22nd July
23.4 miles
Bromley Mountain (1653.7) to Bushcamp (1677.1)
I woke several times during the night. First at 2am to take some photos of the stars. They didn’t turn out as good as I expected, I need more practice. And second I woke around 4.45am to take some time lapse video of the sunrise. My camp on the summit of Mt Bromley, a ski resort has been my most favourite campsite of the whole trail.
It was well after 7am when I started hiking. I had loads of energy and was buzzing from the great scenery overnight. I do miss looking up at the stars. But I was unsure if I would push hard and make miles or not. My hiking buddy Thumper is expecting a visit from his brother in 7 days and is trying to plan his future hiking strategy. The hiking bit is sometimes easier than the logistics.
The trail was easy today. In fact I would say today was one of the easiest for the whole trail. Little in the way of mud or rocks and the climbs were not to steep or numerous. We would hike about 4 miles then rest at a stream or shelter while loading up on calories then repeat.
People in Vermont must have a great sense of humour. I saw a sign at a trailhead. Graffiti is frowned upon as we hike in the woods with the leave no trace ethics. But when people do graffiti a sign it’s funny, the Ferret Sanctuary is a case in point. On another point I saw my first moose poo in Vermont, now where are they.
By late afternoon the clouds started to get thicker and the trail started to get dark. We didn’t have access to a weather report but it felt like rain. We scanned our maps and made a plan to set up camp at the first place we could find. As darkness set in a hiker passed by. He was either drunk, upset or didn’t take his medication. Both Thumper and I were a little concerned he might return.
Next : Day 99 – Climbing Mt Killington
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