Long Trail Day 22

Tillerson Camp to Laura Woodward Shelter

15 Miles (267 Total)

It was a mostly restless and sleepless night in the shelter. It was a packed house (8 people), which makes it quite noisy, with everyone moving around on their crinkly mattresses, breathing and snoring.

We left the shelter dry, albeit in a cloud. The trail was again slow going on account of thick over brush and terrible trail tread. My hatred for the Green Mountain Club was at an all time high. It was clear this part of the trail had not been maintained in several years. If not a decade.

We heard the first thunder only 30 minutes after leaving the shelter. It got louder and closer and we saw flashes of lightning blip into view.

Then it began raining, and soon after, absolutely pouring. The ponchos tried their best but there was just too much water and they wetted out for the first time.

Eventually I was just wearing what amounted to a wet paper bag. It clung to my skin and annoyed me more than it helped me.

I would need to buy another one. This one was old hat and had served its purpose.

The rain stopped after a half hour. It remained cloudy and misty all day. The trail was a chore as we went up and down three named mountains before descending down to Jay Camp, a shelter at the base of Jay Mountain, our last significant peak of the route.

It was already 4 and we had only managed 12 measly miles.

This trail is a menace.

The sun was starting to come out so we decided to go for the summit and reach the next shelter on the other side, 3 more miles away.

The climb was okay and it was evident this part of the trail was well maintained. All the popular day hiking trails are. You have to please the most people, right?

At the summit we heard a loud bang and saw a low black cloud to our immediate north. We rushed to the summit Lodge as it began thunder storming. A huge cell passed through the mountain bringing lots of rain and wind.

After a half hour the storm stopped and we continued onward. Their was a man standing on one of the ski runs without a pack looking out into the valley. It was strange and a little creepy.

We got to he Shelter to find it completely full. I suppose it is a Saturday. We passed quite a few south bound thru-hikers today starting their journey.

God bless their souls.

There’s no way you could even pay me to hike this monstrosity again.

We are in the tent for our last night on the Long Trail. It’s only about 8 mikes to the border from here, but I don’t expect it to be an easy battle.

I’m tired. I’m really tired. And I’ll be glad to walk off the trail tomorrow having been absolutely humbled by these mountains. This is some of the toughest hiking I have ever done. And mostly, the trail has won this battle. We just merely survived it.