Date: 2006-09-13
From: Stealth Site N of Stratton Pond

To: VT 11/30 (Manchester Ctr VT)
Miles today: 10.0

The walk in the woods today was not as much fun and interesting as the hitchhiking. You¢ve heard me say it before¢¦I meet as many interesting people hitching as I do on the Trail.The ten mile trek on in to VT11 from my tent site was pretty easy¢¦rolling trail in the 2100¢ area until I dropped down to 1700/1800 feet coming up on the highway. The cool front did move in and it is overcast with some sprinkles.I get my first ride in a few minutes with Al going west to highway seven in his beat up compact pick-up. Thanks Al!At the junction of 7 & 11 is a nice restaurant where I have homemade mushroom bisque soup, a rueben with homemade potato chips for lunch. Following me in the door are about a dozen couples out in their restored model A Fords¢¦beautiful cars. One of the wives in the booth across from me quizzes me on the soup before ordering a bowl. I eat and take off to start the rest of my hundred mile hitch back to the Jeep.This happens to be one of those four lane intersections where you have two entrances SOBO; hence not as much traffic and I¢m wondering if I¢ll be here all day. I really get lucky when the fourth car or so, pulls over¢¦it¢s a shiny new Cadillac.The driver is a gruff old guy named Gary¢¦someone you would never expect to pick up a hitchhiker (or drive a car for that matter). He immediately takes command of the situation and ¢puts me in my place¢ talking in a somewhat commanding voice¢¦asking all the questions after allowing me to introduce myself. My initial feeling is he¢s pissed at himself for picking me up.I smile and thank him and tell him how much I appreciate getting the ride (as I always do).   Once he gets comfortable with me he shoots question after question¢¦the kind we all get from those unfamiliar with backpacking the AT¢¦what do you eat?¢¦what about wild animals?¢¦do you carry a weapon?¢¦where are you from?¢¦etc. Somewhere in there he lets me know that the reason he picked me up was because I was clean shaven and looked clean. (I was wearing my second pair of shorts that looked like they just came from the dry cleaners). He takes me down the road ten minutes or so to Bennington where I visited two days ago and we say good bye. I know you¢ll never read this but nice meeting you Gary and Thanks!My next ride is, without a doubt, one of the most fascinating hitches in my four years of backpacking. After about fifteen minutes with my thumb out, two middle aged guys in a late model ¢station wagon¢ style SUV pull over and put me in the back. The seats are all folded down and I¢m lying their propped up on one arm the whole way. Anyway, after the usual introductions and questions, we get to talking politics as the driver, Jonathon, has been listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio. I can¢t remember everything but he claims to have enough inside political connections and know enough ¢secrets¢ about the inside workings of the present administration, that he is presently pursuing a story with People Magazine. He even told me the name of the reporter who will be ¢spilling the beans¢ as soon as he verifies his info. He also says that his life is in danger so he has to be very careful. He plans to go further¢¦instead of naming real names, he plans to write a fiction book based on the facts he knows.Here¢s the interesting part. He claims that the Bushes (¢41 & ¢43) have conspired together with the Clintons to keep the two families in power for thirty plus years. In other words, George Bush, whose eight years is up, is making himself look bad on purpose¢¦he and his father have had their ¢reign¢; Bill had his eight years and now it¢s Hillary¢s turn. In order to get her elected, Bush is screwing everything up so bad and falling in the ratings so low that no one will vote Republican and she will make it into office. He also clams Dean purposely took a dive the last election and was rewarded with the Democratic chairmanship.You had to be there to appreciate it as he had these bits and pieces of facts and logic that make for an interesting story. There may be nothing to it and he may have just been bouncing it off me to get my reaction. I told him it would make a good book.The passenger was quiet the whole time. His name was J.R. Ewing (true¢¦he showed me his I.D.) but he is an artist. They took me all the way to Pittsfield, about ten miles from my destination. There I thanked them and we said our good byes. I got a Coke from the pizza shop on the corner before resuming my hitch.It isn¢t long before a nice looking young man in his late twenties picks me up. This is Kurt and he¢s in business for himself. We finally realize the trail is at the opposite end of town and he goes out of his way to take me all the way across Lee, MA to the McDonald¢s where I ate the evening I started this section. There, I have a $1 double cheeseburger (this is the best deal on earth) dollar fries and a dollar Coke before hitching six more miles to the parking lotI have some trouble getting a ride out of Lee as there is virtually no curb to pull over on to pick someone up. I move up and down trying to position myself near parking lot entrances and exits before I finally give up and walk out to the edge of town where two lanes change to one going up the long hill on US 20.My last ride is in a nice big Ford 250 or 350 diesel from an attractive lady who is all smiles. Cheryl is into horses and passed me up the first time; but turned around and come back just to give me a ride¢¦I guess I have ¢curb appeal¢ if you will. Thanks Cheryl¢¦you are a sweetheart!So, it¢s after five and I¢m through with my hitchhiking adventure. I decide to go into town and stay at the motel where I stayed at the end of my last section. The guy remembers me and drops the $77 rate to $55 plus he is giving guests a bowl of his homemade clam chowder¢¦I have two bowls.I do my laundry in the motel machines which are expensive¢¦$2 each to wash and dry but they give you the soap. I decide to drive home tomorrow to go to The Ohio State Farm Science Review next week. It is the premier farm show in the entire United States. The last time I went, a couple of years back, we could not see it all in one day. I will try to return immediately afterwards to do the Hundred Mile Wilderness.