.July 2, 2006
I started today's hike by crossing this small bridge over a creek.
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On the other side of the bridge there were cow pastures. I looked for the friendly cows that 'Runtrails' wrote about in her journal but they must have had the day off. So leaving their field, I crossed this stile.
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Here's a look back at the farmland.
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Although today started with several miles that were all uphill. The trail was incredibly smooth.
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This is my second day of hiking in Vermont and I have noticed tons of green ferns.
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Snoopy and I reached the side trail for Wintturi Shelter. I was willing to go see the shelter, but Snoopy said once you have seen one shelter you have seen them all, so we decided to bypass it. This proved to be a good choice since today would end up being a long day. We did hit another side trail though.
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We took the tenth of a mile side trail to see 'The Lookout'. As we neared the area there was a sign stating that it was private property and to use at your own risk. I was expecting to find an outcropping of rock with a view so I was surprised to find this barn with a lookout platform on the top.
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Today was overcast but I still got a good view from the top.
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Inside the barn, there was a note on the wall saying the barn was made available for hikers courtesy of Lookout Farms. There was plenty of space for sleeping and it had a fireplace as well.
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I was getting ready to leave when 3 hikers came up the trail. At first I thought they were day hikers, but they were thru hikers who had left their packs on the AT. The two men headed up toward the steep lookout. The woman hiker took about three steps up the ladder and turned back.
"Too steep for me," she said.
"Good call," I said, "If you are at all nervous going up you should stop. It's a lot worse coming down."
I said 'Good bye,' headed back to the AT, and continued south. Most of the bridges I cross on the AT are in good shape, but this one made me a little nervous. It looked like it could give way at any time.
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The ladder below doesn't look like any big deal, but it was with Snoopy. He usually can climb the AT ladders on his own but this one was just too steep. I helped him one rung at a time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I took the short side trail to visit the Stony Brook Shelter.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The young woman in the picture is a thru hiker. I didn't catch her trail name. She started at Springer Mountain and is well on her way to complete her hike. Here biggest concern about not finishing is injury. She said she took a face first fall yesterday. She was upset with herself and said, "If I got hurt in Georgia or North Carolina it wouldn't be so bad, but to come all this way and then get hurt would be a big disappointment." She has company now. Her sister joined her in New York and is section hiking. She is just off the picture, building a fire.
I continued on my way and pushed on for about 5 more miles when I came out onto Thundering Brook Road. It looks like the weather has started to clear.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The last few miles since the shelter had been fairly rugged, so I enjoyed this walk along the road although it later got quite steep before I headed back into the woods.
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I had about a mile to go when I met Lynn coming from the other way.
"It's nice to see you," I said. "It's been a long day."
"You've got about a half an hour," she said.
On the way, the trail follows along the edge of Kent Pond.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Ducks were plentiful.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Here's Lynn on a bridge near Kent Pond.
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Right after I took her picture I realized I left my hiking pole back by the ducks. It was only a couple minutes back but it seemed far. This had been a great day but it was very long and my feet were sore. I found the pole and we continued on. A few minutes later and we entered Gifford Woods.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ We walked to the west end of the park to our leanto. Our leanto was probably no more than 50 feet from the trail. What a great spot!
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