Journal Entries

One of the larger erratics ‘left/dropped’ alongside the trail.

@reneetougas picking raspberries- a surprise treat so late in the season! In the same area @toesalad saw the back end of a black ‘animal’ run into the bush - mmm, I wonder what THAT was?!

Back to the trail after resupplying. In the short trek to camp-Willard Gap area- we saw several of these bear warnings. @hammerhead is skilled at hanging our food up in a tree- yet these signs can be a bit disconcerting!

Such a treat for @hammerhead @reneetougas @toesalad and I - with appreciation for being cleaned up, sitting on chairs and not on a sit-pad on a log or a rock. Two opposite dining scenarios - yet both of them can call our name. Cool :)

What better place than a bookstore to ‘chill out’ for a while? @hammerhead bought and dug into a book about the The Long Trail’s trees and plants and geology - all things that had piqued his interest on the hike. I think @reneetougas did her best to inhale and absorb the wonderful environment of books and words and ideas she so loves!

Day 11 - a 6-plus mile hike - with warm clear skies and anticipating another re-supply at Rutland, situated on highway 4. A friend of @reneetougas shuttled and hosted us- thank you to ‘A’ for hospitality that began with a fresh salad waiting for us - followed by access to her laundry room, etc. xo So inspiring for me - how can/do I apply this gift to ‘trekkers ‘ in my world?

Watching a spectacular sunset from the Lodge’s window openings was absolutely a redeeming factor for what it lacked in other areas!

Cooper Lodge (shelter) at Killington Peak - ‘lodge’ is an overstatement! Old and quite decrepit- large, uneven stones set into the dirt floor; window openings without glass; gaps in the mortar between the stones forming the walls; one of the bottom sleeping ‘decks’ broken and on a tilt- lots of character and history here! The most uncomfortable detail was the rain that leaked through the roof - splashed in about 2:00 AM- albeit a risk taken as this construction detail was noted earlier by builder @hammerhead :)

Monday Sept 17th, day 10- loving this sequence of sunny days. Our day’s endpoint is Killington Peak; along this stretch the Shrewsbury Peak Trail intersects with the Long Trail -so many places to hike!

@hammerhead checking his Green Mountain Club Vermont’s Long Trail map (an excellent and accurate resource) as we leave Clarendon shelter. Signage and trail marking was great- @toesalad also had Guthook’s app- all in all, our navigation was well-covered. (For the record- this is the morning after a brief evening downpour that resulted in a wet tent floor :( survived the night okay although we have some discovery work to figure out the source of the problem. Tent was pitched on a hard pack slope which didn’t help!)