Date: 2014-07-06
From: congdon shelter

To: story spring shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: broken clouds

I got up with hopes to get out early. I have begun not cooking breakfast so i put water in the oatmeal or granola first thing then oick up the rest if my gear. I grabbed my pot but wait, where is my spoon? I looked around but no spoon. Something had dragged it off. I looked and looked but no spoon. I thought of my sisters book and the irony that now i was wishing to find a spoon. I figured i would pick up and look again then when everything was packed. I ate dry cereal while i packed up. All ready to go but still no utensil. I circled bigger and bigger till i finally found it about twenty feet away! I was surprised it wasnt chewed up, glad it was in mint condition. I finished up packing and rolled out at 7:15, not bad. I made good time in great conditions till the crossing of VT 9. Then it was up a big old hill on the other side. I caught up a couple guys out for a few days. One of the guys started asking a bunch of questions and then told me he was gonna try a thru hike next year. I gladly slowed down and answered all he asked. I feel like it helps to get answers from someone that knows. I told him about my journal and said that might help but you realyy dont know what youre getting into till youre about 3 weeks in. In just a bit i got a nice drink from a spring. It was clean and cold, something i had not seen for a while. Vermont had already had a bunch of springs and clear streams making it much nicer than in the recent past. This makes it so you dont have to carry much water, less weight. Around noon i found a nice rock and ate lunch under beautiful blue sky. I have hoped for weather like this for so long, it was nice to have it. I smeared peanut butter on my ramen noodles and enjoyed my feed. Onward i got myself to the glatenbury mt lookout tower. At the top was an amazing view of places ive been and places i will be going. I was back into the mountains, now surrounded in all directions. My favorite is when they fade lighter and lighter into the horizon. 4 miles later i arrove at the kid gore shelter for another quick stop before the last push to my campsite. There i found yet another spring and a couple hiking the long trail. We talked for a while and i noticed more mice running around. Vermont needs some black snakes, these mice were all over! Big cranky and dragonfly are from NC and have done a lot of hiking but not like the long trail. Nice filks they were planning on staying at the next shelter like me. They left, i waited about 20 minutes, looked thru the shelter log and took off for the last 4.6miles. It was a nice walk even thiugh a bit muddy and plenty of rocks. I passed the couple and said i would see them at the shelter. I passed a couple of bogs, no moose. Then just before the camp i passed a big beaver pondwith a huge den. It looks just like the adirondaks that is my favorite place. I looked over the pond for a while just looking. It was beautiful with small waves lapping up against the shore. At the shelter i could not believe nobody was there. I think this was the first time i have gotten to a shelter at 6:30 and had nobody hanging out. I set up my tent and started cooking at the picnic table when the couple showed up, they were spent after their longest day so far. Again, this shelter had a great spring for water, dont take the springs in the south for granite, theyre great. After feeding myself i hung everything carefully so no mice would do what they do. I got into bed and went to sleep hoping to be on the trail early. It wasnt long till i heard the scuttle of a mouse. Grrr. How are these shelters infested with rodents? One even ran over my tent, under my rain fly!! I swatted him away and cursed its parents. Fortunately there would be no mouse damage on this night. I slept well that leads me back to say that nobody has it better than me. My health is better than i could ever had hoped and spirits are high.