August 14

Entering the Green Mountains

Started off with a nice sunny morning.  Passed several streams and springs early on.  So far Vermont has been living up to it's nickname - 'Vermud'.  This has been a really dry year, but even still, the trail in a lot of places is pretty muddy.  I can't imagine what it must usually be like.  The mud is dark like devils food cake, and very thick, not sloshy.  So far the terrain has been nice though.  More soft, cushiony dirt, than rocks or roots.  We made it down a steep descent to a parking area at VT 9.  A former hiker, named Birdman, was there, offering a nice cold brew and conversation about the trail.  We continued on across the highway, and entered the Green Mountain National Forest.  We had a bit of a climb before reaching the side trail to the Melville Nauheim shelter, and took a lunch break there.  After lunch we had a nice ridge walk for miles through more dense forest.  The ground was covered with mosses and ferns.  The sky darkened a bit, and a light rain fell for a while, as we entered the Glastenbury Wilderness Area.  We stopped at the Goddard shelter, where many other hikers were huddled under the roof.  This was a nice shelter area with a small view and plenty of beautiful fir trees all around.  Tink headed off with a group of other hikers, with plans of doing a really big day.  The rest of us guys took our time, and hiked up to the summit of Glastenbury Mountain, and took a long break at the fire tower there.  We climbed up to the top of the tower, to amazing views of the Green Mountains all around us.  We got back to hiking, over some rolling terrain, to the Kid Gore shelter.  We had done almost a 19 mile day.  Tink had pushed on an additional 4.6 to the next shelter, but she must have gotten there after dark.  Slims and I talked about how many days we thought it would rain on us in Vermont.  I'm guessing 6 out of 7, assuming we take a week to get through the state, and not counting the first day in where we left Massachusetts.  We'll see how that goes.

A view from the fire tower on Glastenbury Mountain, Vermont.