September 20, 2007 | Miles: 14.3
Start: Bromley Mountain Shelter
End: stealth campsite at Big Branch River
Danielle:
I felt tired today. We started off the morning with a steep climb up to Bromley summit, where we again came across Moxie, Sawmill, Happy, Badmoon and Phantom before they had packed up… this seems to be a theme! We took in the views from the observation tower, where the crew had spent the night in the wind, and then began the descent into Mad Tom Notch. From there, a steep climb up Styles Peak and then over the ridge to Peru Peak Shelter for lunch. Nice foliage along Griffith Lake and a relatively mellow afternoon, with the exception of a rock scramble up Baker Peak, to our campsite along the river. A great spot, with a big flat rock to sit and cook on. Moxie set up camp next to us, and after dinner, we collected firewood and made a great fire. Sawmill and Phantom came back down the trail from the shelter (just 0.1 miles away) to sit and chat around the flames. Can’t beat it. Another beautiful day on the trail (we’re getting spoiled!)
Ryan:
After opening the wine with a mini knife and tent stake and eating our bagel sandwiches. Bert and Sancho appeared. Bert is a dude and Sancho is a dog…a 100-pound golden retriever. The shelter is a double decker, and we had laid our stuff out on the bottom. Bert chose the top to keep Sancho from sleeping on our heads. Of course, he had to lift him up there. Pretty funny. It was even funnier when he had to get Sancho down in the morning. Sancho did some kind of dance because he was freaked out.
On to the hiking, Bromley Mountain is really nice. The crew that slept at the top was a little chilly as the wind blew all night. Of course, they chose to sleep on the tower. Moxie’s Mom has decided to return to civilization. Kind of a bummer, but her hips are bugging her. Probably a good decision. It’s a tough one though, but I completely understand.
Eventually, we hit Mad Tom Notch and then the toughest climb of the trip to the top of Styles Peak. When I looked at the map a couple days before, I just knew it was going to be a grumpy one, and it was. After that we meandering, i.e. grumbled, our way to Peru Peak, and then eventually to Griffith Lake, which was beautiful. VT is really nice. After another short climb up Baker peak, we descended to Big Branch to an awesome campsite. Right along the river. We’ve scored some nice spots on this trip.
Moxie camped nearby, and actually, the shelter was just up the trail, so Sawmill and Phantom came back to hang out by the fire I built. It was a good one. Hairball would have been proud.
September 21, 2007 | Miles: 13.4
Start: stealth campsite at Big Branch River
End: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Danielle:
After a big dinner last night, I felt better today, more energetic. Another beautiful day! Can it be? We are really lucking out!! A nice hike to Little Rock Pond, where Snowman and I sat on the rocks and had a snack before starting the climb up White Rocks Mountain. Now, we had heard about this mountain before, and it lived up to the hype. In two spots along the trail were these clearings with tons of creative rock art (meaning, lots of cairns that people had built). Pretty crazy. Nice pine forest too. We headed down a blue blaze to White Rocks Cliff, where Happy, Badmoon and Phantom were enjoying lunch at the outlook. We spread out the tent fly to dry and sat for a while before heading on to the shelter. Moxie and Sawmill are here tonight too, while the rest of the crew continued hiking, spurred on by thoughts of dinner at the Whistlestop Café. We, on the other hand, have decided upon an alpine start in an attempt to get in a big breakfast before our climb up Killington! We’ll see how that goes ;-)
Lots of baby frogs on the trail today.
Ryan:
What can I say? Another beauty. Well, actually, it was a bit hazy today. Our first stop was Little Rock Pond. It was beautiful. Man, VT is getting boring.
From the non boring department, there were dozens of cairns piled up on White Rocks Mountain. A really neat rock garden.
We ended the day setting up the tent, getting water and eating dinner. Like I said, what can I say?
Happy, Bad Moon and Phantom moved on to the Whistlestop Café for dinner. We’re planning to hit it tomorrow for breakfast. YUM!
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