So NEMO lives close enough that she will pick me up in a few days for a night at her farm before I fly out. When we were talking about how far I’d get she tossed out some lofty numbers…and I just don’t want to do 20+ mile days at this point. I think I could, but I don’t feel like it, so I will stop once I reach the first town in Massachusetts. That sounds like four medium sized days. Perfect for this middle-aged woman (but to be honest…I don’t really feel middle-aged. Is it the hiking? 🤔)

When I woke in the king sized bed (🙌), I did morning things and hit the hot continental breakfast hard. I was outta there around 10ish, and I walked the mile or so to the post office so send some things away. Third pair of socks? Who needs you anyway!

I made one last stop at Zoey’s Deli on my way out of town and couldn’t resist the cookie as big as my head. Then I had barely pulled out my tyvek to hold up the “To Trail” part when a woman pulled over and offered me a ride. Vermonters like the hikers!

The walking was very nice today…smooth and fewer things to trip on than normal. I met a fellow sandal wearer and we chatted toes and twisted ankles for a minute and I had to switch to my chacos after that of course.

The vibe for the day was Beyoncé.

One of the highlights was a mile gravel road walk (I LOVE a gravel road walk) and the gate. The gate was very popular on FarOut.

It was well into the afternoon when I was suddenly struck: today was August 22, my AT-aversary! Average Joe and I climbed Katadhin 20 years ago today. Today of all days was one to commemorate, and I usually do that by having a little treat 😁.

I walked the rest of the afternoon in a happy meandering. When it started to rain I stepped into my rainskirt and popped up my umbrella…it was the perfect trail for an umbrella, and the rain fell hard enough that I felt 100% that it had been worth carrying it for all this time just for today.

I arrived at the Stratton Pond Shelter and met Nigel hiking out. He had on Long Trail garb, and I had been expecting to connect with the caretaker at this popular spot; I had an inside connection! Here is another tale of the trail community providing: Green Mountain Girl had hiked some of the Oregon Desert Trail a few years ago, and we communicated a lot before, during, and after her trip. She has been so rad, and even sent me a gallon of Vermont maple syrup when she returned home from Oregon as a thank you (So nice!). When she heard that I’d be hiking some of the AT she mentioned she wanted to trail angel me (she works for the Long Trail as well 👍). She arranged for the caretaker here at Stratton Pond to hike in some beer for me…and after talking to Nigel and finding out he wasn’t my awaited contact and than in fact it was the caretakers’s day off, I had my instructions to look on their tent platform and I’d find a beer there with my name on it. Literally!

Haa, so nice!! My little treat! Happy trailaversary to me and Average Joe!

I magic’d two of the three beers to a couple of Long Trail hikers, and come to find out Cowabunga has also completed his nobo AT thru 10 years ago this week. Cheers to us!

So I didn’t mention yesterday that I had come to the top of Bromley Mountain and found a camping paradise. I hadn’t read all the FarOut comments, and had been focused on a shelter that was a mile further away, but when I crested the last climb, definitely grumbling as the climbs had been steep and rocky and the day long, I was awe-struck by the grassy clearing and hikers setting up their tents. I went up to a nobo who confirmed, yes, there is camping and a privy and even a building with outlets we can use. Oh happy day! The ski lift of the resort towered over the south side of the mountain and the clouds and sun were already giving off a pretty dramatic show when I arrived. It was a much needed boost to my moral at the end of a long day.

So this morning when I woke for my usual pre-dawn business, I could see from the hints of red on the horizon that it was going to be a stunner of a sunrise. By the time I made my coffee others had peaked their heads out and we were all basking in the rare sight of a sunrise on the AT (too many trees to get a regular view like this.)

I soaked it in before starting down the mountain. It was a great start to day 50. I cleared cobwebs from the trail with my face almost the whole three miles down. Yuck.

When I reached the trailhead and highway I started chatting with a woman who was hiking the long trail when a car full of nobo hikers pulls up. Jeff from the hostel in town was running them to the trail and offered to give me a ride to town. Oh happy day! My first item of business was breakfast. He took me to a cute breakfast joint where I put the hurt on some eggs. Then laundry. I wouldn’t be able to shower till I got to the hotel room, I like to shower before doing laundry usually, but the order of operations would have to be switched today.

Then resupply at the grocery across the way, then I decided to pop my head in some of the outlet stores that Manchester Center is known for. I might want to wear something other than hiking clothes on the plane or when I visit my folks (I’m spending a few days with my parents in Louisiana before I fly back to Oregon). I got a few tops….I had been looking for a dress, but I am not a fan of the options I had before me in a few stores, and the pant options were not appealing either. Am I an old lady when I don’t want to wear any of the fashions that are out now? Yuck. I’ll mail the shirts and a few things from my pack to my folk’s house tomorrow…I can lighten up my pack a bit for sure. Less than 100 miles to go to Massachusetts and my end point!

I ran a few more errands before waking over to the hotel. They let me use the pool even though I was early, and I stayed there till my room was ready.

The room had a tub! I had been banking on that and had picked up some epson salts in hopes that I would finally get a chance to soak. Devine. I had new nail polish for my toes, a moisturizing mask for my face, and new shirt. Look out Manchester Center!

I splurged big time on dinner down the street at Ye Old Tavern. It was historical and expensive and so delicious.

I couldn’t find anything worth watching on the 10000 channels of cable (seriously, there was NOTHING of value…cable has become nothing but infomercials and junk) so watched some netflix on my phone instead.

A real bed!

Your pace doesnt have to be fast if you can do the time.

Almost 12 hours of hiking.

Do the time.

I can’t seem to get the legs moving into their usual groove. I have a steady 3mph pace, but that speed was impossible in the northern two states as you literally have to pick your way carefully through the rocks to go anywhere. It’s as if my body got used to that slower canter, and I can only reasonably, not quickly, move down the trail. Maybe it’s because I don’t have a destination or ultimate goal. Maybe I’m not trying to beat winter, or finish by Thanksgiving (those factors usually put the fire under other sobo’s toes). So I guess it doesn’t matter that I’m moving slower than normal…or maybe this is normal now?

I listen to music and podcasts all day…it’s an internal day. For NEMO’s visit I was very external, telling stories and absorbing hers….I barely talk today, and that’s ok, I need this too.

One of the podcasts that sparked some deep thoughts today was Tim Ferriss’s interview of Will MacAskill. In the face of so much change and potential for disaster, he has a very uplifting world view…and a compelling call to action.

Dare I say I am choosing hope and action in place of despair and immobilization? On day 48 I am. If you have a couple of hours give it a listen.

I take long breaks and read my spy book. The trail is mostly green tunnel today, but that fits my slow, meditative, and thoughtful walking.

Before anything notable happens, I’m at camp. Oops, something notable did happen…I passed the 500 mile mark. Well, I actually reached 500 miles yesterday, but this marked the AT miles I’ve hiked.

The rain fell hard all night, which is good for all the dry little creeks and streams out there. I decided to splurge on a morning shower and stood under the warm water for several quarters worth of time. State parks have it going on with all these amenities…if you can put up with the traffic and people.

We took it slow this morning; Retread was heading home, Anonymous was flying out tomorrow, and the two nobos were getting dropped off for their Katadhin quest. It’s strange just having hiked what they have left to do. I refrain from saying too much about what they have ahead…I don’t always like it when others do that to me…regardless, they will get a ton of advice from all the others coming south too. It’s hard, they wanna know what they are in store for, but I don’t think you really can prepare yourself for New Hampshire and Maine, you just have to experience it.

The hype around the trail south of here is: “so flat, you can do big days, it’s nothing like what you experienced in the north.” The challenges down here are more like: ticks, heat, and…hmmm, what else??? Maybe not so much the heat anymore. The sobos got hammered by long periods of really hot (like in the 90s AND incredibly humid hot. No thank you.)

I walked out of camp and to the trail. A short up got the blood flowing. Solo again. I would be solo through my last 100ish miles when I made it to, hmmm, not sure yet. I can get off trail and to Albany, NY from any number of places in the next week. When I looked at a map, Albany sat to the east, and a wagon wheel of roads burst into the mountains of Vermont and Massachusetts. I could hop off the trail and to the airport from just about anywhere.

And then I was on the Long Trail. About 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail share the same tread south of here…the northern portion of the 200ish mile trail traverses the spine of mountains north of here to Canada. Also the Long Trail is the first long distance trail in country. Respect!

The big feature of the day would be to climb Killington, Vermont’s second highest peak. It also has the region’s biggest ski resort. I passed on the climb to the top (via a steep 0.2 side trail) and snack bar because the forest was in a cloud, and I had too much food on my back. I remember racing up there with Average Joe in 2002 and snacking hard. The views were great too.

The rain had stopped shortly after I had started hiking yesterday, but the dense and thick greenery made for a drenched walk all the same. It was beautiful.

I ambled to a stop early. I had already made a reservation at a nice hotel in Manchester Center, a three+ day hike from my zero. I had plenty of time to hike there, too much food once again, and another book that was getting interesting – this one a British spy novel set in the 1970s.

Hiking!

Today was truly relaxing. I didn’t have any chores to do, so I could just sit. Retread made sure we were well fed, and I just sat.

Arm pain update: not using my arm has helped a lot. I still feel that something isn’t right, but I’m not in as much pain as before. I will contine to not use my left hiking pole and see what happens.

Bee sting update: the swelling has gone down and I’ve all but forgotten the event, but a mosquito stung the sting area, and that’s not cool.

Foot gash update: the cut is in the crease of my toe, so hard to see. Hope it’s doing OK.

Legs update: legs are ripped and ready to go!

I made the coffee so strong this morning that I was jittery for the first mile of the trail…which probably helped me get up the big climb of the day. The day, though, would be short. We had places to be! Things to wash!

We walked by the beautiful Ethan Pond and into the state park after the quick morning and there was Carrie! She met us on the trail with a zip lock for each of us: small bar of soap, small shampoo and conditioner bottles, and enough quarters for a 10 minute shower. What a fabulous welcome, but even better, it was so good to see my friend again.

We walked into a campsite where Retread, the amazing trail angel that made this rendezvous happen, is parked with his camper, and I met the nobo slack packers of the hour: #2 Pencil and Nightingale.

So, let’s see if I get the story right: #2 and Nightingale met Retread last year when another hiker held a gathering to talk about prepping for the trail. Retread has been following the two hiker’s progress as they made their way north (hiking separately I believe) and offered to angel them when they got north. Well, they got north, so the three decided on a 4-day slack pack session where Retread would hold down the fort at the campground and drive them up and back to the trail each day. They would hike 10-20 miles and come back to the campground for rest and pampering each night. Carrie had just gotten off trail, but since meeting #2 (and the two of them hitting it off) had wanted us all to meet, and we thought when #2 and I crossed paths would be the chance. Sooooo, here we are! Our paths converge, Carrie and Retread connected and he brought her here. The two nobos will get some miles in, NEMO will get picked up tomorrow, and I get to see Carrie again and meet #2! It’s amazing all these moving parts came together 😃

We walk in, I make a beeline for the showers and emerge fresh as a dew drop. I was wearing some loner clothes so I didn’t have to put my stanky ones back on and soon we were lunching on a picnic table with a table cloth on it. Classy! Retread is an amazing host and has thought of everything. I’m grateful they have welcomed us into their well orchestrated camping trip.

After lunch we decide its laundry time and all load up into Retread’s truck. We find a place in Rutland called Washbucklers (I chose it for the name). Once we accomplished that mission it was food time, both for consuming and resuppling.

Mountain Spice, a 2015 CDT hiker I met and hiked through some of northern Montana with, joined us for dinner at the Yellow Deli, an infamous restaurant run by a religious community. We feast, and then do a haphazard resupply (I hadn’t figured out where I was going next or what I needed) where I basically just tossed things I like to eat in the cart.

Back at camp we managed a short hang out sesch before hiker midnight struck, and we were all tucked in, lulled to sleep by the two busy highways rumbling almost next to our ears.

Your mission should you choose to accept it: savor the day.

Today was NEMO’s last full day of hiking with me, and we decided to take the path least traveled (well, not really…) and have fun with the day and do what we want. Oh sure, we would still hike our miles, but with a different attitude.

Tomorrow we would reach Gifford State Park where we would find Carrie along with #2 Pencil, another hiker friend of theirs, and Rewind, a hiker that is off trail, lives nearby, and would be slack packing #2 and the other hiker for a few days. This is where our paths cross as nobos and sobos. Carrie has been off trail for about a week, and wanted stick around until we were all nearby so we could hang out. NEMO would meet the crew before she gets picked up for home the next day, and I had arranged for Mountain Spice, a hiker I met on the CDT (and hiked through the Bob Marshall Wilderness and part of Glacier with) lives nearby and will stop in and say hello as well. It would be a party! But the event heavy on our minds for the state park? A shower. A long hot shower, and doing laundry somewhere near by. Visions of soap a shampoo danced through our heads. We hadn’t truly bathed or washed our clothes in 10 days, and we are rank. It wasn’t for lack of trying! Weekends, full hotels, closed hotels (no staff) and lack of hotels thwarted our attempts at cleaning ourselves, but the run of rank would soon be over…word on the street is a laundromat/pub combo awaits us ahead.

The first decision on “savor the day” was a trip to Teagos, a store/deli a mile off the trail that is rumored to have breakfast sandwiches. We arrived at a paved road soon after leaving camp and walking through a thick patch of poison ivy (doh!) The walk was pleasant and we passed a small ski hill that was very charming. Town was a well-manicured historical place with the community theater advertising a rendition of “Nunsense” on stage this fall. Whoa Vermont, you are coming on strong! The store was about as picturesque as you could get, with regulars chatting over coffee, a well-provisioned deli, all sorts of fun snacks and treats, and a fully stocked beer fridge. We both ordered a breakfast sandwich and grabbed a beer from the case (the beer that Laurie gave us the other day…very tasty!). We ate our sandwiches on the porch after trying to wash off the poison ivy oils from our legs in the bathroom 🤞

Then we started to walk the mile back, but stuck out our thumbs just as a pickup turned onto our road. Success! We hopped in the back (a second pick-up hitch??? So lucky!) and we were back on trail lickity-split.

We had some climbing and descending…nothing too extreme. We laughed and reminisced about our years of hiking together, it was a good day.

I needed water around lunch time so we hiked a quarter mile into a shelter and took over the shelter with our shenanigans. We cracked our beers and ate our sandwiches, playing some of our favorite songs for each other.

We weren’t too tipsy for the afternoon hike, and managed to make some respectable miles before finding a camp spot near the next creek, although I did cut my foot open while hiking in my chacos, and really started to fatigue with the incessant roots – some hikers call Vermont Vermud, but with this drought I’d call it Verroot.

We splashed off in the cold creek and had a lovely evening with the serenade of rushing water in the background.

Tired nobos are sleeping everywhere down here.

Sleeping in shelters always seems like a delicate thing. It can be so quiet in there that any sounds made from rustling about or turning in the night are amplified…I don’t sleep well in them, and don’t imagine others do either, yet I spent almost every night of my 5-month hike in them 20 years ago.

I’m up early as usual, and move a short distance away to make my coffee and stay as quiet as I can while I write.

Nemo eventually wakes and we are both packed and ready to hike before the other hiker in the shelter stirs…what a sound sleeper!

The trail continues to lay down a path of easy dirt before us, and we glide through the miles. On a short road walk we stop in a trail angel’s house where hikers can get water from a hose. There are cold sodas too and we both drink one as we hear stories from the other nobos that just arrived. It’s a short stop, and soon we are climbing the next hill (a lot of the features in this part of Vermont are called hills…that gives you some perspective on the terrain here).

Late morning I feel a hot sharp pain on my left ankle, I’ve been stung! Now normally this might not be a big deal to you, but I was in fact hiking on the PCT in the Glacier Peak Wilderness when I was stung on the ankle twice by a ground wasp and went into anaphylactic shock. NEMO was there and watched me blow up like a balloon and develop breathing problems and hives all over my body. Another hiker had me take a bunch of Benedryl…I didn’t know I was allergic, so didn’t carry an epi-pen, and no one else had one either. After a few minutes (I was on the ground wrapped in an emergency blanket by this time) I remember NEMO saying, “She-ra, if you were gonna die, you would have died by now.” I guess I didn’t realize death was an option, but was glad to hear that it was taken off the table. After about an hour the hikers split up my gear and we hiked up, looking for a campsite…there were none at the bottom of the drainage where I had been stung. And then 16 years passed and I was stung on the ankle again on a long distance trail with NEMO there.

I stopped, yelled for NEMO, chewed a Benedryl, swallowed another whole, and dug the stinger out (which means it was a bee we think, and has different venom from a wasp…good for me). I was having some PTSD, but overall kept my calm. (Now I carry Benedryl in my pocket, an epi in my phanny pack and one in my backpack). We slowly walked away from the area, and nothing more happened, so continued another 10 minutes to the next gravel road where we sat down and surveyed the damage.

My ankle was swelling a lot, but that was all. We put wet mud on the ballooning area (the cool felt good) and I lay down to eat lunch.

I was ok!

We walked on that afternoon, and I was surprised I wasn’t more sleepy from the Benedryl. We had one more instance of trail magic when we came upon a bucket at a creek that had some cold sodas in it (I just can’t with all this trail magic! Wow!).

Camp is a open hemlock forest, and NEMO and I tuck ourselves out of sight down a small swell in the earth.

I didn’t die today!