I was first out of camp at 6:15am. As I expected from the elevation profile in the guidebook, today featured about ten climbs and descents, but only a few were excessively steep. From the shelter, the Appalachian Trail headed mostly downhill for 3.4 miles with a brief uphill to Ascutney Mountain. Why the trail went to this no-nothing peak escaped me. A short, steep climb and decent over Dana Mountain to a road set the stage for three more ups and downs ending at Cloudland Road where I found trail magic - a schmoor. On the way to Cloudland Road, the trail provided a view (see photo). From the road, I walked along the edge of a pasture north of the road then reentered the welcome shade of the forest. After topping out at Thistle Hill, the AT descended to Dimmick Brook where I ate lunch at mile 11.9. After getting water, the trail mostly descended for five miles to the White River at West Hartford, VT. As I stood at VT Hwy 14 wondering which way to go, a fellow walked over from the adjacent house and invited me to have a cold drink and other goodies on the porch with his brother, Richard. I did so gladly. Much refreshed, I walked on roads for 0.3 mile, passing under I-89. I started my last climb (600 feet) of the day. Along the way, I got water from a stream because I heard that the next shelter lacked water. From the top, I descended a half mile to the turnoff to the Happy Hill shelter. When I arrived at 5pm, the shelter was empty. I cooked dinner, wrote in my journal, and set up my tent. A few drops of rain fell, but serious rain seemed unlikely. Not too hard a day in spite of all the ups and downs. Today's miles - 20.4. Total miles - 1741.1.
