Day: 110
Date: Saturday, 12 August 2023
Start: Inn at Long Trail (AT Mile 1711.1)
Finish: Winturri Shelter (AT Mile 1729.1)
Daily Kilometres: 27.8 (Ascent 5142', Descent 4990')
GPX Track: Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos
Total Kilometres: 2838.2
Weather: Mild to warm and mostly sunny with heavy rain after dark.
Accommodation: Shelter
Nutrition:
Breakfast: Omelette, hash browns and toast and jam
Lunch: Snickers/Trail mix
Dinner: Rehydrated meals
Aches: Dave - the usual niggles; Julie - nothing reported.
Highlight: For most of the day we had nice hiking trail, meaning we could walk normally for long periods.
Lowlight: During the afternoon we crossed the very innocuous-looking Stony Brook Creek where a north-bound thru-hiker, "Steady Eddie", had drowned about four weeks ago when trying to ford it during Vermont's flooding rains. A little further on, possibly where his body was found, there was a picture of the hiker with a poignant poem (probably well-known, but singularly appropriate) attached to a tree.
"It's not the end of the trail for me
I've traveled on, you see
Up ahead where greener pastures grow
And cool water streams dance as they flow
Flowers bloom of every sort and kind
Colors more vivid than I left behind
Family and friends I haven't seen in years
Hugs and handshakes and no more tears
They've welcomed me home just today
A place of peace for me to stay
They say it's my home for eternity
No, it's not the end of the trail for me."
Pictures: Click here
Map and Position: Click here for Google Map
Journal:
We had a relaxed start to the day as breakfast at the Inn was not served until 7:30am. It was delicious and we set off around 8:30am on full stomachs on a beautiful day.
Initially we climbed a trail that took us back to the AT and then we followed the AT eastwards through peaceful forest for a while before it took us through a forest camping ground where many we were just starting their day and then alongside the beautiful Kent Pond. There were lots of people around.
We passed several vacation lodges near the trail before a long boardwalk across a swampy area and then the serious business of the day started with a long climb up Quimby Mountain from which there were limited views. The forest was mostly conifer and the trail, for a change was very pleasant hiking.
As we descended we crossed the picturesque Stony Brook Creek (see above) and soon afterwards took our afternoon break. We were a bit concerned about the weather as storms and rain were forecast to arrive from around 6:00pm so we decided to aim for a shelter about five miles ahead where we hoped we could sleep for the night and keep our tent dry. More climbing was involved, but we made good progress on the nice trail.
As it turned out, the rain, which was quite heavy, didn't arrive until around 8:30pm, by which time we were safely ensconced in the shelter having had dinner. We are sleeping in our tent in the shelter for mosquito protection.
No comments:
Post a Comment