DF: Long day. Sunny, gorgeous weather. Trail was very rocky, still quite muddy in spots.

We passed several small ponds and bogs, and one larger pond with a huge beaver dam. The trail passed below the dam–several feet below the water level, right along the dam, on boardwalk over the bog. It was a bit disconcerting to be walking along with a big pond beside me at waist level!

We did more than thirteen miles– the last three were rough. We descended steeply to Vermont Route 9 on hundreds (thousands?) of rock stairs, crossed the road and the river, and climbed back up, also steeply. The elevation change was about 600 feet.

There were a lot of people in the shelter, including at least four very young ones who seemed to be hanging out for the weekend. A lot of people were also camped nearby. We had a hard time finding a site–the one we found was rooty and rocky.

While we were making and eating dinner, we talked to Pintsize (a thru hiker) and Sarah (a section hiker). We had seen both of them a little earlier on the Rte. 9 climb.

We’re both very tired. Early start tomorrow and another long day.

BC: Slow start to the day – it took us 5 hours to hike the 7 miles to Congdon Shelter for lunch. Afternoon was better, until a massive descent on giant rocks down to Rt 9 – very steep and slow, then of course a very steep climb out of the gap. We tented near the shelter.