Date: 2003-07-28
From: Cooper Lodge (on Killington) 

To: The Inn at Long Trail
Miles today: 8.2

Well, last night was another adventure for some of us (Wench & Space Monkey). And no, I¢m not referring to any hanky panky, though they did have an ¢in bed¢ adventure together¢¦ We had a short HARD rain storm, in addition to blowing winds. Not the best of times to find out the shelter leaks¢¦ A lot¢¦. When the rain hit, Wench & Space Monkey happened to be the ones against the wall where the leaks were (Space monkey on the top bunk, Wench on the bottom). It was a shock for them to wake up ¢In the storm¢, but they were able to scoot over away from the water, after they surveyed the damage the water had done.Wench had a soggy sleeping bag and a shoe full of water, Space monkey was a bit soggy, and was able to curl up in a ball to stay warm (just out of the range of the waterfalls). Did I mention it was only 40 degrees? Brrrrr¢¦. Not the night to get wet¢¦ I was on the dry side of the shelter & just rolled over & went back to sleep (sometimes it¢s just luck that keeps you dry). Last night was windy, foggy, and rainy, but not cold. This morning, after the sun was already up it was only 43 degrees! I have a 40 degree bag, and a silk liner, that¢s cutting it a bit close. Shows what a difference being on a mountain top can make. And just think, last night we were all hot! If you had any doubts about mountains having an effect on the temperature, just read this Killington entry over again (and plan the gear for YOUR hike accordingly. This morning, I put off getting out of my bag as long as possible. I knew that I had to put on wet, skanky smelling clothes, in a windy, cold shelter. Damn¢¦ Instantly hard nipples, and a scream, just barely bit off before it escaped¢¦ Brrrr¢¦ I had dreams of a hot shower in my head as we meandered down the trail off of Killington (one more moose poop sighting on the way). Did you ever have one of those moments that had a religious feel to them, a special moment that just made you feel good? We had one of those this morning. We were making our way down the mountain, when we suddenly realized that all the trees were the same¢¦ No browns at all, we were in a big grove of trees that were all like a silvery white color, maybe some type of birch. The Sun was shining through the branches making the trunks and branches all glow, making us feel warm & maybe glow a bit ourselves. There was a feeling there, not one I could put into words, but it was a good feeling. Looking back, it brought to mind the old Celtic ¢Thin places¢ I¢d recently heard about. Who knows, anything is possible if you are willing to believe. Just as quick, we passed out of the grove and were back in regular woods, thinking to ourselves, ¢was that real?¢, ¢Did I just se & feel that?¢. The moment was lost, and we were back on our trek down the mountain, where we ran into Trail Frog & Space Monkey. Trail Frog was going to Killington to re-supply, and Space Monkey was headed for the Inn at Long Trail. We were thinking of heading there too.. Hmmm¢¦ Inexpensive ¢hiker room¢, laundry, burgers, Long Trail Ale, and only 12 mile off the trail. It used to be on the AT/LT, but they did a relo to put the trail on protected land. We hiked past the road to the Inn, up the hill to ¢Maine Junction¢, where the AT & LT go their separate ways (the LT to Canada, and the AT to Katahdin in Maine), then we hiked down the Sherburne Pass trail right to the Inn parking lot. We got our room, our burgers, and our beers.. Ahhhh. The first cold beer after coming off the trail is always the best. So we ate, showered, and I headed downstairs to start our laundry (and watch TV while it was running). As I sat in front of the TV, I heard someone calling my name (my real name¢¦ No one that knows my real name knew I was here.. hmmm¢¦.). It was a phone call for me¢¦ Hmmm, again¢¦. I picked up the phone and it was Sawnie Roberts (kinnickinnic), she was in the area and wanted to come over to see us. She¢s been camped in a park along the AT all week (in a shelter), and she saw Trail Frog who said we might be at the Inn. Cool, mystery solved. After some relaxing & napping, we went downstairs & met Sawnie for dinner at the LT Pub. We caught up on the latest news, who was on the trail ahead of us, who was behind us. And MORE FOOD.. Pasta & veggies, beer, seltzer, coffee, and ICE CREAM!! Sawnie is cool, and we¢ll see her again tomorrow, her shelter is right on the trail north of the Inn. We can say hello, talk some more & eat lunch with her (she¢s bringing lunch to a road crossing a few miles up the trail. Wow, we are only 3 days from Hanover, NH. That is so hard to believe¢¦ But today was our 150th day on the trail, so I guess we should be hitting NH soon. We¢re really getting excited, soon it will be 12 states down, and 2 to go. We are already under 500 miles to go (486.1), and have hiked almost 1700 (1686.5). We have averaged 11.24 miles a day so far for the whole 150 days. Wow, if we average 11 a day from here on out, we still finish in mid September! But we¢ll stick to our short term goals, Hanover to Glencliff.. I still try not to look past there.. Oh well, for now I keep trudging along, one day at a time¢¦Note: Boy I forget lots of stuff¢¦ On the blue blazed trail to the Inn, we met a couple from Detroit, out on a motorcycle trip. He said we didn¢t look like we had been out for 150 days (and we hadn¢t killed each other yet). He figured we would be wearing ¢I¢m with stupid¢ T shirts by now¢¦ They were staying at the Inn too, so we got to talk with them quite a bit. Touring on a high tech BMW motorcycle.. Awesome. We also saw Space Monkey and his parents a few times at the Inn and talked with them. Nice people, they follow our journals to find out approximately where he is. He started the same day we did (3/1), and we have been within a few days of each other the whole hike, but never camped together until Cooper lodge on Killington. Others at the Inn: Recycled, Snappy & Puff Puff, Mylo & Nuke, and a few others I didn¢t know (AT & LT¢ers). We should be in a quieter section of trail, now that we split off from the LT. And yes, I made the right turn east at Maine Junction (my wife was worried I would miss it, since I hike looking at the ground, and my feet all the time). I¢ll save that trail for another year. Katahdin, here we come! But first, the White mountains! Life is good.