Date: 2004-06-25
From: Deer Lick Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

It was another fine day waking up at Deer Lick Shelters. Buick and I hiked together for a while in the morning.There was a short, 400', trail to the right that lead to something called Chimney Rocks. Views had been scarce of late so we opted to check it out. Strangely we actually dropped our packs and just took cameras. Strange because the pack kind of contains all of a thru-hikers worldly possession. Certainly all those that really matter out here. Most don't like being separated form their pack ever.There was a vulture or some other soaring bird entertaining us. It even cooperated long enough for some pretty good photos. Chimney Rocks afforded some great views which lead to lots of photos. This place was definitely worth the side trip. We were in no hurry today anyway.The trail crossed a road at the Guilford Township line. That needed a picture too since Gilford New Hampshire is the location of the theatre I call home. Then there was this huge black and gold snake right on the edge of the trail. I waited in hopes that it would move but it didn't. Time for some more pictures and then to sneak by.This was a big day for wild life. Just an hour and a half later a rabbit was hopping down the trail. It moved off to the side and posed for a picture. Cool.The trail crossed a road which was probably US-30. Then it crossed an old canal and followed the tow path for maybe a tenth of a mile. Yellow blazes here were a bit unsettling. It was probably part of some nature trail but that is really no excuse. On top of that the Handbook made no mention of this canal. Just keep going.Later that afternoon the trail crossed through Caledonia State Park. Buick and I had been looking forward to this place because the Handbook said it had a swimming pool. Some clouds had moved in and the day had cooled off a bit but we didn't care. We were going to go swimming. It only cost something like three dollars to get in. There were lots of families and a snack bar too. It was a big pool. Swimming was nice. So was the ice cream. We just kept buying junk at the snack bar. It was only 2 miles to the next shelter but eventually we had to go. Besides it was looking like rain.Quarry Gap Shelter was quite an establishment. It was sort of a duplex affair. There was a 4 person shelter on the left where Buick stayed and an identical one on the right where I stayed but the roof was continuous with a breezeway in between. There was a picnic table in the breezeway and tarp that could be lowered in the back to keep the wind and rain from blowing through. The structure was pretty nice but it was the upkeep that really made the place. Not only was it impeccably painted but There were hanging potted plants in bloom. There was a stream lined with a stone wall flowing through the front yard. Whoever was taking care of this place was just amazing. Thanks.We were all moved in when some other guys showed up. It was a father and son with lots of camouflage and a big heavy tent. They had big plans but the 2 mile hike from the park had pretty well done them in. They were carrying way too much. They were admitted novices. After they wrestled the tent up which they had never pitched before, it started raining pretty good for a while. We let them use our stoves so they wouldn't have to build a fire in the rain. They shared some of their snacks with us. We shared as much info with them as they would hear. They seemed to stay in good spirits. Hopefully they will learn from the errors of their ways in stead of giving up. It rained a fair amount that night.This had only been a 15.7 mile day. The reason for such a short day was the half gallon challenge. This involved eating a half gallon of ice cream at the halfway point on the trail. We would be there tomorrow. We didn't want to have to eat all that ice cream early in the day and feel compelled to keep hiking with all that in our guts. So we took a couple of short days on the way there. Of course I had also emailed a bunch of folks a tentative schedule and didn't want to pass through the half way too early and miss any one. None of my friends or family really lived anywhere near here so my expectations of visitors were low.