Date: 2014-07-15
From: Winturri Shelter

To: Thayer Residence - Norwich, VT
Miles today: 23.8

Wow today turned into a long day! Since a food resupply for dinner fell through since the store was closed I pushed on further and was lucky enough to get a stay with a friendly host in Norwich!Planned an early start since we knew it was going to be a long day and we wanted to get to the next shelter a little bit earlier. I had a great sleep in the hammock under the shelter roof even though it never rained overnight. Left camp in the following order: Phys Ed, myself, Pilot and Navigator. A lot of the morning was spent leapfrogging with Pilot and Navigator around the hills - they caught me on the flats and downs while I passed them on the ups. Eventually I passed them for good and spent a lot of time walking alone - I do enjoy the solitary time mixed in with group time at rests and breaks.Boy did we tackled a lot of hills today! Almost like another Roller Coaster but not as many total climbs. Still the climbs we did today were fairly steep at times and the humidity made the hiking a bit tougher - definitely a good day to maintain a nice steady pace on the ups and downs. The trail in this part of Vermont was not near as muddy as in the beginning and it was more enjoyable to walk.Today we actually ran into trail magic that was not used up! I have been running into trail magic along the way but most of the time it is either all gone or all trash by time I arrive...kinda unfortunate. But I ran into two instances of it after conquering a tough climb. The first instance happened on the way down to one of the many road crossings and Phys Ed and I got a cold soda that was setting in a bucket by the river. The second instance was a different kind of trail magic but the trail gave us raspberries at the top of the climb after the sodas - I found a couple of ripe berries and ate them. Delicious! The third instance happened right before reaching the road that went to the Cloudland Market - a fellow thru-hiker had left a cooler full of snacks by the trail and had people sign the cooler in Sharpie! I left a note of thanks and waited for Phys Ed before walking to the market for a soda.What a great place for a break and a lunch! The market was set up by the road with a view of sloping hills and open field from the porch. The store had its own brew of sodas and a water spigot and restrooms and chairs - the things hikers need! Pilot and Navigator showed up a little later and we all enjoyed lunch on the porch - tough day so far with more to go.From the market we only had two major climbs left - both led up to the different shelters along the trail. Lunch definitely helped out with the first hill as I flew up to the top relatively easily. It was the long down to West Hartford that started to get to me a little. For whatever reason my boots have been hurting my little toes on each foot and the down seems to be aggravating it more - even stepping carefully can still cause a brief spike of discomfort. New shoes on the way so relief is coming. Also it sprinkled rain on me - which in itself was not bad since it cooled me down - but it managed to make walking through the tall grass fields a wet walk. I think I got more wet doing that than if it had rained more!But overall the hike down to town was fairly nice - I ran into several SOBOs on the trail and chatted briefly before moving on. Seeing the true southbounders from Katahdin now! After all the down I hit the road walk that led into the main road through West Hartford - mostly flat but pretty hot walking since the sun came back out!Right as I crossed over the river I heard a voice asking if I wanted a cold drink - a voice from Heaven? Turns out it was a local guy who lived right near the trail and I gladly accepted - I needed the soda and the rest. The gentleman introduced himself as Randy - he and his wife provide trail magic to hikers daily in the form of breakfast until noon and cold sodas after noon - just listen for the bell! They have a bell on the front porch their son rings to get the attention of hikers - a great family! I had a great conversation with him and he told me about the trail angels in Norwich who let hikers stay in their homes and even offered me a bunk above his garage - super cool! I decided to press on into Norwich and try my luck with the trail angels - my decision was also influenced by the fact that I was low on food and the store in West Hartford was closed! So after making it through the rest of the hot road walk and chatting briefly with Sharp Knife and Hiccup I motored up the hill to the Happy Hill Shelter - a man on a mission! The soda that I got from Randy gave me huge amounts of energy and powered me all the way to Elm Street in Norwich. A longer day than anticipated but well worth it in the end!After exiting the woods and getting onto Elm Street I stopped at a house with a trail magic box outside of it. Checked the box and found a list of people that house hikers for the evening. I called Warren Thayer and he told me to call his wife since he was out of town. I called Toni Thayer and she said she had some room tonight - luck on the first try! Conveniently enough I was also right outside of her home when I called so it was a very short walk to the place!A very wonderful home stay at the Thayer residence - they have inflatable beds set up in the basement and let hikers shower and do laundry for free. Sharp Knife and Hiccup showed up a little bit later and Toni fed us burgers for dinner - very generous of her! We talked outside on the porch and she was a Midwesterner as well - she grew up in Anderson, IN and is a Purdue Alumnus!After dinner we made a fire in their fire pit and made s'mores and had a good time chatting around the fire - even through the little drizzle of rain that had started! Toni is a great hostess and if you find yourself in need along the trail give them a call!We finally retreated from the rain and headed to the basement for the evening - set up with a TV and everything. Ready for a good sleep tonight after a long day today - and we lucked out and missed the rain! Good to be in a friendly place tonight - very short day into Norwich Inn and Hanover tomorrow!