Vermont border to Rutland

Vermud strikes back

Day 119

Vermont is known as Vermud to long distance hikers on the Appalachian Trail and the Long Trail. Yes, indeed I encountered some mud today, but it was similarly muddy for much of the past week. The Long Trail predates the Appalachian Trail, and the two trails share the same route for around 100 miles. The LT is about 270 miles and can take around 3 weeks to complete. Northern Vermont, after the trails split, is more challenging as most of the state's 4,000 ft peaks are in the north. The LT has many shelters with unique designs, and shelters were more frequent in the overlap section than in other areas recently.

The trail appears crowded as the Long Trail brings more people, both thru and section or weekend hikers. This was lucky for me when I made a wrong turn today. Another hiker, mom and two kids, were coming towards me and asked where I came from that morning. They had turned around after not seeing any white blazes for a while and noticing they were off the GPS track in Far Out. Turns out they were correct, we had both taken a wrong turn onto a random path/old forest road. The intersection was very clearly piled with branches, a common strategy to show "don't go this way," but there are so many other times you are stepping over branches that it's not always obvious in the moment. I was so focused on the mud and my new podcast that I don't know how long it would have been before I noticed the wrong turn.

Where else is water cached in maple syrup jugs?

The AT is back in National Forest land for the first time in quite a while, and this also means the easy cell service of the mid Atlantic is pretty much over. Back to intentionally checking for signal on hilltops, I guess.

Despite thundering for several hours, the rain actually held out until after dinner. Because of the significant storm, I made it a priority to get to a shelter in mid afternoon to ensure there was a spot for me. It ended up being a full house.

Yes, the trail passes through the split rock just because.

I don't recall how much I've explained about Far Out and navigation, so hopefully this is not a repeat. Far Out is a GPS app for long distance hikers on established trails. It shows waypoints like roads, water sources, campsites, towns, and other points of interest, and the GPS track can be combined with topographic base maps or satellite imagery to provide more context. From your location or a selected point, you can see the distance and elevation gain and loss to any other point on trail. You can view an elevation profile, a side view of the terrain which helps show the slopes/grade/steepness. What sets Far Out apart from other map apps (many focus on creating custom routes and waypoints) or guide books is the comments. Other users can provide real-time info: stream is dry, wasp nest nearby, Joe's diner gives hikers a free slice of pie, parking lot under construction, great campsite for watching a sunset, etc. Far Out guides are downloaded for offline use, and you get updated comments every time you have Internet.

A related note on electronics and battery life. With Far Out as your primary navigation and trail guide, managing cell phone battery life is critical. I have never been a power cell phone user, so this has been pretty easy for me. I check Far Out several times a day, such as checking water sources, but am not constantly tracking progress. I might spend a half hour in the evenings looking ahead at the next day or the next town. I keep my cell phone in airplane mode except when actively checking for messages. On trail, I check the weather forecast every day and send texts once or twice but pretty much stay offline otherwise. My goal is to take at least one photo a day, and my camera use varies but is not enough to be a battery concern. For entertainment, I listen to podcasts, keep up with blogging, or maybe read a Kindle book in the evenings. Others download Netflix, and video is obviously energy intensive.

Toad for good luck

All this adds up to maybe 30-40% battery use per day. Before I had headphones on trail, I could generally stretch a single charge for 3 or 4 days. Now, I use my portable battery bank to top up to 60% each day as needed.

Day 120

Actually not that rain drenched in this photo

And now for the record rainstorm across Vermont. I'm not sure when I first realized this wasn't simply a large storm but in fact was a 1000-year flood event. My parents had planned a visit today along with my aunt, but due to weather-related travel chaos she was unable to join. Luckily, the corner of Vermont around Bennington wasn't too bad, though my parent's drive was treacherous. Due to shelter spacing near road acess, I ended up backtracking a mile and change to meet my parents in the morning.

At least there's a bridge here. The stream didn't look like this yesterday.

It turned out to be a great day for a zero in town! I did laundry and emptied out all my stuff to dry out, repair, re-sort, and restock. The biggest chore was replacing the tips on my trekking poles, which involved pliers, a pot of boiling water, and several pairs of hands. After some food and a little nap, we did a sightseeing drive around Bennington to 3 covered bridges and an impressive stone memorial tower. I made sure to get ice cream, too, as this in-town ritual is an important nutritional source of calories and fat.

Day 121

It was a slow morning in town with a solid diner breakfast (Dad loves local New England diners) and some information gathering. Reports varied, but it seems I avoided the worst of it by not hiking yesterday. A hostel at the next major road crossing, that I had visited while skiing over the winter, had no water or power during the storm, but the owner went to heroic lengths to help stranded hikers. A section of trail near Bear Mountain, New York was closed until further notice due to significant damage including collapsed roads adjacent to the Hudson River bridge there.

Much sunnier! And no the blue shirts were not planned

My mother joined me on trail for a short while. The layout wasn't ideal; she got to hike up the same steep climb that I had backtracked the previous morning but didn't have enough time to enjoy the smooth ridgeline for the next few miles.

My next section only had one stream crossing of notable size, and the rest of the day was muddy but not exceptionally different than previous rainstorms. The climb up to Glastonbury Mountain was not too hard until the very end; climbs late in the day are rarely great. I shared the shelter there with a group from Montreal that is hiking the Long Trail.

Day 122

It was a good day for hiking, save for a brief afternoon downpour. I've argued with other hikers about this, whether you prefer an all-day rain or a short downpour, and morning or afternoon rain. The best is rain that's light enough to be mostly blocked by the tree canopy. I'd rather have morning than afternoon rain so my clothes had a chance to dry out. However, then you spend more time hiking in wet clothes and increase your chances of chafing. Shoes that are truly soaked take at least 2 days to dry out.

Signs, signs, everywhere is signs

Lucky for me, the rain cleared up by the time I got to the fire tower on Stratton Mountain. According to the plaque, the view from this historic tower was so beautiful that it inspired the creation of both the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail. Overall, my feet were wet and muddy most of the day, but again the trail conditions were pretty similar to the last week or two before the jumbo storm.

Fire tower views after rain

I camped at Stratton Pond. With mountain lakes come loons, whose call you'd probably recognize as a movie sound effect used to evoke a specific feeling of wilderness and possibly spooky isolation. I ate dinner with a weekender trio who all worked at an REI near Boston.

Beavers are thriving

Day 123

Today was a short day (read: 10 miles) into the town of Manchester Center. It was surprisingly hot and sticky; turns out I can either be rain soaked or sweat drenched, there's no middle ground. Oh, East Coast humidity.

This was an unusually short interval for me to stay overnight in town again. There was an intense evening storm complete with black skies and an emergency weather alert, the kind that are pushed through with that loud blaring tone. By chance, of the 9 guests at the hostel I was the youngest person by 25 years. The other hikers were all talking about grandkids.

Green Mountains alright

My only regret of the day was not learning that the hostel sells pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream for $1 until after I bought a Mcflurry. I don't actually have enough hiker hunger to consume 1200 calories of ice cream without a second thought, given that I already had afternoon ice cream and a big dinner.

A perhaps long-overdue explanation of hiker hostels. A hostel is often a converted house, barn, or garage. The owners are typically hikers themselves with knowledge of local trail conditions and nearby towns. Hostels generally have communal bunk rooms, shower, laundry, and some sort of kitchen. If a hiker hostel is farther than a mile from the trail or from stores/town amenities, they likely offer shuttle rides. Many hostels allow you to camp in your tent on site for a reduced price and still have access to amenities. Some are small, seasonal businesses with only a few beds, while others are larger operations with features like on-site resupply, included meals, great communal hangout areas, and additional private rooms. Staying at a hostel often makes completing your town chores easier. For example, if you are washing all of your clothing at once, loaner clothes to wear in the meantime are pretty useful.

Day 124

Wildflowers for the win

Despite a chancy sky when I set out in the morning, there was surprisingly no rain today. By the time I hiked a few miles to Bromley Mountain, where the trail takes you to the top of the chairlift, it was all sunshine and wildflowers. The slopes were gradual today; considering there were named mountains, it was not too strenuous.

In case you thought I was exaggerating about the mud. The squelching, suck your shoes off your feet kind.

I shockingly kept my feet dry. Actually, in my end of day notes, that was written in all caps to indicate surprise and joy. From previous weekend trips, I had already associated the forests of southern Vermont with damp. Even if it didn't rain, I always aired my stuff out because the humidity was omnipresent. The primary understory plants are ferns, and there are diverse types of mushrooms everywhere. The air now even smells a little moldy or musty.

There was a bridge over the troubled water

My campsite was along a rocky cobblestone river that I so strongly associate with New England mountains. It was pretty quiet on trail with only 2 day hikers and a handful of backpackers.

Day 125

I understand where you're coming from, rocks

It was another warm and muggy day on trail. I kept my shoes pretty darn dry after managing a stream crossing with some convenient rocks, a leap of faith, and a tree placed in a key location. Along many of these streams, excess debris, high water marks, and eroded streambanks serve as evidence of the recent flood.

Look at the pretty reflection

It was also pretty quiet on trail until the afternoon. I was low on water and generally worn down when I Iucked into some trail magic! Push already completed his 2023 thruhike and was doing magic while job searching.

Artsy rock garden

Dutch and I shared a shelter site, and he pointed out that we first met 2 months ago to the day. We clearly keep pace pretty well but only tend to see each other 2 or 3 times in a week. Inspired by the clouds of mosquitoes and a forecast of overnight rain, we pitched our tents within the shelter.

This gorge was described as particularly scenic in Far Out

Day 126

A very curious warning sign

The rain indeed started overnight but was luckily only intermittent during hiking hours. I climbed Killington, and from the trail side there is absolutely no hint of a major ski resort. The trail was actually pretty rugged and due for some maintenance - I briefly crawled hands and knees underneath a fallen tree. After a long slow climb and second snack break, the afternoon featured clear skies. It was very quiet on trail in terms of other hikers yet still got trail magic! A couple who thru hiked last year were doing a quick stop here along their road trip. Dutch and I got some snacks, cold drinks, and a ride into the town of Rutland.

A sign of progress

One of my trail wishlist items was to stay at the Yellow Deli hostel. I first learned of this place from Long Trail hikers during a previous weekend trip. It is run by Twelve Tribes, who is frequently labeled a cult. There were some unusual quirks, like gender segregated floors and homemade loaner clothes. Overall, I thought the hostel facilities were pretty good, and no members were pushy or preachy. I ran back into the Montrealers from a few days ago, too.

Miles. They keep on coming.

My most exciting find at the grocery store was a boxed macaroni and cheese made by Guinness beer and Cabot cheese. I still got my town vegetables in - those bagged salad mixes are a single serving to me.

Happy hiking!