Day 4

Last night was a great one at Goddard shelter. The shelter was full of hikers with good stories. A cool breeze blew throughout the night and a bright moon cast a soothing light over the mountains and trees. This was the best night of sleep I have had on the trail so far.

In the morning we woke up a little before 7 am and were hiking by 8 am. After a quick 15 minute climb we were at the Summit of Glastenbury Mountain. At 3748 feet this was our highest point on the trip so far. The summit was covered in trees blocking the view. Fortunately, there was a fire tower open to climbing. The view from the top was fantastic. The mountains extended in all directions, covered in a gorgeous blue haze. Looking at the landscape from this perspective really gave me a concept of how rugged the terrain around us is. Through hiker Spock was at the summit allowing us to get a picture with both of us in it.

The rest of the day's hike was fairly easy. The trail alternated between modest climbing and descending. We stopped for lunch at Kid Gore Shelter, which had a great view of a mountain lake in the distance.

We reached the Story Spring Shelter in time to filter water and set our stuff in the shelter before a brief rainstorm broke out. The crowd at the shelter has been really fun. Spock from last night is here again, along with some section hikers headed to New Hampshire. There is also a through hiker that is a perfect doppelgänger for Jeff Bridge's role in the Big Lebowski. Fittingly, his trail name is The Dude. The dude was able to build a decent fire tonight which helped with the bugs.

Tomorrow we will hike to the summit of Stratton Mountain, our first big climb of the trip. We have hiked 33.3 miles of the LT so far and have 239.4 to go. Making progress!