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Aug
16 , 1983 Tuesday (469.1 mtg) From
Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal
A Little
bit of road walking this morning to start the day off brought us
down to Vermont highway 12, and the new relocation around Mr. Johnson's
land. The relocation made the trail another six miles of road walking
if we had chosen to go that route. Rumor had it that you could still
go through, the blazes were still there and Mr. Johnson would allow
it. Rich and I found the old trail after I oriented him to turn
left instead of right. The old trail saved four miles over the new
trail, and was not all roadwalking. Along the way I talked to a
guy living in an old bus with electricity coming into the place
on an extension cord. (Not sure where he had plugged into for the
power) Talk about roughing it! Farther on we stopped at Cloudland
Shelter, a shelter maintained by the Dartmouth Outing Club.
Today marked the beginning of the section of trail maintained by
the DOC. The Dartmouth Outing Club, based at Dartmouth College in
Hanover, New Hampshire, an Ivy League college for those who are
"really smart" and have lots of money, at least that is
what I thought. With all their money they were able to construct
some of the nicest outhouses on the trail. The outhouse at Gulf
Shelter showed the club at its finest. It sported six walls, was
shaped like a turret, and was made of varnished hardwood and had
a bulletin board on the inside to post messages. The upper section
was screened in to allow ventilation and provide a view of the surrounding
forest. The attention to detail was uncanny. I just wish that
their attention to trail marking was as detailed. The markings
came sometimes as frequent as every quarter mile. A lot can happen
in that distance, and frequently it did. On those old woods roads
like the one Rich and I got lost on yesterday, their markings were
terrible.
The cool days experienced just a few days ago vanished and the warm
weather had returned, but not quite as bad. It was warm enough that
when we rolled into West Hartford, Vermont situated on the White
River, we found some of the local youth swimming in the river. We
immediately headed for the post office after crossing the bridge
over the river, where I proceeded to package up everything that
I felt was unnecessary for travel through the White Mountains of
New Hampshire. I had heard that they were so tough that your daily
mileage would drop in half. This influenced my decision to drop
as much weight as possible from my pack, which also included my
Log book. At the time it was just extra weight. Off it went. Both
Rich and I then hit the general store for ice cream and soda, then
back to the river for a quick dip to help cool us off. The remainder
of the afternoon was a three and a half mile gradual ascent up Griggs
Mountain to Happy Hill Cabin, which was a real "house"
with a porch, and the inside was equipped with a fireplace. Tonight
we would spend our last full day in Vermont.
You
might wonder how this story could go on since I had sent my journal
home. Like I mentioned earlier, I used to be able to tell on a day
to day basis the names of the places that I had stayed. I did make
small notes in my data book, which I continued to carry, but the
remainder of the journal entries were made after returning to Illinois.
I believe that these entries are more informative and contained
more information than those made on the trail. I did not feel much
like writing while on the trail, but once I was not on the trail
any longer, I felt that I had the time and had to do it before I
forgot everything. While at home, the dimming light of approaching
evening was no longer a factor in when I had to stop writing.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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