Date: 2004-05-18
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: broken clouds

I awoke to an overcast sky, so couldn¢t get the nice sunrise picture looking east toward Somerset Reservoir. So, I ate breakfast, packed up and headed up the trail. As soon as I got going, it started to rain, so I had to stop and put on my pack cover. Once past the Caughnawaga Shelter, it was a pretty good climb to just short of the summit of the next mountain. From there, the trail pretty much followed the contour around the mountain and then there were easy ups and downs to Story Spring Shelter. Someone had left a gallon of Coleman fuel at the shelter, so I topped off my bottle since I was a little short when I left yesterday. After a nice break, it was a good climb up and then easy walking again all the way to Kelly Stand Road.        It had rained off and on most of the morning and the mountaintops were in clouds, so, just like last year when I hiked this section with my friend Steve, there was nothing to see on top of Stratton Mt. and no need to climb the fire tower. So I decided to take a nostalgic walk in on the Stratton Pond Trail, which I had hiked many times in my youth. I soon arrived at the large Stratton Pond Shelter built in 1999 that can sleep about 20 people. It¢s a great shelter. The only problem is you have to walk about 12 mile for water, which I forgot from last year, so didn¢t fill up on the way.        This area holds many fond memories for me. When I was a kid growing up in Brattleboro, my father used to take my brother and me, along with my neighbor friend and his father, to hike into Stratton Pond to fish. We would stay at the shelter, which at that time was right on the pond. One time the shelter was full and, since we didn¢t carry a tent, we had to construct a lean-to out of branches with a pine bough roof. It rained that night, so we got pretty wet.        Another time, a friend and I decided to drive up the Arlington-Wardsboro Road in early spring and go for a day hike. We got to a point in the road that was so muddy we got completely stuck. We worked for hours trying to get the car out, pushing, using tree branches under the wheels and anything else we could find. We finally gave up and decided we¢d better start walking before it got dark. Up the road about 12 mile and around the corner we came across an old bulldozer beside the road. Neither of us had ever driven a bulldozer, but we managed to get it started, drove it back to the car, hooked the car to the bulldozer with the chain and pulled it out. After returning the bulldozer, we drove home, feeling like we were the luckiest guys alive.        I shared the shelter with two other section hikers, Woodswoman (Sandy from Grafton, NH) and Rickster from Vero Beach, Florida. Sandy has hiked the Long Trail several times with her son and sisters, and is doing a section up to Sherburne Pass. She also hiked the Smokies this spring with her sisters. Rickster had planned to hike from Williamstown to Franconia Notch with a woman from New York whom he had met in Florida earlier in the year. After 1.7 miles, she decided she wanted to go home, so he took her back to Williamstown and is continuing on himself, probably to Hanover.        It was good to be in a shelter tonight. About the time I crawled into my sleeping bag, a thunderstorm came through and it really poured. But, I was nice and dry. Hopefully that will clear out the wet weather for tomorrow.