Day 12: Resting, Relaxing, Respiting - a Final "Nearo Day"

Friday, August 16, 2019

My stay at The Swanson Inn in Waitsfield was just what the doctor ordered. The whole experience was wonderful. If you like B&Bs, I highly recommend this one.

For breakfast, co-owner Tim made a cool dish. Some type of yogurt-based dough with spinach, cherry tomatoes, and a fried egg. It was delicious. He said he’d send me the recipe.

Another hiker stayed there, a 20-year-old Dartmouth student named Peter. He was doing the Long Trail northbound and is crushing it so he'll likely be finished soon.

I knew I needed rest after hiking the rugged northern section of the trail so I took my third and final "nearo day" by hanging out at the inn. Rick, the other co-owner, drove me back to the trailhead and I got back on trail about 2:15 pm. From there, I hiked through the Mad River Ski Resort property on an overcast day. My destination was the Glen Ellen Shelter.

I arrived about 4:30 p.m. There was one other couple at the camp site. Never caught their names but nice people. The wife hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2008 as a 19-year-old. The husband just got his master’s in forestry management from Yale. Pretty cool the people you meet on trail.

Total miles for the day: 3.7