Date: 2018-08-24
From: Wintturi Shelter

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: clear sky

The plan today was to hike 21 miles. This would leave me with only six miles the following day to hike into the town of Hanover, New Hampshire. That's right, I'd be entering New Hampshire. Once there, the plan was to resupply and enjoy the luxuries of every day life that are not found on the trail.There were a couple stops on the route today that I was planning to make. The first was 3.8 miles from the shelter where the trail crossed VT 12. Two-tenths to the east down VT 12 was a farm that sold ice cream. Apparently the ease at which I hiked yesterday carried over to today. When I reached VT 12 I'd only been hiking for an hour and 15 minutes. I thought there was no way this could be VT 12 so soon so I crossed the road and pressed on. There were no road signs indicating it was VT 12. Soon I came across a sign saying VT 12 was 1.2 miles south, I was going north. Oh well, I wasn't going backwards since miles are a valuable commodity now.Prior to reaching the sign I was motoring up a steep incline when a southbound hiker was coming toward me. When he spoke saying I could pass by, I recognized his voice immediately. It was Troop Leader, the former DEA agent I'd last seen in middle Virginia. I'd heard he left the trail due to feet ailments. Upon my reminding him who I was, the beard is much longer now, we chatted and he did leave the trail for awhile to recover. When he came back he went north to Mount Katahdin and summitted and is now hiking southbound to the point in Virginia where he stopped. He's doing great now and we wished each other the best and continued in opposite directions.About 15 minutes later I'd finished the incline and regained my breath. I was back to moving quickly down the trail. Then without a warning, I didn't see anything in the trail, I rolled my left ankle and fell quickly to the ground. There was no time to catch myself but I had the presence to twist and use my pack to absorb the majority of the impact. I escaped with a couple small scrapes and was able to slowly walk-off the soreness in the ankle. I did hike slower for a few hours as I was worried it would happen again.Eventually I came to a sign on a tree that was an advertisement from a woman that previously hiked the AT. She and her family now live about 100 yards from the trail and she sells foods and drinks from her back porch. I chose to go there and had a large ice cream cookie sandwich and a Gatorade while talking with two southbound hikers. There was a refrigerator/freezer with prices listed on the covered porch. No one ever came out of the house. There was a cash box there and you wrote down your trail name, items bought, the cost and then paid. I was happy to support the family and missing the ice cream at VT 12 was no big deal now. The second place I visited was three-tenths of a mile from the trail. It was a local farm market that sold meats and cheeses. I bought four ounces of cheese and 1.75 ounces of beef jerky for a total of $9. A bit pricy but it did make for a great snack while taking a break.By the end of the day my left ankle felt completely fine. I wasn't able to recapture my swiftness from the early morning and yesterday, but I did make the 21.1 miles to the shelter and accomplished my destination goal. I found StriKer at the shelter. She's no longer hiking with Tern and Kiwi as a trio. I was the only one to spend the night in the shelter. StriKer and two others tented in the campsites behind the shelter. Best of all, I'm now setup for a six mile hike into Hanover, New Hampshire, tomorrow morning. For book followers, mile 1,742.9 page 177.