Thursday, September 26th, 2019
In the morning, we passed a scenic beaver pond that I recall passing by while hiking in the opposite direction two years ago on the Appalachian Trail.
We stopped for a short snack break near the Kid Gore Shelter spur trail. Once again, I was feeling weak. I wondered if part of it had to due with the fact that I’ve been through here before in 2017. This isn’t exactly a novel experience for me right now, so I’m kinda losing interest.
I’d get a pick me while climbing Glastenbury Mountain and I got to go up to the top of one of my favorite fire towers. There was a rainstorm in the forecast so we didn’t stick around long, and only stopped briefly by Goddard Shelter to fill up on water. The sky was getting darker and then it began to drizzle.
It wasn’t bad at first. As I climbed, it got foggy and then it really started to pour. The rain didn’t stop, and neither did I. Well, I did briefly. I pushed through it until I got to Melville Nauheim Shelter. I thought the guys might be there to take a short break, but by the time I made it up there, it was empty. I decided to have a burger break under a roof, which was nice at first, but then the cold began to set in.
It took me a long time to warm back up as I hauled ass towards Cogdon Shelter. I was so eager to get there that I hit a point where I gave up on dodging puddles. My feet were already soaked, so there wasn’t any point. I felt like I was back on the Florida Trail, except the rain and the water I waded through was a lot warmer there!
By the time I reached Harmon Hill, the rain started to slow down. Of course it stopped entirely the second I stepped foot in front of Cogdon Shelter, which was jam packed full of people. Fortunately, there was just the right amount of space for the three of us. Three of the other hikers were the same Long Trail hikers we ran into a couple days back who hiked with their dog Charles. There was also a northbound Long Trail hiker who was just getting started. We chit chatted and ate most of the contents of our food bags before bundling up in our sleeping bags, still wearing out cold, damp clothes. But no worries. Creature comforts were just around the corner.
23.0 miles (37.0 km)
Jump Ahead to The Long Trail: Part 20
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Stubbs Rambles On 