May 31
End: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles: 37.0
Total: 3598.6
I should have left the shelter extra early to avoid any park employees in the morning, but I slept a little past that start time, not hitting the trail until my usual start time. No one was moving about at the park except one man at the restrooms who opted not to close his stall door.
I did a small bypass of the trail where Irene had knocked out a bridge, then went back into the woods. After some of the usual woods walking I hit another road walk, this one a bit longer. I was all done playing in the wake of Irene, so I walked the road and eventually reentered the woods.
The day was all up and down fairly small wooded hills, passing over roads which led to tiny towns with little to offer. I counted down the miles as I got closer to my destination, but I was confused by Cloudland Shelter, which was not in my data book. (Later research showed that Cloudland, a half mile off the trail, used to be an A.T. shelter but is now on private land.)
My hike took me until close to dark, but I made it to Happy Hill Shelter in time to cook dinner and read the register. There was a little pamphlet explaining the resources in Norwich and Hanover, and a note from an old man recalling the days of lore at Happy Hill Cabin, which existed back in the 1930’s. I went to sleep hoping a porcupine would not come up to gnaw on the shelter during the night.
So ends the month of May, which included hiking in nine states from Virginia to Vermont.
