Day 128: Long Trail Farewell

Hiked 10.0 miles, staying in Stony Brook shelter.

Breakfast this morning at the hostel was great because it included potatoes that we picked yesterday.  Why Not, Handstand and I are heading out today and over breakfast we talked about how to get out of town.  The bus to the town of Killington goes right past the trailhead and we settled on that option.  We didn't have far to go today though so we opted to get a later bus out of town so that we could lounge for a while before leaving.

Not a 9 AM photo since I didn't leave town until 11, but the best you are going to get

After a nap I got packed up and the three of us hopped on the bus and got off where we stopped the other day.  From here it was a short mile hike uphill to the Main Junction.  This is the spot where the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail split with the LT heading north and the AT turning east towards New Hampshire.  It was here that we had to bid a sad farewell to Handstand since he is hiking the Long Trail.

Handstand, Why Not and I at the Main Junction!

Only another mile and a half after the Main Junction is a side trail which is actually the original AT before it was moved to public lands.  The original AT went right past The Inn at the Long Trail which is a really interesting hotel and Irish pub.  The pub is supposed to be really unique and I had hoped to check it out while in Rutland but didn't get the chance.  Since we had lots of time Why Not and I decided to hike down the side trail to go there for lunch.

The Inn at the Long Trail

The pub was pretty cool.  It is built right up against the mountain and the back wall is actually the rock of the mountain behind it.  Also there were some boulders that must have been too big to move when it was built and they have incorporated them into benches and tables which gives the restaurant a unique feel.

Brief peek through the trees as I climbed Quimby Mountain

From here we had to climb back up the half mile to the trail and then eight more miles to the shelter.  It started drizzling soon after getting back on the trail and continued to rain for the rest of the day.  We had one main mountain to climb up and over, Quimby Mountain, which had no view from the top.

Thundering Falls

The shelter is a nice one, but any shelter is nice in the rain.  The shelters are back to being fairly empty now that the Long Trail hikers have split off.  There are two southbounders here, two guys in their seventies named "The Geezer Guys".  Along with Why Not and I there is a third northbounder here with us, Woodstove.  We met her in Rutland at the deli.  She is doing a flip flop hike and only just started in northern Massachusetts.  Given that we all stopped early today we had a lot of time to relax and chat at the shelter as it continued to pour outside.