Bonus blog this morning from Burlington

From Al this morning in Burlington:

6:30 AM

I fell into the tent last night - out cold - but woke up at 5 to the gulls outside, curious about my campsite which looked like a crash site.

Somehow, I feel terrific this morning - but I'm not going to tempt fate or tired tendons by pushing up another monster day. Eighty-eight miles in two days from a standing start has been a grind ... and this is supposed to be fun !?

I'm here at Charlie's Boathouse at the mouth of the Winouski River. A sand bar extends out for 200' or so, so loading the boat this morning will take 5-6 trips. Alec McCandless, a former Loomis colleague, helped me sledge the boat in last night, although he did most of the work. He helped me provision back up, brought me Pad Thai, and released me to my slumber at about 8. Alec, you were a life-saver!

Charlie (at Charlie's Boathouse) will arrive at 10 AM. He's 80-90+ and is full of stories of cavorting around the lake in his old (real, wooden, heavy) guideboat. A lovely character with a 3-legged dog named "Crew" (who is no stranger to Pad Thai.) Charlie will be here at 10 AM with a key to the ice cream sandwich machine. Sounds like a good late breakfast choice.

Today will be a shorter hop - 15 to 20 miles - to make some headway but to allow for some recovery.

The Vermont shore of Champlain is beautiful - as is the vista of the Adirondacks across the water. Bucolic farmland stretching right down to the water, stately mansions on high bluffs, sheer rock walls, sweeping hardscrabble beaches ... not a jot of sand until one reaches Burlington. Thank goodness Lake George does not have to contend with the agricultural runoff of the Champlain Valley ... yes, our stormwater issues from our elevated shoreline has the same effect, and here it is a huge problem, very evident in the southern end of the lake. But it's beautiful ... I took several swims to cool down as I approached Burlington, the water is materially colder here than Lake George, but perfectly refreshing. The zebra mussels are everywhere ... literally underfoot at every rock ledge. Another worry for our lake ... on full display here.  

So ... a shorter day today ... R&R, more like Z's. Thanks to Alec, Charlie ... and to you, too, my hapless readers, who may well be waiting for this old man to drop.

Not yet! 

Peace, love, happiness ... and health! 

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