Date: 2018-11-09
From: VT route 12

To: River Road
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I started hiking about 7:45 this morning to fill in my 20 mile gap. While I hiked Papa Big Swig packed up our hotel room and moved us to a new hotel in Rutland. I¢m making progress!  A cow pasture is where I started. There were no cows, but lots of evidence had been left behind. There was a wooden ladder going up and over the fence from the cow pasture to a field. I hiked through that field then through one more. I was steadily going UP. It was 29 degrees this morning. The frosty grass was crunchy under my boots. Then the sun came out. The ground began to thaw., and the warmth felt nice on my back as I climbed. Soon enough I entered the woods and continued my 4.5 miles climb. It was a whole lot of UP first thing in the morning. Fortunately the grade wasn¢t bad, and the terrain was nice too. I made good time and held a steady 2mph pace. I heard gunshots two or three times while I was going up. I am wearing an orange hat now. Papa Big Swig got that for me and a bright orange harness for Seylor Jo. She had the day off today though.  Technically I was hiking hills today. Mind you, these are GIANT hills! From my hills I could see the surrounding mountains easily. A couple of them already had some snow on top. I was feeling the burn when I finally reached the top. From the top there was a building 0.1 miles off trail called The Lookout. It¢s a private owned building but they allow hikers in, and of course there¢s a view. I was getting excited as I walked up to see a ladder that goes to a rooftop platform. I went straight to the ladder and started climbing up. That¢s when I noticed someone through the window. He didn¢t look up and wave but rather was scurrying around the floor picking things up. It was strange. My gut told me not to keep going up the ladder. I came down and walked around the cabin. I noticed the entrance was posted for no admittance. I¢m not real sure how he even got in there. I think this guy is a squatter. It just didn¢t feel right to me, so I left. As I hiked the 0.1 miles back to the trail I heard more gunshots. When noon rolled around I was nowhere near a shelter. I was hungry though so I pulled up a log and sat down to eat. It didn¢t take long before I caught a chill. I ate quickly and started moving again. It took a few minutes for me to get warmed back up.  Yes it was chilly, but as long as I kept moving I felt good. As a matter of fact I was thinking it was such a great day maybe that rain won¢t come after all.  At 2:10pm it began to flurry. I¢m fine with that. I far prefer snow to rain. I had been wearing my rain/snow pants all day in anticipation of this. When I had to stop to climb a ladder up a boulder, I took the time to dress my upper half. I was good to go! Within an hour the entire forest was dusted with a brilliant white powder. Sooo beautiful! It reminded me of the days of Mountain Laurel when it felt like someone just turned on the lights. I hiked on in complete awe of the beauty around me. With about 6 miles to go my get-up-n-go had got-up-n-went! I pulled out a Twix Bar and refueled. Thanks Hat Lady for my bag of goodies! I¢ll enjoy every bite of every single one!  That sugar did the trick.  Soon I found myself with some pep in my step again. I really was enjoying myself in this winter wonderland. With about 3 miles to go darkness came. My headlamp just wasn¢t bright enough in the blinding snow. As beautiful as it was, I was having difficulty finding blazes and staying on trail.  With 2 miles to go I popped out on a road just before an awesome looking boardwalk. I really wanted to keep going, but I called Papa Big Swig who was waiting only 10 minutes away. I didn¢t know what was beyond the boardwalk and visibility was low. Safety first. So tomorrow I will be filling the last 2 miles of my gap. My knee is still grapefruit sized a nero won¢t hurt. Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018) Where¢s your faith?