Date: 2017-07-08
From: Green Mountain Hostel, Manchester Center, VT

To: Little Rock Pond Shelter, VT
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: scattered clouds

7/8/17, Little Rock Pond Shelter, VTMiles hiked: 1312.9, Miles to go: 827.3The Green Mountain House was definitely one of the best hostels I've stayed in on this trip. This morning I had an egg muffin sandwich and a bowl of Lucky Charms. There were supplies for pancakes; but, I just wasn't up for cooking. Jeff, the proprietor, then shuttled us back to the trail. Before we left, he gave the standard  "Does everyone have everything?" speech. I laughed and said, "You sound like you give that speech a lot." He assured me I'd be amazed at how many grown adults go off and leave things behind. By now, you can guess where this is going...We got to the trail head and, sure enough, I did not have my phone! Luckily, Jeff had to do a second run since he couldn't take us all in one load. I road back down the mountain and retrieved my phone and my hat. I had set them down on the porch when I was putting on my hiking shoes. I was finally on the trail by 8:30 AM. It looked like the predicted rain was holding off at least for awhile; however, it was foggy and blustery - a real kilt flapper. Being a post-town day, I had to deal with the three Fs:Full food bag, Food baby in my belly, and Freakin' big climb. This time, the Freakin' big climb was 3268 ft Bromley Mountain. When I reached the top of Bromley Mt I found myself on a ski slope, complete with warming hut and ski lift. The fog and wind still persisted. How does that even work? Fog AND high winds? Once we topped Bromley Mountain, the rest of the day was spent generally descending. Of course, it finally did decide to rain and I spent the rest of the morning either hiking in rain or getting dripped  on by wet trees. Whereas yesterday the only other hiker I saw on the trail was Juggernaught, today I was surrounded by hikers. I spent time hiking with Hangman and Baby Monster, Bearslayer and Yogi, and with Blue Steel. There were ten of us for lunch at Peru Peak Shelter. I headed out and had hiked about a mile when I realized that my head felt very airy. I had left my hat at the shelter! Today, I definitely had the Forgetsies! I turned around and headed back. I had only gone a short way when Hangman and Baby Monster hiked up with my hat. Yay!At the next shelter, I came across another familiar face - English Detective. I hadn't seen him since the beginning of Massachusetts. It's always fun to see a hiker I haven't seen in awhile. By mid-afternoon, the skies had cleared and the sun was out in full force. It was nice to dry out a little as Blue Steel and I hiked on to Little Rock Pond Shelter, where we planned to spend the night. This shelter is a heavily used shelter, especially on the weekends. The Green Mountain Club actually stations a caretaker at this shelter and charges $5 to spend the night. Less than a mile from the shelter, the skies suddenly got so dark that I thought maybe 1st Sgt's much vaunted solar eclipse had arrived early. The winds started to pick up and then I heard it - a far off hissing sound that soon evolved into the sound of rain on tree leaves. Heavy rain. In a matter of moments, I was soaked to the skin. Really!? The rain couldn't hold off thirty more minutes until I reached the shelter? Of course, by the time I reached the shelter the sun was back out. The trees were still dripping (as was I) and the ground was wet, so I decided to stay in the shelter rather than get my tent wet. Luckily, there was an open area since most people were tenting. I am now dry, fed, and in my bed for the night. Gee, I can't wait to put wet clothes on on the morning...