7/08/06 Saturday: AT...US4 to Stony Brook Shelter (10mi)

PICTURES:
1. 1204: Volunteer trail maintainer and his dog on the Long trail near the Maine Junction
2. 1209: Leaving the Long Trail bound for Maine on the AT...
3. 1311: Walking thru Gifford Woods State Park in Killington, VT
4. 1343: Lunch at Mountain Meadows Lodge on Kent Pond... mixing with the guests...
5. 1431: The owner of the resort stops by to chat (center) as we talk to guests about our trip.

Well after 2 challenging days on the trail, Dan and I were both a bit rundown... We decided to sleep in and take advantage of the AYCE breakfast buffet for $5.95 and then more blogging for me...:)... At 1100 we checked out and the owners of the resort offered to drive us to the trail head. They graciously accepted also to first drive us to a competetors inn so I could pick up a package of supplies and then drop us at the trailhead... I cant stop saying enough nice things about these people... I wish them well in their business, which is only 3yrs old, and Dan and I once again entered the woods heading N. Since we got such a late start we had limited trail options... We chose a short 10mi day before continuing with our 20 mile per day average... About 4 miles into our trip, we stopped for lunch at the Mountain Meadows Lodge. We came up on it and didnt know what to make of it, not having noticed it in the book... The trail passes their boat landing and beach so we walked the 100 yards to the chalet and seeing that it was 1300, inquired about lunch... The owner was preparing dinner for his guests but offered us a sandwitch basket with all the fixings for $8.95... We accepted and found a lovely picnic table in the shade to relax bye as we waited for our food and pondered the weeks events.... We watched all the guests relaxing on the grounds playing wiffle ball, horseshoes, frisbee, or just lounging... A big wedding was planned for later in the day and a rather large tent had been erected and was currently being decorated... Our food was soon delivered by the chef/owner/waiter and we chatted a bit about the trail and about his marvelous resort... Also about the wonderful sandwitches and loaded basket of food and some of the best iced tea ever, enough to even fill me up...:)... After about an hours break, Dan and I put our boots back on and once again entered the woods heading north... We had a nice afternoon walk until arriving at Mt. Quimby.. This was a 1300" climb in less than 1mi...:(... It took us about 45min to reach the tree covered top and begin our descent to the shelter... We reached the shelter at about 1730 to find a full house, 7 weekend hikers... Four of the weekend hikers were from Amherst College in Mass, while the other three were part of a family. Dan squeezed into the shelter while I tented nearby... We ate dinner together around the fire and retired after reviewing a few maps of the days to come... Before retiring for the night, the college kids offered us some smores...:)... A nice treat for the end of the day...