Date: 2011-06-07
From: Clarendon Shelter, VT

To: Kent Pond, VT
Miles today: 5.0

Start Clarendon Shelter, VT, mile 1676.7To VT 103, mile 1675.7Hiked 1 mike SouthboundAnd then From US 4, VT, mile 1693.1Stop Kent Pond, VT, mile 1697.1Hiked 4 miles NorthboundHiked 5 miles overall todaySleep InnCell goodOld Goat's notes:The weather has been very good to us so far. We slept in our tent last night and were very comfortable. The bugs haven't been too bad either, we've been very lucky. We plan to use the tent as much as possible to have privacy and to keep the bugs away from us while we're sleeping. My legs are aching from the hiking so far, hopefully the next section will allow our bodies settle and we'll feel better. We are now past The Maine Junction and back on the AT exclusively. For the past 100 miles the trail was shared by the AT and the Vermont Long Trail. We are heading due east toward New Hampshire, it should take us the rest of the week to get there.We received an email telling us a good friend had a mini stroke. Luckily she made it to the hospital in time and there appears to be no lasting damage. We are so relieved our good friend Wanda will be okay. Life goes on while we are hiking, thankfully with modern communication we can stay abreast with our real world.Check 6's notes:Today will be confusing to enter in our trail journal because we hiked 1 mile to our car and then 4 additional miles North of where we started 2 days ago. The first mile was interesting. About half of it was uphill and then there was a steep quick descent. I'm thrilled to be finished with Killington! My legs hurt a lot now with all the hard miles up and down the mountain. I know we have more tough mountains ahead of us, but having Killington as the first 2 full days of hiking when we're out of shape was hard. After we finished that mile, we had a wonderful breakfast at the Whistle Stop Restaurant (an old train station). Then we drove to the Mountain Meadows Lodge to see if we could stay there tonight. The owners were not there when we arrived, so after waiting a while to see if they'd return we decided to hike the 4 miles from Rte 4 to the lodge (the AT crosses it's property). It was a nice hike - only a day pack and gorgeous weather. When we got back to the lodge the owner was there and we were able to get a room. By the way, for any of you who might be wondering how Old Goat's CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) is doing, let me give a brief update. (If you want more info on his diagnosis,look back at our Trail Journal entries last year.) Old Goat's white blood cell and lymphocyte numbers have gone up, but the doctor doesn't seem to be concerned yet. OG's WBC has been over 35,000 the last 3 checks (a healthy person's average is 6-10,000). He was worried about having enough energy to hike this year, but he's been doing well these past 3 days of hiking. Since last year OG has caught two colds. Unfortunately he now gets very sick when he catches a cold. He has to see a doctor and get a strong antibiotic to kick it. So we do what we can to keep sick people away from him. We have to be very vigilant about infections now with his immune system compromised with the CLL. Sent from my iPhone