Mile: 1608.5 - 1634.6 (26.1 miles)
When I wake up I think it's much earlier than it is, the forest is dark and the sky gray. I take extra care to waterproof things which pays off when I starts raining about two minutes after I finish packing. But it's short lived and by the time I make it to the top of Harmon Hill it's already stopped. The trees have filled in and while I'm sure the views are nice it would mean wading through wet grass which sounds very unappealing.
Looking back at the rocks, this shouldn't be steep but it sure felt that way coming down.
The forest is lovely and it's a great morning. I'm moving glacially slow the first few miles. It's a very steep rocky descent to the highway and I'm in no rush.
Then it's the giant ridge line and a long climb back up to the top. I chat with an over eager Long Trail hiker and sheepishly admit I speed up a bit because I'm just not up to the overwhelmingly excited chatter.
These are a lot of the views so far, I'm really excited to see the fire towers that are coming up.
There's beautiful spring water at a shelter and somewhat calmer Long Trail hikers near the top of Glastenbury Mountain and then a very cool fire tower. It's windy and old up high but fantastic views.
The rest of the day is just rock and root filled enough to make me always watch my feet but very enjoyable. It's not bad you just can't zone out. I've heard Vermont is nicknamed Vermud and I am constantly sidestepping large mud holes but they're fairly dry and at least for today my feet manage to stay dry as well.
The rain never comes back and a cool breeze makes most of the day pretty great. I push to the base of Stratton Mountain with the vague idea of waking up early enough to hike the 2.4 miles to summit and see sunrise. But once I lay down I'm not so sure. 3:30 sounds awfully early.
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