Summary
July 27th
NOBO mile # 1724.9
Tolmann’s daily mileage 6.8
Tolmann’s total mileage 701.2
It felt pretty good to wake up with a great bunch of hikers. Sleep was a little hard to come by last night, laying on the floor, but the expected rain did blow in during the night. As daylight grew outside the windows, it revealed a world shrouded in mist. It didn’t seem to be raining, but it was certainly wet. And since this was a private building, there was no privy, so morning business needed to be postponed.
It was difficult to get in gear, to get breakfast ready and pack up. I was not the only one feeling that way. But eventually, the cabin emptied out. When I was finally all packed and ready to go, there was only one couple left finishing their own packing.
The main topic of conversation this morning was the Farm Market at RT 12; just a short road walk to snacks, cold drinks, ice cream, etc. There was a group of 4 SOBO hikers that had been through there the day before; in fact, they had stayed in the barn of a trail angel there.
Given the weather forecast for the day, I was leaning towards doing the 6+ miles to the road and then getting in where it was dry. The stretch goal was Thistle Hill Shelter, 8 more miles along.
My first milestone was to get to the Winturri Shelter to use the privy there, and to give my back a (figurative) break. It was just short of 3 miles to the shelter, so I figured I’d be able to cover that distance fairly quickly.
As I began walking today, it was clear that I had overdone it yesterday. I was tiring very quickly on the uphills, and my back was very uncomfortable. So the miles between The Outlook and Winturri dragged by.
Early on I passed my Long Trail friend whom I had met early on in Vermont. He had decided to do the AT in Vermont, rather than continue on the LT. he was coming southbound, having flipped up to Hanover, and was going to finish at Killington. I keep being amazed at how I meet up with people over and over.
When I reached the turn off to the shelter, the sign indicated it was down a 1/4 mile side trail. That meant a 1/2 mile round trip. Well, I needed to use the privy, so I started on down.
It was a loooong 1/4 mile! But when I got to the shelter, I saw that Jarhead was there, dawdling over packing himself up. He had spent the night there. We were both considering staying at the barn, so tentatively agreed to meet up at the Farm Market.
Sitting at the shelter, my pack had fallen backwards, and the bottom was facing me. I noticed that there was something odd about how the hip-belt was attached to the pack: the ride side was tearing out.
Not good, not good at all!!! If the belt should go when I am far from help, I may have serious shoulder issues to deal with!!
Now I was even more determined to stay at the barn, where it was touted to have a wifi signal.
The next few miles were pretty good; I had snacked and cameled up at the shelter, so I was moving more quickly and easily. The couple I’d left at The Outlook caught up to me, even do, but I was able to keep up with them for a time.
Then I hit a wall, as the trail took a turn for the “up”. It may have been my imagination, but it felt like the hip-belt was loosening, and my shoulders were bearing more weight. In fact, now my right shoulder was bothering me. The last few miles to RT 12 were a painful slog, making it difficult to appreciate the Ascutney Overlook (a window through the trees framing Mt Ascutney), and then the final stretch through meadows and blackberry bushes.
Then there was the road and, as promised, a very short road walk to the market. There I got a small tub of hummus to add to my lunch, and some soda. I sat at a picnic table with Switchback as he prepared to get back on trail.
And then it started raining.
Actually, it was a light rain, and I didn’t have to do anything to protect myself. I sat at the picnic table after the other hikers left, eating some chocolate chip cookies and drinking a mocha coffee drink. While I sat there, Jarhead arrived. We still hadn’t formally decided to ask to stay in the barn, but finally I said I was going to go over to the house to ask. The main driver was that I had no cell signal at all, and I needed the wifi.
So here we are, setting our selves up in the loft of the barn. I’ve contacted REI, who have disowned the problem since I’ve owned the pack for over a year. I’ve sent a customer service request via email to the pack manufacturer, but I don’t know how quickly they will respond. I will look for some heavy duty thread and needle next time I’m in town. Hopefully that will be before a catastrophic failure.
Oh and a little more than a mile before getting here, I hit the 700 mile point. Yay!
Tom Maynard 
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