Date: 2005-07-10
From: Back Home Again Hostel

To: Wintturi Shelter
Miles today: 18.1

Miles hiked today : 18.116.6 AT miles + 0.8 mile of side trail + 0.7 roadwalk mileI woke up this morning at 5:40 a.m., hopped in the shower, packed up, and prepared to leave the hostel. The dinner last night might have been a little too rich for me, as I'd woken up late in the evening with stomach pains and almost threw up on my way to the restroom. There were also people shouting outside for a good portion of the evening and I remember hearing shouts as late as 3:00 a.m. There was also noises that sounded like over 20 gunshots being fired over a period of 1 minute, though it may have been fireworks. It was quite difficult to tell what it really was.While packing, Zerah offered us coffee and tea and when I opted for tea, he asked whether I wanted to try a mate (pronounced mah-tay), which he prepared with maple and soy. It was quite delicious and when I attempted to make a donation to the hostel, Zerah told me they weren't allowed to accept it because it was still the Hebrew sabbath. At 7:00 a.m., we headed to the bus stop to catch the 7:15 a.m. shuttle and met a gentleman who gave us 3 bus passes, worth $2 each. Opa opted to pay for his trip, so Michael, Turtle, and I rode for free. We arrived back at Killington at 7:45 a.m. and began the roadwalk back to the trail.Turtle and Opa took the lead and were out of site before long, though Michael and I walked the rest of the way to Stony Brook Shelter, arriving at 11:00 a.m. My pack was not cooperating with me and was causing lower back pain. I'd done what i could to adjust my pack, but figured that the problem was the weight of the food that I'd just picked up. Turtle and Opa were on site and stopped for a 1 hour lunch break before the 4 of us continued on as a group. Turtle soon left us behind and we walked as a group of 3, stopping for a 10 minute water break at 12:55 p.m. At 1:15 p.m., I slipped on a bit of mud and took a nice tumble down the hill. Cha-ching, fall #24. At 1:30 p.m., I stopped for 15 minutes to gather and treat water, then continued on.At 2:25 p.m., I reached Chateauquay Road and found trail magic in the form of cans of root beer. Turtle was present and our group stayed for a 25 minute break before continuing on. The sky had been clear all day and the temperature was in the mid 70s, which made the steep climb up from Chateauquay Road difficult. Partway up the hill, I began to feel disoriented, so I stopped for 15 minutes at 3:15 p.m. to drink water and eat some snacks. Once I began eating, I realized how famished I was and brought out a bag of crackers to quell my hunger.Opa had stopped with me and we continued back up the hill. At 3:40 p.m., I slipped on a seemingly dry rock patch and went down hard. Cha-ching, fall #25. 5 minutes later, I slipped on another rock face and went down hard again. Cha-ching, fall #26. No serious injuries were sustained in either of these falls, though I did scrape up my right knee a bit. Combined with the lower back soreness my pack was causing, I wasn't in the best mood. I reached the side trail to a lookout on top of a privately owned cabin and walked 0.2 mile to the cabin, arriving at 4:20 p.m. Hikers are allowed to stay at this cabin, just as long as the owners or their friends are not using it.Turtle and Michael were waiting in the observation tower, a 5 foot long by 5 foot wide wooden structure, so Opa and I climbed a 20 foot tall ladder to join them and stayed for 55 minutes. The view was far reaching and fairly spectacular, though I still had 2.6 miles to go to reach the next shelter, so I set out at 5:15 p.m.I quickly covered the distance to Wintturi Shelter, arriving at 6:15 p.m. Turtle had decided to stay at the cabin for the evening, though Opa and Michael had both continued on with me. During the last 2.6 mile stretch, I figured out how to adjust the lower part of the shoulder straps on my pack to make it closely hug my body. Presto, no more lower back pain! I wish I'd figured that out earlier today.At the shelter, I ate a large dinner and drank a cup of tea while journaling, then crawled into my sleeping bag. Tomorrow is a slightly shorter day, which I hope will be relatively pain free and have similar weather. Tomorrow is also my last full day in Vermont, as the New Hampshire state line is in 25.7 miles. Also of note is that I passed the 1,700 mile mark today.Bedtime at 9:50 p.m.