LT 2013 Day 3

So one of the things we didn't mention in the last post was that, during our layover at Stratton Pond Shelter, we checked the weather forecast on my iPhone.  It wasn't looking good for Day 5: rain all day and then a low into the 30's that night.  Not only did that help us decide to skip Stratton Mtn, but it also persuaded us to make plans for a bailout on Route 9 (Bennington, VT) at Mile 40, meaning we would plan to get off the trail 14 miles early to avoid the cold damp weather.  We were thinking of our 2 dependents, not ourselves.

Day 3 dawned warm and muggy, and we had 19 miles to our destination... 9 miles to Goddard Shelter, where we planned to stay this night.  After coffee and oatmeal and ProBars and a Parker stand-up tinkle and poop (yikes!) right in the middle of our campsite, we packed up and began walking south.

Crossing South Alder Brook

Passing a beaver pond

At 5 miles for the day, we came to Kid Gore Shelter, so we stopped for lunch...

Kid Gore Shelter, 1600 miles via AT from Springer Mountain, GA

Dee-ya (quesadilla) and powdered milk

...and a nap!

Siesta on the Z-Rest

Everybody then got sleepy.

Oh, and this shelter had a nice view to the east

So I made afternoon coffee.

And after 3 hours spent at Kid Gore, we moved on with 4 miles until our destination for this day.  But... 3 miles in, Charly dog went on an excursion off-trail for about 45 minutes, which not only scared the bejeesus out of us because she hadn't done this before (she also had a bear bell on, so we could hear where she was) but it also pushed back our arrival time to Goddard close to sunset.

Once Charlotte reappeared (phew) we kept walking south towards Glastenbury Mtn, and as we approached, loud thunder booms and bright lightning flashes greeted us.  We hustled up and over the mountain, and set up our tent close to the shelter, finishing up just as the skies opened up (phew again).

We had dinner in the shelter with three hiker dudes, as the sky was dumping copious amounts of rain on the roof.  Worried that our tent was being flooded I ran up to check on it - dry!  Way to go REI Quarter Dome T3+!  The weather eventually let up a little bit, and we high-tailed it into the confines of our tent for the night.  Plans to have our just-add-water creme brulee fell by the wayside, as sleep came quickly.