USFS 71 1635.7 to Mad Tom Notch 1660.7 (25 miles, 635.3 total miles)
It was very difficult to get up in the morning. Tater woke me at 5:30 like I asked him to, but it was cold and I was bundled up in a blanket. I ended up snoozing for another hour.
We had camped in a parking lot near the trail head for the night, and it was a new moon, so I finally got to see the stars up north, which were incredible.
I was on the trail by 7:30AM, which was a feat considering how much I didn’t want to get moving in the morning. The first few miles were quite flat and easy hiking, then the next 3 miles were a bit of a steep climb to Stratton Mountain, which I was very excited about.
I had gone skiing on Stratton with Malia this February, having no idea that I would be hiking the Appalachian Trail just a few months later. The climb wasn’t too bad, and I was slackpacking again so that helped.
As I got closer to the top it began to feel like Glastenbury or Greylock Mountain, with the pine smells and the mossy greenery on either side of the trail. There were lots of rocks, roots, and mud, but it was still enjoyable and the weather was absolutely perfect for hiking. It was around 60° or so, and the sun was out, but the bugs were not.
When I was almost to the summit, I ran across a hiker named Lucky who is finishing a thru hike that he had started in 2020, doing the section between North Adams and Mount Washington. He was fun to talk to, and I gave him Baked Potato‘s number so he could get a ride into Manchester when he got there. Lucky had heard of me from Shrek the other day, who is still just a day or so back.
I passed a woman hiking a little further on just before the summit, and asked her if she was hiking the Long Trail. She said she was going to, but didn’t think she wanted to anymore. When I saw her at the summit a little bit later while I was taking a break, I found out her feet were in really bad shape, so Lucky asked me if he could give Baked Potato‘s number to her as well, and I said of course. She said she needed to get off the trail as soon as possible, and started looking up how to get to the nearest road.
I also met a father and son team of flip floppers up top, who had met my trail family recently as well. They had started their flip flop in New York, so were about 300 miles in. It was just before 10 when I got to the summit, which I thought was excellent time with the climb, so I let myself take about 20 minutes to take in the view from the fire tower, have a couple snacks, and filter some water.
After a decently steep 3 mile downhill from the mountain, I stopped at Stratton Pond Shelter for lunch. I was there from 11:30 to noon, and had the shelter to myself. I put my trekking poles away in my pack after lunch because the terrain looked very mild and flat for a while.
It was a good move, and I was able to keep up a 3mph pace past Stratton Pond, all the way to Prospect rock, 15 miles into the day. It was there I took the final break of the 20 miles, ate some snacks and talked with a hiker who is visiting from Boston.
The trail turned off a dirt road back into the woods for the final 4.8 to the road. I checked in with the Cult and with Baked Potato, who had been able to successfully rescue the would-be Long Trail hiker, Caroline, from earlier in the day. I was really glad to hear that, especially because afterwords I felt bad that I hadn’t offered to carry some of her stuff.
After Prospect Rock I hiked with my poles again, because there was a little bit of ups and downs, and lots of rocks and roots of course. I was hoping to make it to the parking lot by 4 or a little after if I was lucky.
I passed quite a few unmarked water sources, which was nice to see. The trail was beautiful, and I was feeling really strong still. It was 4:10 when I crossed the road and saw Baked Potato and Timelord waiting for me in the car.
Timelord I hadn’t seen since DWG, but had first met at 501 Shelter. Sadly, she was injured on her third attempt of the AT, so she’d stopped hiking but was staying at a friend’s vacation home in Manchester.
Timelord had spent the day with Tater helping him rescue Caroline and do trail magic. She invited us to shower, do laundry, and spend the night at the house with her. It was an awesome bit of trail magic on her part.
I was feeling real good, so asked Tater if he was still up to hike the 5.5 over Bromley with me to finish out the day. He was in, so we planned to have Timelord pick us up at Mad Tom Notch. She hiked a tiny bit with us before turning back as we went up the incline.
Tater let me set the pace, since I had some good momentum going. It was a good 3 mile climb of 1411 feet, and though he was panting from the effort, not having trail legs, he kept right up with me the first 2 miles. We were both surprised to see we had hiked them in exactly half an hour, which is a 4mph pace, something I hadn’t yet achieved on the trail.
I slowed down for him on the last mile, and made it to the top 55 minutes after we started. The last .3 or so before the summit, the trail opened into a beautiful area with lots of sun and wildflowers all around. The sky was an unbelievable blue behind my sunglasses.
I lost a little steam right before the top, but crested the hill and was greeted by the very cool area that is Bromley peak. There is a cabin up there, a ski lift, and an incredible, expansive view. I think I enjoyed it more than the view on Stratton tower earlier in the day.
Tater and I sat and enjoyed it for a few minutes, and I ate a bunch of trail mix. We headed down the mountain through some dense brush to more pine forest. The descent was only steep at first, then mellowed out. It was 2.5 to the parking lot, and I finally began to feel a little tired, but mostly ravenously hungry for dinner.
It was so fun getting to hike with someone for the first time in a few days, and it made the hike up and over Bromley very enjoyable and easy. When we were right near the road, Timelord popped up on the trail ahead of us, and we walked back to the car with her.
Tater added the rest of his large jug of water to the empty water cache next to the trail ahead, and we zoomed off to town, Timelord behind the wheel, and I insisted Tater ride shotgun since it was his car. It had been an awesome day, and my body was feeling much better than expected.
On the drive back, Tater looked up what Amelia Earheart’s plane had been named. We had talked about it on the hike, and he suggested I should name my pack after her plane, which I thought was a marvelous idea.
I’d wanted to make my pack all trip, and couldn’t think of anything good yet. It turned out one of her planes had been named The Yellow Canary, which fit perfectly with the bird theme of my life. My pack now had a name, though it was gray.
We went to Manchester Pizza and got dinner, which was a chicken parmesan sub and black raspberry ice cream for me. Back at the house, we showered, did laundry, and watched some Rick & Morty on TV.
I set up my sleeping pad and quilt in the study, while Tater set his up in the living room, and I read a little of my book before bed. It was 27 miles to Rutland tomorrow, and I figured I’d see how close I could get one more day slackpacking, then hike like normal with my full pack to Hanover on the 3rd.
It might take me a bit longer than everyone else, but then we could drive over to Amherst together for the celebration. I’d try to just enjoy my time off there, and not worry about what comes next. Vermont is one of my favorite places on the trail, so I’m going to love my time here either way.