Day 5

Last night some pretty big storms rolled through in the middle of the night. My sleeping position in the Story Spring Shelter had my head at the edge of the platform, with only inches of awning above me. A bright white flash of lightning cut through the sky at one point, waking most of us in the shelter up. Heavy rains followed, but fortunately the winds were not too severe, and we stayed dry under the covering.

By the time morning came we were greeted by clear, blue skies. The evening's rainstorms would continue to drip from the trees for a few hours, but the skies would stay dry all day for us. Our hike took us through some fairly level terrain for the first couple of hours. We crossed a couple of roads and a picturesque stream along the way. We stopped for a long break at Kelly Stand Road to prepare for our long climb.

The trail up to Mount Stratton was our first really big climb of the hike. The trail climbed over 1700 feet in about 3 miles, topping out at an elevation of a little below 4000 feet. The trail climbed at a moderate, but relentless clip. Gradually the forest changed over to all pine, and the air became cooler as we climbed. More than a few breaks were necessary along the way. I think we both probably could have rung the sweat out of our clothes by the time we were halfway up the mountain.

At just the point when I was beginning to wonder if I could possibly keep putting one foot in front of the other we broke out into a clearing. The summit was ringed by dense pine trees blocking the view, but there was another fire tower open to hikers. This tower was 55 feet tall. As I climbed the little wooden steps the winds began to howl. It was a real white knuckle experience, but the view was worth it! We could see Stratton Pond, our destination for the night, and mountains ringed us in all directions. The sky was a thick blanket of puffy, grey and white clouds, drifting quickly over the summit. It threatened of rain that would never materialize.

After snapping a few pictures with the battery life I had left on my phone and eating our nutella wraps (still delicious on day 5) we started the long descent down the mountain. The trail dropped quickly, but not so rapidly as to kill our knees, like the descent to route 9 did.

Around 3 we reached the Stratton Pond shelter. The shelter itself was situated a ways up the hill from the pond. This shelter looked fairly new and had wooden bunks on two levels with room for 16.

After setting up our camp stuff and filtering water we eagerly ran down to Stratton Pond for a swim. Other hikers said the water was cold. They had obviously never been to Lake Superior! We picked our way over the rocks on the shore until the water was deep enough to dive in. The water was cool and refreshing. It felt great to wash off some of the dirt and sweat from hiking 43.8 miles. Being away from water this long was hard for a couple of Michigan kids.

We spent the rest of the night cooking dinner and chatting with the group in the shelter. A group of section hikers from Pennsylvania shared their chocolate with us. They are planning a trip to Isle Royale National Park, so we were able to share our knowledge with them.

Our hike is going well so far. We have 229.2 miles left and tomorrow is a town day. We are already excited for a hot shower and warm food!

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!