Just arrived in Vermont a few days and let me just say that this place is amazing. Very shortly after crossing the New Hampshire border the trail, maintained by The Green Mountain Club, seemed like it was carefully carpeted with pine needles and graded for your grandmother, at least when compared to the rugged trails of Maine. The few days we have been here we have enjoyed cool sunny weather with amazing view after amazing view. There are rolling hills topped with green pastures peppered with blackberries, blueberries and crabapple trees. Vermont seems to me like a summer wonderland out of a story book. I could definitely see myself living here without complaint.
Sunrise at the Lookout
Blue and I like it so much that we going to ride up to the top of the Long Trail and hike it. Unfortunately as a result the fellowship has been broken! That’s right, the Breakfast Club has temporarily separated. The girls were not interested in making the hike any longer than it already is and, in addition, Sherpa’s knee was hurting so much that it was bringing her to tears. She is a beast when it comes to dealing with pain so it must be intense to deal with. She decided to stay behind at one of the road crossings a couple miles behind the Lookout, where we stayed on Thursday, and hitch to town to see a doctor. Shuffle, Blue and I hiked on to Kent Pond to meet up with my friend John Draper who lives in Rochester, VT. When we got there 3 other hiker friends Chickory, Crunk, and Junko; were hanging out at the pond and I invited them to join us for some BBQ chicken at John’s house. There are few things in this world more compelling to a hiker than the promise of hot food not cooked in a pot. We didn’t have to do much convincing when it came to Chickory, Crunk, and Junko; Shuffle instead wanted to press on to the Yellow Deli. The Yellow Deli is a cult/hiker hostel where I am sure, after her conversion, Shuffle will give a full account of her transformation on her blog (brittanistanga.com). Good luck Shuffle! We hope you enjoy your days as a “breeder”. 😉
The other 6 of us piled into Young D’s Toyota Corolla and drove to Rochester and spent an amazing evening on couches and gorging ourselves on beans, corn and chicken. Any where a Draper lives is bound to be one of the most inviting and comfortable places on earth. Additionally, it was really good to see Momma Draper and her home in Vermont. I have been meaning to come visit ever since she came out here and I, for some reason or another, just never made the time. Even so, being here felt like I had been here 1000 times before.
Before long Blue and I had recruited Chicory and John to come with us. It’s hard to say no to the prospect of more days in Vermont. That being said, It will be interesting to see how we feel about it in 10 days when we connect back with the AT.
The next morning (Saturday), John drove Crunk and Junko to the trail head. After he got back, the rest of us drove to help him with a Habitat for Humanity project he was working on which was a lot of fun. Not to mention the free food that was provided: hot dogs, sausages, potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, cookies, brownies and lemonade. I would have paid to meet the people we worked with, learn a few things, and eat an amazing lunch. It always astounds me that the most rewarding things are always free.
Afterwards John drove us to pick up Mabel and some towels, then we went to swim and to a rope swing along the river. When we were done shivering from the chilly New England waters and having fun watching locals almost kill themselves on the rope swing by hanging on to long or letting go to early, we drove to Killington to find a map of the Long Trail. I have to say that the elevation profile looks a bit intimidating but I am sure it will be fine. There are 27 peaks above 3000 feet so we have our work cut out for us.
Carol, or Momma Draper, cooked us an amazing dinner of couscous, veggies, and pork loin and we lounged around until bed time. I slept like a rock and woke up about an hour ago. After breakfast we will head out and resupply, then we will drive to the Canadian boarder where the Long Trail starts and head south back to the AT junction. I am excited about the prospect of seeing Canada for the first time and see more of this great place.
My next stop on the AT is Rutland, VT so if anyone would like to send something to myself or my hiker companions use the address below:
James Puckett
C/O General Delivery
Rutland, VT 05701
Please hold for AT hiker
ETA 8/28/2013
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