Date: 2009-09-14
From: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite

To: Hurd Brooke Shelter
Miles today: 25.4

Flat and fast were too good to last! Although the profile looked pretty flat today, so much of today involved skirting around lakes and therefore involved negotiating thousands upon thousands of tree roots which inevitably slow you down. I was really tired having done such a big day yesterday and had to control myself not to push too hard to make the 25 mile goal today. The view of The Great Mountain was shocking today, so large and so close but not fully visible. Am beginning to wonder if I will actually get an entire view of it on this trip as the cloud cover has been everpresent lately. Today I likened it to Mount Siani with the peak in smoke and flames. Don't anger God, anyone!! Early in the afternoon I witnessed a small miracle of nature, a garter snake climbing out of its skin. I walked up on it and immediately sensed something different about this encounter. The snake had somehow attached its tail to a tree root and was about halfway out when I arrived. I felt bad because the snake was in no way happy that I was there so I tried to hide behind a tree to let it feel comfortable. After a few minutes, the snake had come completely out of its old skin. Nothing like a new frock to brighten your day, I guess! The cool part was that he left me with such a great souvenir; an entire intact snakeskin to perhaps represent a change that I have made in the last five months. As you certainly remember, for the first few months of this trip the sight of a snake was enough to stop my heart from beating. This was the fifty seventh snake I have seen on the trip and perhaps the last. And instead of being afraid, I viewed him with calmness and respect.More from Memory Lane... The day I said goodbye to Mostly at Delaware Water Gap, I had unknowingly arrived into a terrific group that I would share the trail with for the next month. Top Shelf, Gezza, and Lunchbox welcomed me in with open arms and we had a splendid time together through the wonders of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Even though the weather was arguably the worst in this section, we joked and laughed our way through the good and the bad. Together, we got to eat ice cream every day in the 'deli' section, see the New York Skyline and the Hudson River from the Trail, experience the Bear Mountain Zoo which reminded us of the animals we see every day, reunite with many hikers at the Greymoor Spiritual Life Center, duck weather in Salisbury and Great Barrington, and swim through Lunchbox's home state of Massachusetts which experienced a 70-year rainfall record while we were there. In Dalton, we enjoyed Ron's Birdcage Hostel fully and said goodbye to Luncbox as he went to visit family and we headed into Vermont. Vermont was the muddiest mess you can imagine and Top Shelf, Gezza, and I waded through it while the AT coincided with the Long Trail to Canada. Finally, we came to a crossroads in Manchester Center, VT, when we stayed at the beautiful Green Mountain Hostel just the three of us. The next day, those two went to Rutland for a trail festival and my brother came out to hike for a couple glorious days. Then it was the Solo Sailor again to finish Vermont and deliver himself in one piece to Hanover NH where a good old buddy was waiting to spend some time with before the serious challenges of the White Mountains.More memories to make and to remember tomorrow everybody. Thanks for coming along!