From Hazard’s notes:
Day 95: August 12, 2009
Travel:
From: Greenwall Shelter, VT
To: Rutland, VT
Beginning: 8:30am
Ending: 9:15pm
Number of miles hiked:
a) Trail – 25.2
b) other – .3 to trail from Greenwall, .2 to and from Clarendon for lunch.
c) AT Mile Marker – 1690.4 cumulative
Weather:
AM & PM: Sunny and hot.
People: Topshelf & Geeza, Tim Jones, Fiddle (Pico camp), Not-so-crazy, Two Pounds.
Animals: Furry ground creatures.
Money: $0, $1697 cumulative.
Notes of the day:
AM: The sun shined brightly on our lazy morning. We were the second to last pair to leave the shelter, but since we are so fast on the trail we ended up passing everyone who left before us. As we surged up yet another Bear Mtn. passing people along the way, I was surprised at how well graded this portion of trail was. Once over the top of Bear Mtn, the trail continued to be really easy until we started descending into Clarendon Gorge where it got slippery steep. I blame the pine needles and wet rocks. At the bottom, the Mill River raged under a really narrow suspension bridge that bucked wildly as we stomped across it. On the other side was a short climb to VT 103 and a water drop. Spoon filled his Platypus from the water jugs on the side of the trail while I waited and took pictures of flowers. Once I topped off my Camelbak, we crossed the highway and cruised up the next mountain. At the top we met a couple named Topshelf and Geeza. They had gone 1/2 a mile down the highway this morning to the Whistle Stop Corner Restaurant for breakfast and gave it high remarks. Unfortunately we couldn’t afford to go back and pick up some food no matter how good it sounded. But since it was getting close to lunchtime we hastily hiked to Clarendon Shelter for lunch.
PM: Clarendon Shelter was a huge shelter built on the edge of a grassy clearing that got a lot of sunlight and even had a glass window on the back wall of the shelter. Very classy. For weeks the bottom of my pack has been rubbing my lower back so badly, the skin is gone and it has become very painful to walk sometimes. For 95 days I had packed my bag a certain way and now was the time to try something new. I took my clothes bag from the main compartment and switched it with my sleeping bag in the bottom compartment were the rubbing was occurring. Thankfully this solution actually worked and from then on the severity of my packrash was lessened. A couple of miles down the trail we crossed Lower Cold River Rd. where a pickup truck was sitting on the side of the road. A gentlemen by the name of Tim Jones greeted us and offered us ice cold water and cookies. While we indulged in the super cold water and snacks, Tim asked us about our journey so far and he was thoroughly impressed with how fast we were going. He told us about the cache of cold sodas at Upper Cold River Road provided by Madhatter(?) to congratulate us on having only 500 miles left to Baxter Peak. Since we still had a long way to go we said goodbye to Tim, but not before getting his card just in case we really got into a pickle. Right where Tim had told us was a cooler full of Coca-Cola so we had another break to take in refreshments. At this point the clock was really against us and unless we made spectacular time over Killington, we were in for some night hiking. Thanks to the deep mud, slick rocks and roots, and seemingly endless climb to the top of Killington, we made horrible time. Once at the top we even took the wrong trail down and ended up out on the bare ski slopes of Killington Resort. Once we figured out where to go and started making our way toward US 4 we were exhausted from slogging through the muck and it was apparent that we were going to be in for a long night. Since we didn’t have any more food it was imperative that we got to Rutland or else we’d starve. Night fell and we still weren’t anywhere close to the road and it wasn’t until shortly after 9pm that we broke free of the woods and landed on the shoulder of the highway. The traffic was pretty light and even worse for the traffic going toward town so I pulled out Tim’s card to call in a favor. I caught him right as he and his wife were headed to bed, but he understood that the chances of us getting a hitch out there was close to zero at this time of night and he agreed to come take us into town. Tim dropped us off at the Back Home Again Cafe which had a hostel upstairs. We thanks Tim and his wife over and over again and then went inside. A bunch of thru-hikers (including Two Pounds) were sweeping and mopping the floors and no one of any authority seemed to be around. Thankfully a hiker named Not-so-crazy took care of us and brought us ice water, told us where to find the bunks, and showed us to the delicious pizza laid out for the hikers. I pretty much ate, showered, and passed out on the comfort of a mattress and sheets. It was truly a long day.
