Date: 2008-08-26
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Caughnawaga Tent Site
Miles today: 15.0

Tonight we are much better prepared for a cold night. Last night was miserable. We didn't realize how cold it would get and being in a shelter made it all the more cold. At least in our tent on a cold night our body heat keeps the tent warm, not so for a big shelter.And this shelter was packed and noisy. There was the group of ten from Yale. They tried to be considerate but it's hard for ten people to move around quietly. Several other hikers came in through the evening and some pretty late into the dark. There were a couple that didn't care how much noise they made. It was like Grand Central Station in the middle of the woods.Then it started getting cold...and colder and colder. I had on all of my clothes and was staying fairly warm, but Roo was shivering. At the beginning of the hike we had a fleece for her to sleep in. (she hated it) But we weren't expecting to get this cold now so I had to try to figure out how to keep her warm. I tried pulling her into my sleeping bag but she kept moving. The whole night was miserable for both of us.Tonight we are in the tent. Just crawling into it feels so much warmer than a shelter. We also filled our water bottles with hot water. I wrapped one in a towel and laid it next to Roo, then I covered her with my poncho. We'll see how long she puts up with that. I think we'll all sleep better.We headed out of the shelter this morning still dressed in our coats, hats, gloves and long johns. We would normally never hike in that gear, it gets way too hot fast. But this morning we had to go quite a distance before I was ready to shed anything. It was cold!We made it to the top of Stratton Mountain by 10:00. That was amazing timing for me up a mountain but I was moving fast. Did I say it was cold? At the top there is a firetower and a cabin. We didn't realize someone was in the cabin until we had been standing there for awhile. We were reading the articles on their bulletin board when Jean walked up. She and her husband are the caretakers on the summit. She offered to take us in the cabin to warm up. I was hesitant. I was afraid if I went into a warm cabin it would make coming out into the cold all the more hard. We did step inside for a minute. It's a very tiny little cabin to spend six months out of the year living in. It was warm and cozy, but I managed to pull myself away.Nothing really exceptional happened the rest of the day. We thought the second half of the day would be a breeze, but it turned out to be much tougher than we expected. The elevation gain and loss wasn't significant but it was very rocky and rooty.Speaking of Rocky and Rooty, we ran into a couple hikers by that name today. They immediately recognized us. I thought they were familiar however I couldn't place where we had met. They knew right away it was on Unaka mountain. I remember that. It's fun having these small reunions.Well, Roo has kicked off the poncho and rolled away from the water bottle. I think she'll be okay tonight. I'm ready to crash and make up for last night. Tomorrow we head into Bennington where we plan to zero for Owl's 17th birthday. Some rest, some fun...sounds like just what we are needing.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9