Date: 2017-07-28
From: Stark's nest

To: Stealth camp
Miles today: 23.1

I had a nice dry cozy night at the Starks nest ski patrol Lodge at the top of General Stark Mountain at the Mad River Glen ski area. In the morning I got up when Laurent did. He ate and packed and got on the trail at 5:30 as it got light. It was still blowing Cloud outside but my weather application indicated it should be sunny by 9 a.m. this morning. I took my time getting ready and by the time I was ready to leave at 6:30 the sun had come out. At least it was clear here at the top of Stark Mountain I could see lots of clouds still in the surrounding area over other Terrain but it did look like it was going to be a nice day. I took some pictures before I left to get on the trail headed north.The trail down the north side of stark Mountain was quite rugged with rebar ladders and steep Rock faces. Pictures. I reached the throne Dean shelter sometime between 7 and 7:30. It had exceptionally nice views from North northeast to South South East. More pictures.I reached route 17 and the Appalachian gap around 8:30 a.m. Pictures. I stopped there briefly to sign in the register and change out of my long sleeve shirt into a short sleeve shirt. Both were damp but the smart wool of the long sleeve shirt with starting to irritate my skin under my shoulder straps. I also stayed for moment and headed drink of water. Just before 1030 I arrived at the birch Glen Lodge which is a shelter with a little bit more liberal construction been average and it has a caretaker nearby so you have to pay $5 a night to stay here. I stayed only to have a snack and a drink of water and sign the log book.About noon I stopped at the Cowles Cove shelter for lunch. Here I also took off my boots and socks and dried I'm in the Sun for about a half an hour while I ate lunch. I also cleaned my feet and put on some aunti-fungal cream. Then I also filled and treated another leader of water. I'll together this was about a 1 hours stop and I felt rested when I started hiking North again.Burnt Mountain followed by ladder ravine followed by Mount Ethan Allen. Very difficult to rain some of the most exciting and scary hiking I have ever done. On the way down Mount Ethan Allen toward the next shelter I'm at southbound day hiker Marika. She works at a therapeutic survivalist program for teenagers whose parents send them there. We had an interesting conversation and then set our fair walls and when under way.I reached the Montclair Glen shelter at about 4:15 p.m. I stopped and had a snack and some water and decided to continue. I wanted to get over camels hump and at least two the Bamford shelter. That's 5.2 miles from the Montclair going Lodge but its also only about 3 miles from route to wear I needed to go tomorrow to get my email drop from the Jonesville post office which is only open from 8:30 a.m. till 10 a.m. on Saturdays and its closed on Sundays so if I miss that timing window have to wait till Monday when it is open from 12:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.6:15ish I reached the summit of camel's hump. Windy, sunny, 360 degree panorama. Awesome! Exhilarating, even scary. At 6:30 ish on the way down from camels hump I felt a hotspot on it outside of my right heel. So I stopped and put a piece of duct tape on it. I guess the constant wetness its off my skin made it more susceptible to blistering.I got to the shelter at bamforth Ridge just before dark. I decided I wanted to be closer to the post office so I kept going. I walked all the way down to the parking lot at Duxbury Road and then turn left and follow the road. Along the way I saw a bear about twice my size outside one of the residences along the road. The bear notice to me and when I turned to look at it and shine my headlight at it inadvertently it decided to run away. I didn't even think to try to take a picture but it was too dark anyway.At about 10:20 I thought I found a place to camp at the Camels Hump State Park. However when I check closer there were warning signs indicating that it had just been treated yesterday with a chemical herbicide in order to kill an invasive plant species.I went further down the road and found a place to camp. I setup my tarp there for the night.