Date: 2017-06-22
From: Stealth camping after Stratton Pond Shelter, VT

To: Griffith Lake Tenting Area, VT
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: moderate rain

As if to emphasize just how damp my tentsite was, when I was breaking camp I found about ten slugs clinging to my tent and groundsheet. Dipped in an egg yolk batter and fried, they tasted really good and as everyone knows, they're full of protein.I had a very good day. Firstly, the weather was lovely. It was warm, often sunny (although from inside the green tunnel, that is a bit irrelevant), and there was a bit of a breeze. I got away at 8:36. And since the first few miles were flat, I made excellent time. I stopped a couple of times to try to contact Rich, my friend whom I stayed with in NJ, and who was thinking of picking me up tomorrow, and Tom, who is planning a pickup in a week's time, but my phone was still a mess. Finally in desperation I tore open a Knorr Spanish Rice packet, put it in a Ziploc bag and put the phone in there too, in an effort to dry the wretched device out.Somewhere in the first hour, I passed the unmarked point where mile 1642.0 occurred - 75% of the AT done!I enjoyed being on a gravel logging road that was flat, open (so I had some sunshine) and a mile long. It was so relaxing not having to watch for rocks and tree roots and mud. After ten miles I reached a crossing. I hadn't planned on a side trip into the town of Manchester Center, 5.4 miles away, but I said I'd try hitching a ride for five minutes and if nothing happened, I'd keep hiking. Lo and behold, a car pulled off the busy road. It was driven by Spice, a self-described 'lezzie' and musician returning from a camping event out in the woods. Her car was a total shambles, with gear, guitars, a plastic bucket full of woodland plants she was bringing home, food and other stuff piled haphazardly. She moved the bucket from the passenger seat and told me to dump my pack on top of the guitars. We became best friends instantly. She spotted a produce store by the roadside and we went in. I bought raspberries, strawberries, a smoked chili cheese, and fudge for us both. She invested in Vermont syrup. In the car park of Zoey's Deli in town, we took photos of each other and said our goodbyes.In the deli I ordered a sub to eat there and one to go. I paid for a large Dr Pepper and three refills, two of which went into my Hydrapak. I managed to read an email from Rich in which he said that regrettably he wouldn't be coming to Vermont tomorrow. I managed to send an email to him, and he immediately called. I had a great chat with him. He knows Zoey's well; it is just 30 minutes from his Vermont house. As my phone had robo-dialed my wife, she called me in some concern that I was in trouble, and we had a very short chat before she dashed back into a meeting at work.I threw my phone back into its bed of Spanish rice and went across the street to a shop for a few supplies. I hitched a lift with a golf pro, Peter Wetherby, returning home from the Vermont Open. I asked him if he was famous, and he said "Not based on the Vermont Open". He's a hiker in his spare time, and is planning a hike in Iceland. He dropped me off at the point where his road veered south. I realized that I'd been having such fun chatting with him that we'd driven nearly a mile past the AT. So I had to hike back.Antman was there, enjoying food supplied by a family for their hiking dad, who was also there. The matriarch of the family, whom I am not to refer to as Grandma, plied me with fruit, which I was happy to accept. I headed off up Bromley Mountain, a ski resort. It's just over a three-mile climb and was easy, despite a full backpack. I sat in the chairlift at the top and admired the view. I could have sat there for hours - nice padded seat, like a recliner - but I had to push on. I met Mulga and Jane, hikers from Melbourne, Australia. They are flip-flopping, but doing the whole trail and planning on taking six months or more. Later on, at a gap, two older male hikers told me I was going south, as they were NOBOs. I panicked. Not again! But this time it was they who had climbed up to Styles Peak, enjoyed the view, then by accident gone back down the way they'd come. They guessed they'd lost at least two hours, as they turned around to re-climb the mountain. I really enjoyed the climb up, sipping Dr Pepper occasionally.I made it to the tenting site by a lake slightly ahead of schedule, at 8pm. A couple, Joanna and Chet, were 'glamping' at one of the tent platforms near me. (It means 'glamour camping'). They had only hiked in three miles, and had all kinds of gear, including a large frying pan, in which they were cooking a mound of food. They invited me to join them, and I brought along my Zoey's sub, but then they offered me dinner, and I accepted. (Rooster's yogi training is paying off.) They are well-traveled, and talked about their trips to Kilimanjaro, Nepal and India. We could have chatted hours longer, but by 11 I needed to get to my tent. Wow! My phone was working again, despite the humidity. I typed up yesterday's journal, although I was unable to post it as I had no signal. I was too tired to do more, and was asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow, at 12:30. I love Spanish rice. Tipperary