NH,VT & MASS- Part 4

Dates ........ Friday Sept 22, 2000
Miles ........ 13.1 miles
From ........ Clarenden (VT) Shelter
To ............. Little Rock Pond Shelter
Weather ... Upper 40's, breezy, cloudy

Clarendon Gorge, Bear Mtn (2210'), White Rocks Mtn (2680')

This was my first of many $5.00 FEES for shelters in Vermont. The fee is to cover GMC caretakers and associated costs. It is the only place on the trail so far I have paid a fee at a shelter. I think it is wrong. Other states - NH, MA, CT, NY, NJ, PA, WV, VA, to name a few - do not charge fees to AT hikers. It is the National Scenic Trail, operated by the National Park System, and it should be FREE to all long distance hikers that use it. A $5.00 donation I might give, but I strenuously object to a mandatory FEE. Especially when the shelters and trails are in no better condition than other (free) shelters and they(GMC) don't even put toilet paper in the privies.

Graylock and I got an early start. We skipped breakfast, packed and were on the trail by 7:45. As we got to the hillsides above Clarendon Gorge we could see the airfield and gorge clearly. Later, the trail would take us over the gorge on a suspension bridge. We stashed our packs in the brush along the trail, hiked out to VT 103 and walked down to the Whistle Stop restaurant - a cute little diner made out of a railroad car and caboose. We had a hearty breakfast and got some sandwiches to go, returned to our packs, crossed the impressive Mill River and Clarendon Gorge and continued on at 9:30 AM.

Looking down toward Clarendon Gorge from nearby hillside

 

Hiker crosses suspension bridge over Mill River at Clarendon Gorge

The next hilltop gave us an exiting panorama of the valley below. I noticed the maple leaves turning a funny, pale shade of yellow-brown instead of their usual fall colors. In fact, most of them should still be green now. Close examination revealed the maples, and some other trees, were suffering from some kind of infestation that ate many small round holes in the leaves causing them to die and drop early. The "holes" contained small larva or insects of some sort sandwiched in them, on the ground. It looked widespread and serious enough to have an impact on the fall foliage.

We took a break at the Minerva Hinchey Shelter, then ascended Bear Mountain (2210'), crossed VT 140 and Roaring Brook (on a brand new suspension bridge) , then began the climb up White Rocks Mountain. On the way up we met a Green Mountain Club (GMC) shelter caretaker and a couple of day hikers. White Rocks Mountain was a tedious climb. I took the side trail to the vista / overlook - and regretted it. Though the view was very nice, the trail there was marked by battleship gray paint blazes - the same color as the rocks and it was a difficult trail to follow.

When I returned to the AT, Graylock had just arrived. We ate lunch, had our pictures taken by some day hikers (good thing they don't have 'scratch-n-sniff) and went on, down the mountain to the Little Rock Pond Shelter. When I got there, Hoppin Hoosier and Slowfoot were there. Graylock came along later. Slow foot's pack was adorned with every kind of hiking patch and insignia imaginable, and some that weren't. He was a grand story teller - telling us of the day he hiked 75 miles in 24 hours, for example. He made his stories even more interesting with almost constant use of the "F" word. All kinds of characters on the trail. All kinds.

I enjoyed the sandwiches from the Whistle Stop and settled in for the night. Slowfoot built and maintained a big smoky fire, which kept the insects out of the shelter. After the pretty little caretaker came by to collect the GMC's fee, Slowfoot's topic of conversation became an overly avid description of what he imagined he'd like to do with a pretty girl like that. Sorry, but I managed to doze off before the final bell tolled on that story. It rained overnight, ensuring a damp and soggy trail tomorrow.