Twig Adventures

Monday August 23rd, 2021, 0630-0730Bromley Mountain Ski Hut to Rt 11, then Manchester Center, SOBO AT mm 539.13 miles30′ gain, 1437′ loss The hurricane didn’t blow the hut away overnight. In fact, I’m sure it’d seen much, much worse. I put earplugs in, drowning out the sound of the wind. I went outside to pee around 1 am, finding just some drizzle and light wind. I’d overheard the other hikers comment about how cold it was but the weather page said it was still in the 60’s. I left the hut early in the morning wearing only my dress and was quite comfortable. My gratitude to the Bromley Ski Hut for being such a place of refuge. I hope I[…]

Sunday August 22nd, 2021, 0630-1615Bully Brook to Bromley Mountain Ski Hut, SOBO AT mm 536.122.3 miles5804 gain, 3937 loss So it was to be the second tropical system in less than a week. I was tempted to blame Vermont but it’s not a state’s fault that climate change is causing such extreme weather. Things would be deteriorating throughout the day and I had 22 miles to go to get to the ski hut atop Bromley mountain. I’d filed this place away in my mind last year as a spot I’d like to spend the night. Never did I think I’d be doing it in a hurricane. Henri was set to hit Connecticut and Massachusetts in the afternoon, then come my way[…]

Saturday August 21st, 2021, 0930-2000RT 4 to Bully Brook, SOBO AT mm 513.724.8 miles6522 gain, 7041 loss I slept incredibly well considering a full room, including a few wheezers (women don’t snore, they wheeze). I didn’t even need earplugs. I felt so at peace all night but did have some interesting dreams…something in the tea or just really exhausted. I was up early per usual, getting work done. I went to breakfast at 07:30 am, which consisted of more matte tea and coffee, homemade granola, yogurt and fruit. This is what I have for breakfast every morning at home so I really enjoyed it. I caught the first bus back to the trail and started hammering. Another tropical system was on[…]

Friday August 20th, 2021, 0620-1800Stony Brook Shelter to Rt 4 & Rutland, SOBO AT mm 48910 miles2946 gain, 2795 loss It hammered rain all night, so I had pretty interrupted sleep. I had to mop my floor and tent walls for condensation every few hours. But my clothes and sleeping bag stayed dry so I guess it was a success. I may need to send away for my new Pleximid tent. At least it’s not cold, so it doesn’t really matter how wet stuff gets. I just hate putting on wet stinky clothes and I really hate packing a wet tent. The rain did let up around 4 am, so I walked the remainder of miles into town under semi-dry conditions.[…]

Thursday August 19th, 2021, 0620-1800Blue Barn, West Hartford to Stony Brook Shelter, SOBO AT mm 47927 miles8622 gain, 7257 loss Some days are just about doing miles while listening to podcasts and music. Today was such. The remnants of tropical storm Fred ensured all day rain. Luckily it didn’t really start until just after I’d packed my tent. I had coffee courtesy of Linda, enjoying my breakfast under the protection of her porch. When I set off, there was only a slight drizzle to contend with, so it wasn’t too hard to leave. I envied the NOBOs, who had a mere 10 miles to go to reach Hanover and more dry spaces. I had 37 miles before the next town, Rutland,[…]

Wednesday August 18th, 2021, 0600-1730Moose Mountain Shelter to Blue Barn, West Hartford, SOBO AT mm 45220.7 miles3657 gain, 5378 loss I’m back! In so many ways. First, my fast hiking pace returned and secondly, I’m back in Vermont. I visited about a year ago when I hiked the Long Trail and I just loved everything about the state. I was so happy to return today. First I needed to hike 11 miles into Hanover, NH, home of Dartmouth College. The trail goes right through the center of town, the first of such that I’ve come to. It was fast trail, with minimum up and downs. I made it to the outskirts of town by 9 am, 10 miles down. The mosquitoes[…]

Tuesday August 17th, 2021, 0600-1730Rt 25A to Moose Mountain Shelter, SOBO AT mm 432.222.5 miles7644 gain, 6460 loss Despite my unfortunate proximity to the road and a kid’s summer camp, I slept peacefully all night. I heard some barred owls in the morning…only the second time I’ve heard owls on this hike. The mosquitoes seemed to be sleeping in, so I was quick and careful not to wake them while packing. My goodness were they bad yesterday! A few chased me out of camp but mostly I escaped their wrath. I quickly came to another stream where some NOBOs were camped and they said they didn’t have any mosquitoes, so maybe it was just the proximity to the road. Even[…]

Monday August 16th, 2021, 0945-1820Kinsman Notch to Rt 25A, SOBO AT mm 408.619.3 miles5568 gain, 6555 loss I had a lot of work to catch up on in the morning, so I was up early typing away. Lemongrass and Ninja Turtle were leaving to do a day hike of Moosilauke, the same mountain I would be climbing, so I got a ride into town with them. We all stopped at McDonald’s, where I selected items based on the highest calorie content. These were 2 sausage egg biscuits for $4 and 950 calories. I’m one of the few that uses the calorie info to find things on the high end. I needed a ride back to the notch, so I walked[…]

Sunday August 15th, 2021, 0615-1000Eliza Brook to Kinsman Notch, SOBO AT mm 389.48.6 miles2175 gain, 3310 loss I had an easy day into town, or so I thought. Someone annoyingly put another mountain in between that I hadn’t noticed on the map. It wasn’t a huge climb or terribly steep, it just really slowed me down. There were lots of the 4 Rs as usual. I took a side trail to an overlook at the top and there was zilch for a view. The trail was built for wishful thinking I guess. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, though. It was so cool in the morning that I started out wearing my fleece. A nice breeze was blowing and[…]

Saturday August 14th, 2021, 0600-1930Stealth Camp/ Galehead hut to Eliza Brook, SOBO AT mm 380.820.2 miles7484 gain, 7927 loss I slept very fitfully all night. Being right next to the trail kind of sucked. A couple came by at 10 pm, talking pretty loudly. I could hear them and see their lights for half a mile in either direction. Then a solo person hurried past at 2:30 am. WTF? Probably a trail runner but maybe someone out for a FKT – fastest known time. I’ve night hiked plenty and I understand the drive and passion for FKTs, but this seems like the worst terrain to be doing in the dark. It’s treacherous enough in the light of day, but stumbling[…]