Date: 2005-08-06
From: Seth Warner Shelter

To: Bennington, Vermont
Miles today: 11.5

Break's and my plan for the day was to do the 11.5 miles to the road into Bennington, Vermont and hitch in, overnight and resupply. Forgetting that it was Saturday, we figured Break had until 5PM to get to the post office and collect her bounce box. Cuppa Joe, who had a mail drop waiting for him in Manchester, was going to keep going. While it is great to be here in New England, I must say I still find it rather strange to be here. I think part of it is the suddenness of no longer hiking in Virginia - which comprises about a quarter of the whole trail. It would also feel different, I'm sure, if the change of scenery had been more gradual. But, like Break says, part of it is also a sense that, having "skipped" on up this far north, we're sort of cheating being here - not having hiked our way here. I'm sure these feelings will disapate once I get a couple of hundred New England miles under my belt.The trail here in Vermont is much like the trail south, but there are some noticable differences. One is that they don't believe much in switch backs, so if there is a hill ahead you can pretty much figure that the trail will go straight up and over it. The second is that there are a lot of wet areas where the trail consists of ground level 2X6 boards to prevent hikers having to slog through bogs. We also passed a number of small ponds, some of them created by beavers daming up streams. They're pretty, but a real breeding ground for mosquitos, so not a place where you'd want to camp.With Break leading the way, and setting the pace (in deference to her foot problem), the three of us made reasonably good time. With only one packs off rest stop next to a pond, we arrived at Congdon shelter - 7 miles from Seth Warner shelter - around 12:30 where we stopped for lunch.At 1PM, Cuppa Joe bid us farewell, as he was going to do long miles toward Manchester. At 1:30, I was ready to go, so I strapped on my pack, assuming Break would, too. She said she wasn't ready yet, and wanted to rest her foot a while longer. I said I'd wait for her at the road into town, but she told me not to wait, she would just meet me at the Autumn Inn Motel. I asked if she was sure, and she said yes....probably. She said she MIGHT decide to just stay there tonight, and go into town first thing in the morning, in which case she wouldn't overnight in Bennington but would just hit the post office and then go back to the trail. In which case, she'd plan to meet me at the next shelter north, and I should just hike on. I said okay, and set off toward Bennington. The longer I hiked, however, the more I wondered if I'd done the right thing. Maybe I should have just stayed, and only hiked on when Break did. What kind of friend was I to just abandon her like that? Wasn't one of my goals for his adventure to make some good friends, AND to BE a good friend?On the other hand, I countered, if I were Break, I wouldn't have wanted to feel like I was holding me up, would I? "Hike your own hike" - right? And, like my wife, Break is not someone who needs anyone to take care of her! Sorry, not buying it. I should have stayed....Yeah, but look. You've already hiked over a mile towards town - uphill. Do you really want to retrace your steps? After all, you both have to go into Bennington. You'll just get there first. It's not like she can't walk on her foot. Remember, she said she was just being careful not to over-stress it. She'll be fine. Sorry, not buying it. I should have stayed....Yeah, but look. Now you've hiked more than two miles. Its too late to go back. Besides, there's a hot shower, a restaurant meal or two, clean clothes, and a soft bed waiting for you in town. And Break will PROBABLY make it into town yet this afternoon. She'll probably just rest for awhile and then those same creature comforts will entice her to put her shoe back on and do the 4 more miles to the road and then hitch into town. Think positively! Right. Still not working. Okay, there's the road. Now all I have to do is hitch into town. I wonder if anyone is going to stop and pick up such a sorry excuse for a friend as me. Oh well, it probably won't show. It's just a FEELING, after all. Someone will stop. They did. A really nice couple in a pickup stopped for me. They were actually headed in the other direction and turned around when they saw me trying to hitch. (Both are hikers, and he used to do trail maintenence work in Connecticut.) I rode in the back, which I felt was entirely appropriate since I smelled kind of bad - having nothing to do, really, with the fact that, by then, I was feeling like a real sack of s**t...To make a along story short, I had a great meal, a wonderful shower, got groceries and did laundry. Back at the motel I caught up on the news on CNN and then started on my journal entry. By then it was after dark, and I knew that Break wasn't going to show up. When I got to the part about abandoning her, it got too depressing so I just went to bed.Today's hike is dedicated to my friend, Breakaleg. I really hope her foot is going to be okay. And as for ol' Private 2nd Class Walter M (for Mitty) Longhaul, I ain't leaving town tomorrow without her! Stay tuned, Longhaul------------------------------Sent via PocketMailEmail Anywherewww.pocketmail.com