Date: 2003-07-18
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: Randy & Linda's Place West Hartford VT
Miles today: 16.4

Day 127 Avg Mls/Day 13.6Weather: Overcast & cloudy in morning with heavy thundershowers mid day then clearing and pleasant in the evening. Highs around mid to upper 70's.Today' Nature: Didn't notice anything in particular along the Trail. Trail went through some meadowlands with nice views.Falls Today 0 Total 6Today's Song: Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones...One of my favoritesWasn't bad sleeping in the shelter although it is not as comfortable as my tent. It just saves the time of taking it down and packing it up in the morning.I actually got up at 5 and was hiking by 6. T was getting around when I left and Mud was awake but still is his bag. This is one of my earliest starts. It's a good thing because I did not make good time today.The first thing was the terrain was again littered with climbs; not particulary steep but one after another. I got tired and sweaty a couple of times and stopped for short breaks. You would start out say 800', go up to 1600', drop down to a stream or road, climb another hill, over and over it seemed.The Trail was mixed. In some places it was wide and "clean." However, the meadowlands were annoying. The path is no more than 6 inches wide and the timothy and weeds are overgrown and overlap the Trail. When wet with the morning dew or rain, you rub against them and the water runs down your leg and soaks your socks. In some sections, the Trail Club will cut the weeds down on each side of the path...but not lately. There was a lot of hiking through wet weeds lately.I believe it was shortly after 10 when I met a local southbound, Tail Wind. Real nice guy with some info on the Trail and shelters ahead. He also gave an orange which was perfect since I had no fruit this morning. Thanks Tail Wind for the hospitality.Not too long after talking to Tail Wind I ran into 3 SOBO sectioners, Tatoo Granny, M.G. and a grandson and poodle. They asked about a number of the hikers they were following on Trailjournals like Liteshoe...I told them Jan was off for her brother's wedding and would be back in a week or so.The next thing I knew it was thundering nearby. I had less than a mile to Thistle Hill Shelter where I was going to stop for lunch anyway. Didn't make it in time. About 6 minutes before I got their it started pouring...the heaviest rain I have hiked in so far! The .1 mile the shelter was off the Trail was the longest .1 I have hiked so far. My feet were soaked again!I ducked in the shelter; took off my boots and socks and started to cry...no DRY out while eating lunch. Right after me comes Mud and then T. Both are not wearing any raingear and are soaked from head to toe (unlike me who had on the emergency parka). We all stuck around for an hour while the storm passed by.Five miles and a couple of hours later the Trail passed through the small town of West Hartford VT. There, I joined Mud at the lunch counter of the local store. Had a great bacon cheesegurger, fries, large pepsi, lemonade, and choclate shake. They also had a register, and many of the other hikers I know have stopped in. Everyone raved about their strawberry shakes...which they were out of today!While we were eating, a local resident two doors down the street, Randy, stops in and invites us to stay in his back yard. We can either tent or stay in his small shelterlike shed with 2 cots. Mud and T, who joined us, have to be in Hanover NH (10 miles) by noon tomorrow to get to the post office, so they hike on to the next shelter. I decide to take Randy up and go to his place. I guess I'll call it a hostel since that's the closest thing on the menu. I'm glad I did. He and his wife Linda and 2 girls are gracious hosts. They let me shower, gave me water and fixed me a burger on the grill. Even offered me a beer...I take back everything I said about northern hospitality not being as good as southern on the Trail. They do this for any hiker who drops in...I belive they said they had 15 one night, tenting in their back yard. Thanks again Randy and Linda for your Trail Majic!Tomorrow I will go into Hanover. Not sure whether I'll stay in a frat house or a motel in the next town. I know one place I'm not staying, The Hanover Inn where rooms are $257 and up!Thought for the Day: Swimming pools in the US contain enough water to cover San Francisco.