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Vermont

This is also the mountain where Benton McKaye conceived the idea of a mountain footpath

Kevin

by Kevin

Vermont has been a state of nothing in particular. It's been a state with thick forests, un-even trail, and mud patches that seem to stretch for miles. And I get to walk through it.

It was a tad bit nippy this morning, so I decided to warm up my water for oatmeal instead of eating it cold. I was up at 5:10AM and walking north at 6:15AM.

The climb out of the shelter was fairly easy, although I was walking in a cloud so I was kept chilled the entire time. Afterwards the trail cuts along the side of a ridge before cutting down to Story Spring Shelter. At this shelter I saw the four section hikers I stayed with last night.

After one small climb, the trail lead me through a valley of some kind. This valley consisted of a trail with rocks and roots along with a thick forest covered in moss.

After crossing a brook and two dirt roads it was time to climb Stratton Mountain. On the second dirt road Cookie and I met Lee Boner, who is finishing ME to ME this year.

The climb up Stratton Mountain was not all that bad. It was steep at times and did have plenty of rocks and roots to navigate through. It's certainly one of the easier 1,500 foot climbs I've done.

The summit has a firetower with a 360 view of the surrounding moutains, this represented my first view in Vermont. I now truly feel like I'm back in the mountains again. This is also the mountain where Benton McKaye conceived the idea of a mountain footpath extending from the south to New England by traversing the ridge lines of the Appalachian Mountains. This trail eventually became known as the Appalachian Trail.

After lunch at Stratton Pond Shelter it was cruise control to the shelter. I rolled in around 3:30PM and decided to call it a day. I'm pleased I was about to walk 23 miles and finish fairly early. This shelter is fully enclosed with a wood stove, which allows me to dry out some things.

Tonight I'm along here with Cookie and Fox, who is section hiking Hanover, NH to Springer Mountain in Georgia.

Tomorrow morning I shall walk 2.8 miles to VT 11/30, where I shall hitch into Manchester Center, VT for town chores.

I've now completed 3/4ths of my journey to Maine. Katahdin is on my mind.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

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