Day 33 (Bully Brook to The Long Trail Inn)

The plan for the day was that I would do an easy 14 miles to the Governor Clement Shelter and my cousin Mark would drive down the road nearby the shelter and pick me up for dinner, etc at 4:00. I realized early in the morning that the road was a gated forest service road. I messaged Mark and suggested we meet at the lodge on Killington Mountain. It would mean 18 miles on my tired legs but I really wanted to see Mark. Cell coverage was very bad all day so it wasn’t until I was a mile from the summit that I got Mark’s message that the lodge was closed.

We decided to meet at US 4 near Rutland which would result in a 24 mile day. My legs really needed a rest day but seeing Mark outweighed my tired legs. So we had a plan. What else could go wrong? haha. Well, Mother Nature decided a thunderstorm with hail while I was on top of Killington Mountain was a good idea. I waited out the storm with 4 very nice section hikers in the Cooper Lodge Shelter on the mountain. Once the hail stopped, I ran the last 6 miles down the mountain splashing in Vermont mud puddles the whole way.

Mark and I went to dinner and had fun catching up. Good times! It was still raining and there were no campsites near the trail head so he brought me to the Long Trail Inn B&B. Thank you Mark!

I will be picking up my resupply in the morning and hitting the trail for an easy day… really. In other news, I forded two streams today. It is the first time on the trip I’ve had to do that but it won’t be the last. I saw J-Squared again a little after lunchtime. We did the same miles today, they just did them in the opposite direction and without packs.

Day 32 (Bromley Mountain to stealth site near Bully Brook)

I slept well in the warming hut last night. I thought I might get on the trail a little earlier this morning since I didn’t have to pack up my tent but I still hit the trail at 6:30.

It was very windy at the top of the ski slope but the temperature was in the mid 50s so it felt okay. I guess the wind was a front moving in because it started to rain around 8 AM. I stopped by the Peru Peak Shelter for an early lunch and a cup of coffee to warm me up.

It stopped raining after lunch until I was in my tent for the evening. It is raining again now. Climbing up Baker Peak had a lot of tricky footing but the view was totally worth it. I met “J-Squared” on the trail for the second time. Yesterday we just said, “hi.” Today we stopped and visited for a bit. Both of their names start with the letter J so that is why they are “J-Squared”. It was one of those times when you meet someone and feel like you have known them for a long time. They are slack packing by driving north and then hiking to their other car that is south… and then repeat. I hope this means we will see each other everyday for awhile.

I’m stealth camping near a tall waterfall this evening. That combined with the rain should sing me to sleep.

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