Bennington, VT

Because of the rain over the weekend, I didn't make as much progress as I had planned and was low on food by yesterday. I ate half of a meal last night for dinner, and had the other half this morning for breakfast. I always have an extra day of food for Forest, so he had his regular meals. We started out from the shelter at about 9 a.m.

Today's hike began with a fairly steep descent from Glastenbury Mountain, followed by tiring climbs up and down a series of minor peaks. About a halfway into the day's hike, we climbed up Little Pond Mountain (elevation 3,748 feet) and took a short break. I knew I wouldn't be eating again until we reached town tonight, so I didn't want to delay. In addition, we were in a 4.5-mile stretch with no water source.

The second part of our hike took us down the mountain and across a ridge that passed by Little Pond. We continued across several more peaks and then descended gradually to Hell Hollow Brook, where we collected water and took another brief break. Then, we proceeded up Maple Hill, after which the Trail dropped steeply past Melville Nauheim Shelter. I had been instructed to contact the motel we were headed for when we were 1 mile out, but I didn't have a strong enough cell signal. Instead, I texted my wife and asked her to make the call and continued on down the steep path to the VT 9 Trailhead. At about 3 p.m., we were picked up by the shuttle and taken to the motel. A little dog in the office barked at Forest as we checked in and got my resupply package. As always, Forest just ignored it and set the perfect service dog example. After I dropped our gear in the room, I cleaned up quickly and headed out to eat. I was exhausted and dehydrated; I'd be dropping into bed early tonight.