Date: 2018-07-09
From: Winhall River tent site mile mile 1642

To: Bromley summit
Miles today: 11.7

I slept okay last night, actually better than expected after some calmness and deep relaxing breathing and enjoyed morning yoga at 5:30. I was up packing my gear at 6 and after breakfast I left camp at 7:34. The morning hike was enjoyable and I was feeling better and more energized than yesterday. I ran into 1 hiker early on named little spoon. He's headed to Bromley also. I didn't see another hiker all morning on trail. A part of the hike was a gravel road and off it I took a very short trail out to prospect rock which was a beautiful overlook of the town of Manchester Center where we agreed we'd hitch into to resupply and do laundry. We stink and my food bag is nearly empty. I stopped at Spruce Peak shelter for a snack and the privy. As I was chatting with Packrat and his wife and admiring their dog Riley who are out for a section hike another hiker came in. I recognized him instantly. Grumpy, who I'd met on my first few days in Maryland. I didn't expect I'd see him again but a soft tissue foot injury took him off trail for 6 weeks. So he skipped up to VT and got back on in Bennington. Thumper and River arrived and Thumper had met him previously also. He too was headed into Manchester Center to pick up a resupply his wife had mailed to him. We hiked out together with a plan to share a ride and have lunch together and hike up to the top of Mt Bromley when we're done. The ski patrol leaves their warming hut open for hikers to sleep in. Odly we hiked up to the road which is generally a hike down. 9 miles hiked and at the road at noon. Good time! We crossed the busy Route 11 and went into the trail head parking lot and into the shade until we were all there. Then we moved back out to the road to thumb a ride. A first for me! Grumpy and I walked up the hill away from the lot so the number of hikers was spread out. Several cars passed us by. Grumpy gave up and dialed a number for a taxi but there was no answer and the voicemail was full. I was just getting ready to try for an Uber when a car pulled off to pick us up. Joe was very kind. He's 80 and lives in Stratton and was headed to Price Chopper which was exactly where we wanted to go. Perfect! We had nice conversation on the 5 mile trek and thanked him for stopping for us. River, Thumper and 2 other hikers were picked up by a pickup truck and rode in the back to the store. We got our food shopping done and Grumpy got his package from the post office. The laundromat was across the street so I quick changed my clothes (easy in a skirt) and gave my laundry to River who was kind enough to throw it in the wash while I got an iced coffee and some refresher packets from Starbucks which I was happy to see! We all met at the pizza place right there for lunch. We charged our electronics and enjoyed a meal and ice cream. I ran across the street and put the clothes in the dryer and after lunch River retrieved them and we dealt with sorting and folding on the patio behind the pizza place. Then it was time to get back to the trail and the 3 additional miles to the summit of Mt Bromley. We thumbed from the laundromat parking lot and the 3rd car picked up Grumpy and I. Joe and Grace who live in VT now and are hikers who backpacked in Alaska when they resided there and know what it's like to need a ride. Super nice people who taught in Eskimo villages.We hiked up the 2 miles to Bromley shelter where we supplied with water for the night and the 7 miles we'd have to hike tomorrow before the next water source. Then we hiked up the last mile to the summit. Gorgeous view! As I hiked up the ski slope at the last section I remembered to turn around look back to drink it all in. We settled into the warming hut in a small room like a pantry because the floor spayin the main room was full. There was room for me on the floor and there was a section of shelving on the right. River is 5'1" and she fit conveniently on the shelf. So we dubbed her elf on the shelf and she made her bed there close to the window. We had a snack and watched the sunset from a rock outcropping after I got to talk with Brian on the phone. It was quite windy but the sunset was beautiful. I brushed and visited the privy before crawling into my bed. But my body was restless and it was almost 1am before I fell asleep. The stars were gorgeous. I could see them through the window and also when I went outside to pee at 11:30. No light pollution up here. But I'd rather be sleeping.