Date: 2012-05-20
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Vermont Route 11 & 30 (Manchester Center)
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: broken clouds

There was a large group of men in the shelter and one hammocker when we begrudgingly faced a new day on the Appalachian/Long Trail. Women hikers, except for day hikers, have been non-existent. It was another sunny day at 55 degrees when we left the shelter area at 7:00 am.The Trail initially passed along the shore of beautiful Stratton Pond (photo 90). Minutes later we lost the trail and found ourselves on a side trail to the North Shore Tenting Area. Our first clue was when we saw a Trail Closed sign. We retraced our steps and soon were back on the Appalachian Trail heading north.The first part of our hike was fairly flat, with a relatively clean trail with minimal rocks and mud. We arrived at the Windhall River Bridge (photos 92, 93) at 8:15 am. It had taken us only 1 14 hours to cover 2.1 miles. We were impressed by our speed. Perhaps we are getting our trail legs; or is it just that the trail is less hard (the Appalachian Trail is never easy). We took on more water and continued toward the William Douglas Shelter. The black flies started getting intense, and we were encountering more mosquitoes. Fortunately trail conditions continued to be relatively easy. We were ready for a break when we reached the side trail to the William Douglas Shelter at 9:55 am.(photo 95) To get a decent rest we set up the tent without the fly at the trail junction. While we were resting in the tent, safe from the bugs, two section hikers passed by. They told us they were abandoning their hike due to the bugs. Mr. Wizard, an older and very fit hiker, also passed by. We had met him yesterday. He is an ultra-lite hiker, with a base pack weight of nine pounds. He was going to take a side trail from Prospect Rock into Manchester Center, rather than walk the additional distance to the east-west highway into the town. We packed up our tent and left our resting spot at 10:40 am. We also tried a new technique to keep the mosquitoes and black flies off of us. We wet our orange bandanas in the stream and wore them over our heads. Swamp Fox looked a little strange with his babushka. It also kept us cooler on a day when the temperature reached the 80¢s. Fortunately there is more shade today, as more trees are fully leafed out. About this time we also decided to bypass the next shelter, Spruce Peak, and hike the additional 2.8 miles to Vermont Route 11 & 30 and spend the night in Manchester Center. As we left our rest spot at the trail junction, we were pleasantly surprised that a dirt road led us to Prospect Rock. It made for fast easy walking for a change. At the Rock, the Trail entered the woods again. The day grew hotter and we struggled for the last few miles to the highway into Manchester Center. At one point, during the later part of our day¢s hike, Rocky was startled when a wild turkey took off in flight right in front of her. It was questionable who had the biggest fright: Rocky or the turkey. During the later stage of our hike, Rocky contacted the owner of Sutton Place and made a reservation for us for the night for a price of $65. We finally reached the highway at 2:55 pm. As we approached the parking area at the trail head, Rocky, in the lead as always, saw an older man with a Santa¢like beard. He was obviously going to his parked car at the end of his hike. With her usual skill at yogi-ing rides from older men, she soon arranged for a ride to our motel in exchange for an ice cream sundae at Friendly¢s Restaurant. He was Cumulus, a long distance hiker and trail maintainer from Connecticut. After the ice cream stop he dropped us off at Sutton Place before he headed home. Swamp Fox enjoyed a five dip sundae with trimmings that was rated at over 1100 calories. Sutton Place is a rather simple bed & breakfast, except there would be no breakfast.(photo 97) Our room is rather tiny, with a shared bathroom. However, there is no one else here tonight. There is no air conditioning and our room is 79 degrees at 9 pm. We couldn¢t find the owner to ask for a fan. But at least we are clean and well fed tonight. We had a very nice dinner at the Ye Olde Tavern, a very atmospheric restaurant. It was quite a contrast from last night¢s hiker gruel out of a metal cup while sitting in our tent. We also had a chance to do laundry after dinner. We are looking forward to a pleasant night¢s rest, assuming it cools down. The hot weather is expected to continue, and we expect a shorter hiking day tomorrow.