Day 106 (8/4) - River of Dreams

Day 106 - 17.4 mi/1642.3 mi tot
Near E. Branch of Deerfield River to VT11/30 (Manchester Center, VT)

So I had a new "first" on the AT today...a tent river. I thought that the place I pitched my tent last night was "flat enough" but apparently I was incorrect. About 11 pm I awoke to find water running crosswise through my tent due to the huge amount of rain that was dumping down on the area. Thankfully the rain was mostly over at that point and I was able to get rid of the water and get to a point where I could get through the rest of the night, even though I was somewhat damp. Not a big deal since I was heading into town today and could dry out at the hostel.

Then when I got up in the morning, the Boy Scout leaders were already up and had sighted a moose back near the road crossing so I went to go take a look and sure enough, there was a small moose. I say a "small" moose in relation to what a "large" moose would look like but this was still a huge animal. Once I satisfied my curiosity there I got my act together and got moving on the trail. All day was a damp, grey day until just about noon, when the sun broke through and some breezes kicked in. This allowed me to do some drying out at the shelter where I stopped for lunch about 3 miles away from where I would get into town.

When I got down to the parking area I wasn't sure what to expect...I had heard it was an easy hitch into town, but as a single male with a sketchy looking beard, who knows how long it could take. Thankfully, a carpenter who was an avid hiker had left something at home was using the parking area for a turnaround point and gave me a lift into town. The kindness of people along the trail (except for some parts of New Jersey) continues to impress me. Got into town and began my calorie binge for the night with some pizza, then some ice cream and then some soda. Not a bad start. From there I got my ride to the hostel for the night and was super impressed with this place...the Green Mountain House Hostel. The owners have a great place here that is very clean and updated with lots of amenities for the hikers staying here including laundry, a full kitchen, and plenty of space to dry out wet gear in the sun (convenient for today, huh). I got myself scrubbed down and took care of my gear and by that time the other hiker here was getting ready to cook some dinner and offered to make enough for two. Sounded good to me since it was spaghetti with clam sauce. A very nice dinner and very nice of him to share with me.

There are also plenty of new pictures up on the shutterfly site (see the new links at the top and sides of the blog), including everything from West Virginia to today in Vermont. Back at it tomorrow after another shower, just because I can.

We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night

- Snowfox