Date: 2012-09-27
From: 0.5 mi past VT rt 12 

To: Mountain Meadows Lodge 
Miles today: 17.8

(In which I resupply in Killington and sleep on the lawn of Mountain Meadows Lodge) -Currently sitting in a cozy room by myself in the lodge after dark-I was up at 5:30 this morning with the help of my new internal clock. When you get to bed by 8, it's relatively easy to pop out of bed at 5:30. This will come in handy over the next few months since daylight will keep waining and it's much easier to night hike into the morning than it is to night hike in the afternoon. In the morning there's the relaxing sense that the sun will rise soon, while in the afternoon you're in a panic to beat the ensuing darkness. On top of that, morning miles don't seem to put the same stress on your body as afternoon miles. I can do 18 miles from 6 am to 4 pm, or I can do 18 miles from 8 am to 6 pm, but the former will leave me feeling much better the next day.Hiking was pleasant today - blue skies and great hiking temperatures (in the 50s and 60s). I met a new southbounder named River Dog who started August 7th. He has turned up the mileage since getting out of the Whites, so I might end up leap frogging him over the next few days. I also met two northbound section hikers named Little Red Riding Hood and The Wolf who filled me on the trail reroute that I was about to encounter a little farther south - we'll get to that in a bit. It occurs to me after meeting all these new folks that I need to start asking where these trail names come from. The best trail name story I have so far, is the best because it's one of the only ones I have. It's from a fella named Blackbeard. He obviously had one or both parents from Chinese descent, and he told me that he picked the name Blackbeard because he always wanted to be a pirate, and he can't grow a beard, but if he could, he's pretty sure it would be black... I'll try to be more diligent about getting trail name stories in the future.I made the miles to Killington by about 4 pm, which is better than I expected considering that the trail re-route (due to Irene damage) had bogus instructions at the trail head that sent me on a 30 minute detour - frustrating at the end of a long day. This Lodge lets you camp in the yard for $10, and since it'll be a beautiful night I thought I'd take advantage of the deal rather than hike on and try to find a crummy stealth site. They also have an AYCE breakfast that I'm planning to destroy - I mean enjoy - tomorrow morning.There's a short side trail that takes you into town from here and I spent the last two hours resupplying, eating burritos and drinking coffee at the local market. The woman working there looked at me and asked if I watch the show The Bachelor. I think I said I saw an episode of it once - maybe just for conversation since I don't think I know what she was talking about - but she got all excited and said I looked like Chris, who apparently came in 4th this season. I told her 4th isn't bad, but it occurs to me that I should have asked how many started. Fourth out of 100? Fourth out of 5? Anyway, when I ordered my burrito and she took my name she looked dissapointed when I said my name was Reese, not Chris. I need to watch more TV.Tomorrow I'm planning a shorter day to let the body rest before two long days. I'm planning 3 days to Manchester Center. It's a good plan, one that lets me take my time with breakfast tomorrow...Today's post was brought to you by days that start prior to the a##-crack of dawn, because the sunrise will always trump the sunset.