Down The Trail

Hike North______________The Long Trail______________Hike South

The Long Trail End-to-End Journal (Southbound)
October 19, 2007
Goddard Shelter to Congdon Shelter
LT Miles – 14.4
Total LT Miles – 262.4
Extra Miles – 0.3

Goddard Shelter

Early morning on Glastenbury is quiet and fogged in, eliminating the opportunity for a second view from the fire tower. I fill up on water from the high spring and head south.

I follow the ridge along several misty viewpoints in the wilderness.

Hell Hollow Brook contributes to the watershed of Bennington – home of some 10,000 people, and fourth-largest city in Vermont.

I exit the southern end of the wilderness and cross a broad swath of power lines. It’s an eerie, overcast, breezy day.

Melville Nauheim Shelter

Here I stop and sit at the picnic table for a long lunch break, contemplating tonight’s destination. I’m unsure weather to stop ahead at Congdon Shelter or push on for Seth Warner Shelter. I’m feeling a little fatigued and have a knot in my stomach, so we’ll see. The register here is dominated with talk of rodent activity – mice, chipmunks, and even a possum or rat. Even as I sit at the table a chipmunk appears, and begins to circle my position like a shark, drawing in closer and closer.

It’s bold enough to snack on crumbs that fall only a few inches from my feet.

I descend to Route 9, the road that leads into Bennington. On the way down I meet an older couple out for day hike. The man inquires about my trip.
“How far ya comin’ from?”
“I’m doing The Long Trail.”
“From Canada?”
“Uh-huh”
“Way to go,” he says, and shakes a clenched fist in triumph.

Don’t miss the next page! (This day continued)

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