Today was a 12.3 mile day – I admit I was also trying to stay ahead of the Boy Scout troop (it didn’t work). The first 8 miles were very easy and went by quickly; but the last 4.3 miles…
… The last 4.3 miles, I swear, every fly and gnat in Vermont were auditioning for a part in a horror movie, and wherever I was, was where they were holding stage tests! I had meant to stop at a shelter at the 8 mile mark, relax and have lunch, and then push on the last part. Well, the privy was literally buzzing, and the Goddard Shelter itself was not much better! So many insects, I gave up on the idea. I was close to the top of Glastonbury Mountain, which had a fire tower with a reportedly great view, so I thought I could climb up there and have lunch THERE. No luck. Just as buggy, and I was not thrilled at the idea of climbing the tower, which was all grating and stairs. No, thanks. I just kept going, and so did the swarms of insects. It was a warm day with no wind. They loved it. I didn’t!
Fortunately, the Kid Gore Shelter, which was my goal for the night, was not nearly as buggy, and had a great view; I planned to stay in the shelter, instead of tenting, because tent spots were very limited. There was a very bold chipmunk that was very interested in the fact myself and a LT NOBO were cooking dinner; it kept popping out to watch, and we caught it on the picnic table later – fortunately after we were done cooking. My ideas of how the evening was going to go completely went out the window when that troop of Boy Scouts arrived… despite us having warned them the night before that there was very limited tenting. *shakes head* In any case, I was not going to fight for my right to sleep with a bunch of hormonal teenage Boy Scouts, so I relinquished my spot in the shelter and went seeking a tent spot. I managed to barely squeeze my tent into a small space barely big enough, and slept all right. At least it eliminated any bug issue. 🙂 But I don’t think I did the plants any good.
I hiked on.
TRAILS, TRIALS, AND TRAVAILS 