Saturday, September 14th, 2019
It was a dreary morning. There was a short drizzle, but no wind or rain most of the AM. We ran into a NOBO Long Trail hiker named Coach. He advised, “If less than three things hurt, you’re doing it right!”
“Thanks Coach!”
When we asked him about hiking Camel’s Hump, our next big mountain, he gave an interesting description.
“It’s as if there are three school buses stacked along each other. You’ll go over the first one, then the second, and after you go over the third, there’s a Ferris wheel.”
I was starting to wonder if Coach had been dabbling in some psychedelics.
We took a snack break at Taylor Lodge, then made the steep climb up. It started to get foggy and the wind began to pick up by the time we made it to Puffer Shelter for our lunch break. I was freezing.
It was wet cold and steep terrain to Harrington’s View, then followed the gradual descent.
The coniferous forest transitioned into deciduous, and the dark tunnel we had been traveling through was pierced by rays of sunshine. Better yet, the jagged trail turned into groomed switchback. Just as I was beginning to enjoy myself, my foot managed to hook under the one and only root on the whole damn stretch, sending me airborne. I scared the shit out of Middle Brother who was hiking in front of me and only heard my collision with dirt while Frisbee caught the whole show behind me. It’s hard to look cool after rolling around like an overturned turtle, but I try anyway. I’m a graceful one.
There was a short road walk down a hill and through a tunnel before we got to Route 89. We caught a hitch into Waterbury by a guy named Issac who works for the Green Mountain Club. We had to cram in amongst crash pads, and apologized for our muddy shoes.
“It’s okay. It’s not my car anyway.”
We found a table outside of Prohibition Pig Brewery where we ate well before scoring some free coffee at the gas station across the street.
We planned on having a zero day, but to save some cash, we stealth camped in town instead. We’d earn ourselves a bed the next night. We slept under a pavilion in the park. I was startled by a nighttime jogger who shuffled by overnight, but there would be no other disturbances.
16.9 miles (27.2 km)
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Stubbs Rambles On 