I’m spending my last night here in the very cold Northeast. It was 5 degrees when I left Williston, Vermont this morning. Now I’m chillin’ in a hotel room in Manchester, New Hampshire. (I just opened a beer bottle with an iron. Desperate times call for desperate measures) Life has been good here, good times with old friends and new. Can’t wait to come back in the summer when things are thawed out.

I’m spending the week in Vermont. The weather is cold and the mountains are snow covered and gorgeous. Saturday I spent some time in Montpelier cruising the streets of the capital city. Sunday was a bit more relaxed meeting with some friends and enjoying BBQ. Monday it will snow, so I’m going snowshoeing in Stowe, seems like the thing to do. More later.

My normal hike of the Appalachian trail will have to wait a bit. We here in Central Maryland got 20 inches of snow Saturday afternoon. Made walking down the street an adventure.

This weeks hike of the Appalachian Trail was in great contrast to last weekends adventure. Section 10 in Pennsylvania is 12.3 miles of relatively flat ground. With the sun shining and the mud mostly frozen we were fast and we were dry. The bonus of Section 10 is the end point at Boiling Springs and the Boiling Springs Tavern. I recommend stopping in for a cold beer on a frozen winter afternoon. The Pennsylvania hospitality will warm you.

Saturday morning we set out to climb Cove Mountain. This is Section 9 of of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. 900 feet up over 1 mile. This is one of the longest and steepest ascents of our route. This section is 14.5 miles long with several major elevation changes. When we started a light snow was falling, by the time we reached the Darlington Shelter there were several inches on the ground the temperature had dropped. The slick leaves and mud slowed our pace to a crawl. Section 9 took over 6 hours to finish. I’m looking forward to dryer days and flatter ground.