Day 93 - 108

Day 93

Out of New York and into Connecticut. Jordan, Paul, and I hiked 19.7 miles to Stewart Hollow Brook Lean To. CT is not an easy state. It's not as tough as NY, but it does have a fair share of steep (but short) climbs. As a bonus, the trail followed the Housatonic River for a few miles.

Day 94

22.3 miles brought the three of us to Limestone Spring Lean To. Early on in the day a random day hiker named Mary gave us some Cliff Bars. Nice! Later on, while taking a break at a shelter, another thru-hiker whose trail name is Three Stoves, showed up. He didn't catch us, but instead is bouncing all over the trail. Nonetheless it was cool talking to another person experiencing the AT. Sometime later, Paul and I stopped by Falls Village for some pizza calzones. Falls Village gets it's name from a nearby beautiful waterfall.

Day 95

We walked 18.1 miles and stayed the night at Glen Brook Lean To, moving us into Massachusetts. On the way we stopped by Salisbury MA for a resupply. Just because, Paul decided to pack out a 6-pack of beer; and I followed suit. Not the best idea when we had two serious climbs ahead of us: Race Mountain and Mt Everet. On the way, Three Stoves came out of nowhere and hiked with us. Upon reaching the shelter we were greeted by Patrick (Ren-man!), and two other thru-hikers: Dr. Bundy and Whitefang (trailnames). Altogether, six thru-hikers where at the shelter. Crazy! Once again Paul and I talked to the Ren-man. It seems that whenever we drink on the trail Patrick appears!

Day 96

21.4 miles brought us to Mt Wilcox North Lean To. Paul and I had lunch at the ATC Kellog Bldg, which is more like a farm. We passed a few ponds. I saw some beavers and beaver dams. It's impressive how those critters can dam up an entire pond.

Day 97

We planned to push 34.6 miles into Dalton and stay at a hostel. Instead we only hiked 15.6 miles and stayed at the Southern Comfort Lodge, located on US 20. What happened was heavy rain. We needed refuge. The super nice owners gave us a ride to a grocery store and McDonalds. It was nice to get a shower, do laundry, and spend the day watching movies. I also got to do some long term planning and established a rough idea of the final assault on Mt. Katahdin. It's looking like I'll be done around June 15th - 20th.

Day 98

The weather still sucked, but at least it wasn't raining as hard. The three of us walked 27.7 miles, passing right through Dalton, and ending up in Chesire. We spent the night at the St Mary of the Assumption Church hiker hostel. The town of Chesire was a bit of a disappointment; nothing was open. For dinner, pizza was ordered from the nearby city North Adams.

Day 99

21.5 miles to Seth Warner Shelter. Along the way we climbed Mount Greymore, the highest point in MA. Unfortunately we were in a cloud that blocked all views. At day's end we found ourselves in Vermont.

Day 100

21.6 miles of walking brought us to Goddard Shelter. We saw a moose! But only one. Actually a lot of the trail is covered in moose shit. Moose scat looks like deer scat but is more than twice the size.

I expected Vermont to kick our ass because of it's high elevation mountains. This turned out to be not the case - we are hiking machines! Vermont, however, turned out to be the worst state on the trail. 90% of the trail was saturated in water. It also rained everyday. Now apparently, Vermont residents call the month of May "Mud." My guidebook says to avoid hiking in Vermont during this time of year. Hard to avoid when you start in February.

Day 101

We went a solid 30 miles and hitched another 5 into Manchester Center VT. Guess what? Our hitch was a man in a truck. Earlier in the day we climbed Stratton Mtn, a popular snowboard/ski site. We stayed the night at Sutton's Place, basically a bed and breakfast (without the breakfast). Coincidentally, two other thru-hikers also stayed this night at Sutton's Place. Ward (trailname Lunchbox) and Matt (trailname Chainsaw).

Day 102

Resupplying and other errands take time. After getting another hitch back to the AT, we hiked 16.5 miles to Big Branch Shelter. Along the way we saw sick views from Baker peak.

Day 103

27 miles brought the five of us to Cooper Lodge Shelter on top of mighty Mount Killington. Early in the day Paul slipped on a root and fell, with his leg landing right on top of the root. It hurt but it didn't appear bad. When we got to about 4 miles from the top I took off alone in an attempt to reach the summit before sunset. I missed the sunset but still made it in time for wicked views. Cooper Lodge Shelter was a mess. There was broken glass and other garbage everywhere. The problem is Killington is a ski mountain, and skiers use to shelter to party.

Day 104

26.2 miles to Winturi Shelter. Matt (Chainsaw) and I checked out the famous Inn at the Long Trail for some food, but sadly it was closed. Matt (Chainsaw) broke away from the group in order to visit some friends on an organic farm. Odds are we'll all meet back up in Hanover.

That night at the shelter was a day hiker who was a very loud snorer; and I happened to be right next to him. For whatever reason I couldn't fall asleep. His snoring kept me up until sometime past 3am. I was not happy and very agitated. Eventually I fell asleep. Sleep is very important on this trail. Maybe I'm getting to old...

By day's end Paul's leg (the root slip fall - above) had become worse. We changed our plans and decided to go as slow as possible until he healed.

Day 105

5.3 miles to South Pomfret. Poor Paul's leg was really hurting him. I offered to carry his pack, which he of course refused (so would I). I also offered my trekking poles. The funny thing was we passed a group of section hikers, meaning Paul's "hurt leg speed" was way faster than the average joe's walking speed. We arrived at a deli, ate lunch, and took a shuttle to Jordan's lake house.

Day 106

Zero day at Jordan's lake house. This is the first day I hiked zero miles since Waynesboro. It was nice to chill out. I bought Italian bakery bread and made some badass grilled cheese sandwiches (which I dipped in New England Clam Chowder, Mmmmmm). Paul iced his ankle and kept it elevated. Thankfully the swelling went down. We all watched a lot of television, and drank a lot of beer. Good times.

Day 107

After taking a shuttle back to the trail, Lunchbox and I hiked 15.1 miles to Happy Hill Shelter. Paul decided that he was going to hike the least amount of miles as possible until his leg healed - a good choice. So, Paul only walked 6.3 miles to Thistle Hill Shelter. Because I wanted as much time in Hanover (NH) to update this blog, I hiked further. We planned on meeting back up in Hanover in a coupole of days.

Day 108

Ward and I walked 5.8 miles into the town of Hanover, home of Dartmouth University. Hanover is hands down the friendliest hiker town. The outfitter gives thru-hikers a free Snickers Bar, and a pizza place gives out a free cheese pizza slice. Best of all nobody gave us shit. Usually people talk down to us, as if we're homeless (we look rough and smell very bad!). Nothing but respect in Hanover! There's also a movie theater. We watched Thor, which was better than I expected. Putting the iceing on the cake, a nice old lady let Ward and I stay at her extra apartment - meaning a shower and a bed to sleep on.

Day 109

I spent more time at the library and finally caught up with my blog. Paul just arrived and appears his leg is doing much better. We'll probably hit the trail tonight. The date is May 27th, and I am in Hanover, New Hampshire.