning them. if all of the hiking in vermont is anything like it was today, then i could definitely get used to this state. after lunch was a pleasant stroll over some grass-covered hills and through some nice pine forests. nothing too strenuous. it was quite nice. and, i got to walk past some more old stone walls, so i thoroughly enjoyed that. even with a late start and stopping for lunch, i was able to make it to the shelter by 1:45. and, the rain started up again not two minutes after i got here. a light rain at first, but soon becoming quite steady. the kind of rain that is going to stick around all day (and probably all night). a cold rain. the kind of rain that is no fun to hike in. it is really surprising how fast the time passes when there is someone else around. how in the world is it already 9:30?