Date: 2003-08-15
From: Greenwall Shelter

To: Campsite just past Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

I awakened at 4am after 8 good hours of sleep and no matter how hard I tried, couldn't talk myself into going back to sleep. So I just rested and thought about the remaining miles of my trip.At 6am I made tea and oatmeal for breakfast and sat on my sleeping bag in the shelter and ate while Stripe and Pace awakened and packed up.We left camp at 7:30 and hiked into another gorgeous day. There are lots of hemlock forests in Vermont and we've been treated to several every day. The hemlocks are tall and numerous, the forest floor covered in a soft carpet of needles, and the smell of pine is in the air. It's cool, dark and damp with different kinds of fungus growing all around. Today I saw brilliant yellows, deep reds, and stark whites all growing within a few feet of each other. I also saw the prettiest Indian Pipes yet on the trail. Its bundle was at least a foot across.We hiked today with the sound of water all around us. We were never far from a water source; just the way I like it!Pace, Stripe and I stopped at the Minerva Hinkey Shelter for a snack and a rest. It was an unusual one with windows, a table inside and a lawn chair.The temperature went into the upper 80s this afternoon so we stopped for lunch at the Clarendon Gorge. It was a beautiful area where the water had washed away at the rocks for years and years, leaving a steep descent down into the gorge. There were lots of white rocks on the banks and in the river, and Stripe and I chose 2 big one on which to eat lunch. I took my boots off and dangled my feet in the cold water while I ate.While we were there, we met a Ridge Runner and a local hiker who had lots of tips for us on the upcoming trail. The biggest tip was for the shelter that we were heading to for the night, Governor Clement Shelter. Apparently, there is a forest service road that goes right by it and the locals use it as a big party place.We arrived at the shelter a short time later and within minutes of our arrival, 2 girls and a boy showed up to ask us if we were spending the night. "Lots of people come up here to party every night", they told us. They knew exactly how far the next shelter was, what it was named, and where good camping was just down the line. This seemed a little too weird for me and when I went to the water source 5 minutes later, there were the kids, washing dinner dishes in the creek. There were 3 tents set up, laundry hanging on lines, and a dog tied to a tree. "How long have you been here", I asked one of the girls. "Two weeks", she replied. Obviously, they were living there, and the shelter would be filled with friends of the parents who were coming to party later tonight. We saw the older girl making a big fire in the fire ring in front of the shelter before we retired. I'll bet they got a dollar for every thru-hiker that they turned away from the shelter on party nights.We wandered down the trail about 500' and found a great spot to camp along the creek. The sound of rushing water should drown out any party noises.I'm here with Skittles, Pace and Stripe. Tomorrow we're going into Killington to do laundry, re-supply and hopefully to sleep at the Long Trail Inn.Showers are expected for tonight and tomorrow and I'm hoping they hold off until I'm in town.