Date: 2003-08-28
From: Stealth Campsite, William B. Douglas Shelter Trail

To: Griffith Lake Tenting Area
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Not a good night's sleep last night...my spot looked good when I set it up, but I mistakenly didn't test it before I set my tent up. Usually, I put my groundcloth down and lay down on it to be sure everything will work, but not last night. The side of the tent that I sleep on had a ridge in the middle, so I was on the edge of it all night, or had the ridge in the middle of my back. To top it off, it was FREEZING again last night. I can't wait to get my 20 degree bag back! I haven't mentioned that, by any chance, have I? You would think that fall had already arrived here in Vermont. We got going today by 8 or so...we've been trying to get up earlier and going earlier so that we can get our miles in before dark. We had some easy miles to do to start out with, knowing that we had two pretty big ups today. The first of these was Bromley Mountain...a fairly tough ascent...I was working up a good sweat during it! The very last part of it was up one of the ski slopes of t!his resort. As we were climbing, we came across Espy, who had passed us earlier, sitting on the Trail just a tenth of a mile from the top. I asked him if he was stopping now instead of the top. He said he had seen the view, and had to stop. I turned around, and there was Stratton Mountain...huge, beautiful, and soft around the edges due to the overcast day. It was amazing to think we'd been at the top of Stratton just yesterday. Sometimes when you look back at a mountain you've already climbed, it can seem so far away and insurmountable...yet you know you've been there. It can help you get up that next mountain...and the next one. We marveled at the view for a bit, then went to the ski patrol shelter at the top. Blip had told me about it...enclosed, so we could warm up a bit. It's hard to regulate body temperature in this kind of weather. I need to hike in just my kilt and a sports bra type of top, otherwise I get too hot, but the minute I stop, I have to put my !fleece jacket on or I'll freeze. We had a snack, used the privy and made some phone calls...yup, there's a phone in this shelter! I called Elizabeth to make sure that I can visit with her when I go home. I don't know that my few days off will be restful, but I don't mind...it will be so good to be home for a short time. The sky looked as if it would give us more of that stuff we've had enough of, so we made haste to leave. Tumbling Grace had gotten ahead of us by almost an hour, so Randy and I set out at a good pace. We caught up with her at the top of the second big up...we'd made excellent time. The ups were really getting to Grace by this time, and the last few miles were difficult. There was one great moment during the last stretch. I had come around a corner and heard some wood crack off to the right. I looked over and thought it was a bear climbing a tree. I ushered Tumbling Grace, then Randy, forward quietly. As we all watched, we could see that it was actually a huge bull moose, scratching his antlers on a tree! He was a w!ays off in the woods, and it was hard to see more than his silhouette, but his size was evident, even at a distance. We hope we can see another one in better lighting! We got to the tenting area to find that all they had were tenting platforms, which we had never used before. We had no choice but to use them, it was getting dark. I discovered that the single tent platform was PERFECT for my tent...like it was made for it. Randy and Tumbling Grace had to improvise a bit, but were able to set up. No sooner did we get the tents up did it start to rain. We had to cook and eat dinner in the rain, but at least we'd be dry on the platforms for the night...or so we thought. Dinner over with, I went to my platform and went to bag...I was tired after all the climbing we'd done. I hope I'm ready for the Whites by the time I get to NH!