Date: 2012-06-23
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Manchester Center
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: light rain

When I woke there was the sound of snoring coming from a bunk near mine. I gathered up my gear and carried it out to the porch area, making several trips as quietly as I could; since the snoring didn¢t change I think I managed pretty well. I packed everything up and got ready to leave. Shortly before I left another hiker was up and packing, too. I didn¢t wait but headed on out.I found that with the slippery, muddy, rocky trail I needed to watch my footing a lot.   As a result I found I noticed a lot of smaller details close-at-foot including few snakes (one waited so I could take its picture), a number of insects, and the plants growing along the wayside. Of course, I often see these sorts of things when I hike, but today I seemed to pay more attention. It was a nice change.After a few miles the Trail struck Old Rootville Road, an old dirt road, and the walking became much easier. I rolled along making very good time for me, stopping to chat with a couple of hikers. Then I noticed the back of a sign on a tree. I went past the tree and turned back to read the sign. It said, ¢Look Up.¢ So I looked up. And up. Finally, many feet up (see picture), was another sign, announcing ¢Prospect Rock.¢   Was that sign up so high to make sure it was visible even when many feet of snow had covered the road? A joke? To prevent the sign from being stolen or vandalized?I took the short side trail to admire the view through the haze. Manchester Center lay below. Ah, a shower and good food was within sight. Even though I had rinsed off in Stratton Pond yesterday, and today didn¢t feel as hot, I felt so dirty and stinky I was dreaming of hot water in the form of a shower. While no one else was around I decided to call and make lodging arrangements for town. I¢ve heard nothing but good things about Green Mountain Hostel, but since I¢ve gotten some grief about my snoring, I decided to call Sutton¢s Place which was listed as having a single room available. That way I might not disturb others while I sleep and they try to. Frank Sutton assured me he had a room available and that it should be an easy hitch from the Trail to town at the VT 11/30 road crossing.While I stood there, four women joined me. They had hiked up from town. We talked for a while, and they quizzed me about my trip. The women were vibrant and animated, clearly having a good time on their walk. Again, people along the Trail are so hospitable. One of the women offered to let me stay in her home, but I¢d made the reservation at Sutton¢s Place already and didn¢t want to renege on that, so, with regret, I declined her generous offer.From Prospect Rock the Trail became a bit more difficult as it left the easy, dirt road walking behind. It wasn¢t bad at all, but the day was getting warm and I was getting tired. My feet indicated they had had enough. They¢d given me less trouble on this restart than they did way back in January in Georgia, but now they were making up for it.By the time I reached the road I was more than ready to head to civilization. After a number of cars had passed me, Bill pulled over and gave me a ride to town. He even went out of his way to drop me off right at Sutton¢s Place. Frank made me welcome and left me to settle in and get cleaned up.I got busy on my town chores. First a shower, which felt absolutely wonderful, and second, tending to the worn, raw feet. Then it was time to head to the laundromat with a plastic trash bag full of very smelly clothes. Once the clothes were agitating (on the heavy duty cycle with the added 8 minute PowerWash, mind you) I went in search of food. Black clouds were piling up in the sky and my cell phone had warnings on it about hail and strong thunderstorms so I didn¢t want to stray far. Fortunately for me Mrs Murphy¢s Donuts was right next door. Coffee and a tasty egg and cheese sandwich would hold me while the washer ran. The rain certainly did come down.Another hiker, Q, was also in the shop, and we talked for a while until I had to go shift the wet clothes to the dryer. When I opened the washer I noticed that a certain eau d¢hiker still lingered about, and I pondered whether to just run the clothes through again, but figured it was hopeless and tossed the clothes in the dryer. I chatted with a couple of local women while the clothes dried and the storm rained itself out - mostly. By then I was ready to go find some more substantial food. I hadn¢t really had much by way of breakfast or lunch, besides the sandwich, and my stomach was complaining. I went on down the way to the Firefly and got a hamburger that tasted mighty fine and a cold one to wash it down with. I was nearly finished when I got a call from Frank Sutton. The rain had started back up, and he was worried that I would get soaked walking back. He said he was going out and could drop off an umbrella for me.   I was impressed that he would think to do that and be willing to make the extra effort for me. I gladly accepted his offer. However, since I had finished by the time he stopped by, he just drove me home, saving me the walk back, a very generous act. Both my feet and I thank him.I puttered with my gear for a while, caught up on some emails and hit the sack.