7/5 Familarity

21.6 hiked today, 1606.2 miles N, 567.8 miles left
Goddard Shelter

Today was my first full day in Vermont and it was a lot like a reunion. In Vermont there is a hiking trail called The Long Trail which stretches from the Massachusetts border to the Canadian border along the Green Mountains. The AT overlaps this route in VT for it's first 105 miles before it turns suddenly east to enter NH. I hiked the Long Trail from 2003-04 and so I have been through this first 105 miles before and hiking it again brings back long lost memories. I cannot recall the trail ouright but frequently have a sense of what is just ahead. Just as often I walk right into things and think "wow, how could I have forgetten this!".
Things I did remeber well were the mud, roots, and long ups and downs. Don't take this the wrong way though, the Green Mountain Club mantains the trail very well and the trail was clear and easily passable everywhere. Another thing I remember was the climate being more subalpine which it is. Near the tops of mountains the trees are mostly pine with a abundance of moss and ferns. As I climb the peaks I sometimes get the feeling I am climbing the trees to as they get shorter the higher up I get. Farther north in the alpine regions I climbed right over the trees until they were stunted, gnarlly, and 3' tall but thus far we have stayed too low for that.
One thing I had forgotten was the beaver activity. Sucker Pond being the most dramatic example. The trail passes around one side of it and as I hiked along the bog bridges my feet were about 2' below the level of the water to my left. The beavers had built a dam that was about 50 yards long that could sucessfully hold water above grade. It really is a starteling sight and I cannot believe I had forgotten about it. Harmon Hill was another that I had forgotten. In the dense forest the mountain suddenly opens up with a wide stripe of tall grasses that beg one to take a break.
The trail itself was not the only thing that brought back memories. After the steep descent to VT 9 we came across some trail magic. A rough fellow with a build that makes you think his job involves lots of dirt and grease invited us over to this pickup truck for some cold drinks. Something rang farmilar though. First I had a sense I had met him before. Then the food he pulled out looked farmilar too. His truck rang a bell too though softly. Finally I realized it was Paddy-O from very early in my thru-hike. The last I saw him was about 3 months ago at the base of Standing Indian Mountain where he dished out the best trail magic I had. Well he was back for more and I settled down for a long 2-3 hour break that involved drinks, jalopeno poppers, and 3 cheese calzones. The food was great and it was a real treat to see him again. I lounged and we talked and finally I fell into a nap induced by the beer and food. Alas McGyver, Wolverine, and I all wanted to make it to this shelte!
r before dark and so we had to say our goodbyes and start the climb up the other side of the pass.
Since we had spent so much time with Paddy-O we had to turn it up a notch and the three of us hiked like mad-men until we reached the shelter at about 8PM.
This will be the third night I have spent at the Goddard Shelter as I stayed twice during my sectioning of the Long Trail. The shelter, to my surprise, was brand new. The surprise is from the fact that the old one was new too. What I heard was the old one had a bad infestation of carpenter ants and it had to be torn down.
The shelter was packed when we arrived but Wolverine and I slept on the floor of the vestuble area it has and McGyver hung his hammock. There are a lot of Long Trail hikers starting out along with a few AT thru-hikers and a few weekenders.
The day was nice, not too cool, not too hot and the predicted rain never showed up my pleasure.
Now all of us thru-hikers have reached the point of less than 600 miles left. It is kind of rediculous as we all are thinking "Wow, only 600 left. That is not very far!". In the conversations people have started to become more focused on what happenes after the hike. I have also become more introspective seeing what I have learned and what changed. I have reached a sense of ease knowing no mater what happens I will be happy. I enjoy my time on the trail greatly and certainly do not want it to end. However I miss being in touch with my friends and familly and of course Dana. I know when I finish I will be in touch with the people I care about and certainly feel happy even if it happened due to an inury. I am also certain I will feel the draw of the open trail wherever I am.
What I feel most changed in that I have found myself more comfortable with emotions what I have always been a little weak on. I am sure more has changed and I look forward to seeing what it is.