Day 123

It was a 18.5 mile hike to Story Spring Shelter. By lunch time I had only made it about 6.4 miles. Normally, I have been around 10 or 12 miles by then. But it was all uphill as they say. Luckily, it was not near as rough as the down was yesterday at the end. I was mentally prepared for it and I was thrilled it was much easier, but not easy. It was still hot today, but some cooler breezes higher up helped.

There were signs today saying the trail for a while is less maintained on purpose. I noticed less trail blazes, more down trees, more mud.

There was a old fire tower that I was able to climb for a 360 degree view in Vermont. Can clearly see the mountains are getting bigger and steeper.

At a few springs, the water was clear and seriously ice cold. COLD WATER! Serious treat!

Saw the first moose droppings on the trail today. Hope to see moose going north. Moose make me happy.

I pulled into camp around 8 p.m. That is late by hiker standards. My feet were done, so I was glad I made it. AT hikers and Long Trail hikers are sharing the same part of trail for a while, so there are more people around.

7 thoughts on “Day 123

  1. You say the mountains are getting bigger in Vermont. I really noticed a difference going into NH… they get visibly bigger (higher) again as you cross the river into NH around White River Jnct. and head NE into the Whites -the higher elevations make for cooler hiking (esp. along ridges) and great (cooler) views.

    Btw, Sharkbait is in Gorham, pretty much finishing the Whites.

    Just wondering, if you plan to stay in any of the huts along the Presidential Range? They are pretty nice and have great food… good accommodations overall! Hike on, man, Enjoy!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. At this point, I have no idea where I am going to stay in the Whites or how it really works. I will have to figure it out soon.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. If you get in mid-early afternoon, you can do ‘work for food and accommodations’ -or something like that… i.e. do dishes or sweep floors, etc. and they’ll feed you and you can sleep on floor or a table, etc. Most folks will have reservations, but they always make room for a couple if you’re first in line looking to swap some work for the meal and sleeping under a roof. Good luck!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thanks. I heard a little about that.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Nice ballerina pose in the rocks. I bet your balance after all this rock hopping is good, you could do ballet!
    You’re not missing a lot here, some work from the floods and such but nothing too crazy. I found out that Paul Moss is retiring and going to get his Master’s at the U. Good for him. Guess we will have to find someone else to makes faces at across the bar at Bulldog.


    1. Good for Paul. I thought about hiking in a ballerina outfit. haha..I can’t even imagine the looks I would get. I will leave that to your active imagination.


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