7/10/06 Thistle Hill Shelter to Velvet Rocks Shelter (16.1mi)

PICTURES:
1. 0645: Dan as we were crossing some rolling hills approaching VT14.
2. 1021: Oldest Shelter on the AT (1918)... It was rebuilt in 1998... Nice job...
3. 1023: A wonderful water source just behind this shelter...:)
4. 1044: A nice section of trail leading to the Connecticut River...
5. 1222: Front: Dudley, ?, Swamp Donkey.., Me, Dan all on the bridge over the Conneticut river at the VT/NH state line...

The entire camp was bustling at 0600... Dan and I were the first out at 0630... We had a rather easy day ahead with a planned stop in Hanover, NH. for lunch and more blogging... The walk was uneventful throughout the morning, again with frequent ups and downs of 200-500 feet, just enough to get you sweatty and keep you that way...
:(... At 1000, we stopped at the Happy Hill shelter for water and took a pic of the first AT shelter, recently renovated... They did a nice job with the upgrades but not with the mosquitoes, and after getting our privy, water, and snack breaks we decided to continue on before we lost too much blood to continue... LOL... After some more hill climbing, we found ourselves finally decending to the Connecticut River, dividing VT from NH. At 1200 we entered Hanover completing 14.5mi in excellent time. We met some other north bound thru-hikers on the bridge and had some pictures taken to commemorate the event...2 states left... :)... Dan and I soon moved on into Hanover finding first Ramundo's Pizza, where we stopped for some fantastic pizza and cold soda. We then stopped into the Public Library so I could do some more blogging...:)... LOL and thats what Im doing now... Later we will get some dinner before completing the day with a hike to Velvet Rocks Shelter, just 1.5mi North of town...I made it to the shelter at about 2100, just before I had to get my head lamp out ... I started out in the shelter with 4 other hikers but after about an hour of swatting mosquitoes, I decided to break out the tent. I then had a restfull nights sleep...

7/09/06 Sunday: Stony Brook Shelter to Thistle Hill Shelter (21.5mi)

PICTURES:
1. 0625: Unique ladders along this section of trail helped...
2. 0935: Private cabin offered views of Lakota Lake
3. 0944: A precarious perch atop the cabin...
4. 1201: Approaching VT12 from the south. Spent almost 2hours relaxing and eating at On the Edge Farm stand... Newer brown building.
5&6. 1502: Tough climb to Cloudland Rd
7. 1729: Views from Thistle Hill at the end of the day...

I feel a bit guilty these days when I dont complete 20miles in a day... I'm sure I'll get over it...;)... We rose early, 0615, expecting a warm day and wanting to complete as many miles before noon as possible... We took some time, around 0930, to catch a vista at the Lakota Lake Lookout. After a rather precarious climb up, Dan and I were both rewarded handsomly for our efforts... Fantastic 360 degree views of Vermont and New Hampshire... How lucky for us to catch a glimpse on such a clear day... After checking out the premises, we continued on our trek north... By 1230, we had covered 13mi, and had arrived at VT12 and a dining option we both were looking forward to today... Just .2mi west of the trail was the On the Edge Farm Stand which had sodas, ice cream, baked goods, and other light fare... We made some tuna salad and spread it on some lovely homemade bread with locally grown tomatoes and lettuce right out of the garden... Some homemade pie, fudge, and ice cream rounded out the menu with plenty of coke to wash it all down...:)... We lounged on their adirondak chairs for a spell, reluctant to hike in the midday heat. But at about 1500 we decided to head out again to finish the last 8 miles of the day... Unfortunately, as in most days, we saved the worst for last and had a 1300" climb up Thistle Hill to finish the day. We arrived at the shelter about 1930 to find it full once again, this time with Southbound Thru-hikers... Dan again squeezed into the shelter while I again found a nice camp spot for my tent... We again both had dinner by the fire, avoiding much of the mosquito blight, and chatted with the other hikers about their Maine and NH experiences... We retired about 2100 under mild temps and clear skies again...:)...

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...

7/07/06 Friday: AT...Greenwall Shelter to Mendon Mountain View Resort, Rutland, VT (25.2mi)

PICTURES:
1. 0956: Bear Mtn vista
2. 1018: Clarendon Gorge - Mill River Suspension Bridge
3. 1519: Short break at Govenor Clement shelter....( built in 1929)
4. 1731: Long climb up Killington

We both awoke at about 0600 and prepared ourselves and our gear for another day... We had stayed in a rather remote location and had a lovely nights sleep... We awoke to mild temps and partly cldy skies again... :)... We had another big day planned but the map showed lots of "bumps" scattered throughout the day with a rather big bump, Killington Mtn waiting for us at the end of the day... We took it all in stride and set out to accomplish our task for the day... Again we were not blessed with many views throughout this days hike, the "green tunnel" quite apparent in Vermont... The first 8mi flew by and about 1100 we were both sitting at the Whistle Stop restaurant, outside on a picnic table, enjoying our lunch... Our long grueling days on the trail find us burning nearly 6000 calories. As you can imagine, one cannot carry that many calories with them each day, so we often deprive ourselves of nutrients until our next visit to town where we "carb up". After this 90min break we were ready for whatever the afternoon would bring... And that would be a long steady climb culminating with the hike up and then down Killington... We arrived at US4 Rutland, VT at about 2030. I had earlier made arrangements with the Mendon Resort for a room. They mentioned that their restaurant was closing at 2100... At 2040 Dan entered the parking lot closely followed by a couple of runners who had been running on parts of the trail... They graciously offered to drive us the 2mi to the resort. We arrived at about 2050, checked into our room, and quickly made our way to the restaurant, arriving just before 2100... They sat us ab we enjoyed a fine meal fit for a King... After dinner we both retired to our room to clean up. After cleaning up I returned to the bar to watch the Red Sox play oan TV and chatted with the owner a bit... Later and again in the morning, I was able to "blog" a bit on a public computer in the lobby... The resort was beautiful and definately exceeded our expectations at $25pp for 2 queen beds.

7/06/06 Thursday: AT...Suttons Place, Manchester Center, VT. to Greenwall Shelter (24.6mi)

PICTURES:
1. 1016: Bromley Mtn vista
2. 1355: Nice bridgework thru the wetlands around Griffith Lake
3,4,5. 1436: Baker Peak vistas
6. 1723: Trail Majic near Danby USFS10
7. 1830: Rock Pond near the shelter
8. 2010: Sunset and interesting rock arrangements near the Greenwall shelter...

Hello again from Hanover, NH. Dan (Protozoa) and I just crossed the Connecticut River bridge into Hanover, NH about 1200 today. I'm now happily blogging away and hopefully will get all caught up before hitting the White Mountains...
Dan departed Suttons about 0700... I left shortly thereafter at about 0720. I went to breakfast at the Friendly Restaurant and had a nice big breakfast before returning to the trail... The owner Suttons suggested to stop at the Donut shop across the street from the Friendly to hitch a ride back out to the trail.... After finishing my meal I went to buy a couple of donuts and coffee and planted myself outside the Donut shop with my thumb out in the direction of the trail... I could see Dan hitching about 500yds down the street in front of me... We both were not having too much luck, but after about 40min a painter rolled into the parking lot to get donuts for his crew and some coffee for himself... He approached me and we started chatting about the trail... He was obviously a friend of the trail and had frequently provided rides for hikers entering and leaving town... He offered to take me up to the trail after he made a few stops in town and I graciously accepted... Dan had given up and we walking toward me now and I motioned for him to hurry along to catch this ride... He joined me and we both enjoyed the 6.5mi trip back up to the trailhead. Dan and I had not hiked together before but we hit it off well right away... He was a section hiker poised to complete the entire AT with this last 350 mile trip... He had done the previous 300mi sections in 3 week increments and was ready to move a little faster to get these final 350mi done in the same time period.. I on the other had was trying to complete the trail by my 4 month anniversary date of 8/05/06. And a companion willing to push 20+ miles daily would be quite helpfull...
We got a late start hitting the trail about 0900 but moved well throughout the day... The climate was great with partly cloudy skies and a definite coolness in the air. We stopped for lunch at 1200 after 7mi, pleased with our progress but well aware that the afternoon would require many more... The terrain was not too bad, with many "bumps" (200"-500" climbs) spread out throughtout the day. After a 45min lunch we moved on to the Peru Peak Shelter to gather water. There were not many views from the mountains on this section, but the Vermont mountains were beautiful... After stopping for water again 10mi later, we finally arrived at our destination for the night... We were both exhausted and after having dinner we both retired for the evening...