VT Long Trail Days 13-15
Day 13
I finally slept in. It was great. I went down to eat a breakfast of a bagel, the cheese I bought, yogurt, and a few other items.
I didn't linger as long as I would normally in town. I was ready to get out and start hiking. I walked out to the road junction to try and get a ride back to the trail. I had only been trying to hitch for maybe 5 minutes before a car that had passed me, turned back to get me. A local woman and her dog picked me up and took me to the trailhead at Appalachian Gap. She was super nice.
I was back to hiking by 1000. I had a bit of climbing to start my day. I pretty quickly missed one of my turns. I didn’t get far before realizing I wasn’t on the right track. I turned back and immediately my foot slipped on a hidden root, and I scraped my leg along a rock. The roots are all like walking on ice, but I managed to stay upright.
The forest was pretty with all the leaves changing color
After the initial climbs, I had a “flat” section with many ups and downs before reaching the bigger climb up Burnt Rock Mountain. I thought this was the area some southbounders had mentioned was slipperier, but it was a nice day albeit still very damp out, making the trail plentiful with mushrooms.
As I got closer to the summit, the trail did become more of a scramble that required occasionally using my hands to pull myself up. It wasn’t too slippery and it was lots of fun.
I came across another hiker also headed north. He had kept hiking straight when the trail turned right, so I asked to make sure he was also doing the Long Trail. He said yes and thanks for saving him from going the wrong way too far. He was a retired guy called Spark. We hiked together for a while up the rest of Burnt Rock, grabbing photos for each other at a nice view point where we had a lucky break in the clouds.
We kept climbing up. The trail was so pretty.
We eventually split when we started the descent of Mount Ethan Allen. I was moving faster on the steep step downs, but we were headed to the same shelter for the evening so I’d see him again.
I got to the shelter pretty early, 1600, and called it good enough. The next one would be too far and on the other side of Camel’s Hump plus staying in the shelters is just so convenient. This one, the Montclair Glen Lodge, was a cute cabin with lots of space.
I started downing my bag of chips and making actual dinner. Spark joined me a half hour later and we had dinner together. Not too much later another woman came in from the north. She was hiking with two others, all friends pre trail, doing the hike together. One of her hiking partners came in next and we all hung out. The third wasn’t too far behind. That group was carrying all kinds of fun stuff. They had nail polish, so of course I used it. The third also brought a Switch and we definitely played Mario Kart later. Swamp Witch also rolled in and joined us. I hadn't seen her since the farmstand. One more SoBo joined us as well. Full house, but not crowded.
Day 14
I was up at 0600 the next morning excited to start the climb up Camel’s Hump. I packed up outside since others were still sleeping and made breakfast while chatting with Swamp Witch. I was the first on trail around 0700. It was looking like a beautiful day for a summit.
The climb definitely had some scrambling which was fun and had a great view.
The first little bit labeled “Ledges” on my maps was especially fun and scenic.
After the first little climb, I began the actual climb up the summit which was more steady with only a few smaller scrambles until I got close to the top.
It was still beautiful and I was lucky to have a little bit of a view.
The closer I got to the summit, the more clouds rolled in. Once I was a tenth of a mile out, The whole summit was shrouded in dark wet clouds.
I took a summit photo with no view and decided not to wait out the weather. I didn’t know how long it may take to blow through.
The lower I got, the more it cleared up. I was disappointed I didn't wait, but it was windy and cold. At least the forest felt like a fairytale forest.
I did get some good views as I made the very long drop (4,000’) down from the summit.
As I got lower, the trail evened out and I was able to hike a little faster. It took a while to get up and over Camel’s Hump, so I was finally making up time.
Eventually I made it down to the river after a few annoying dog encounters. Please leash your dogs! They should not be running full speed out of your sight at other hikers. We don’t know if your dog is going to jump and/or bite. Even if it’s friendly, I don't want it knocking me over.
There was a road walk for a bit, then a walk along a farm, then back on the road to a bridge over the river.
After crossing the busy highway (there was an underpass), I was back to climbing. I took a lunch break near some cliffs overlooking the valley I just walked through.
The rest of the afternoon was spent climbing up the shoulder of the next mountain. I’d eventually be back up to 3700’. I didn't make it too far up before I pulled off trail to stay at Buchanan Lodge. It was a good ways off trail and I probably should have just found a flat spot to pitch my tent, but there was rain in the forecast and a dry shelter was nice.
I had the place to myself, not surprising since it was a lot of extra mileage and elevation.
I slept in a little and spent the morning hiking in the rain with my umbrella up. The morning was drizzly, foggy, and damp.
I had a short day planned (only 10 miles) to get part way up Mount Mansfield for a summit the following day. I probably could have gone up and over that day, but it wasn't worth it in the rain and I still had plenty of time to take easy days.
I took a quick break on the other side of Bolton Mountain at the Puffer Shelter to grab water and sit under a roof for a few minutes. Some of the water on this trail is very tannin laden leaving my drinking water pretty brownish yellow even after filtering.
Since I wasn't going as far and would be inside again for the night, I could enjoy the day more despite the rain. I had a few small scrambles and there was so much moss and mushrooms to look at.
I stopped for a hot lunch at Taylor Lodge where the water was not nearby. I had enough to make ramen and picked up more farther down the trail.
The rain lightened briefly in the early afternoon and I had a bit of climbing to the next shelter, ~1500’. The climbing was easy though and the rain picked up again. Despite it only being 1530, I was glad to stop at Butler Lodge for the day and dry off.
The afternoon/evening was spent hanging out, eating dinner, and chatting with the caretaker who was pretty cool. It was just the two of us up until 1900 when two others out for the weekend joined in. Quiet evening for that shelter.
Stay tuned for future posts as I get further along on the trail! Posts typically release Mondays and/or Wednesdays 1200est.
