Date: 2014-07-14
From: US 4

To: Winturri Shelter
Miles today: 19.9

Hammocking inside the shelter tonight! Our group was the only ones at the site so we claimed it for our own use after a long day of hiking!Slept great in the hostel but woken up by their unique alarm system - a street sweeper went by the hostel twice this morning around 6:45. Since breakfast was at seven I just woke up and got my stuff ready for departure. The breakfast served at the hostel (free with stay) was excellent! All homemade items including scrambled eggs and cheese, muffins, tea, and freshly sliced fruit and bread. A good meal talking with Aysh about airplanes and then the two bikers about the trail and their adventure.Grabbed my bag and walked behind the deli to the bus station to catch the Diamond Express out to the trailhead on US 4. After confirming the bus in the center I ran into Pilot, Navigator, Phys Ed, and A-Train all looking for the bus as well. Looks like I found a group to hike with today!The bus ride was a simple and inexpensive way to return to the trail but we did not start hiking till 8:45 - ok for a shorter day but we all had a long day planned. All we could do is trek on and see what happens! Two major things happened within the first three miles. We left the Long Trail for good at Maine Junction (we picked the right way of course) and we also crossed over the 1700 mile mark! Just simply amazing that we have gotten this far! And still we hike on!Immediately after the 1700 mile mark the trail dumped us out into Gifford Woods State Park - it looked like a very nice place to stay! The campsites were neat and the whole park was well-maintained and clean - good job Vermont! If need be the park would be a good place to set up and camp.After crossing the road and getting near Kent Pond we crossed over a footbridge near a little waterfall stream and the group decided to stop and take a dip. A-Train and Phys Ed got into the water while the others rested - a nice little spot to sit back and watch the water flowing. Sufficiently cooled off we started hiking again and ran into a group of three ladies who asked us all sorts of questions about our hike - nice ladies but many people were talking at once!Moved on to our next destination: Thundering Falls. Upon arrival we did not hear a thundering response - we were greeted with a slight rumbling sound. The falls were not flowing fast and mightily but it was still cool to look at. Now for the big challenge - climbing up Quimby Mountain. The mountain is as tough as the profile shows in the book - there are several very steep sections and although it is switchbacked it still took a lot of effort to conquer - the group hiked at different paces but everyone made it to the top within 10 minutes of each other. A rest in the field with the power lines above us and the group decided for a lunch break at the shelter. The train rolled out again and the hike to the shelter was mostly uneventful except Phys Ed slipped and almost sat on his knee - luckily he was ok! At the shelter we ran into Calamity leaving as we were entering - she was the same lady we had met in Bascom Lodge on Mt. Greylock! She was moving on ahead to the cabin or the next shelter and she led us to the water source - a great source located north on the AT.Lunch was very good and talkative with the whole group present and we all talked about the rest of the day. A-Train was feeling lazy so he opted to camp at the shelter instead of pressing on to the next one while the rest of us aimed for the next shelter or the cabin on the way. It was getting close to 2:30 so the group split up and planned to meet at the shelter. Phys Ed left first followed by myself 8 minutes later followed by Pilot and Navigator. Although I left about 8 minutes after Phys Ed left the shelter it took me an hour to catch him at a stream crossing - he was moving along pretty well! After that I spent most of the time walking by myself and moving along at a nice speed. No views to look at so I kept on moving and eventually I caught up to Calamity and chatted with her as I went by - she had heard Big Dawg was off the trail and wished him luck recovering!After a lot of walking I found the side trail to The Lookout Cabin and it was well worth the walk to it! The cabin is privately owned and is open for hikers to use as a viewpoint as well as a place to stay if needed. The cabin was really cool and nicely maintained and the viewing platform on the roof was outstanding - what an awesome view of the surrounding area and Mt. Killington off in the distance. I took a long rest enjoying it all and Calamity and Phys Ed caught up to me. Phys Ed pressed on to the shelter and I followed shortly thereafter - the cabin was great but there was not any water nearby and I did not have enough for the night.An uneventful walk to the shelter - it was down in a little valley off the main trail and it sucked all the cell phone reception away - could not call out to check on Big Dawg. Since we were pretty sure no one else was coming we all set up tents and hammock inside the shelter in case it rained - I finangled the hammock to work in the shelter! Good meals and good talks and a nice night after a long day - ready for another long one tomorrow!