Day 140
Location: Swan Song Shelter (Super Secret Shelter), VT
Miles hiked today: 14.5
Miles from Springer: 1,677.5
Miles to Katahdin: 498.7
Elevation: 1,800′
I started out this morning climbing Bear Mountain for the third time. Apparently someone who names these things has a sense of humor, as I have now climbed Bear Mountain in New York, Connecticut and Vermont. It really was easier the third time, although that is just because this is the shortest of the three. I still didn’t see a bear on Bear Mountain, so I am really considering asking for my money back.
The trail crosses a really impressive gorge with a swinging suspension bridge, with a sign warning that the bridge can only support one person at a time. The sign is only found on one side of the bridge, so I guess if you are a southbounder here is an added hazard for you. (Maybe they are trying to send a message to you, such as you are going the wrong way?) I found out much later that this entire bridge had just been rebuilt by some friends of mine on the trail participating in a Bob People’s Hard Core trail building project. My friend Bigglesworth actully hung from a harness under this bridge and put all the bolts in!! If I had known that maybe I would have found a different way across, and this also explains the sign about the weight!! (Oh, you know I’m kidding Bigglesworth. I trust your construction skills 100%.) The water below is a fast, angry river that looks like something only professional kayakers would attempt. Yet my guidebook says it is a favorite swimming hole for residents, and it also says to be careful of broken glass. Finally, it casually mentions that the bridge is named for someone who drowned there. This whole thing is fishy to me, and I’m starting to think they are trying to cut down on the number of us hikers!
I was hiking off and on with the “Triforce” today; three guys from Florida consisting of two brothers and a friend, plus the friend’s brother making four. We came upon some trail magic in the woods; a cooler that turned out to be empty. It is a hard fact of the trail that when you see a cooler in the woods, despite your soaring hopes for an ice cold Coke it could very well be empty. Instead you paw through empty cans and other trash, looking for that one unopened can that someone may have missed. Your hopes are dashed in the end, as the reality sinks in that the nearest 7-11 is 17 miles further up the trail.
While sitting there recovering from disappointment, a different kind of trail magic came along. A woman and an extremely elderly man came down the trail, and she asked us if we knew about the secret shelter. We did not, and so she showed us how to get to it. Now I had been comtemplating pushing on to the top of Killington Peak, which is another 4.5 miles on and is a big 2200′ climb. There was another shelter about a mile from here, but word was that it was really trashed and locals sometimes visit it to harrass the hikers. The book says not to stay there.
So, a secret shelter that is closeby definitely settled the matter, and we quickly found the side road that leads to it. The shelter is called the “Swan Song Shelter,” and was put up on private land by the people who own the house nearby to it. They built it at their own expense, and the guy who built it makes log cabins for a living, so the craftsmanship was really amazing. The shelter has hand-fitted joints to join the logs, and not a single nail is holding it together. It was fitted out with candles, a wiffle ball bat and even a big red button that read “push to activate hot tub.” (A prank, of course).
The most impressive part of the secret shelter was the privy. Made in the same high quality craftsmanship, the building is rounded, with a curved door that when closed perfectly fits the curved lines of the building. Inside is a very nice finished wood throne, and a huge skylight in the ceiling. The finishing touch was a coffee table book entitled “Outhouses of New England” that was a pictorial tour de force of great outhouse architecture in the northeast. It was so nice you just kind of wanted to hang out there for a while.
This place is definitely a jewel. Soon some more hikers showed up, and the shelter filled. It got very cold in the night, and for the first time since carrying my summer sleeping bag (since Damascus, Virginia) I was feeling a little chilly. It is almost time for the 20 degree sleeping bag.
