stratton pond shelter to bromley shelter

miles: 12.7

what a difference a day makes. it didn’t really rain much last night. lots of wind and the occasional spat of water on the tin roof. slept pretty well for a shelter. only two people snored loudly, though there was one younger guy with the loudest sleeping pad ever.

broke camp with relative efficiency. the only person who left before me was “gumby”, an older retired guy. my spirits lifted almost immediately. the trail was expectedly soggy. other than my shoes and socks i dried out within a few miles.

the plan for the day was to get in and out of manchester for a resupply and then do a couple more miles to the shelter. an easy day.

stratton pond was just below the shelter.

the trail followed a dirt road for maybe a mile before a double blaze indicating a turn. i followed where it looked like the path was, but it dead ended at prospect rock where i got a stunning view of manchester.

a few miles further and i arrived at vermont rt 11/30. “gumby” had only been there five minutes. i asked if i could hitch with him. 5 minutes later a guy in a tundra stopped. the tiny head of a boston terrier poked it’s head out the window. he let us ride in the bed down to price chopper.

i masked up and wandered through the one way only aisles trying to figure out what to eat. i hadn’t been to the grocery store since early march. it was surreal.

i came out with a mixed bag of food stuffs. i bought some good stuff like fruit and avocados, and some bad stuff like sour pach kids and nutella (which i keep hearing is a hiker favorite, but i can’t remember if i’ve ever had any.

our tundra friend advised us to hang out in the shade near the r.k. miles and see if someone leaving in a pickup might bring us back to the trail. we walked the main street toward r.k.miles, passing an amazing blue driftwood horse. right next to that was a tiny ben and jerry’s stand. “gumby” and i stopped and i got an ice cream. we sat at a nearby table while i ate.

“gumby” was in the army, and near the end of his tenure apparently they were downsizing and offered him early retirement and the full pension. he took it and then with his free time ran a gift shop for a number of years. he closed in february and had a fire sale and started hiking the AT two days after me in march! his wife started with him, but after a few weeks she decided it wasn’t her thing. he kept going, though his hike has become pretty patchy due to COVID.

we walked to r.k. miles and stuck out our thumbs. again, within 5 minutes someone stopped. this time a couple in a ford escape from new jersey. everyone masked up and we hopped in for the ride. the driver told us our ride came with a cost, and that cost was “what have you learned on the trail?” at this moment the answer to that for me is to let go of control you only think you have. you don’t have nearly as much as you imagine, and that’s okay. “gumby’s” answer was that the world will provide. you only hear about the bad, but most people are good, and that’s even more so for the hiker community and the things they do for one another. i told our driver that they were now part of that community, and thanks. it turns out that he’s never picked up hitchhikers before.

there was a note on guthook that manchester had recently had an outbreak. you could definitely tell. on the 2 miles from our drop off almost everyone on the trail was wearing a mask.

arrived shortly at bromely shelter, also timberframe, like the one last night, but not nearly as big. it turns out to have tent pads as well. i looked at them and it took some creativity, (and a piece of string left in the shelter) but i got my tent set up. definitely not something you want to be doing in a torrential downpour.

i strung up my line and everything went onto it. i went down to the water source and thoroughly washed my socks, and winged them around in a mesh bag to approximate a spin cycle. i think there is enough breeze that they might be fully dry by tomorrow.

i also discovered my darn tough socks weren’t tough enough:

layla and bria, a mother / daughter team i met at stratton pond shelter showed up as well. looks like it’s just the four of us tonight.

dinner: knorr cheddar broccoli rice with a cup of swanson chicken ginger and turmeric bone broth. verdict: disgusting. the knorr rice package didn’t smell like food when i opened it, so i’m blaming that.

some other photos from today: