Date: 2018-07-13
From: Killington Peak

To: VT Route 100
Miles today: 9.4

I slept well again but got up twice to go to the bathroom. This morning we were leaving a little later because we needed to take the gondola to the top of Killington and it doesn't start running until 10 a.m. so we enjoyed the hiker breakfast in the deli. It was really wonderful to see so many hikers helping out in the kitchen, serving and washing dishes. Breakfast was scrambled eggs with vegetables and cheese served with rice and toast. There was also fresh fruit on the table and plenty of coffee and matte. After breakfast I went to the bus station and waited for River to join me to catch the bus back to Killington. She went to the fresh juice place prior to the bus station. It took a while to get to the mountain because there are several stops along the way but the ride was certainly relaxing.When we arrived at Killington we used the restroom and were ready for the gondola ride back to the peak. River went and introduced herself to the gondola attendant explaining that we had riden down the night before and as thru-hikers needed to get back to the peak to resume our hike. We were ushered onto a gandola and taken up to the top. Awesome! the lodge was open so we decided we would fuel up with a nice high calorie snack and enjoy the view before resuming our hike. I grabbed the smallest Ben & Jerry's ice cream container I've ever seen and a protein shake and sat outside in an Adirondack chair mesmerised by my surroundings and the realization that I walked here from West Virginia. It took awhile for it to sink in just how amazing it is to have accomplished this much and I'm looking forward to finishing Vermont and being in New Hampshire and eventually the rest of the journey. It was after 11: 30 when we finally started down the blue blaze trail back to Cooper's Lodge and Northbound on the AT.There really wasn't a whole lot once we got down to Cooper's Lodge and it was basically just a hike through the green tunnel though there were several nice areas and a good majority of the trail today was favorable with soft footing and beautiful Pine Forest. We had been texting Wind Eagle for the last couple of days and she was staying at the Long Trail Inn waiting for her sister to arrive to hike with her. We agreed that if we could finish early enough today and get ourselves over to the Inn from Route 100 that we would have a beer together. We haven't seen wind Eagle since Pennsylvania! We stopped at Churchill shelter for lunch and then proceeded northbound eventually walking through Gifford Woods State Park which we both felt was absolutely beautiful. I stopped at the picnic area just admiring the beauty of the space and waited for River. When she arrived a Subaru entered into the park and stopped in front of us. We recognized the two women and dog inside as people who we had spoken to up on the peak. They asked us if we needed a ride and we gratefully accepted. We walked the remaining short section through the woods from the park out to Route 100 and they picked us up on the road.They drove us to the Long Trail Inn where we met with Wind Eagle. These two women were absolutely wonderful and we chatted for a while in the parking lot. Kaiji and Carrie ( not certain I spelled their names correctly). When they drove away the 3 of us entered into the pub. We decided to have dinner since it was dinner time and we were of course starving now. We had a wonderful visit with Wind Eagle and I actually had two beers! Unusual for me. We then called the taxi driver who had driven us yesterday and he picked us up to bring us back to The Yellow Deli. When we got close to The Yellow Deli he dropped us off about a block away. The street was closed for a big block party. It was late for us, around 9pm but we got an ice cream sundae and headed up to our room in the hostel. We saw Aysh and let him know that we would like to stay a third night which is the maximum allowed.I have a disease that can flare up due to physical or psychological stress. I've been coping with a flare up since we stopped early to camp by the river a few nights ago. Some of my symptoms are difficult to manage in the backcountry and cause me a lot of pain, discomfort and additional stress. Staying at this hostel where I feel comfortable and can hike without my pack and hike shorter days is helping me to manage this flare up. Staying active is helpful. Staying at the Yellow Deli has certainly come at an appropriate time for me. We took our ice cream up to our room where we enjoyed it before I brushed my teeth and crawled into my bunk. I'm very tired and fatigued and I'm looking forward to another wonderful night of sleep.