Another day, another dolla--I mean mountain.

Day 97 - 7/26/10
Woke up about 7 and left by 8. Had a slow gradual uphill past 2-3
shelters in a span of less than 4 miles. In that time I passed a
really nice pond, Little Rock Pond, a very tempting place to swim, but
it was too early. I took an early break after 3.7 miles for a snack,
then pressed on after 10 minutes. I stopped again when I was almost to
the top of the mountain so I could finally post yesterdays blog. It
seems that service is getting spotty again, so I'll be having to do
more stops to check for service areas if I can't post at the end of
the night.

When I had that posted I pressed on and the woods suddenly changed
from a variant forest to a pine forest almost instantaneously. It was
bizarre, one second there was variety, the next it was just pine.
Through that section I passed a few what I would call AT shrines.
Hundreds of stacks of rocks upon rocks. I don't know if other trails
have those, so I will only apply this to the AT, but if hiking were a
religion out here the symbolic insignia would be a stack of rocks. Not
a pile, a stack. A pile is something haphazard and accidental, whereas
a stack takes planning and thought. Each piece is meticulously placed.
I love seeing those.

When I made it to VT 140 I stopped by a brook for lunch, having some
flatbreads with PB & Nutella. Then it was up and over Button Hill, a
fairly steep climb. Minerva Shelter came soon after so I pulled in to
refill water, eat a snack, then moved on. Pretty soon I was at
Clarendon Gorge, a vast fast-moving water source that would be a great
swimming spot on a hot day. Today was actually not hot though, perfect
weather with awesome breezes and cool temps. Ideal hiking conditions,
so I didn't swim. Clarendon Shelter was a mile after that, and I
decided to call it a day there.

I met another guy named Bodacious, also going NOBO on the AT. We
started collecting wood for a fire, and just as we were about to get
her started a guy came rolling in on his ATV. He's actually the
caretaker and was just checking in. He ended up staying quite a while
chatting with us. In the time he was there Fireball, iTrod, and Wink
(a girl NOBO LT-er) pulled in. He really loved to talk. I made dinner,
mac and cheese with some Italian salami pieces thrown in. The salami
didn't taste all that good so next time I'll get regular. That's what
I've been having, and loved it, so I wish I had just stuck with it.
While I ate iTrod and I had a long convo about movies and stuff, which
I of course greatly enjoyed. He knows his stuff too, and has seen lots
that I haven't. Definitely got some good recommendations.

Pretty average day today, nothing too crazy or exciting. Tomorrow
should be a lot of fun because I'll be going over Killington, one of
the highest peaks in Vermont. Plus I'll finish up my day right where
the AT & LT finally diverge. That means I'll be in NH very soon!

Total miles: 1674.8