VT section hike #3, day 5

May 25, 2014
Start: Wintturi Shelter
End: Hanover,  NH
Mileage: 26.2 (+0.2 for shelter side trail)

Last night at the shelter,  I was joined by Reg, a NOBO thru hiker. We turned in early but were kept awake for a while by a porcupine chewing on the wood of the shelter, which reverberated a lot. It also became evident that my air mattress somehow developed a leak, which I could not find to patch, and would deflate enough to leave me lying on the wood floor within an hour or so of being fully inflated. This made sleeping rather difficult as I had to roll off the mattress and inflate it every few hours. I was awake at 4:45am and decided to just get up. I was on the trail by 5:20am. 

Today didn't have any serious elevation but I did climb Dana, DuPuis, and Thistle Hills and they were quite enough of a challenge. I got to see blue sky for the first time since Wednesday around 10:30am. I had great weather for the entirety of today's hike though the grass was soaked in dew until the sun evaporated it so my boots got fully saturated. The trail led straight past West Hartford Convenience store but they were closed because they never recovered from Hurricane Irene last fall and had to shut down, based on a note on their door. I sat on their front porch and changed my wet socks and silk liners for marginally drier socks and liners.

I saw a few day hikers and runners out and about as I got closer to Norwich. Thankfully, the last few miles of my hike were all road walks and downhill. Two people in Norwich had Trail Magic boxes at the end of their driveways. At the first one, I had a sparkling water; at the second, fresh watermelon. It was glorious. On the walk from Norwich to Hanover, the road crossed over the Connecticut River which acts as the boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire. From the river, it wasn't far to Hanover center and Dartmouth College.

Once there, I changed into my town clothes in Starbucks, got a drink, and messaged my friends that I was in town. I walked down a street or two and picked up some take-out at the Noodle Station. My friends picked me up shortly after. Once at my friends' house, I showered, washed my clothes, and ate food. In the morning, they kindly brought me back to my car in Manchester, VT, after stopping at a diner for some delicious breakfast.

VT section hike #3, day 4

May 24, 2014
Start: Inn at Long Trail/Sherburne Pass Trail
End: Wintturi Shelter
Mileage: 18.5 (+ 0.2 for Lookout side trail + 0.2 for shelter side trail)

I started my hike at 6:40am. Originally,  I'd planned to wait for their breakfast which starts at 7am. But since I was wide awake at 5:45am, I decided to get ready and head out. On my way out the door, the lady who runs the Inn asked me if I'd like some breakfast to go. She provided me with two pieces of Irish soda bread to eat then and two pieces for later. It was a good way to start the morning.

I walked through Gifford Woods State Park and was delighted to find a bath house right on the trail. I passed by Kent Pond and Thundering Brook Falls. Then it was up Quimby Mountain. After that, there was a surprising amount of up and down before getting to Stoney Brook Shelter and again a lot of up and down to the next road. Then it was up to Lakota Lake Lookout and then to Lookout Farms cabin side trail. I arrived at Wintturi Shelter as the rain started at 3pm. It rained until 4:30pm and then cleared up nicely.

Around Kent Pond, I had to cross the rather substantial stream. There wasn't any good way across on the rocks so I thought I'd try the same thing I'd done the day before: cross on a fallen tree. This time, it didn't work out so well. I got up on the tree, took one step... and ended up straddling it. Needless to say, I figured out a way to get across the stream via rocks.

Between Thundering Brook Falls and River Road, I saw two moose on the side of the trail. I managed to get a picture this time!

VT section hike #3, day 3

May 23, 2014
Start: VT 103/Rutland
End: Inn at Long Trail
Mileage: 16.7

I started my day with a nice continental breakfast at the Days Inn. I caught the Bus at 7:15am and was on the trail at 7:45am. I passed by Clarendon Shelter and Beacon Hill pretty early on. This was followed by a few roads and some impressive (on my part) stream/brook/river crossings. I managed to avoid taking off my boots and fording any of the crossings but only through a lot of ingenuity and some acrobatics. Sometime around here, I heard two moose either arguing or gossiping; very loudly.

I then passed by Governor Clement Shelter and then climbed and climbed. Eventually (around 1:15), I made it to Cooper Lodge at the top of Killington; at 3900 feet, it was the highest point of my entire hike and I believe the highest point on the VT AT. There was still snow on the ground! At the Lodge,  I met two trail maintenence crew members, stirring an huge vat of poop. We chatted for a while and then I headed out. From here, it was 2.5 miles to Jungle Junction and Sherburne Pass Trail. I took Sherburne Pass Trail past Pico Camp and down to the Inn at Long Trail. I arrived at 3:45pm.

It started raining lightly around 9:30am; it continued off and on until 1:15pm when it began to rain in earnest, flooding the majority of the trail. It continued to rain until after I arrived at the Inn. Who knew just how slippery rocks and roots could be when covered in rain water?

I had a nice dinner, dessert, and beer, coupled with a good visit with my aunt and her partner. Tomorrow, I'll have breakfast here (included in the room) and then head out for a short day (18.5). Only one more night on the trail after this. 

VT section hike #3, day 1

May 22, 2014
Start: VT 11 / 30
End: Peru Peak Shelter
Mileage: 10.1

I drove up to VT and left my car at the Green Mountain House in Manchester, VT. It then took me two hitches to get out to the trail head. I began my hike at 2:10pm. I climbed Bromley Mountain and Styles and Peru Peaks.

The woods around this area smelled like fresh cut Christmas trees. It smelled wonderful. At the same time, the AT around here seemed to be a favorite place for moose to do their business. There was piles of moose poop everywhere.

I'm sharing the shelter with Mike and Chickadee. Chickadee is from CT; he started hiking the AT in CT and is headed for Katahdin. Mike is hiking the Long Trail. They're both used to doing much shorter days than me.

The weather today was beautiful. I tried to enjoy it while it lasts.

VT section hike #3, day 2

May 22, 2014
Start: Peru Peak Shelter
End: VT 103/Days Inn, Rutland
Mileage: 22.3

Today,  I left the shelter at 6:20am. I hiked by Griffith Lake, up Baker Peak, past Lost Pond, Old Job, and Big Branch Shelters. I made very good time and made it to the roughly half way point of Little Rock Pond and shelter (9.7 miles) by 9:50am. I then passed by Greenwall shelter, Sugar Hill Road and VT 140. After VT 140, there was a long climb up a no-name peak. I then arrived at the originally intended shelter for the evening, Minerva Hinchey Shelter,  at 2pm.

Given how early it was, I decided to press on and put in a few more miles. I did 2.7 more miles and arrived at VT 103 at 3:15pm. From there, Rutland was only 6 miles away. Because of today's rain and the fact that there is a local bus route that will drop me off at this trail head in the morning,  I decided to go into town and get a hotel room.

It took 20 minutes to get a hitch into town but once here, I was able to get a room, wash my clothes, shower, eat at Dennys, and then pick up a few things from Hannaford's. As of now, my clothes are drying and I'm enjoying the soft bed.

Tomorrow,  I'll be up around 6am, packing up,  eating a very elaborate continental breakfast, and walking across the street to catch the 7:15am bus to the trail head. Thanks to today's extra miles, I'll only have 16.7 miles to complete tomorrow. I'm looking forward to ending early at the Inn at Long Trail and spending time with my aunt and her partner. 

Quinnipiac Trail - part 1

This hike occurred on May 11, 2014

Trail Heads:
102 Chestnut Lane, Hamden, CT - There is parking on the side of the road for 2-3 cars to park off the road. There's also enough space to park along the side of the road.

6 Banton St, North Haven, CT - This parking area is in a dead-end area directly behind a service station on Rt-15. There's quite a lot of parking available. 

Length/Distance: According the Connecticut Walk book, the route between the trail heads on Chestnut Ln and the beginning of the Quinnipiac Trail was 5.4 miles. According to my GPS tracking program, our route was 5.27 miles.

Summary: We began from Chestnut Lane since it had higher elevation and the hike would be all downhill or flat. 

We hiked along the trail until we came to a road.

There was a bit of a road walk along a busy road with poison ivy along the edges but we managed to get to the next portion of trail without incident. 

At the trail entrance into the woods by the road, there was a sign warning that portions of the trail might be impassable but it had no date to indicate how long it had been there.

We decided to press on. The trail wasn't bad for the next mile or so. Then we came to an area where the water crossed the trail and there was no way around. 

We decided, what the hell, we'll ford it. So we went through the water; it came up to our knees. We pressed onward. There was more water. 

And then more water. There was some really cool flowers blooming underneath the surface of the water. 

The amount of water we slogged through was impressive. First there was a few sections where we waded through waist deep water, then later rib deep water. Eventually, there was one place where the water came up to the top of my 6'1" hiking companion's shoulders. I ended up swimming/bobbing across that portion of water. 

It was an adventure, rather like an application to participate in the next Survivor. It seemed Amazon-esque, without the poisonous/highly dangerous creatures to avoid. Though the mosquitoes got progressively worse throughout the hike; by the end, we felt like mosquito buffet tables. There was also knee high poison ivy, practically dripping with urushiol. Perhaps it was the regular dunking in the river but neither me nor my hiking companion developed any urushiol-induced contact dermatitis (poison ivy rash).  

It was not a hike I'm eager to repeat. Thankfully, the rest of the Quinnipiac Trail doesn't parallel the river. 

NY-NJ AT solo section hike #2, day 5

May 5th, 2014

Start: Gren Anderson shelter
End: Delaware Water Gap (Presbyterian Church of the Mountain Hostel)
Mileage: 31.4

I started out my hike this morning at 6:25am. I would have been out even earlier but my feet needed to be bandaged. Throughout the course of the day, I climbed Rattlesnake Mountain (1,492') as well as up to the Catfish Fire Tower (1,565').

South on the AT - direction I went after the tower

North on the AT - direction I came from; you could just make out the NJ High Point Monument between the two power line poles in the distance.

Large portions of today's hike were pretty easy. Once you climbed to the ridge, it was mostly flat and made for good cruising.

I passed by Crater Lake and Sunfish Pond.

Sunfish Pond

I then hiked my way to the town of Delaware Water Gap and the hostel there, Presbyterian Church of the Mountain.

Originally,  the plan had been to stop for the night at Mohegan Outdoor Center at 20.9 miles and then hike an additional 10.9 miles tomorrow morning before catching a bus back to CT. The problem with this plan was two fold: 1) I'd have to be out hiking at 5:30am to make sure I got to the bus station on time;  2) My feet were not going to withstand another day of hiking. So I made the decision to hike through the MOC and hoof it into town. While painful,  I think it was the better choice. I clearly need to invest in some more (and better) socks.

On the trail today, I met two different hikers who are expecting to go through CT; "Bark" who is ending his section hike at the CT-MA border and Kelly from Staten Island who's hoping to hike through to Maine. I'm also sharing the hostel tonight with a recently retired thru-hiker from NY (Mike/"Cannonball" - #18 NOBO through Harpers Ferry).

After showering at the hostel and changing clothes, I headed to the Apple Bakery where I got a few snacks (I'll probably be back for breakfast tomorrow) and then headed to the Water Gap Diner next door. The food was standard diner food - cheap but lots of it.

 

I'm now bedded down on the couch for the night and will be taking a bus home in the morning!

View of George Washington Bridge in NYC out the bus window

Local post office on my morning walk to the bus station