16 June.

16 June.
From: Mountain Meadows Lodge
To: Mountain Meadows Lodge
Mileage: 0
Weather: Sunny, breezy and mild

The lodge provides breakfast at 7:30am, so I joined Grits, Treeline, Stealth, StillBill, and the brother and sister hikers from Cooper shelter. I enjoyed a few rounds of pancakes, bacon, English muffins, fruit, yogurt, and orange juice.

It was a quiet day, as planned. Penguin slept in, but did emerge to eat her mushroom calzone as a late breakfast.

I spent some time in the common room working on a 500 piece Maine lighthouse jigsaw puzzle, then, with a tub of warm soapy water provided by the Assistant Manager, washed my nasty smelling shoes and dried them in the sun with my still damp poncho/tarp. I also relaxed while watching people visit Kent Pond.

I noticed LightenedUp passing by on the AT and called him over. Another hiker at the lodge had found his sitting pad and reunited him with it, to his delight.

For lunch, I ate my leftover pizza and my sausage calzone, reheated in the microwave.

In the late afternoon, Penguin and I walked back to Killington deli. I brought back a Gobbler sandwich (turkey, stuffing and cranberry) to eat at the lodge and a turkey wrap for the trail tomorrow. Penguin picked up a SAP soft drink made from maple syrup (https://sapvt.com) and let me have a taste. We agreed it wasn't bad but interesting.

Stealth, StillBill and another hiker ordered pizza delivery.

Penguin and I also did our laundry.

It was a very pleasant and relaxing stay at a beautiful lodge.

15 June.

15 June.
From: Cooper Lodge shelter
To: Mountain Meadows Lodge, Killington VT
Mileage: 11
Weather: Cloudy, chilly, and raining to sunny and mild

It was still grey and damp, but Penguin and I left the Cooper Lodge shelter early. Penguin was out before me, and it took me a few minutes to figure out where the trail down started (I went up to where we saw the shelter the previous night, missing the blaze where the trail went down past the shelter. Doh!). I briefly thought about climbing the 0.2 mile trail to Killington Peak and seeing the lodge, but didn't and later was reassured that it was not worth the effort.

After seven miles, we reached Maine Junction, where the AT splits from Vermont's Long Trail, which continues to the state's northern border, and serves as a reminder that we made another 103 miles on the AT since leaving Massachusetts. Penguin and I were amused by a sign at the junction stating "Not a trail" along an obvious trail, just not the AT nor Long Trail.

I got ahead of Penguin as I continued on the AT, and reached the edge of Gifford Woods State Park, where a sign announced sodas and ice cream are available at the park office nearby. Penguin came up and wholeheartedly supported checking this out, and we found the office just off the trail, which followed the park access road. Penguin bought both of us sodas, and I relished every drop! Unfortunately, the park office had an overnight power outage and would not sell us the ice cream (I offered to test it for them). I got my AT Passport stamped there, as well.

Not far away we reached Kent Pond and the adjoining Mountain Meadows Lodge, which I suggested as an option to stay overnight as it offers a hiker rate, and had an access trail to the Base Camp outfitters that had a package for Penguin to pickup.

The Assistant Manager was very nice and extended the hiker rate to us for two rooms for two days (today + zero day), and gave us the tour. The lodge is frequently used for weddings, but our timing was right so rooms were available.

After dropping off our packs, we followed printed instructions from the Assistant Manager to follow the trail to the outfitters and Penguin picked up her package.

We walked down the road to the Killington deli and marketplace. Penguin and I ate inside, where I had a large cheeseburger with bacon and avocado, root beer, and Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream for dessert. I also bought a can of deviled ham, Gummi bears, and Welch's grape juice to take back.

When we got off the trail to the lodge, the lodge's goats came running up to greet us, obviously hoping for food. They kept their pasture grass pretty short, and Penguin pushed some grass through the fence and it was consumed quickly. We understand from the manager that the goats get to eat wedding meal leftovers, so they get excited for weddings.

When we got back to the lodge, we were already thinking about dinner. Penguin and I each ordered a large pizza and a calzone, then chatted with the Assistant Manager while we waited for delivery.

We thoroughly enjoyed our pizzas, saving the calzones for tomorrow. Grits and Treeline showed up for the night and we shared some remaining slices of our pizza. It was fun finally reuniting with them!

14 June.

14 June.
From: Minerva Hinchey shelter
To: Cooper Lodge shelter
Mileage: 14.1
Weather: Sunny, cool, windy to cloudy, chilly, raining

Our morning included ridge line views of the Rutland VT airport, then a crossing of beautiful Clarendon Gorge on a somewhat bouncy suspension bridge (Penguin was not enthusiastic about that).

The trail up to the Cooper Lodge shelter (3,908 feet) near the summit of Killington Peak was long (~7 miles) but not too steep. I had to change into my poncho as rain picked up, and I lost sight of Penguin. The trail ascended into the cloud/fog on the mountain.

I hoped that the restaurant at the summit lodge was open, but rumors were that it had not started summer hours based upon last year's start date later in June. However, it gave me incentive for the climb.

I had some concerns for Penguin, who had developed a persistent cough recently, especially with the exposure to cold, damp air while exerting effort climbing the mountain. She mentioned needing a zero day to recover.

When we reached the shelter, we found a father with four 19 year old sons from Florida, hiking to Rutland VT for a flight home tomorrow. The shelter was in poor condition. The window frames had no panes so fog was blowing in. The roof had many leaks. The door latch was broken so the door was kept shut with a rock. One of the two double deck bunks had broken slats on top, and the lower deck had a collapsed corner so had a slope. There was graffiti on the walls. Not pretty, but the only option was hiking another three miles to the four person Pico Camp shelter, and we decided to stay put.

The father also told us the restaurant had not opened for the season, yet, but the staff was onsite preparing to open in a few days. Bad timing.

A more ambitious hiker stopped in to eat before proceeding to Killington VT for the night. An elder (60s?) brother and his sister on her first hiking trip arrived and took the broken top bunk, and he punctured his inflatable pad on the broken slat so he relocated to a tent site for the night.

It was a miserably cold, rainy night, but we were happy to be inside the shelter, even as it was. Penguin and I shared the sloping platform feet down, and I did my best to avoid rolling into her overnight (only kicked her feet once!).

13 June.

13 June.
From: Lost Pond shelter
To: Minerva Hinchey shelter
Mileage: 15.6
Weather: Cloudy, mild, humid

When I woke up our campfire was still smoldering, so I followed Penguin out to the trail after dousing the fire.

We stopped at Little Rock Pond, where I thought about swimming (but didn't) given how nice the spot looked. Clouds were beginning to move in with the possibility of rain.

After leaving the pond area, I sat down to remove the legs from my convertible hiking pants as it was getting warm. I thought I put the pant legs in a pocket, but one of the legs fell at my feet about 200 yards down the trail, and lost about 20 minutes searching up and down the trail before I found the other leg. By this time, Penguin was far ahead.

The trail ran through nice pine forest and some interesting rock arrangements people made near the aptly-named White Rocks Cliff Trail.

As I reached the trail to the Greenwall shelter after another 0.6 mile, I found Trail Magic! A ZipLoc bag full of cookies at the base of a tree. While I ate a few, Penguin came from the direction of the shelter, but she had decided not to walk all the way to the shelter, so I dropped my pack and ran down to check the register, finding that Grits and Treeline were there yesterday.

We dropped down to VT route 140, then climbed 1,100 feet up and over Bear Mountain (yes, there are several Bear Mountains on the trail).

Minerva Hinchley shelter was two miles further, where we met two section hikers from North Adams MA. I got cleaned up, then had pepperoni slices and American cheese on a crumbly stale tortilla for dinner, a poor substitute for a pizza!

12 June.

12 June.
From: Green Mountain House hostel
To: Lost Pond shelter
Mileage: 15
Weather: Sunny, cool, breezy

I woke up at the Green Mountain House hostel to find that another hiker was making pancakes, and he was kind enough to share with others, so I had a few, then followed up with a couple of bowls of raisan bran cereal and a few English muffins. I thought about having a root beer float, but opted to leave the remaining ice cream and root beer for the next hikers coming in.

Realizing that our 7:30am shuttle departure was getting close, I rushed to strip my bed and pack my resupply food, doing a last minute scramble to meet others at the shuttle. Jeff drove us to the AT trailhead and gave us some tips about what to expect on the trail up Bromley Mountain.

Penguin and I followed the others up the trail, and I recognized Rivers breaking camp along the stream and shouted a greeting as we passed. We stopped to check the Bromley shelter register and visit the "Privy of Illusion." Rivers arrived as we were leaving carrying fire kindling to make morning coffee at the shelter.

As is frequently the case, Penguin was ahead and I lost sight of her during the 1,400 foot climb. As Jeff noted, the trail emerged into the sunlight to run up a ski run for the final stretch to the summit.

The view from Bromley summit was spectacular and the weather was perfect - sunny, cool and breezy. I had the summit to myself, and entered the ski patrol hut that is available as a shelter for hikers, where I found an entry from Production in the register that he spent a night there. I was a bit envious! As I headed back onto the trail, I saw LightenedUp as he made the summit and chatted a bit before I started my descent.

The descent ended after 800 feet at Mad Tom Notch, where the local hiking club's trail angels left bottles of drinking water for hikers, as there are no water sources nearby. Then began another 1,000 foot climb to cross Styles and Peru Peaks.

LightenedUp passed me during my climb to Styles Peak, and Rivers passed me while I was having a snack before descending Peru Peak.

I found Penguin, Rivers, and LightenedUp having lunch at Peru Peak shelter, so I had a snack and checked the register, but the mosquitoes were biting so I was the first to leave, headed for Lost Pond shelter.

Shortly I passed through the Griffith Lake tent site, and was joined by LightenedUp and Penguin. We suddenly encountered a steep, rocky slope, but had a great view.

I trailed behind LightenedUp and Penguin and lost sight of them, but spotted Penguin waiting near the Lost Pond shelter. We decided to stay, despite no cell reception (important to Penguin, who walked up the trail looking for a signal, but something I've long accepted with T-Mobile on the trail). The shelter site was very small and basic, but not too buggy and adjacent a pleasant waterfall/water source. LightenedUp decided to continue hiking.

Penguin and I had the shelter to ourselves for the evening, and enjoyed our dinner with an extended conversation about the characteristics of wilderness gnomes and zombies (don't ask!), sci-fi and Star Trek, horror genres, and H. P. Lovecraft.

There were some flies buzzing around the campsite, so I managed to get a campfire going with a match that Penguin provided, which effectively chased the flies away.

All in all, it was a very nice day.

Quick update:

Quick update:
At the Notch Hostel near Lincoln NH since Sunday night. Doing a zero day today after two difficult days - Sunday crossing Mount Moosilauke and Monday hiking 17 miles over Kinsman peak.

11 June.

11 June.
From: Spruce Peak shelter
To: Green Mountain House hostel
Mileage: 3
Weather: Sunny, cool

We packed up early to be ready for our Trail Angel to give us a ride into Manchester Center. When she arrived after packing up her tent, she joined Penguin, Rivers and me on the trail out.

It was less than two mile hike to the road, but a very pretty section. The road was four lanes wide with fast traffic - Penguin pointed out the trail sign that warned hikers not to become roadkill! All of us scampered across successfully.

Our angel dropped us off at the Price Chopper grocery store, but Rivers, Penguin and I walked to the subtlely signed McDonald's up the road for a 10am breakfast - the town is rather upscale and is careful about maintaining its New England charm. Penguin ordered two strawberry milkshakes with her pancake breakfast, which both Rivers and I complimented her for. While eating, I thought I saw Grits and Treeline walking past, but did not have the opportunity to flag them down.

Penguin and I left Rivers at McDonald's while he made a phone call and we walked around town. LightenedUp called to us from a nearby café and we stopped to chat with him for a few minutes.

Across the street we stopped in at the excellent Northshire bookstore (https://www.northshire.com/manchester-store) and spent a long time browsing books and gift items. Penguin was conflicted over buying a Zombie Gnome figurine, but decided not to carry the weight. On the other hand, she bought and packed out a hardcopy book, a rare weight concession for a hiker.

Penguin and I considered lunch options and stopped at Basil Thai for lunch, where I ordered steamed dumplings and ginger shrimp. An excellent meal!

We continued our walk around town, and I stopped by a Subway to pick up a ham and swiss footling sub for dinner, then we went around the corner to resupply at the Price Chopper. I was craving a root beer float, so I bought a carton of vanilla ice cream and store brand root beer, hoping the ice cream wouldn't melt while Penguin called the Green Mountain House hostel (http://www.greenmountainhouse.net/#2789) for pickup at the grocery store.

Jeff, the hostel owner, picked us up promptly and drove us to the hostel, covered the rules, and gave us a tour. I took my shower and did my laundry, wearing loaner clothes so I could wash all of mine.

Other hikers at the hostel included ZoomZoom and Mumbles (British), both thruhikers taking a zero day together.

The hostel featured a full kitchen where hikers can fix their own meals. I enjoyed several root beer floats that evening, and life is good!

Quick update: Taking a zero day today at the Hikers Welcome Hostel in Glencliff NH.

Quick update: Taking a zero day today at the Hikers Welcome Hostel in Glencliff NH. Picked up my new shoe order at the Post Office this morning and getting prepared to climb Mt Moosilauke as we head into the White Mountains.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Moosilauke?wprov=sfla1

10 June.

10 June.
From: Story Spring shelter
To: Spruce Peak shelter
Mileage: 21
Weather: Sunny, cool, breezy.

The day started with a 1,700 foot climb up Stafford Mountain. I left Penguin to climb while I visited the nearby Daniel Webster monument, which was an uphill road climb that satisfied my curiosity but was probably not worth the effort.

It was a long climb up Stratton, but not too hard. When I reached the summit, I met the summit cabin caretaker who told me that Penguin had been waiting. I chatted with Penguin briefly before she started down, then climbed the observation tower and took some pictures. Even there, I couldn't get a phone signal from T-Mobile!

I followed the AT down the mountain to the Stafford Pond shelter, where I found Penguin, Power Daisy, and D having lunch. Penguin continued on the trail while I had a snack of my own.

Unfortunately, I made a wrong turn leaving the shelter and didn't realize my mistake for 1.4 miles on the blue-blazed Stafford Pond Trail, so I lost over an hour.

As I hiked past Stafford Pond on the AT, I found Caterpillar and her friend swimming there and waved greetings, but I was grumpy about the lost time. The AT trail blazes near the pond were poorly marked and confusing as there seemed to be rerouting work in progress so I was even more frustrated, but I eventually found the right path.

I was very tired and late meeting Penguin at Spruce Peak shelter, having put in over 3.4 additional miles between the monument visit and my wrong turn.

The shelter was actually a nice cabin, complete with large two level bunk platforms and a wood burning stove. Penguin, Rivers and a woman who was weekend hiking Stafford Pond were there with a campfire, and we were later joined by Caterpillar and her friend. The friend has an adventurous spirit, and had a long conversation with Rivers about learning to sail, and perhaps serve on a ship's crew and travel.

The woman who hiked Stafford Pond had a car parked at the trailhead and offered to drive Penguin, Rivers and I into Manchester Center tomorrow, saving us a walk of more than 5 miles. A real trail angel!

09 June.

09 June.
From: Goddard shelter
To: Story Spring shelter
Mileage: 9
Weather: Sunny, cool

I got up after sunrise, had a quick breakfast of peanut butter with honey and a chewy granola bar.

I packed and headed uphill but did not climb the fire tower again despite a hiker nearby citing a clear view.

The trail was a "green tunnel" with few views. I continued my diversion of clearing sticks and branches from the trail, but I'm getting a bit OCD about it, stopping to toss stubborn tangles off the trail.

At 4.3 miles, I stopped at the next shelter (Kid Gore) to check the register and add an entry. The shelter has a nice view. However, some idiot left trash and food in the bear box.

While hiking, I realized that I dropped my bag of beef jerky, so I backtracked a short distance until I found it. At that point I decided to suppress my urge to clear the trail - I'd spent enough time already.

I chatted with two southbound hikers whom I met along the way.

I enjoyed a nice section of trail along a beaver pond.

It was a short uphill climb to the shelter, and I got settled in before 1pm, swept out shelter as I always do when I arrive first, and cleaned myself up.

Snugs and Rivers stopped by for a break at the shelter and reported that Penguin was on the trail.

Penguin arrived at the shelter after a more than 17 mile day for her, and she reported that young hikers arrived late at the Nauheim shelter last night and stayed up late, a definite breach of shelter etiquette. Hopefully we won't have the same here tonight.

Four young hikers joined us at the shelter for the night, two section hikers Power Daisy and boyfriend D who tented nearby, and thru hikers Caterpillar and her friend (do not recall her trail name) who stayed in the shelter. They were chatty after dark, but Penguin told them to quiet down or talk outside so we could sleep.