Date: 2014-07-12
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Another great day. I'm eager to get on the trail. Again, there's lots of mud patches but with some care one can avoid getting wet. The process involves hopping from rock to rock, with the occasional root thrown in. I only go down once. Some of the rocks can be very slippery. Lucky me, I didn't land in a mud puddle. The trail skirts Griffith Lake and then climbs towards Baker Peak. The last .1 mile is up the rock backbone of the peak. It's stunning. There's mountains all around as the ridge breaks above the trees. I'm really liking Vermont. The trail becomes rocky and rooty, with lots of mud holes, but I see this as training for Maine. I'm beginning to find a comfortable rhythm over the obstacles. Today is more humid but nothing unbearable. There's plenty of water sources to stay hydrated. I stop at Little Rock Pond and sit by the water with Turtle (AT 2011) the caretaker. It's sunny and peaceful. Steady shows up. Then Shivers, Critter, and Kristo. Soon a few more. Before long there's ten or so hikers sitting by the pond. Some go for a swim. Some take the canoe out. All of us are reluctant to move on. This is really a great spot. The next shelters are five and ten miles away. I laz away my window of time to comfortably make the shelter ten miles out. But no worries. I'm on schedule to be at the Inn at the Long Trail around mid day on Monday. My bounce box is there. And my cousin Don is going to pick me up to zero at his house. This is my cousin Ken's brother. I saw Ken in Harpers Ferry. And as with Ken, I haven't seen Don for about 45 years. I've really looking forward to this meeting. So finally I throw on the pack and head out up and over White Rock. Soon the other hikers pass me, heading for the shelter ten miles away. At two locations the trail passes through "rock gardens." Both are in open evergreen forest. Over time people have stacked rocks, making almost a rock shrine among the trees. It's really striking to come upon these "gardens." I find them powerful. Maybe a little haunting. I'm the only thru hiker to stop at this shelter. There's two women Long Trail section hikers here. We're all tenting. The shelter stands empty. Sorry mosquitoes. We all hit our tents around seven, after gathering to eat. The mosquitoes have driven us under cover. So Kristo, Shivers, and Critter are five miles ahead. And I'm taking a zero soon. Chances are I'll see them again, on up the trail. And other tramily is out there, just ahead or just behind. Meanwhile a series of 20 plus mile a day thru hikers are passing me by. My game plan since my trailcation has been to back off the mileage and spend more time enjoying the surroundings. I see no reason to change. The only thing to prevent me from reaching Katahdin is injury. I'm taking my time and not forcing the miles. Monday the AT will leave the Long Trail and turn east, towards New Hampshire. There's only 513.5 miles of AT left. I'm well into the final quarter of the trail. I intend to savor the experience. The excitement is building in all of us I think. There's still a long way to go but 1671.8 miles are done. It's said that a thru of the AT is 5 million steps. I've made almost 4 million of those steps. Sometimes I shake my head in wonder, feeling so fortunate that I'm out here doing this.