The weather was hot and the skies were sunny, and the forest was shady, ideal conditions for hiking au natural.  This year we had between 35 - 40 people who participated in this annual event, with at least 6 members of Gay Outdoors in attendance!  We started our hike at 9:30 am and almost immediately crossed Rte. #140 where we received honks and waves from passing motorists.  We reentered the forest and hiked 2.5 miles to White Rocks Overlook where we had lunch and enjoyed the view of the valley floor below us.  After lunch we hiked 4 miles to Little Rock Pond where we stopped for a well-deserved swim.  On the remaining 2.2 miles left of the hike, we encountered a thunderstorm.  I covered my pack with a plastic bag that I had brought and continued the hike in the refreshing warm summer rain.  We arrived at the trailhead parking lot on Forest Road #10 at 4:30 pm and we socialized a while as we waited for the tail end of the group to arrive.  After carpooling back to the starting point, many gathered in Manchester, VT for an après hike pizza party.  I did not attend as I had a 3-hour drive ahead of me, but I am told by those who did attend, an enjoyable time was had socializing and making new friends for future hikes.  

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