Day 2: Harmon Hill & New Friends
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| Harmon Hill Log Book |
I rested for a bit, staring down the red rubber ducky on top of the trail register. My body ached quite a bit, getting used to the trail- my hip was a perennial nuisance, as were my feet. After a while, another northbound hiker stopped to sign the book. We struck up a conversation- and he introduced himself as Flyfisherman. He was also north on the Long Trail, but with a pace that blew mine out of the water- he had completed nearly five miles that morning to my two. Nonetheless, he was encouraging to me- said that the first thru hike is always the hardest. Hoping to resupply in Bennington ahead, he continued on. I took a look at the view, signed the logbook, and started down the trail after him.
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| Harmon Hill View |
From Harmon Hill, the trail began to descend steeply to the gap, towards Route 9. This was more difficult terrain than I'd seen so far- steep stone steps winding downward.
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| Trail towards Route 9 |
After what felt like forever, I finally reached the road, with enough time to catch Flyfisherman hitchhiking towards Bennington for his resupply. It turns out most of the experienced hikers still relied on hitchhiking to get in and out of town- and the log books were full of advice on how easy it is to hitchhike at each road crossing. I stopped to bandage some blisters and take a look at some of the warnings posted- it seems there were some bears ahead:
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| Bears ahead |
While I didn't bring my bear spray, I had been bear bagging my food- hanging it from a tree so that bears couldn't access it, and so that they were not attracted to my camp. However- this is the first time I'd seen any posted warnings about bears. Keeping an eye out, I continued across a footbridge, and climbed up the hill away from the road. Halfway up the hill, I passed a large split rock, and continued up the trail.
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| River Footbridge |
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| Split Rock |
The climb up the hill was steep, but eventually I stopped at Melville Nauheim Shelter, a few miles up the trail to eat lunch. The shelter was covered in carvings, graffiti, and other small statements, accrued on the surface of the wood like moss. They ranged from philosophical musings to witticisms and tags. One Floridian had written of his difficulty adjusting to the new terrain up north.
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| Melville Nauheim Shelter |
As I filtered more water for the trail, I ran into Flyfisherman again- he told me all about the breakfast he ate at a diner in Bennington. Despite only being out for two days, his description of crisp bacon and fresh pancakes made me salivate. Flyfisherman continued north. I continued on his heels, but as the trail continued climbing up the hill, I could feel myself slowing down.
Hours went by slowly as I climbed the ridge line, reaching higher than 3000 feet. I could practically feel Flyfisherman passing farther and farther ahead of me. Eventually, I reached Porcupine Lookout, with views of a farther ridge line with the Deerfield Wind Farm to the east.
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| Porcupine Lookout |
I rested, then continued uphill. The trail was exhausting, and as the day continued to get warmer, I found my water supplies running low. There was little more than muddy puddles along the trail, where I could not get much drinkable water. After dropping a mile into a gap between peaks, I found myself climbing Glastonbury Mountain- and my water bottles ran dry.
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| The Trail Towards Glastonbury Mountain |
I continued climbing, feeling parched. I knew I was close to the final shelter, but the miles seemed to stretch on and on. Finally, after nearly eleven hours of hiking, I reached Goddard Shelter, just short of the peak. Elizabeth had beaten me there- I set up my tent, heated up some freeze-dried steak & rice, and shared some bourbon with Elizabeth. We chatted- and agreed that day 2 had been significantly more difficult than day 1.
I headed to bed, ready to finish the climb to the peak tomorrow.
I had hiked 14.4 miles, and had completed 24.4 miles along the trail.
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