Date: 2006-07-11
From: Mark Noepal Lean-to, MA

To: Seth Warner Shelter, VT
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: 0

Cell fair.Eleven states done, three more to go. The AT goes thru 14 states, and I'm now in Vermont. That leaves Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.Now for a little language lesson. The name Vermont is derived from Ver which is French for green, and mont which is French for Mountain. From that, we get Vermont, or Green Mountain. Hey, that's the state¢s nickname, how about that.Now in order for those mountains to be green, it requires a lot of water. The water comes in the form of rain, which falls on the mountains. The vegetation in the mountains grows well, and makes things green.Now take thousands of hikers and have them walk along a trail through those mountains. Their footsteps wear away those green plants, and expose dirt. Now let¢s go back to what helps make the mountains green, and we're back to rain. But wait! We're hiking on that dirt trail! And when it's wet we have mud...HUGE mud puddles at that! So now we come to the hiker¢s nickname for the state, ¢Vermud!¢ I've only hiked three miles in Vermont, and it was almost all through mud.I awoke a little after 5:00am to the sound of light raindrops hitting my tent. I don't like to pack a wet tent if I can help it, so I quickly dressed, and hauled all my belongings into the lean-to. (No one was in the lean-to last night, so it was empty.) It took a few trips to get it all in there, and I also had to retrieve my food that was hanging in a tree. I then broke down the tent and packed it away just about the time that a big lightning storm hit. The rain came down VERY hard, and I was really glad to be in the shelter. After straightening my gear, I ate breakfast and waited out the storm. I finally started hiking about 7:45 am - a little later than planned, but at least I was dry.I immediately started to climb after leaving the shelter. I was on one side of Mount Graylock, and was heading to the top. Mount Graylock is the highest point in Massachusettes, and it is on the AT. I went into Bascom Lodge when I reached the top, to warm up and see what was inside. The next leg of my journey was to hike back down the other side of Graylock towards Williamstown, MA, which went very well most of the way. Just before I arrived at Williamstown, the sky got dark, and the thunder started. I hadn't reached town when the heavy rains started. I hurriedly put my rain jacket on and huddled in an area where I thought I might stay dry. I was wrong about staying dry - it got wet and I got wet! When the rain slowed, I started walking again, and headed right into Williamstown. There wasn't anywhere where I could get out of the rain, and the stores were a distance away, so I decided to hike on, as I was already wet. It wasn't too long before the rain stopped and the sun came out. I then walked the rest of the day in wet clothes.The rest of Mass was a climb on wet rocks. I had to watch my step and insure my footing wasn't going to slide. When I reached Vermont, the land leveled out some, which lent itself to big mud puddles.When I arrived at this shelter, my clothes were starting to dry some. I was able to do my chores and eat dinner without much trouble. I am now safely in my tent and ready for sleep. So with that, I'll say goodnight.Old GoatSue's Note: I LOVE Old Goat's explanation about "Vermud" above! He has such a fun way of writing things! In our call this evening, Old Goat reflected that he's close to the equivalent of the distance from the end that he was from the start when I left him at Damascus, VA. It's amazing to realize he has hiked over 1,500 miles since he started! He has completed more than 2/3rds of the entire AT. I know the weather Old Goat is in right now because the first of the thunderstorms Old Goat wrote about above hit here in the middle of the night last night...and then went his way. It was severe! The second one hit us this morning. A LOT of rain....so conditions have to be horrendous for Old Goat and the other hikers!!! I find myself thinking about what it must be like for Old Goat right now.....horrid conditions!