Date: 2007-09-01
From: Stony Brook Shelter

To: Thistle Hill Shelter
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: overcast clouds

September 1, 1,700 Miles!Ronin and I got an early start today to position ourselves for Hanover by lunch time tomorrow. A few minutes before 7 a.m., I started climbing. The climbing lasted all day long. Even when the profile said there'd be a downhill, we climbed.We met at The Overlook for lunch. The Overlook is an enclosed private cabin whose owners let hikers come and go. It had a great view but, best of all, shielded us from the crazy wind we were having. We were there for about an hour.After a little more than six miles, I met Ronin at VT 12 and we walked 0.2 to a farm stand for a second lunch. I had pasta salad, tomatoes, and blueberry pie. We sat outside in the sun with FreeBird and feasted. Very relaxing...until we decided it was time to move again.Up and over lots of hills again and I was getting mighty tired of it. At one point I reached the top of a hill and I heard, "Congratulation"! I immediately thought of my grandma. She had to be from Quebec! It was a woman out with her husband and daughter congratulating me for getting to that point on the trail. We talked for a few minutes and I told her how my mom and her family are from Montreal and she told me Quebec was only about three hours away. Neat! And I thought of my grandparents the other day when we were in the barber shop - a grandfather clock sounded just like the one they have.Anyway, if we could have, I would have loved to camp there. There was an amazing view and a perfect litle site on top. If you're ever out for a day hike, it's just south of Cloudland Road..So, about three miles later we were at the shelter. I stayed in the shelter to expedite my process in the morning. There are weekenders out and they have a fire going - how nice.As of today, we've come over 1,700 miles! Wish Melk and Young Eagle were around to celebrate. I felt really good all day even though it was long. It'd been a while since we've done over 20 and this felt nice to get a big chunk out of the way while we still can.- Sound of some guy snoring. Post Trail Thoughts:I remember this day fondly. It was, from what I can recall, one of my last twenties of the trail (it might have been the last!). I felt great all day and remember how I just wanted to keep trucking. At one point, Ronin and I agreed that neither of us wanted to go to the farm stand that was noted in our guidebooks - we preferred to hike on. I found it funny when, about twenty minutes after I changed my mind, I found Ronin waiting for me because he'd changed his mind and wanted fresh food too! I was glad! I loved days like this - days when we could stop to smell the roses but also pack the miles in. We hung out at the farm stand with free bird and feasted....all while getting 21 miles from where we'd started that day. I always felt great progress on days like this. I actually remember telling Ronin that I wished the sun would stay out longer so we could hike more...a thrilling feeling. It was exciting to meet someone from Quebec. It's interesting to me now - reading my entires so close together - that I met Philippo in Manchester who reminded me of my dad and his family in Italy and this woman was here to remind me of my mom and her family from Canada. Oh the trail!We also met Mrs. Yolanda Vega Gorp and Stumpknocker that day - they were out hiking for the day. A real treat.