Date: 2018-07-07
From: Glastonbury Mt fire tower

To: Mile 1632.2 brookside campsite
Miles today: 11.2

I was awakened by loud talking giggling young girls at 5:35. I'm assuming they didn't see our tents and had hiked up from the shelter to see the sun rise from the fire tower. Being too cold for me to get up and watch the sunrise myself, I pulled my quilt up a little further over my face and closed my eyes. When I woke again it was 6:34 and only 41° outside. Not exactly luring me out of my cocoon! I wiggled on my clothes, leaving my sleeping leggings on underneath and my fleece on top and I packed up the contents of my tent and headed outside to retrieve my food bag from the fire tower. I had breakfast with River and Thumper, some oatmeal with coconut oil and maple syrup added for fat and calories. At 8: 38 I headed out of camp leaving Thumper and River still packing up. I hiked for the first 20 minutes with my fleece on until I stopped to remove it and put it in my pack but I left my leggings on because it was still so chilly. I hiked 4 miles to Kid Gore shelter for a snack meeting Thumper there who had hot coffee to share. She'd passed me on the trail not far from the tower. River arrived a few minutes later. There were several other thru-hikers and section hikers there, many of whom stayed at Goddard shelter last night. This shelter has a nice little view and we spent a good deal of time enjoying it with our shoes off having a snack, hot coffee and conversation with the others. I removed my leggings and we resumed hiking for another 4.6 and met for lunch at Story Brook shelter which is conveniently right on the trail. while the terrain was mostly favorable today, the mud was not. There was so much mud everywhere and it was tiring just walking through and around it. Apparently Vermont doesn't know mud season is in April. There weren't many viewpoints today but we did pass a nice beaver pond, however there were no beavers out on display when I passed by. I did have music today, which I listened to for 7 miles. I found it to be a wonderful mood enhancer and good pace changer. I felt like I was flying through the forest on cruising speed.We had discussed camping at Kelley Strand Road, being there was a tent site not far from the parking area. But as I approached a stream Crossing with a bridge I saw Thumper there who had stopped to get water and from the bridge I could see on the other side of the stream the most beautiful campsite. I asked Thumper if she thought we should spend the night there or hike the additional mile to where we had planned to stay. We decided that we'd wait for River to join us and make a decision together. As soon as River hit the bridge and saw Thumper and I sitting at the campsite on the other side she smiled and threw up her arms and said "it looks like home for the night". It really was a beautiful spot. We set up camp with plenty of room, washed in the brook, gathered water, and enjoyed our dinner together. There was a campsite on the other side of the river which was later occupied by a thru hiker in a hammock named Easy Pete. It was cool but still warmer than the previous night and the daytime temps had been perfect for hiking. I brushed my teeth with the bubble gum toothpaste again and hung my bear bag. I climbed into my tent and used my water bottle cap to hydrate a compressed towel and washed the bottom of my feet so I could put some foot balm on and massage them. I'd bought a new small tin of foot balm while I was home. As I began massaging it in I realized it was peppermint scented. Hmmm. I thought about getting up and washing it off in the brook but decided I'd take a chance as bear bate and put clean socks on over it. It was around 8:30 so I journaled before closing my eyes to sleep.