Date: 2014-07-07
From: story spring shelter

To: VT 11
Miles today: 21.1

The morning revealed no further rodent damage but has me thinking more about camping not near the shelters which is going to be tricky. There are very few just tent sites with water so it would mean carrying water to the place i would be camping. I hate carrying water at the end of the day. Anyway, i hoped to get at least 23miles today to make it a 24 mile day tomorrow to meet a friend. I got going about 6:30 with stratton mt in the near future. Stratton is the tallest mt in southern vt and nearly 2000' ascent. It sure looks steep on the guide so i stepped along quickly to get to the uphill section so i could slow down as needed to survive the hill. Well i gotta say, it never got too bad. I made it to the summit where the idea of the AT was born. Benton MacKaye came up with the idea of connecting all these mt ranges while on top of the stratton mt. There is also a fire tower up here so i clumb it. Amazing view! I could see days back to greylock mt and days into the future to killington mt. I could also see over to new hampshire. I hung out up there for a while breathing the fresh air and taking in the sites. I headed down to stratton pond for a quick sit to filter some water and to look over the pond. After that its real easy walking to the william douglas shelter where i planned on eating lunch till i noticed it was a half mile off the trail, too far so i sat on a rock to eat. I found a good spot next to a stream to enjoy my ramen and peanut butter. A local hiker passed by and suggested chwcking out prospect rock, it was a mile down the trail and just off the AT. When i was done eating i went in search of this prospect rock. It truly was just off the trail and would have been a beautiful view if the thunder clouds werent rolling in. Within minutes it was pouring. I packed away my camera and covered my pack. I waited for a bit under the pines till i thought it was slowing down. I gave up on waiting and moved on down the way getting soaked. I only had about eight more miles to go anyway. Turned out that it quit raining in about three miles, perfect. I dont mind being wet from the rain, its better than sweating. The worst of the rain is when it stays for days, thats another ball of wax. Then i got the phone call from the friend that was gonna meet me tomorrow, she wouldnt be able to come out. Hmmm, that stinks but i understood, things happen. Well this would make things different. I hoped she could have taken me to a grocery to resupply so could i stretch my food bag two more days? Should i try to get myself to manchester 5.5 miles off the trail? I got to vt 11 and surveyed my food bag, i would not be able to make it two more days to a good resupply town. I would be going into manchester for the night. Joohnny seesaw offered a shuttle to and from the trail and a room for fifty bucks. Sold. I called, they had a room for me but she wasnt sure about the shuttle. She got a fella to run down to get me, awesome. He was there in about fifteen minutes and brought me to the seesaw. Its a nice restaraunt with a few rooms. The room is great, amazing for fifty bucks. The bad thing was that manchester was still not within walking distance, hmmm. There was a little country store just up the road where i hoped i could get food till the next resupply, i didnt need much. First thing of course was a shower. When i got dressed i noticed it was again oouring. I walked to the store in the rain and got what i needed to feed myself for a couple days. It was expensive and not easy to figure out what to buy but i will not starve. Back to the room in the rain i spread out my stuff to dry and did laundry. No mice and a roof, living large i'd say.