Date: 2009-08-30
From: Little Rock Pond Tenting Area

To: Clarendon Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: broken clouds

Some of my gear got a little damp yesterday. When I unpacked last night I discovered that the dry bags I keep my sleeping bag and down jacket in no longer appeared to be as water tight as they once were. I love these dry bags but, the fact is, they are not built to be super durable. Everything is a compromise but you hope they will last but given their distinguished previous life and then the general pounding that they have received during the last 4 months then it's not really surprising teh strain is starting to show. Quite literally, though, they were beginning to creak at the seems.It's not a major problem but it is one more thing to think about, maybe even to fret about and certainly, now that I was aware of it, to manage; particularly given the just how important it can be to stay dry and warm. I'm sure it will exercise my mind more fully during the weeks to come, when its wet and miserable, but today things looked dry and promising, so for the moment any excessive fretting could wait.I skirted the pond, wandering on through a forest of tall straight pines (or are they firs?). I liked them whatever they happen to be as they embody the majesty of nature; but then I passed some cairns and I don't like cairns much as they represent the stupidity of man. I know that at times cairns serve as an almost acceptable navigational aid but today they are just further evidence of mans need to put themselves at the centre of everything, to leave their mark, to disfigure what was natural, pristine and beautiful. The emptiness of their minds.Heading on the hump up Bear Mountain proved viewless, which was all a tad frustrating. I carried on in the hope of stumbling across a lookout where I could stop and rest but it was to no avail. All I found was a tree lined path up and then a tree lined path down.In Vermont the bigger towns, and by inference better resupply (Bennington, Manchester Central, Rutland, Pittsfield, Woodstock) are all quite a distance from the trail (hitching distance) and so instead my plans had been built around the no doubt more limited offerings of small village stores (Bromley, Clarendon, Killington, South Pomfret and West Hartford). Today, it was the turn of Clarendon where I would no doubt scratch around for the necessary supplies to sustain me until Killington, only 20 miles distant.I crossed over Clarendon Gorge and it looked like a good place to hang out for a while, especially if there was a crowd of you, but alone and with food on my mind I just wandered on. Onwards to the store and then to the Whistle Stop Cafe where once again I stuffed myself to the point of little enjoyment. There must be a better way, and while its not exactly feast and famine out on the trail its not feast and feast either and so it almost feels like a duty to gorge yourself in this way. I regretted it immediately but I really started to regret it when I began to suffer from 'stomach cramps'. He root beer had been a bit flat and I started to wonder wether I would live to rue not being the complaining type and drinking it anyway because, at least, it was cool and wet. It was pretty uncomfortable though and so I sat myself down, got out my book and decided to give nature a little time to take its course.Time seemed to work its magic and after a good hour of lounging followed by a steep climb I arrived in camp. It was Sunday night and so it was math night. Every Sunday since leaving Harper's Ferry I have sat down to record my progress in terms of both 'miles to go' and 'weeks to go'. At Harper's Ferry I had 11 weeks 2 days and 1133 miles from the end, so say 100 miles per week. Now I had 5 weeks 2 days to go and 504 miles to go, so say 100 miles per week. It would appear that I walk about 100 miles per week. It would appear that, to reach Katahdin and my flight home, I would need to walk about 100 miles per week. Correct me if I'm wrong but things seem to be coming together nicely. You just can't beat a bit of Sunday night long division.