Date: 2020-09-06
From: Route 11 (Manchester Center)

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 24.6
Weather: clear sky

A fourth hiker joined us in the pop-up trailer late last night after getting picked up near Killington. Roo is just out of high school thruhiking southbound. She apparently came out with dozens of other grads and started in early July. But her close-knit tramily have since all left the trail, and she's well behind the others in her larger group. So she's debating whether to skip ahead to hike with them or find other SOBOs closer to her.Charlie made a fantastic bacon and French toast breakfast, with Vermont maple syrup of course. It has to be northern Vermont syrup, according to Charlie. Due to the climate it's sweeter. He should know. He lugged 5 gallon pails and tended the boiling sap for hours at a time on his grandfather's farm when he was a boy.Driving back to trail Charlie pointed out Mount Equinox, which has a road to the summit and a restaurant. Charlie was a fire volunteer and drove the firetruck up Mount Equinox once responding to a grease fire. It's so steep that when he drove down the brakes were overworked and he could barely control the truck. Never again, he said!I hiked up to Mt. Bromley, a nice climb that emerges onto a grassy ski way that gently deposits you on the open grassy summit with a chair lift and ski patrol hut. Long Trail hikers Bowline and Chloe from my first night in Vermont caught up to me. They are moving fast for this early in their thruhike and are a day ahead of schedule. Hope they don't overdue it. The ski patrol warming hut is open for hikers to sleep in. Would have been an interesting stop, but I can't stay everywhere! Long views, including Killington in the distance. Said goodbye to Journey Man, who had set out with me this morning. A fascinating, kind man. Probably the first hiker I felt a real connection with in a very long time. Sorry that we are on different trails this year.I sauntered (in the John Muir sense) over Peru and Styles peaks, through two wilderness areas, and past two lovely lakes - Griffith Lake and Little Rock Pond. Little Rock's shelter was bustling and lots of campers were enjoying the lake. I was tempted to stop, but had planned to go another five miles to the next shelter so I could get over Killington tomorrow. And I told myself I didn't really fit in with this crowd. The previous shelter at Big Branch was also an inviting location, perched over a roaring brook. If only I had all the time in the world.The trail climbed over an unnamed mountain and the terrain moved into pine and spruce forest with needle-covered trail and jagged white rocks. In two areas littered with small rocks hikers had created rock gardens full of fanciful cairns.I reached Greenwall Shelter around 7 with some daylight left. It was well off trail and empty. The water source was dry. It had been a long day, hiking almost constantly, and this felt like a very lonely end to the day. I suddenly and acutely missed my family and became overwhelmed by the long day, indeed all the long days and the ones to come, to the point of tears. There haven't been many times I just wanted to go home and give up the hike. This was one of them. Tomorrow will be better, I told myself. You're tired. Get some sleep. The air was perfectly calm and still. I could hear the distant rustling of small animals in the leaves. Leaves are already falling from some trees. Occasional fireworks or gun shots sounded in the distance. Labor Day is tomorrow.