DownTheTrail.com

hiking guides, gear, and journals

  • LATEST
  • GUIDES
    • COLORADO TRAIL
    • THE LONG TRAIL
      • LONG TRAIL SHELTERS
    • ARIZONA
    • UTAH
    • CALIFORNIA
    • HAWAII
    • ALASKA
  • GEAR
    • MY GEAR LIST
  • JOURNALS
    • GRAND CANYON
    • COLORADO TRAIL
    • LONG TRAIL
    • BICYCLING ACROSS AMERICA
    • APPALACHIAN TRAIL
    • DENALI
  • MORE
  • ABOUT

Day 9 – Bolton Mountain

updated: January 2, 2018

Puffer Shelter to Richmond, VT
October 4, 2007

LT Miles – 11.5
Total LT Miles – 88.9
Extra Miles – 0.6

morning view at the shelter

It’s a quiet, peaceful morning at Puffer Shelter.

The register is filled with comments from northbound hikers regarding the climb up Bolton Mountain, to the south.

I also see comments about the brown water from the nearby stream. Yes, it is tinted brown. Yes, I cooked with it last night. Yes, I am drinking it untreated, and hoping the color is a natural occurrence…

Bolton Mountain is no big deal – the summit is only a half mile from the shelter. For northbounders, however, it’s a long way up… which means a long way down for me! The sun is bright today and casts clear shadows along the ridge.

I unexpectedly come to a place called Harrington’s View, and enjoy a mid-morning snack in the sun. My mind drifts into “hiker mode,” and I daydream my way down the trail.

I guess I’m 24 hours too late for Mount Mansfield – the views must be spectacular from there today.

I go a third of a mile downhill off the trail to check out Buchanan Shelter and take another snack break. Somebody left two old GMC newsletters in the register box. I’ve never seen one of these before, and the editions make for excellent lunchtime reading.

The forest floor is blanketed in ferns and occasionally spotted with wide, spreading trees.

 

I continue in daydreaming hiker mode.

The trail steeply descends into Bolton Notch. Numerous creeks and muddy areas saturate the footpath. I see two snakes within a five minute walk of each other.

There’s a series of beaver ponds on the far side of the notch. I stop at one for a break and a snack, and hope I’ll get lucky and see a furry brown mammal.

Suddenly I hear a sharp rustle away in the woods, followed by what sounds like a bird intermittently chirping. This goes on for a few minutes, so I step into the brush to investigate. I’m nearly on top of the sound and see nothing, only to be shockingly confronted with a two-headed monster!

I watch this event for about a half hour, resisting the initial urge to help the frog. It’s one thing to see somebody feed their pet snake, but another experience entirely to naturally stumble upon this after living in the woods for over a week.

It’s been nearly 24 hours since I’ve seen another human being. I just watched all the life of this frog get wholly consumed into another.

It was there, and then it was gone.

The food chain at its best.

Real life.

The idea to take some video doesn’t occur to me until after the fact.

From the ponds I climb up to a small ridge. The south side affords a fine view of Camel’s Hump.

Tomorrow I will walk the distant ridge. I’ll start from the far upper left of the photo above, and then continue across the frame to the right over Camel’s Hump.

…and maybe someday I’ll live in that house. 🙂

At Duck Brook Shelter I encounter a pale man who appears to be in his forties. He doesn’t give a trail name, doesn’t respond well to conversation, and is vague about his starting point on the trail and ultimate destination. He carries unusual gear (Like a large short-wave radio), and doesn’t seem altogether “with it.” He’s polite, courteous, and probably harmless, but I’m sure to keep my wits about me and make tracks. He thanks me multiple times because I won’t be staying the night at the shelter. (?)

Duck Brook

A little later I hear something big moving in the woods, off to the left. I reach for my camera – hoping that it’s a moose – only to see a hiker trampling through the underbrush!

This is how I meet Early Rizen, a northbound end-to-ender, and he isn’t very happy. “My dog went bushwhacking after a rabbit,” he says, “And came out of the brush without his backpack!”

Dogs get to wear backpacks too, and apparently this particular dog got his stuck to a branch or something and lost it, so poor Early Rizen is wandering all over the forest trying to find the pack.

“Your dog looks so happy.”

“Well he won’t be happy when he gets no more doggie snacks! No more beef jerky! You hear? What did you do with that pack?”

No answer but a wagging tail. Heh. I aid in the search for about ten minutes, but it’s futile. I also warn Early Rizen about the weird character ahead at the shelter.

“Great,” he says, “As if my day hasn’t been strange enough already.”

Vermont Route 2 appears out of the woods. I prepare to hitchhike into Richmond – three miles away – but a woman pulls over and beats me to it.

“Do you need a ride to town?” she asks.

“Sure!”

During the ride she tells me about how she’s been bagging the New England 4,000 foot peaks. Whenever somebody tells me this, I ask about the mountains with no trails, where you have to bushwhack and follow herd paths to the top. It makes for interesting tales.

The first thing I do in town is resupply at the small local food store, buying a couple days’ worth of provisions. Next at a pay phone I call Mama Bower’s B+B, which offers a good price for a night’s stay with a great reputation for catering to hikers.

I get the answering machine. I linger outside the gas station for about half an hour, and try again.

Answering machine.

Another half hour. It’s cold and dark out.

Somebody answers.

“Hi, do you have a vacancy for tonight?”

“Sorry, we’re all full.”

The only other option for lodging in town is another bed and breakfast, but it’s $120 per night – over double the cost of Mama Bowers. There’s no motels, no campgrounds, nothing.

So now I’m a vagrant in town in the cold and dark, wishing I was in the woods so I could sleep wherever I please. I consider going back to the Long Trail to camp, but I don’t want to hitchhike in the dark. I don’t particularly care to walk Route 2 in the dark, either.

So I begin walking around town, looking for a park or church or schoolyard or someplace I can hide out for the night. A cop drives by, and turns around and doubles back, probably to get another look at me.

I choose to beat him to the punch by flaggin him down. I launch into explaining my situation:

“I’m hiking The Long Trail… all the lodging is booked… blah blah blah… is there anyplace I can set up my tent where nobody will bother me?”

He says the town park should be okay, even though it’s against local ordinances, as long as I get back where nobody can see me. He’s actually very friendly and accommodating.

So I set up my tent in the corner of a soccer field. It’s the only time I’ll use my tent on this trip. The mowed grass is oh so comfortable, and I leave the rain fly off, yielding a wide view of the clear, star-filled sky. Isn’t there something about a schoolyard game-field that brings out the youthfulness and romanticism of us all? Ah, just another night “on the trail.”

<— PREVIOUS (DAY 8)

NEXT (DAY 10) —>

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

About Jamie Compos

I'm the guy behind DownTheTrail.com. I love the outdoors, and the Grand Canyon is my favorite destination. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter (at the bottom of the page), or else I'll slip a rock into your backpack when you're not looking.

Comments

  1. Joe says

    July 29, 2021 at 9:32 am

    I’ve seen that guy at duck brook shelter before. Seems to a homeless guy hiding. He was nice when I met him but yes he was a strange guy.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

My Best Gear for 2023

Backpack

Day Pack

1-Person Tent

2-Person Tent

Sleeping Bag
(3 season)

Sleeping Bag
(summer)

Sleeping Pad
(inflatable)

Sleeping Pad
(foam)

Camp Pillow

Thru-Hiking Shoes

Sturdy Shoes
(Rugged/Off Trail)

Trail Running
(minimalist shoes)

Road Running
(minimalist shoes)

Socks

Water Filter

Water Treatment

Backpacking Stove

Headlamp

Power Bank

911 calls via GPS

Thru-Hiking App

Packraft

SEE MORE DETAILS
(my ultimate gear list)

 

(purchases through affiliate links earn commission)

 

chart your course

Copyright © 2023 Down The Trail - All Rights Reserved - legal statements - contact

This site feeds you cookies and is peppered with affiliate links. Recreating outdoors can be dangerous. Links to e-commerce sites earn commission. Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT