Stratton, Vermont

Tonight Jack is in Stratton, Vermont. He said it is a ski town a lot like Steamboat Spring, CO. and he thinks it might be one of the biggest ski resorts on the East Coast. They were able to ride a gondola from the bottom of the mountain to the top where there is a large open snack center with working restrooms and running water (and a hot chocolate machine they may sample). They are planning on staying the night there..but they are going to leave after the watch the sun rise so they don’t run into any workers that may be coming up in the morning. They are planning on hiking 10 or 15 miles tomorrow to get to Manchester Center, Vermont and stay in a hostel. From there they have 3 day hike to Rutland where Jack and James will catch a flight to Memphis for Blake’s Wedding.

Just on a side note… while I was talking to Jack he told me some more stories about New York. He said that when they got on the train he had to climb up the side of the train station and put his poles on the roof because they don’t fold up like the other guys poles! Then when they got back from the city he almost forgot to climb back up the side of the building and get them!

It rained their whole trip to and from the city so when they got back to the town where they caught the train from Jack and Randall didn’t feel much like hiking in more rain. Jack talked around and found out about an open space that has a roof and picnic tables in another part of the town and they decided to camp out there. They were so tired that at 2:00 in the afternoon they went to sleep. Jack said they woke up many times throughout the day because of all the people passing through. At dark, two men in a pickup truck came up to the mountain with a TV and some movies. They said they came up there a lot to watch movies that they rent from the library because it is the only place they can really just get away from everything. Jack and Randall watched a little bit of Mission Impossible with them, and then they went back to sleep!