The day out of Manchester Center began cloudy, drizzly and with pack covers on but the climb up to the top of Bromley Ski Resort was pleasant enough walking and chatting with Patriot on the way up. This is a small resort and we walked an upper cat walk to their patrol "shack" which both Snowbowl and Sunrise patrollers reading this would be somewhat jealous of.  The chair was not operating today!

There has been so much rain that much of the trail is standing water and mud. You can rock hop over some, go around some, but eventually dry boots and socks are not possible. Boardwalks help a little, but those boards can be very slippery and have been the source of a fall or two.

Then in the middle of the forest came the land of rock cairns. One person must have built one and everyone that comes along adds a rock or two. Strange to see.

One section of the AT had been rerouted to a road walk due to damage from Hurricane Irene, but most hikers now take the trail which was great. At the end there were 3 fords, easy ones that actually felt quite refreshing on this hot day.

The best view in a long time came on a fine sunny morning at the top of Killington Peak. The top is a short but very steep rock scramble up 0.2 mile and the reward is a vista of 60-70 miles distant.

 



 



Down the mountain to the town of Killington, we stayed a night at the Inn at the Long Trail and enjoyed an evening with friends Diesel Bob and Linda. This is the point at which the Long Trail (the oldest long trail in the US) splits off from the AT and continues up Vermont. The Inn is delightful and had the best hiker box we've found for resupplying. It also is unique construction with part of the walls being the rock it was built next to. Most the furniture is local wood too including this beautifully polished bar that must have been 25 foot long.

 

 

Trail conditions got better with less mud and there was this handy ladder climb.

 

Firsts on this section included a porcupine and maple trees ready for spring tapping.

 

Throughout the AT there are stone walls, this one being one of the longest and highest. They were constructed by settlers to keep in sheep or cattle and occasionally we also see remnants of possible homes.



 

And then one evening there was shelter magic. We got in hot and tired after lots of ups and downs in elevation during the day and looked forward to cleaning up in the nearby stream. But in a small pool of icy water we also found a dozen cans of Bud that a caretaker of this shelter had just left. Yep, one was refreshing!



 

 

Wildflowers are back now too. We have walked with the sweet smell of purple milkweed, Queen Anne's Lace, some sunflower family flowers among others.

Yesterday we crossed the Connecticut River into Hanover, NH. Our friends Craig and Sue met us and we are spending 2 wonderful zero days at their cabin on Sunapee Lake. We have heard loons a couple times on the trail but today saw our first one in the lake.

The White Mts. are ahead of us now and the pace will definitely be slowed down as 12-15 miles a day is common here. New England just keeps getting better so I'm looking forward to the next week even with its sometimes steep climbs.