6.5 soggy miles; elevation minimal

Started out a pleasant walk along a road after crossing the Winhall River. There was a nice view of Manchester from Prospect Rock, at which point the trail headed back into the woods on its way to Spruce Peak and then Route 11, which runs E-W btw Manchester and Springfield, where our house is. 

Then it got Biblical. A steady rain turned into a downpour, replete with thunder and lightning. It kept up for a good 4 hours, filling every little depression on the trail with water, and turning all the inclines into streams, making for extremely slow progress. We stopped in at Spruce Peak Shelter, where we were briefly reunited with SB, who had marched past our overnight spot in the morning. There were several other wet rats taking refuge , and even though it was only 2:00, they were staying put for the night due to a weather report that had the rain continuing into Sat along with flash flood warnings (despite intel on a heavy mice presence in the shelter – mmm, rain and rodents…).  We had a debate on whether we should attempt Bromley in the storm, and I was insisting we do it until we got back out and it was abundantly clear that it would be not only unpleasant but possibly dangerous. Tame little streams were pretty torrential and made for some dicey crossings where there were no bridges. I fell twice, and if it had happened on a crossing, I think there would have been a pretty rapid, gear-strewing descent. So we resolved to get to Route 11 and either wait for Marcia or get someone else to come pick us up. 

It was my nephew Benjamin to the rescue, and we each got 2 family sized pizzas and headed home for resupply and drying out, though it’s Sunday and my boots are still wet. Boohoos aside, we resupplied and reorganized. We got Sawyer water filters which is THE filter on the trail as it’s small, unfussy, and allows you to squeeze water thru rapidly. We also ditched the inflatable sleeping pads we were using. They were highly reviewed, but maybe better for Mom, Pop & Sis camping out of the car cuz one of them went flat the first night and who needs that. They also make a rubbery squeaking sound every time you change position in your bag, earning enmity among shelter/tent mates. So even though they’re way bulkier, we are taking our 15 yr old accordion pads. Heartening to know old school is not always wrong. 

So it’s back to Route 11 today for a hike up Bromley and beyond.  We have completed 54.4 miles, leaving 217.6 to Canada. We will need to step that up, but we are only the 5 miles that is Bromley off our intended pace, which was meant to ease us into the trail on the first week. I don’t think Cliff has ever hiked back to back days of 10+ miles, but he’s been a champ and I think both of us are up for it (though resupply I guess at the house was maybe not a brilliant idea, as certain someones get used to the creature comforts pretty quickly. We ain’t coming back here till we’ve touched the border). 

Shout out to my daughter Carolyn, who has (somewhat begrudgingly) become my blog hostess with the mostest.  I tried to add captions to the pics for an hour or so – she grabbed the phone and figured it out immediately never having seen the Word Press app. Hired!!!!  She is off to college in 2 weeks, so this is it until Thanksgiving. In the meantime she will be kicking tail and taking names at Penn State.