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September 9th, 2021: Big Branch Shelter to Clarendon Shelter (16.2 miles, 3,520 ft elevation gain)
Waking up before the sun rises is hard in everyday life…waking up when it’s still pitch black, after a not-so-great night of sleep, packing everything into your pack, and then walking for 8+ hours can make you want to cry. Wearily, I gathered my belongings as quietly as I could, ate a small breakfast, donned my rain gear and headlamp, and set off. I am not a huge fan of night hiking, but seeing as I had a schedule to keep. How far were my destinations?
One good note is that the massive storm that had beaten against the shelter all night had been replaced by a fog that had settled. Now, that might not necessarily seem better, but I’ll hike through some fog over rain any day.
My goal was to make it to the Inn at the Long Trail by tomorrow, and with the first 4,000-foot mountain (Killington) looming, I had to push on. After passing the beautiful and still Little Rock Pond, the trail mostly stayed under tree cover.
Eventually, I made it to an overlook of the Rutland Airport, and immediately after that, there was a steep descent down to a suspension bridge. I was now a little over a mile away from my destination for the night (Clarendon Shelter).
The last mile included a 600+ foot rock scramble. I’m not going to lie, it was brutal. When I finally made it to the shelter, I sat down, and I could see steam rising from my body. It was the hardest mile of the hike so far.
It took a while, but I picked a wooden slab in the shelter and started getting ready for bed.
A nice thing about Clarendon Shelter is that it has a huge amount of wood stocked right inside of it. I have never seen that on the trail before, so I figured I would try to make a fire. Due to the storm, the wood was wet. I was able to get a fire going, but it was a small one, and it only lasted about an hour.
Either way, it was enough to dry my clothes and boost my spirits. After a hot dinner, I felt a lot better. Exhausted, I went down for a well-earned night’s sleep.
Previously: Long Trail Day 5: (VY-11 to Big Branch Shelter)