Date: 2017-07-18
From: Stony Spring Shelter

To: VT 9 and Bennington
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

There are talismans that note the change of seasons, the first robin of spring, the first yellow leaf of an aspen or oak, the drooping leaves of tomato plants after the first frost. I¢ve seen two of them now. One last Sunday on a northbounder¢s pack at Green Mountain House and one yesterday on trail as a northbounder passed by with a nod and no words. These are the first I¢ve seen in over 500 miles on the AT. Harbingers, good omens indeed.I saw my first two guitars. The trail ahead must be good indeed if hikers are confident enough to have a backpacking guitar strapped to their pack.On the PCT when we hit the Oregon/Washington border we all re-examined everything we carried. Things like backpacking guitars went to post offices and were shipped home. I wonder how much further the two I saw will be carried.I had a front-row seat last night for a feature performance. There were lightning flashes by the score, thunder that rattled the rough timber of the shelter, and rain that came down in sheets. I was snug in my sleeping bag, a little mouse staring into the raging storm.I must have done something good in my youth or childhood (Frodo: Sounds like a song from Sounds of Music!) because Thor and the storm gods were all played out by the time I packed up and started hiking. Nineteen miles to the road.I am about as light-skinned as they come and I¢ve been hiking for over a week now in these running shorts (I¢ll beat Frodo to the punch ¢ ¢too skimpy¢ running shorts). I expose a lot of skin. But I carry no sunscreen. Occasional shafts of sunlight are all that make it into the Green Tunnel of the trail. I haven¢t walked through a meadow for days, at least a week. You know the most regular gaps in the Green Tunnel? Aside from roads, it¢s electric powerline clearings. I don¢t remember when I last wore my sunglasses. Should I send those off-trail, too?  Who's been playing in the mud? http://www.trailjournals.com/j...In the morning, just after the next shelter ¢ Kid Gore Shelter (who was Kid Gore, a wild west hero or a Stephen King villain? (Frodo: Neither. Harold Martin "Kid" Gore was the head coach of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, football team from 1919 to 1927. He compiled a 33¢32¢5 overall record.) ¢ I climbed Big Rock and got a view, but three miles later, at the Glastonbury Lookout on another tree-covered mountaintop, I didn¢t bother to climb the tower. It was socked in.Late morning I was listening to tunes on my postage-stamp iPod Shuffle (a one-ounce luxury item, including earbuds). I almost jumped for joy. The Scotsman song was on again. First time in well over a week. Since I started this journey 53 days ago, it¢s only the fifth it¢s played. You know what that means? Each time I have memorized another verse. It has five verses. Today I finished the song. Frodo will include the full text at the end of this entry. And Princesses, the song has no socially redeeming value (ask your parents to explain that one) except it makes people laugh.  Today the stars aligned and then if possible they aligned a bit more. I already planned to come in to Bennington late in the day to make sure I see Voyageur, one of our PCT 2007 cohort who is NOBOing the AT for the second time. But now in the last 36 hours it turns out Guy On A Buffalo and some of his family are passing through, staying at the same motel on the same night. (Yes, Princesses, this time I¢ll send a picture, but fair warning: he has sheared off those romance-novel-cover long locks.) Guy had walked 200 yards in to meet me at 4:20 when I finished my 19 miles. What a dinner we had, with Voyageur, me, GOB, MOG, AOG, and FOAOG. [Guy On A Buffalo, Mother of Guy (Marilyn), Aunt of Guy (Barb), and Friend of Aunt of Guy (Tina)].  Here's the three hiker types: http://www.trailjournals.com/j...I ordered a full second dinner to go, which I soon will heat in the microwave.Here¢s a photo of the calorie count of the milkshake I ordered to go, after having a root beer float with my first dinner. http://www.trailjournals.com/j...Now in all its glory. The Scotsman Song:Well a Scotsman clad in kilt left a bar one evening fairAnd one could tell by how we walked that he drunk more than his shareHe fumbled round until he could no longer keep his feetThen he stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the streetRing ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I ohHe stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the streetAbout that time two young and lovely girls just happened byAnd one says to the other with a twinkle in her eyeSee yon sleeping Scotsman so strong and handsome builtI wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kiltRing ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I ohI wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kiltThey crept up on that sleeping Scotsman quiet as could beLifted up his kilt about an inch so they could seeAnd there behold, for them to see, beneath his Scottish skirtWas nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birthRing ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I ohWas nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birthThey marveled for a moment, then one said we must be goneLet's leave a present for our friend, before we move alongAs a gift they left a blue silk ribbon, tied into a bowAround the bonnie star, the Scots kilt did lift and showRing ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I ohAround the bonnie star, the Scots kilt did lift and showNow the Scotsman woke to nature's call and stumbled towards a treeBehind a bush, he lift his kilt and gawks at what he seesAnd in a startled voice he says to what's before his eyes.O lad I don't know where you been but I see you won first prizeRing ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I ohO lad I don't know where you been but I see you won first prize