This could have been an ugly day but it turned out okay. The family and I left Stowe early. I was hiking River Road before 6 am. Their drive back to Ohio would take much longer than my hike. After saying goodbye to my sister it felt a little funny to be alone again.

Though it was raining I started strong and carried through the day at a good pace. The first hour took me along River Road to Jonesville across the Winooski River. There was a steady drizzle, but it stopped after two hours during my breakfast at the Duck Brook Shelter with Joe O. who supplemented my Combos and cookies with sourdough bread and chedder cheese.

With the introduction over, there was nothing left to do but start the long trudge up Bolton Mountain. The soggy trail was ten more unrelenting miles of uphill over slick leaves and mossy stones. There was even one swollen creek that I had to ford, sans boots. It brought back memories of the John Muir Trail. My patience was rewarded and I summitted the mountain and set up in Puffer Shelter.

Puffer isn't so nice during inclement weather because it gets wet inside, but I am feeling lucky. I didn't want to push on to the next spot after dark. I'm in a good postion to summit Mt. Mansfield tomorrow anyway. Before long I'll be in Johnson resupplying.