Day 49 - Governor Clement Shelter

​Day 49 - Governor Clement Shelter

Starting location: Hampton Inn

Ending location: Governor Clement Shelter

Mileage today: 7.5 miles

Total Mileage: 548.7 miles 

Miles from Springer: 1698.1 miles

Miles to Katahdin: 499.9 miles

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Today we woke up fresh and dry and ate a delicious hearty hot breakfast of eggs and sausage links. Got our last taste of running water and headed back on the trail about 8:50 am. Now the weather man said rain should hold off till 2 pm which was plenty of time to get our 7.5 miles finished. 

Well that didn’t happen! Lol. Today was actually worse than two days ago. We started off well but within about 2 hours it started to lightly rain, which got heavier and heavier as the day went on. 

Plus add to the fact that we had not one but two river fording to tackle that didn’t have adequate hoping rocks to get across dryly. Since it has rained so much the rivers are raging full. So the first one went well. Legolas on both just kept his shoes on and just said heck with it, “I am getting my feet wet!”  Bombadil and I both took our shoes and socks off both times. 

The first river went perfect except it was really pouring at the time of the crossing. The second fording didn’t go so well. Legolas got across easily. I then went across with no issues and dropped my pack off on the other side and went back to get Bombadil’s pack and shoes. I carried them back and put them on the bank, but one of Bombadil’s shoes fell in and was taking down the river quickly! Legolas shouted, “The shoe!” I (in my bare feet in a raging river) try to “run” down to catch it before it was lost and Bombadil would only have 1 shoe to hike in tomorrow. (No clue what we would have done then!), but praise the Lord it got caught up along the edge of the river to where I was able to grab it. Plus his sock didn’t even fall out of it! Unbelievable. Although I think I either broke or severely bruised my second toe on my left foot. I put some comfrey salve on it and tools some ibuprofen. Will see how bad it hurts to hike on it tomorrow. 

Here is that river. After we got across the shelter was like 50 yards away. People in the shelter said there was a redirect sign that we missed to lead us to a bridge. Ugh! But we have a fun story to tell! Lol. 

This was before we got to the second crossing, but I thought it was cool pile of rocks with the states names carved into them that go through the AT.  Also we have less than 500 miles to Katahdin, and we are knocking on the 1700 mile mark from Springer! How exciting. 

So at the shelter we are now changed into dry clothes and in our sleeping bags trying to warm up. It will be a rough morning when we try to get our wet cold clothes back on. We have 12.5 miles to hike over Killington Mountain. 

Now play some solitaire and read some books. Goodnight. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 48 - Hampton Inn zero day

​Day 48 - Hampton Inn

Starting location: Hampton Inn

Ending location: Hampton Inn

Mileage today: 0 miles 

Total Mileage: 541.5 miles

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Today was a much needed zero day after the rough day yesterday. We lounged around all day and watched TV and ate food! 

Not much to talk about except that we met up with Pie and his wife for pizza dinner. He is trying to finish his thru hike and we met him in NY. Him and his wife were both nurses, so Amee thinks this is us in 20 years. lol. Great couple and we had a great time. 

Time to rest and hike again in the morning! 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 47 - Hampton Inn

​Day 47 - Hampton Inn

Starting location: Lost Pond Shelter 

Ending location: Parking lot

Mileage today: 17.5 miles

Total Mileage: 541.5 miles

Miles from Springer: 1690.9 miles

Miles to Katahdin: 507.1 miles

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Despite the sun in this photo it was actually an all day rain and a couple thunderstorms. 

During the night at Lost Pond Shelter, it poured all night long. Once we woke up it was still raining, so we trudged out to meet Amee early in the morning. When we got there we took shelter in the van until a heavy cell came through. 

We then set out from Amee around 9 am and then as we headed up the next mountain the first thunderstorm came. This one wasn’t the worst one but it was kind of scary hiking up the mountain with thunder echoing around you! 

This was just after we got up the first mountain. 

Then God provided a break from the storms at lunch time so we took a lunch break right on the trail. 

We then actually dried out until about 2 pm when God sent the second stronger thunderstorm. It poured and poured. We were soaking wet and headed up the second mountain as thunder clapped around again. I had to put my phone away to keep it dry. 

We passed some cool rock charins (sp?) just after lunch. The boys tried to build some themselves. 

One nice thing about all this rain is the waterfalls are spectacular here! 

So since it has been 19 days since our last zero day, we decided to hike the 2.6 miles from the full shelter we were to stay at to Amee and take a zero day tomorrow! Today was the hardest day on the trail. So hot showers, TV and comfortable beds for the boys tonight! 

Good night!

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 46 - Lost Pond Shelter

​Day 46 - Lost Pond Shelter

Starting location: Bromley Shelter

Ending location: Lost Pond Shelter 

Mileage today: 12.9 miles

Total Mileage: 524 miles

Miles from Springer: 1673.4 miles

Miles to Katahdin: 524.6 miles. 

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

Today is a special day. We are officially at the half way mark from when we started. If you notice my stats above, we have hiked 524 miles and have 524.6 left. We did take 2 zero days. So technically we did that in 44 days. So if we keep this pace and take no zero days, we will finish July 31st. Granted I am sure we will have to take some zero days due to weather in the White’s, so maybe Aug 2nd as a tentative summit date. I hope the Maine blueberries will be ripe by then! 

On other notes. God is still in the business of answering prayers daily for us. Also we got a glimpse of His glory in creation from Bromley mountain. 

So today we woke up all alone in the shelter and got on the trail at 7:15 am. Since we knew we had only 12.9 miles today, I let them sleep in! They were thankful! We hiked up the last 1 mile to the top of Bromley mountain, which is a ski resort. So we got to see the ski lifts and some incredible views. Here is a taste of God’s glory that we saw today. 

Oh! I almost forgot about the answered prayer today. So Bombadil used the privy today before leaving and only left like 6 squares of TP for Legolas and I, and we weren’t meeting Amee today to resupply. So before we left we prayed that we could either not have to go to the bathroom today or that God would provide the necessary TP if needed. So, when we got on top of Bromley mountain there was a privy! I was totally shocked. Then I wondered what were the chances there would be actual TP there. So I went to check and lo and behold the mother load of TP. It didn’t just have a small roll from home but one of those industrial sized rolls that you find in the school bathroom! God provided above and beyond what I could have ever expected. So I took enough to get us through to tomorrow and praised our God that He cares about the little things! So amazing for something a trivial as TP! lol. 

After leaving this mountain we hiked over another mountain and had lunch at the next shelter. It had a stream right in front with a waterfall so it was very relaxing. VT waterfalls are abundant for sure. 

Then we hiked over level ground for quite awhile which was very nice. We are on the lookout for moose. 

We have been seeing moose scat all over the trails and apparently there are moose sightings in VT. Some guy told Bombadil to play some Johnny Cash music at dusk and that will draw them out! lol. So we now are playing Cash at dusk! No luck yet. 

Here are some of the flat areas and it is so green here in VT despite the mud! lol. 

So we made it to the shelter around 3 pm. There is a guy already making a “home” in the shelter. He’s been on the trail for 33 straight months, so for all you thinking people you can guess his current situation. He seems pretty nice though. 

Well time for dinner and then some solitaire and reading before bed. We also reunited with Acorn! He is a section hiker that we met a while back. Great guy! 

Goodnight. 

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil 

Day 45- Bromley Shelter

​Day 45 - Bromley Shelter

Starting location: Stratton Pond 

Ending location: Bromley Shelter

Mileage today: 12.7 miles

Total Mileage: 511.7 miles

Miles from Springer: 1660.6 miles

Miles from Katahdin: 537.4 miles

Today’s Photo

The story behind this photo ... 

God answered another prayer today. I prayed that we might find some trail magic today for the boys since it’s been a while since Frosty’s Trail magic...and lo and behold we found trail magic! And as Bombadil said, “Really good trail magic!” Lol. 

So today we left Stratton Pond shelter around 6:45 am and said good bye to Domino and Bigfoot, both who hike faster and longer than us. Matt told us that moose love water, so I went down to the pond at 5:15 am when I woke up to get some more water and see if I could see any moose. 

I didn’t see any moose but God’s glory was on display with the sun rising and the calm mist coming up from the waters. It was very peaceful. 

So one thing about the AT going north in VT is the fact we are also on the VT long trail. I think we are on the LT for about 105 miles? I would need to double check that stat, but the LT goes from the southern boarder of VT to the Canadian boarder. 

We stopped here for a quick break to see Manchester from above. So peaceful up here. 

Lucas found what looks like to be the “Tomb of the Unknown Thru-hiker!” Lol. He tried to loft the top but was unsuccessful. 

Even though VT is known as “Ver-mud” with all the mud to avoid, the trail had ample amounts of waterfalls today. Here is just a sampling. 

To get to the parking lot that had the trail magic we had to cross the busiest road as of yet. The AT even put up a warning not to become roadkill! Love it. 

Peppermint was the lady giving out tons of goodies. She is the wife and mom and a father/son section hiking combo. They were behind us and she was just waiting for them to arrive. The boys ate “good” today. lol. 

Amee and Froning got to join us to jmhike the last 2 miles to our shelter and hang out. It was a nice climb up. One nice thing about VT mountains so far is they are well graded. 

The shelter was very nice and the boys enjoyed playing on the support beams. We do get play a game of Skip-Bo with Amee. 

We are very thankful when the meetup place is near the shelter. 

Well dinner was eaten, our goodbyes said and now off the bed!

Gandalf, Legolas & Bombadil