Date: 2017-07-05
From: Bascom Lodge, Mt Greylock, MA

To: Stealth site on Harmon Hill, VT
Miles today: 22.9

7/5/17, Stealth site, Harmon Hill, VTMiles hiked: 1290.8, Miles to go: 889.0Today was a beautiful day for hiking. Once again, clear blue skies and highs in the upper 70s. Bascom Lodge offered a "continental breakfast" as part of the lodging package; however, some section hikers that I ate dinner with informed me that the breakfast was actually a single muffin and they didn't start serving until 8:00 AM. I wanted to get an earlier start, so I ate my own breakfast from my food bag and headed out before 7:00 AM. I hiked down off of Mt Greylock to Williamstown, MA, where I had second breakfast at the Stop N Shop. It was located about 0.5 miles off-trail. I typically won't go that far off-trail for waterfalls and overlooks unless they are spectacular; however, I'll gladly do it for second breakfast. I'm going to miss second breakfast when I am done hiking and start eating like a normal person again.  I texted with Wizard and Shenaniguy and found out that Wizard and Pluck are only 2 days ahead of me and Shenaniguy is off-trail with an injury. I'm bummed to hear about Shenaniguy; but, I'm excited that I am gaining on Wizard and Pluck. Also, I believe that Sitting Bull, Hoops, Ramsey, and Hummingbird are only about three days ahead. Unfortunately, 1st Sgt has been putting in the miles slackpacking while his wife is here, so it's going to take me awhile to catch him. I am also beginning to meet a bunch of thru hikers that have been traveling about a week behind us since Georgia. It's kind of funny to think that while I've been hiking with my little group of people all these months there are all these other groups of people all around us. The highlight of the day was knocking down another state. I crossed into Vermont just after noon. The nickname for Vermont on the AT is "Vermud". Almost as soon as I crossed the border, it became obvious where this nickname came from. I started hitting big patches of thick, squishy, black mud that stretched across the trail, making it impossible to go around. The trail maintainers have done a yoeman's job placing stepping stones in many of the worst patches. "Stepping stones" is actually a misnomer. Most of the stones are boulders. Think about it - many of these mud holes are miles from a trailhead. So, the trail crews have to carry in any tools they need to place these rocks. And they aren't using power tools. So, most of these rocks are being placed using brute force. The dedication of the trail maintainers is humbling. I always go out of my way to thank them for all their hard work when I see them. Hopefully, I can do my part when I finish hiking and return home.Of course, there are plenty of mud holes that have not been bridged with stones or logs. As a result, my bright new trail runners, along with the socks in them, and the feet in those, are covered with black mud. Yuck!The Long Trail, which is a 279 mile trail that traverses VT (and, incidentally, was the inspiration for the AT), runs concurrently with the AT for 105 miles starting at the MA/VT border. As a result, we are seeing more people on the trail since we've added LT hikers to the NOBO, SOBO, Flip flopper, section hiker mix. All of these hikers appeared to be heading for the Congdon Shelter for the night. I had originally planned to stop there also; however, I wasn't too impressed with the shelter. It was old, right on top of a creek (mosquitoes), had no picnic table, no phone reception, and the tent sites were rocky. So, I decided to keep moving to the top of Harmon Hill. I had read in the guide about a small tent site on the summit. When I arrived at the site, of course, there was already a tent there. Bummer - apparently, I'm not the only one who reads the trail guides. Luckily, I found a spot for my tent nearby. Blue Steel, the occupant of the other tent, and I fixed dinner together and watched a gorgeous sunset over Bennington, VT. I am now in my tent. A stiff breeze is blowing the stars around and a bright moon is lighting up my tent. Hopefully, I can get some sleep tonight. At least the stiff breeze will hopefully dry out my muddy shoes.