Date: 2005-08-06
From: Little Rock Pond Shelter

To: Upper Cold River Road
Miles today: 17.6

7:32pm - Misery's the River of the WorldWell, today started off pleasantly enough. It should have stayed that way, but sometimes you defeat yourself. But more on that later.The first highlight of the day was White Rock Cliffs, just a few miles up the trail. The cliffs were pretty nice and had pretty good views. I finally had a clear day in Vermont. The real sight, though, was the trailhead for the side trail leading to the cliffs. It was where old cairns go to die. I guess somebody really wanted to make sure the turnoff was obvious...After crossing the third Bear Mountain of this trip I had a quick lunch at the Minerva Hinchey Shelter. A dayhiker came in for his lunch as I was packing up and I had a good chat with him for a bit. I then had a thoroughly enjoyable stroll up to the next road crossing a few miles distant. It was a gorgeous afternoon with an equally gorgeous ridge walk to match, complete with the occasional view. The stretch ended with a rickety suspension bridge crossing a gorge filled with a rushing stream.I then detoured half a mile off the trail to get a mango milkshake from the Whistlestop Cafe. I sipped it in the shade and read for a bit. On the way back to the trail, I noticed it had warmed up a bit. This made the uphill mile to the Clarendon Shelter a lot of fun. I rested there for a bit, talking trail with a guy section hiking the Long Trail. It was tempting to stay put - Vapors, Thunder, and Jaybird would likely stop there for the night, I figured. Plus, the trail register was full of stories of the shelter maintainer, Piper, popping in and feeding everybody. However, I'm aiming for Rutland tomorrow and ultimately decided that I'd rather knock a few miles off tomorrow's trip. It's either 18 today or 17 tomorrow, and tomorrow already includes a 2,000 foot climb. I pushed on. I heard about another secret shelter, off Upper Cold River Road only 4.5 miles away. Look for the note under the rock containing directions, I was told.That's about when my afternoon went to hell. On the climb out of the shelter, I began to feel lightheaded. I drank some water, figuring it was just the heat. Still, the damage was done and the vertical climb took a lot more out of me than it should have. I was feeling pretty pooped. Then the headache set in. I took a break at a stream with sodas in it, but the headache was persistent. I slogged onwards and eventually stumbled to Upper Cold River Road. Only there wasn't any note giving the location of the secret shelter. I searched both sides off the road crossing. To add insult to injury, all I found was an empty trail magic cooler.I guess the guy closed up shop tonight and took the note in. Maybe he only leaves it out when he's around - but I know that southbounders saw it earlier today. Dejected and still suffering from a headache I walked 200 feet down the road to a stream crossing to fill up my water bottles. Scrambling back up the embankment I slipped and fell. I momentarily snapped and let loose a few profanities at the top of my lungs, startling a passing jogger. I assured her I was just frustrated not hurt, after she inquired. As I plodded back to the trail, a truck stopped and the passenger asked me the usual twenty questions about the trail. After explaining my frustrating afternoon he helped out the best he could, but I'm afraid the two breath mints didn't raise my spirits much.Anyways, I plopped down on the cooler and ate dinner there. My headache faded and I started feeling a bit better. I left a short note in the cooler's register thanking him for providing a fine chair and shouldered my pack, figuring to camp at the first spot I found. So here I am 200 yards up the trail, sitting on my hammock in a pine grove. I'm feeling a lot better now, and my headache has disappeared completely. In retrospect it really wasn't such a bad afternoon - after all, I did spend it in a beautiful forest. There's nothing quite like walking a narrow embankment through lush greenery with streams 25 yards away on both sides.Tomorrow's a new day, and I hope to make the best of it.