Manchester Center to Spruce Peak Shelter (2.8), Spruce Peak Shelter to story spring shelter (18.3)
Yesterday we spent the day in Manchester Center. We spent the morning at a coffee shop/bookstore then went to a Thai restaurant for Wolf birds birthday lunch. The food was good but not filling enough for our endless hiker bellies so we went across the street and got two slices of pizza each. I went to resupply at the grocery store and we planned to leave town by 530. We had 2.8 miles to walk until the next shelter. The boys took a little longer to resupply than planned and it was around 6 when we started trying to hitch a ride to the trail head. I was so tired-believe it or not I hadn’t slept well on the fancy beds the night before and also wasn’t excited because leaving so late meant we wouldn’t get to camp until dark. Rather than suck it up, I was cranky and immature about it which was dumb of me, especially on wolf birds birthday. I cheered up once we got on trail and started walking and got even happier when we got to watch the sun set over the beautiful valley below.
We got to the shelter as it was getting pretty much pitch black out but were happy to discover that there was no one in the shelter. It was a cool one, a log cabin with a sliding door and we spread out enjoying the place to ourselves.
Today was a good day. It was one of my longest days milewise but it felt, dare I say it, easy. The first 7 or 8 miles flew by in only a couple hours, with nice rolling trail. I ate lunch by beautiful Stratton pond and talked to some people from PA who are on vacation but are training for ultras by trail running even on vacation.
The next three miles were a climb up to the top of Stratton mountain. But when I say climb I mean the Vermont type of climb I’m learning to love. A nice, slowly ascending barely noticeable uphill. The three miles up were easy and went by quickly. There was a fire tower up top with great views in every direction although it was windy and cold.
The last 7 miles of the day flew by similarly and we got to the shelter by 430. The best part of the day though was that Cool Blue left Reese’s PB cups along the trail for us to find. It was so exciting finding one sitting on a rock up ahead. I literally screamed and squealed.