Chaco Taco
10-11-2011, 09:43
On Columbus Day weekend, my wife and I ventured to the Green Mountain area of Vermont, along the Long Trail/ Appalachian Trail. We decided to hike one of our most memorable sections of our thruhike from 2008. We remembered the firetower that sat atop Glastenbury Mountain in a sea of tall alpine trees. The weather was unseasonably war for mid October. We spent the day hiking among the beautiful trees and woods of Southern Vermont. We reached the firetower around 6 in the evening and set up camp. We climbed the tower and enjoyed the view of the sunset. A young guy climbed the tower and joined us. This is when we met Dave. Dave was from Killington and had helped restore many of the firetowers and bridges in the area and was out exploring before the cold weather arrived. We sat atop the firetower and watched a magnificent sunset. We climbed down the tower and made dinner and gathered some firewood. The twilight disappeared and Dave joined us around the campfire. He asked us if we knew the story of Glastenbury Mountain. I had not, but Jen said she had heard that there were strange things reported. Dave proceeded to tell us that Glastenbury Mtn had a dark history. The local Adnaik Indians would not hunt on the mountain because they said it had a dark presense. During the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s there were a lot of disappearances that could not be explained because no remains were ever found. In 1945, A local hunting and fishing guide walked away from his group to use the bathroom in the woods. The only part of him found was an unused shell casing from his belt.
A local Bennington college student ventured off into the woods of Glastenbury and was never heard from again. A massive hunt took place to find the woman but nothing was found. Some speculation came out that it may have been a mountain lion or a possible serial killer. The indians speculated that there was an enchanted rock that had a massive hole under it. Unsuspecting hikers would walk upon it not realizing that the rock was actually not there and fall down the hole. A series of other disappearnces in the area were reported, including the disappearance of a child. None of the disappearances could ever be fully explained. There ended up being a discovery of one woman that disappeared. After seven months, her remains were found in a field. The remains were mangled and gruesome. Local residents of the small town of 54 reported strange sounds coming from the mountain and in the woods. After the 1950’s, there have been no disappearances and no other strange incidents have been reported.
So none the less, we heard the story from Dave and laughed it off a little. Then Dave started telling us some stories of strange things that happened to him on the mountain. Dave spent some time on this particular mountain restoring the firetowers and would be on the mountain for extended periods of time. While sleeping in Goddard Shelter, friends and coworkers of Dave reported that there were nights that he would sit up in his sleep and laugh uncontrollably. There were also nights that he would wake up screaming. This coming from a guy that always remembered his dreams and never really has had any strange behavior when sleeping.
So the night ended with a trip up the firetower to get one more view of the mountains under the light of an approaching full moon. After hearing the story, I looked out amongst the woods and wondered what was out there.
A local Bennington college student ventured off into the woods of Glastenbury and was never heard from again. A massive hunt took place to find the woman but nothing was found. Some speculation came out that it may have been a mountain lion or a possible serial killer. The indians speculated that there was an enchanted rock that had a massive hole under it. Unsuspecting hikers would walk upon it not realizing that the rock was actually not there and fall down the hole. A series of other disappearnces in the area were reported, including the disappearance of a child. None of the disappearances could ever be fully explained. There ended up being a discovery of one woman that disappeared. After seven months, her remains were found in a field. The remains were mangled and gruesome. Local residents of the small town of 54 reported strange sounds coming from the mountain and in the woods. After the 1950’s, there have been no disappearances and no other strange incidents have been reported.
So none the less, we heard the story from Dave and laughed it off a little. Then Dave started telling us some stories of strange things that happened to him on the mountain. Dave spent some time on this particular mountain restoring the firetowers and would be on the mountain for extended periods of time. While sleeping in Goddard Shelter, friends and coworkers of Dave reported that there were nights that he would sit up in his sleep and laugh uncontrollably. There were also nights that he would wake up screaming. This coming from a guy that always remembered his dreams and never really has had any strange behavior when sleeping.
So the night ended with a trip up the firetower to get one more view of the mountains under the light of an approaching full moon. After hearing the story, I looked out amongst the woods and wondered what was out there.