Date: 2010-08-04
From: Gov' Clement Shelter

To: Rutland (Long Trail Inn)
Miles today: 10.6

04 August Wednesday ¢ 10.6 to Rutland (Long Trail Inn)Had a cantaloupe sized water balloon hanging down at the foot of my tent. It was like a blister full of liquid. There was a horrendous thunderstorm last night. Other than condensation, I remained dry. Smelling horrible today! Rotten fish odor coming from somewhere in this canopy of mine. Had the rest of my food for breakfast. I¢m a big fan of Nutella¢s work! They do a great job making that brown hazelnut goo.Very muddy leaving the low lying river areas today. Passed this guy named ¢Saint¢ early on. He took off two weeks and doesn¢t know anyone anymore. From the looks of things he took two weeks off for sick time. He¢s skinny as a pole. The dark shade and coldness of the area gave him a ghostly appearance as he hiked ahead of me. It¢s obvious that he¢s weak.Lots of moss and lichen and moose poop everywhere. The forest looks like something I¢d imagined I¢d see in Alaska. It feels like a freezer with the foggy mist hanging throughout the scene. It¢s a total white out, so no views today. I was looking forward to scoping out the Killington ski trails, but it¢s not happening. I couldn¢t even find the Peak trail. Someone told me later that the trailhead was behind the Cooper lodge. Speaking of which, you can tell if you want to stay at a shelter or not by whether it has a door or not. Doors mean: This place gets cold and wet often!Passed some trail maintainers working in the cool fog. Nice day for physical labor! Caught Rabid and Safari after the Churchill shelter. Haven¢t seen her since the Smokey¢s! The nettles are 4 feet high here and I feel like I¢m walking down from Angels Rest into Pearisburg. It also reminds me of Shakers campsite in Massachusetts with all the tall green nettles and the windy trails. The way the dark black trail winds around the hills, twisting and turning like a race track. All the sides of the trail are hedged in with a wall of plants. Bright glowing green fields of prickly bushes everywhere you look. The sun appears and turns the Fog into humidity and I¢m glad my day is practically over. It¢s switched from refrigerator to jungle!I¢m trying for Rutland by thumbing on US4. First car picks me up! It¢s Rock¢n¢Roll, Stretcher and Yahtszee! We pile in the car like clowns and go to the Double Dragon buffet! I treat myself to a coke! (free refills) Three plates later and I go to check my fortune cookie. I actually stuck the fortune cookie in my mouth before taking the paper out first! Everyone points it out and laughs at me. I actually thought it was a crab ragoon but they didn¢t believe me when I pointed that out.Tree and Hot foot come by because they were already in town. Resupplied at the Price Chopper and we took the bus back to the Long Trail Inn. They allow hikers to camp in front of their hotel for free. I¢m staying there tonight! They have VHS movies and tons of puzzles, board games, and books. We hung out with Mala by his car camper and caught up on our adventures. I ended the night with my first Long Trail Ale! I found an Etch-A-Sketch in the game room and I was for the night. I drew the ol¢ cross and bones. Then I drew the ¢Death Star¢ on the black board in the game room. It was a stunning rendition of the star that is death and everyone would admire its craftsmanship the following day.