[at-l] Ready's Hike August 17 TD 65

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

You can write to Ready!  readyhiker@yahoo.com



'Up at 5:45, out before 7:00.
We'd awakened to rain and we left the shelter as it continued
to rain. We were not the first up or out, but only 2 remained
after we'd left - one still sound asleep in the shelter.
We hiked in all kinds of terrain today, roots, rocks, soft duff,
pine needles underfoot - making you feel like you were walking
on plush carpet, hardened soil, narrow footpaths crowded with
brush, wide expansive meadows, old jeep roads -- you name it,
we walked it.
The rain had made some parts slippery. Twice I found myself
"skiing" down a rock slab. One time, I fell, scaring Spur terribly.
I wasn't hurt, but these are the conditions and falls that can really do 
damage.
We saw the usual wildlife today: red efts and tree toads (rain virtually
  guarantees that they'll be out), red squirrels, grouse and other
birds... but our best sighting occurred within one hour of leaving the 
shelter!
We were walking along in silence when we each noticed movement
to the left of the trail. That's when we saw it - a moose! Just as soon
as he/she saw us, it ran off, crashing through then woods. Wow! We've
seen our first moose and we're still only in Vermont! That's pretty special.
We descended a steep hillside, smelling the aroma of pancakes being
cooked. Oh, how good they smelled! We then passed Alan and Dana,
who were just getting out of their tents. They informed us that it was
an Outward Bound group who were responsible for the tantalizing aromas
wafting up the hillside.
We stopped at the shelter to eat our lunch: a Subway turkey sub,
purchased yesterday and packed into the woods with us. As we ate
Alan and Dana arrived, so did Louis and south bounding Woodsman.
Louis was carrying the most enormous pack I'd ever seen! When
  I asked him its weight, he said he didn't know; "I know it's heavy.
No need to get cerebral and know just *how* heavy!"
We left just about an hour later, hiking swiftly. By now the rain had
stopped but it started again shortly after leaving the shelter. It wasn't
  a terribly cold rain, thankfully. However, it was a tad chilly for most
of the day. This is the first day that the water in my hydration tube
is colder than the water inside the bag!
The descents, and especially, the climbs today were steep and often
difficult. We really worked hard. Although we'd made 10 miles by noon,
the rest of the day's hiking went slowly. We suspect that with all the
  relos in the area, mileages in the databook and map are incorrect.
We stopped at the Appalachian Mountain House (owned by Dan Quinn)
to replenish our water. Just as we were rounding the house, Isis
approached carrying two slices of oven-warm oat honey bread,
smiling and saying, "You're just in time!" Yum! Isis is quite a talented 
baker!
Mala and his dog Tucker, a beautiful black lab had been staying
there too, and he joined us in conversation. Shortly, Jack Rabbit
came out of the house too, She was looking radiant and well rested.
They told us about a party that Sheltowee was having near Hanover
this Saturday. We planned to get there in the late afternoon and
made tentative plans to join them, if we could find them. We also
made tentative plans to get together over a meal while there, breakfast
at Lou's perhaps.
Isis concurred with us about the feeling that the previous day's
mileages were misrepresented in the databook. She said that
she had added up the mileages reported via the signs along the
trail, and had come up with 10 - not 8 - miles, as reported in the
databook. Vindicated!
More than an hour had passed as we talked, and Spur and I were
concerned about getting to our destination, 7.5 miles away. We
hurried off right after giving a quick inspection of the barn where
hikers are invited to spend the night. This place has great potential!
The section we hiked now were also relos. Steep relos. Relentlessly
uphill relos. Straight up the mountain - no silly switchbacks - thank
you very much, relos. Because the maps didn't cover these areas,
we didn't know what we'd be finding, sort of like "mystery meat day"
at the school cafeteria - we didn't know what we'd be getting.
The skies were getting darker and darker. We were sure we'd be
caught in another rainstorm, so we hurried onward. Just as we made
  it to the top of one hill, the skies turned blue, the clouds wispy, and
  the sun bright. Nice.
It was after 5:30 and we still had about 5 miles to go. This was taking
much longer than we'd anticipated. As we rounded the field in the
direction of the woods, we found a sign announcing the reopening
of Cloudland Shelter, just .5 miles from where we were standing.
We agreed to go there instead of all the way to Thistle Hill Shelter.
  We reached the blue blaze for the shelter around 6 PM and walked
in the ".6 miles" off the trail.
There is some confusion about just how far in it lies. The sign sports .
2, .3, .4, and .6 miles, written in various scrawling handwriting. It was
only about .3 miles per our calculations.
This is a small, 3-sided structure, plain and rustic. We were delighted
  to find it empty. A night alone in a shelter!
We proceeded with making camp. Spur got some water from a nearby
  stream while I started supper preparations and hung up some of our wet 
things.
Couscous and hot chocolate. Perfect endings to a really tough day.
We'd done well and were pleased.  We'll have about 16 miles into
Hanover tomorrow. We're both looking forward to that. Spur is especially
excited. Hanover, on the border of VT and NH, signifies closing in on
Katahdin for him. Only 2 states to go!



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