Date: 2010-08-03
From: Lost Pond Campsite

To: Gov' Clement Shelter
Miles today: 24.4
Weather: moderate rain

03 August Tuesday ¢ 24.4 to Gov¢ Clement ShelterRed angel hair pasta! That¢s what the pine needles remind me of! It¢s so incredibly thick; it¢s like walking on carpet sometimes. The soil is so strange here. In places, my tent stakes won¢t even stay in the ground it¢s so loose. You can stick your finger three inches into it. It¢s like the potting soil you get from the nursery where they sell baby tomatoes in those cardboard containers.It wasn¢t long at all before I¢d arrived at Big Branch shelter area where the bridge construction had been rerouting the trail. There was a river ¢ford¢ warning at the reroute back at Old Job Trail. Thankfully I didn¢t take it round because I¢d heard the river wasn¢t dangerous. Still, I was nervous about what others considered dangerous. When I crossed the river, my feet didn¢t even get wet. There was a lot of smart ass comments in the next shelter register about the ¢ford¢. I¢d also seen Landfills trailjournal while I was at home and learned about the blue blazed reroute and it being unnecessary. I¢m glad I didn¢t hike an extra 3 miles to get around something so simple.Little Rock pond was beautiful but not comparable to Griffith Lake. It began raining not long after I passed by the shelter there. There was a sign earlier on the trail that stated ¢VAS was nearby and to listen for the archeologists¢, if you wanted to find them. I thought I¢d found them there at the shelter because of all the banging and noise but the maintainers were rebuilding the shelter.There was a magnificent amount of cairns all around the White Rocks cliff area. The hikers even suspended branches and sticks between boulders for the rock piles to sit upon. I was so proud to be there! I started to realize what a family I¢d belong to after this journey. I belong to a whole family of wonderfully adventurous and creative people now! The cliffs were pretty nice but I didn¢t stick around very long due to the impending rain. So far I¢ve fallen 7 times in Vermont. I fell twice on the entire AT until Massachusetts. 7 times already! I wonder if that¢s because of a lack of practice, different shoes or the muddy condition?Stopped at Minerva shelter and read about the Whistle Stop restaurant on VT103. This revelation had my head spinning with thoughts of cheeseburgers. The trail became a mud slide as we descended the Clarendon Gorge. The rainfall earlier made it a slip-n-slide with rocks. Croft (from the Homeplace Restaurant) fell right in front of me. I kept silent in the hopes that she was okay and I wouldn¢t have to help her down this thing. The rocks are exposed like pillows of head trauma. The boulders are precariously slanted for your convince. I¢ve fallen many times already right on my backpack. It¢s like an airbag for my butt. My technique for falling is getting better. I¢ve tried to unincorporated the usage of my hands. When I slip I¢m trying to fold my arms and just fall flat on my tail. No broken wrists or arms!There was a rumor going around that there¢d be trail magic at 103 but it didn¢t seem like Krispy Kritters friend in the camper was interested in providing anything. They weren¢t very inviting so I stayed away. I sat on the other side of the gorge thinking about cheeseburgers and soda but I really wanted to get further down the road today. It might rain again all day tomorrow. It was a great decision. Wonderful decision actually because leaving Clarendon was a straight up struggle with rock scrambles in jungle humidity. Doesn¢t that sound so much better than cheeseburgers?! I know, that¢s what I thought! The trail is incredibly difficult right after the highway. Huge leg lunges and slippery roots.I sat at the shelter thinking about how bad that last part sucked. Eating dinner never tasted so good with yellow water! I needed to get some more miles in. I ate all my food with the intention of getting to Rutland tomorrow. I¢m experiencing heat rashes on my back again. I think the padding on my backpack is bothering my skin. I¢d prefer to have a pack without any cushioning to insulate my body heat. It is nice in cold weather though. Maybe Vagisil can cure it?!I heard a large commotion behind me as I left the shelter. Right where I just walked seconds before fell a tree or a rock slide. I wasn¢t sure what the noise was. I didn¢t investigate, but it sounded like the earth caved in on itself. It lasted 30 seconds! Scary!After I got up that next hill it was back to the way Vermont should be! Pristine! After crossing the 500 mile mark I was treated to the best temperature I¢ve experienced on the trail. It was like a refrigerator! Cool like a rainforest! Exactly like one with a spooky dark river running through. The shadows cast by the fading orange sunlight made the forest look even bigger. Haze or a cloud or fog hung just about the sparkling clear water rushing down the river. It¢s very muddy and slippery on the chocolate mousse beneath my feet. My wheels spin out of control a few times as I tried to scurry up small hills. Leaving the last shelter was nothing but swamp lands with weeds and then BAM I was in another ¢Most Wonderful Place on Earth¢. This place is crazy! I can see why a cult would like to live in an area like this! Back Home Again, here I come!Made it to the shelter with just enough daylight to throw my tent up and jump in it head first! What a day. So many beautiful places here in America!