Date: 2017-09-04
From: Stratton Pond Shelter 

To: Goddard Shelter 
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: broken clouds

9/4/17 Day 98 - 19.4 milesStratton Pond Shelter to Goddard ShelterSlept very well last night and it was tough getting up this morning. I still dread putting on wet clothes in the morning. I normally put my wet clothes in a ziplock bag and keep them under my quilt with me to keep them warm. They don't dry in the bag but at least they're warm. Another hiker had told me of another method that will actually dry them out as well so I tried it. I forget who told me this but they said to lay the clothes out on the wood platform underneath my air pad and that my body heat along with the wood platform would dry out the clothes. Complete failure! Clothes were cold and still soaked. Oh well, now I know.The huge group of French Canadians were up early, had breakfast, and packed up pretty quickly. I was contemplating how I was going to get my wet clothes on and still stay warm since it was a bit chilly this morning. The final decision was to leave my emergency dry clothes on which was comfortable but I stressed a lot about getting these wet. I don't know what the forcast is and I still have another night in the woods before I get to town.  The sun came out early and I was laying out all my wet stuff every time I had a chance. At lunch I had a full on yard sale with every single thing I carry unpacked and laid out (just like you would see in someone's driveway at a yard sale). It helped a little but most things were still damp when they got packed up.As I was walking down the trail, I came up on these 2 guys and the one says "Quick Start!!!" and I'm staring at him, just can't place the face. It was Cowboy!! I met him in the Smokies the day I got back on trail after my vacation with Lisa. There was a small difference though - he had blond hair now, maybe that's why I didn't recognize him. It was good to see that he was still on the trail - I hadn't heard from him since Damascus. Anyway, he's a bit behind the pack but should still have plenty of time to finish without having to flip up to Katahdin.  Headed up to Glastonbury Mountain where there is a fire tower. A few hikers recommended sleeping up there but I don't have any interest in doing that. The wind was brutal up there as soon as it went above the treeline so that reinforced my decision. The views were very nice and since it was around dinner time, the lighting was pretty good as well. It's usually midday when I climb these things. I spent about 30 minutes up there since Goddard Shelter was only .3 miles away.  Got to the shelter around 6:30 and it looked almost full. There were about 6 pads set up in a shelter that should hold 8 but they had all their gear spread out taking up all the space. I asked if there was any room left in there and they were very polite to make room. As I was making my dinner, I recognized a voice - it was Hazmat who I'd met 1st in VA and seen a few times since. He was the only other AT hiker here tonight - all the others are Long Trail hikers and most are heading north so they're all new and excited.  There were 7 hikers and 2 dogs in the shelter for the night when Abby rolled in. She asked if there was any room and we all agreed to tighten up a bit but she said she was fine to sleep on the floor in front of the platform. I thought she was kidding but it's a good thing she did set up down there because there really wasn't much room on the platform. She had done a 28 mile day and was finishing up the LT going south.  All fed and ready for bed. Tomorrow is a town day!!