Stony Brook Shelter 1715.3 to Stream 1731.4 (16.1 miles, 706 total miles)
I slept like a baby last night, for the first time sleeping with my rain fly completely off my tent, and my sleeping shorts, long sleeve Marino wool sleeping shirt, and my puffy. I slept for almost 9 hours, and although it was still hard to get out of bed, I felt very well rested.
For the first time since day three on the trail, I made a hot breakfast. I poured hot water into a Ziploc with three packs of oatmeal, and I topped it off with a small packet of Justin‘s honey peanut butter. I also made coffee with Folgers instant crystals and a packet of chocolate breakfast essentials.
I hung out with Shrek while I ate breakfast, and hiked out at 7:40 AM a little before her and the other three guys who had stayed there the night before. I don’t know if it was the caffeine, my good night of sleep, or the few days off I’d had finally doing me some good, but I felt strong and fast immediately as I hiked.
I did 4.9 miles to a stream in exactly two hours, and told myself I’d take a 20 minute break if I could make it that fast. It had been mostly a couple of steep uphills there, so I was proud of that. After some internal debating, I took off my shoes and socks and sat down to soak my feet in the stream.
A couple minutes later Shrek arrived, and sat down for a break as well. We chatted for a bit, and I took off just after 10:00. There was another steep up and down before The Lookout, which was .1 off the trail.
I’d been there before, and it was just as I remembered it. An enclosed cabin with a crow’s nest overlook on top. A high ladder lead up to the lookout, which I climbed for a panoramic view of the mountains around.
I’d gotten to stay there overnight last time, and I wish I had gotten to this time as well to see the stars, but it was still a great spot for lunch. Shrek got there after I’d climbed down and gone into the cabin to sign the log book.
We hung out back in the crow’s nest for a while as I ate cheese and salami on tortillas for lunch, and drank a mix of crystal light and propel. Shrek had a cool app called Peak Finder, that showed us the mountains around, and we used it to identify Moosilauke and Mt. Washington far in the distance, which was very exciting.
After an hour, I headed out just after noon, and had myself a very strong hike to Rt 12, where there was a farm stand just off trail. There was a couple little ups and downs during the 6.4 to the road, but it was mostly downhill on the way there.
It had been a pleasant day so far, not too hot or humid, not very buggy, either. The sun was out, but there were clouds throughout the day to moderate the temperature, and a nice breeze here and there.
I passed a couple spots that were supposed to be lookouts, but there were too many trees to see any real views. There were some blow downs across the trail I’d noticed, and remembered Shaun telling me that there were only a couple ridge runners for VT, but the GMC was thinking of adding more.
I had seen Clean Machine at The Lookout, and I passed Long Story and Smiles soon after. I passed a day hiker who smelled like sunblock and the beach, and didn’t see anyone else before the farm stand.
The terrain had definitely gotten much easier with the rocks and roots making less of an appearance as I hiked. There was lots of greenery on either side of the trail, and a couple pine forests. I was ready to get to NH, especially after spending a few days there already, and the bulk of the Cult being there too, it felt weird to still be in VT.
I passed my 700 mark at one point, and thought about trying to make a marker for myself, but just wanted to get to the food, so I skipped it. After a deceptively long hike through a field that almost felt like bushwhacking, I finally got to the road exactly two hours after I left The Lookout. I’d done over 3mph, and I was impressed with myself.
Edge of the Farm was .2 down the road to the left, and it only took a few minutes to walk there. I got a warm welcome from the woman running the store. There were baked goods, resupply stuff, drinks, and more. I got a root beer from a local company, an ice cream sandwich, and a couple pieces of candy that were free sitting by the register.
I took off my shoes and socks and laid my stuff out to dry in the sun. Shrek got there after another few minutes, and I dumped my trash and filled my water bottle after I was done eating.
While I was talking with Shrek, I mentioned that I had hit my 700 mark but hadn’t done anything for it. She proceeded to make a marker out of her trekking poles, and a combination of her camp shoes, gaiters, and our socks.
I was very touched by that, as it was my first actual marker since I’d been on trail. We got some pictures of the occasion, and Long Story and Clean Machine arrived a little later.
Shrek and I were loving it at the farm, laying on the alternately sunny and shady lawn, enjoying a nice long break. It was really fun to hike around her. We’d had some great conversations, and dropping my miles was feeling excellent, finally getting to take long breaks again.
After two hours, I finally got my shoes back on and headed out to the road, feeling lazy, but hoping the 2.4 miles would only take an hour at the most. Based on how fast I’d been hiking all day, I was hoping that would be the case.
I wasn’t sure if I would, but I did end up powering through the mile long, 900 foot climb in 20 minutes, which I was very pleased with. On the longer descent, I took my time getting down to the road.
The terrain had a lot of pointless ups and downs, but the rocks and roots had gotten much better since the day before, making for smoother hiking.
Shrek caught up and passed me right at the road before our final .3 uphill to the stream we had decided to stealth camp at. A few minutes later, I arrived just after her, and we started setting up at the nice flat spot among the pines right after the stream.
I made Annie’s mac & cheese for the first time on trail, with Shrek’s help, and mixed in a pulled pork packet. It was good, but made a lot of food, so I gave the last of it to Shrek to finish.
Her and I had more enjoyable conversations throughout the evening. We’d gotten to camp at 5:30, and talked steadily till 9:30, about all matter of subjects including podcasts, politics, and existential questions about life.
I’d had a wonderful time hiking around Shrek all day. I hadn’t been sure if we would spend time on the trail together, but was very much enjoying her company.
It felt like we had similar hiking styles and personalities, so I hoped we would keep hiking around each other, but had learned my lesson about trying to hike someone else’s hike.
So far our hiking together seemed to be based on mutual decisions and input of what we were both feeling, which was a nice change of pace for me. We’d both decided to aim for Hanover tomorrow, 20.7 miles ahead.
There was a park we could camp at with outlets, and have time the next day to hang out in town and resupply before hiking 11 miles out to a shelter. It would be my first big day in at least a week, and I was hoping my body was up to the task, after taking some time off to heal and ramping up my miles since I’d been back.
My body was definitely feeling strong, and mentally I was feeling so much better than when I’d left the trail for the 4th. I could tell I’d done some healing while off trail, and I felt very grateful to have had the opportunity to do so. I was optimistic about a big day tomorrow, and excited to cross into New Hampshire.