Date: 2014-07-19
From: Congdon Shelter

To: Catamount Motel, Bennington
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It was another cold night last night, which has me thinking I may need to swap out my 55-degree bag for something warmer, particularly since it now has a rip that extends most of its length parallel to the zipper, revealing its guts, which are supposed to provide insulation. Knowing I had only a four-mile hike to the road to Bennington, I slept right through my alarm and didn't get up until 7:30. I still managed to be the third of five to leave the shelter this morning, and soon passed the second, Ragnar, an '07 AT thru-hiker who is doing the Long Trail this year.I reached Rt 9 at 10:00 and stuck out my thumb to avoid a five-mile road walk into Bennington. After 15 minutes with no success, Ragnar came out of the woods and joined me on the side of the road, since he needed a resupply. With two of us out there hitching, I figured our chances of success were low, particularly on a Saturday when most of the passing cars had out-of-state plates. So I gave it another five minutes before starting the long walk into town. The walk lasted all of six steps. Just as I was passing the trailhead parking lot, an approaching car heading east from Bennington turned left in front of me into the lot and its driver motioned me over. Hughes had been driving west towards Bennington in a line of cars and was unable to stop when he saw Ragnar and me, so he pulled a U-turn to come back and get us, and he dropped us in town right in the motel parking lot. During the ride, I learned that both Hughes and Ragnar are high school science teachers and that Hughes can't hike anymore due do wear and tear on his knees, but he loves to bicycle and snowshoe, two of my favorite activities. Hughes, thanks so much for the ride into town. You saved lots of wear and tear on Ragnar's and my knees today!I'm in Bennington today to meet my Friend, Dick, and two of his sons, John and Tom, who flew from Manchester, England to Toronto yesterday and arrive here by bus late in the day. Coming to town also gave me a chance to resupply, do laundry, and recharge my own batteries. It's been a long, physically demanding trail, and I'm feeling a bit warn down at the moment, which may be why I've had a hard time getting going the last couple of mornings. So today's nero comes at a good time.My brother Andy, who lives in Oregon, will be joining me on the trail this week as well. He just finished playing in an adult lacrosse tournament in Colorado, and he and a teammate are completing the drive cross country this weekend. He expects to arrive in Vermont Sunday evening, not the best time for a rendezvous, particularly since the trail doesn't have any major road crossings in the 40 miles between Bennington and Manchester Center. But the trail does go over the summit of Stratton Mountain, 27 miles north of here. So the current plan is for Andy to be dropped off at the base of Stratton late Sunday and to meet Dick, John, Tom, and me on the summit around midday Monday. I'm interested to see how this plan works out.The folks who run the Catamount Motel, Alan and Annie, are very hiker friendly, arranging a ride for me to resupply, bringing me to Burger King for dinner, and driving to town to pick up Dick and his sons. Alan and Annie spend most of the year in the Florida Keys and come north to run the motel in the summer. Joe, a friend of Alan and Annie, drove me to Walmart for my resupply. He lives in Wisconsin and drives a truck used to groove the concrete floors of barns so cattle don't slip and fall. He's currently working the New England circuit, where, as you might imagine, there are lots of barns. I offered, but he refused to take a few bucks for gas. First thing in the morning Alan will drive the four of us to the trailhead.