Day 19 – Day 28: Green Mountains!

Day 19: Wed Aug 1, Bennington VT

The even organized by the outfitter was pretty small, but still fun nonetheless. We had beer ( I didnt’ realize there were so many different kinds of Long Trail ale) and I got tipsy after maybe 1.5 bottles! Clearly the healthy life is detrimental to alchohol consumption. Camped out at the park but got woken up by garbage trucks at the 5am. *sigh*

Day 20: Thu Aug 2, Goddard Shelter, VT

Oh this is the prettiest shelter ever! Located in a clearing on the trail, on a high point surrdounded by trees- great view! And the brightest airiest privy, with a poem by Dr Seuss (the Zax, oddly appropriately for SOBOs and NOBOs) on the wall. Hehe! Beautiful weather today too And our bestest dinner yet – tortillas, beans, corn and cheese. And I’m carrying two books. Two! OMG! What deliciously sinful weight! And my newly purchased aloe cream seems to work well on the bites. And nothing has bitten me yet…. and get this – I don’t have any bug repellent on! Wow!!!! I love Vermont!

Day 22: Sat Aug 4, Douglas Shelter, VT

Today is yet another perfect day We hiked 15 mi and climbed up Stratton Mountain! The hiking is getting easier, the miles are coming faster, and actually the terrain is beautiful – you feel the incline, it’s just hard enough but not tortuous. I’m really enjoying myself! And… Julie is getting the swimming kicks! Down the mountain we stop by Stratton Pond and swam in it for a while. Truly the caretaker there has a great summer job – lolling around on a lovely tent platform next to a huge scenic pool… reading and chilling out, cooking on his hot plate, getting beer brought to him by nice day-hikers…. We got some of the beer too, and I couldn’t walk straight for half a mile! Hahaha But we had to move on, it was too early to camp there. So we walk on another five miles to camp with two guys out for a few days, and their dog Frank who kept barking at me. Ah well.

Day 23: Sun Aug 5, Manchester Center, VT

We’re early! Its Sunday afternoon and we have to wait for the PO to open on Monday to get our maildrop from Claire. Unfortunately there’s nowhere free to stay in this town, so we end up staying at Sutton’s Place, a sweet little inn. Oh! And our pizza craving finally got fulfilled – we ordered a huge 18″ pizza to share and actually almost finish it! (Okay we left a couple of slices… but considering it’s meant to be shared by a hungry family of 4-5 people, I say that’s a feat!) The Northshire bookstore is a real cool bookstore…could spend the entire day there if only we weren’t so sleepy after pizza….

Day 24: Mon Aug 6, Bromley Mtn Warming Hut

So we meet Low Impact (who’s hiking the Long Trail) and decide to take a slow day of it (3 miles?) and stay at the top of Bromley Mtn. It’s a beautiful slow day… we spend the morning getting coffee and Donuts and Mrs Murphys’s (Yum yum Maple and Cream donuts!!) and meandering up the mountain. A ski area in the winter, it was deserted in summer, and the fog that rolled in over the wildflowers and weeds made it feel like I discovered a fairy meadow in the mountains, hidden by mist. The mountain top was empty except us and Low Impact, the disused chairlift, and the observation tower, where one could go up and see absolutely nothing but the silhouette and suggestion of trees, wrapped in mist and scourged by wind. Beautiful, strange, desolate place. We made mint chocolate pudding!

Day 25: Tue Aug 7, Big Branch Shelter, VT

13 mi to the shelter today. Met Low Impact, Mousetrap, Pony Whisperer and Alpine. Ate the Jiffy Pop (involved quite a bit of preparation) but fun! Popcorn in the mountain!

(no time… the computer in the library is kicking me out in 4 minutes….)

Day 26: Clarendon Shelter

We did 18mi today! and stopped for ice cream and food at the Whistle Stop! And went skinny-dipping in the rain in Little Rock Pond! Whee!

Day 27: Thu Aug 9, Cooper Lodge, Killington, VT

We spent the night at the top of Killington mountain! Whee! Freezing though… and practically ran up the peak and made it before closing time to the Killington snack bar to get brownies and cookies! Strange mixing with all the tourists who get up by ski-lift, well-coiffed and ill-dressed for hiking, and stumbling all over the rock we traverse easily. We must have looked like that a few weeks ago, before we got conditioned. The skilift operator tells me there’s a mellower way down the mountain (instead of the practically vertical blueblaze trail we scaled up the peak) but somehow we spend an hour bushwhacking through weeds and never find it. So it’s up the mountain and straight down again the way we came. Sleeping on top of the mountain is beautiful! and cold!

(Okay, I signed in with someone else’s library card. Good for another few minutes!)

And… we found the ’secret shelter’ today! So its built on private land, and not listed in any guide book, though there are directions and rock cairns and its name passes by word of mouth. Okay, this is clearly the most cutest shelter ever! The Swan Song Shelter, with the most photogenic privy! The privy is kinda like a pagoda with a skylight, and a ticket booth all in one. Beautiful! I didn’t have to go, but I just had to use it too! Wish we could stay, but we wanna be in Rutland tomorrow!

Day 28: Fri Aug 10, Back Home Again Hostel, Rutland, VT

Today we made it to Rutland taking the bus in (after having lovely Chocolate Sodabread Pudding with Whiskey Cream Sauce at the Inn at the Long Trail) around lunch, and find our way into the bosom of the Twelve Tribes Community. They’re a religious group who operate a natural foods cafe and take in hikers in their hostel, in exchange for a work-for-stay. We felt so welcome! The hostel is pretty, the cafe is pretty, the people are really nice. We ended up helping out for about two hours ( I cleaned out the bar, stacked the floormats, mopped the entire place while Julie did dishes and swept) and we got some really yummy tofu wraps and ‘hibiscus cooler’ and lemon mate iced tea! Mm. Tasty, though not quite solid enough for a hungry hiker. We met up with Mousetrap and Low Impact and Big Brother again- they’re all taken zero days because the hostel is too relaxing and welcoming and ‘it’s hard to move on’. Hehhe. Rutland is a lot of fun – one of the larger towns in VT, and they closed off Center Street on Fridays for live music, food, stalls, and dancing! Julie got to practice folk-dancing with the Twelve Tribes people (and I joined in, though quite out of step) and then they fed us again! Mmm…

Next up: So we decide, like the other hikers before us, to take advantage of such lovely hospitality, and stay for a zero day! Also it’s Saturday, and there’s an Art in the Park festival of art, music and food, and more folk-dancing for Julie! We off to that after I get off the computer. And then…we got to find us some rich, delicious, saucy Mexican food. And then… it’s only 4 more days before the whole adventure ends at Hanover, NH. I’ve decided to get off the trail with Julie and take the bus back to Boston on Aug 15. Because it’s harder to hike by myself (who will I whine to? who’ll chivvy me along the steep sections? who’ll kick me outta bed when it’s raining? who’ll carry the extra few ounces of first aid kit and polar pure iodine?) and because it’ll be quite cold in the White Mountains which are mostly above treeline. So we’ll make it to Hanover, get ourselves an Indian buffet probably, and $2 margaritas at some bar we’ve heard about, and hit the bus and get back to Boston!

A love affair with Vermont

So we crossed into Vermont some twelve days ago, and can I even begin to say how much I love this place?

Vermont is the home of Ben and Jerry’s! and lots of good cheese! and beautiful little towns with all sorts of organic/homegrown/locally-produced yummies! And cute businesses and bookstores and cafes in the towns! And cool laid-back really nice people. And skiing and outdoorsy-ness and lots of green green mountains everywhere!

In Vermont, the AT coincides with an older walking path, the Long Trail. It runs the entire length of the state from the Massachusetts-Vermont border all the way to Quebec, and today we’re at Rutland, the last town before the AT splits off. Vermont is beautiful because somehow the mountains feel older and more worn, somehow mellower and more noble at the same time, restful and serene as if smoothed over by thousands more feet. In contrast, the Connecticut mountains feel brash and spiky, and Massachusetts somehow restless and impatient. Vermont, which gets it name from the French for ‘green mountain’ is a forest of a different variety. A lot more coniferous pine/spruce (I can never tell the difference) and peeling paper birch, an increase in the fern-like undergrowth as the elevation grows steeper, and the scent of balsam firs. The topography is also a lot smoother, with slower rises and gentler descents (though of course, our feet and bodies are probably better conditioned now). And when we reached the top of Statton Mtn, Glastenbury Mtn and Killington Peak, watercolor layers of rolling green mountains fade into the pale sky, and sometimes we can even see Canada. One day, I think, I’d like to come back here and walk the entire Long Trail, which despite is name, is less than 300 miles. It is also getting colder, with the higher elevation and the season deepening into early-fall. Some mornings I wake up and realize my 30F sleeping bag is barely enough; my tropical upbringing betrays itself. But looking around at the slowly brightening day, the beauty of the mountains makes me want to hike. I get out of the bag, break camp, have some hot chocolate or cereal, and start walking to get warm again.

Day 13 – Day 18: Lolling, slackpacking, touristing

Day 13: Dalton, MA

We get to the Shell Station, and lo and behold, spot a tired looking young man with all the hallmarks of a scruffy hiker – the beard, the stink, and muddy shoes, and of course the pack. He’s called Surge, and Rob is coming to pick him up in 5 minutes. So here comes Rob, and it’s a dream come true – he’s got cold sodas in his minivan. He drives us to his house, where he has porch, basement and upstairs all set up for hikers. Trail memorabilia is everywhere, from stickers and maps to hiker boxes of unwanted oatmeal. We take turns taking showers (fresh towels!) and do laundry, and unpack. Julie and I get the ‘cave’, a room in the basement with bed and sheets. We meet Nicole again. Rob takes our pictures, prints them out, and adds them to his large photo album of this year’s hikers who’ve stayed at his place. I’m #80, and apperently it’s just the start of the season; he usually gets around 300 a year. That night, about 8 or 9 of us – Rob, Julie and I, Nicole, Surge, Bytecode, Pebbles, and a couple others go to the Old Country Buffet and gorge ourselves. Mmm! What a perfect day!

Day 14: Dalton, MA.

Okay…. how hard is it to leave a place? Considering all the low mileage we’ve done over the past few days, we really should continue hiking, but… it’s a Friday night and Rob’s band in playing in a bar in a nearby town. So we take a zero day (day with zero hiking miles) again and spend it lolling around, napping, reading etc. Dalton the town isn’t very much to explore, so Surge and I collapse and fall asleep while Nicole and Julie go to the Berkshire Mall. Julie makes tortillas with lots of veges for dinner, and then off we go to Listons bar in Worthington, MA to see Just N Kace (Rob’s band) play. It’s a oldies cover band, and the bar is a hidden delight – tiny little place nestled between road and mountain, with pick up trucks and local beers and countrified seniors dancing. Steve the owner gives us his special blend of beer – half some sort of india pale ale and half some local brew, and a hunk of sharp cheddar he cures himself in the back room. The music starts at 9pm (hiker midnight!) and its pretty good stuff! some locals convince us to dance, one by one. I’m so glad we stayed for an extra day! Though by midnight we’re all dead tired and finally get to crash at almost 2 in the morning…

Day 15: still Dalton, MA

Okay, Rob’s hospitality knows no bounds! I convince Julie to try slackpacking – which means hiking without a heavy pack. Rob is going to drive us to MA2, where the trail picks up outside of Williamstown. We’ll have to hike south about 22 miles back to Dalton, carrying nothing but what we need for the day – some food, water, maps and raingear. I’m apprehensive about hiking all those miles, but the prospect of trying slackpacking is too great a temptation. Besides… we can always cop out by taking a bus back from Cheshire, which is about 9 miles from Dalton! Surge is even crazier, attempting to slackpack some 39 miles from Great Barrington in the other direction. So we start at MA2, pretty late at about 930am. Going over Mt Greylock, the highest point in MA, is quite fun from the opposite south side and without a pack. It starts to rain. I shudder to think what it’d be like going downhill in the north direction with a heavy pack. Am so glad we tried slackpacking! Up and up we go, but the view is obscured by thick clouds. Pity, because you’re supposed to be able to see even Boston from here. Anyway, we get to Cheshire a little before 5pm. Here’s a conundrum – do we hike the last 9 miles and probably get back to Dalton in the dark (i didn’t bring my headlamp!) or do we eat some ice cream, chill out, and take the bus back? Of course I’m always a creature of comfort, and vote for the latter option. Julie doesn’t take much persuasion either, because we were both discovering that even without a pack, your feet ache after a certain number of miles. So we bus back (still have to walk an extra 2-3 miles… maybe we should have just walked all the way) and get showered. Surge, the crazy nutcase, actually gets back by 9pm. What a feat! Rob didn’t think he’ll get back before midnight. But he admitted that he stopped having fun some 20 miles in.

Day 16: Seth Warner Shelter, VT

Finally said goodbye to Dalton… what a lovely time we had there. Rob is wonderful, and will continue to be wonderful to all the other hikers who stop by. The strange thing is, he’s never hiked a step on the AT! Today we start at MA2 again, and hike about 8 mi into VT. Here’s where the Long Trail and the AT coincide for about a hundred miles. Apparently the LT spans the length of VT, from the MA-VT line to the Canadian border. Maybe one day I’ll hike this one, as it should be doable in a month, which seems to be my limit for wildnerness isolation. We meet a group of 4 hiking the LT – Marley, Chill, Mystic and (oops i forgot her name) at the Shelter, and Bytecode again, and spent a ridiculous hour playing dice. What fun!

Day 17: Bennington, VT
The half-quart challenge!

Walked 12mi or so to VT9, and hitched into Bennington. It’s time for our Half-Quart Challenge! Okay, a thru-hiker tradition is to eat half a gallon (4 pints!) of ice cream at the halfway point, somewhere in Pennsylvania. We’ve decided to scale it down a bit, and have half a quart (1 pint!) at our theoretical halfway time point, since Julie leaves Aug 15. Bennington is pretty spread out… we get our ice cream from the Smoker’s Den, a tobacco shop on Route 7. I get Ben and Jerry’s Peach Cobbler and Julie gets Phish Food. Mmm! 1/2 quart is really no challenge at all! And… after lots of indecision, we decide to stay in town instead of hitching out again. More town and zero days ahead! We get permission from the owner of the tobacco shop to camp in his backyard… and here I discover the limits of a hammock tent. On an open field with nothing to lash on to even for tension in the ridgeline, what I had to do was basically stick a pole in the middle to hold the whole thing up. What results is a tiny, claustrophobic space where I could hardly breath. The hammock’s bottom entry makes it extremely difficult to get in, and once you’re in the bug net and fly is basically on your face. Yikes. No more city camping for me if its going to be like this….

Day 18: Greenwood Lodge, Bennington VT

Okay we decide to stick around for the B-Town Throwdown! It’s basically the hiker festival organized by the local outfitter that has free food, beer and music and a place to camp. Unfortunately it happens tomorrow so we have a full day to bum around. This delay (we’ve only been hiking for 2-3 days since zeroing in Dalton) turns out to be an unexpected gem. We stash our packs at the outfitter and proceed to become tourists! On our borrowed yellow bikes, we visit the Bennington Monument, the Vermont Old First Church, Robert Frost’s grave, a covered bridge, get our resupply of food and veges and my favourite sweet Norwegian goat cheese, buy a pair of shorts at the outfitter. Great weather, and fun tourism! Michelle at the outfitter drives us out to the Greenwood campground where we pitch our tents and waterproof our boots and swim in the pond and play air hockey, tetherball, foosball and read and read. Again its hammock on the ground, but between a picnic table and a large rock, I manage to suspend the ends to a pretty rigid tension and it works out fine this time. What a lovely day!

Next up: Today is Day 19 and we’re waiting for the B-Town Throwdown! I just spent the day reading again, in a lovely coffeeshop. I also bought two books in the used bookstore. Clearly the reading habit is going to overload my pack! Then we have 3-4 days to mosey over to Manchester Center and pick up another maildrop from Claire. Oh no I’m in trouble – I hear they have a wonderful and huge bookstore there…