Date: 2014-08-04
From: Rutland, VT

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

In Rutland we stayed at the Yellow Deli hostel with the tribe. The tribe is a cross between hippies and fundamentalists. Some described them along the trail as a cult, but they just seemed to be sweet, kind people who prefer to live their lives with a different set of rules than most of society. Either way I had a nice time there and enjoyed dressing up in their loaner town clothes (which were all homemade and Pennsylvania Dutch looking) while doing laundry and running errands. I also enjoyed going to a local wood-fired pizza and micro-brewery for dinner with Athena and two other hikers we shared a room with at the hostel, Alice and Honey Badger. I laughed so much my face hurt later.It was an awesome girls night that made me feel almost normal. The trail keeps calling though so on we went. After catching the local bus back to the trailhead we ran into Knives and Unplugged, which totally made my day. I met them in the 100-mile wilderness and have been leap-frogging them ever since. Great boys. You can tell they have a special friendship that has been formed over a lifetime of memories. Some hikers I can take or leave. Others I get excited to see again. They are the later. Always smiling and with a kind word, generous, and funny as hell. Athena, Knives, Unplugged and I all got to the shelter fairly early that day, about 3:30pm (we had been going at a pretty good clip trying to out-hike a rain storm that never hit us) so we had tons of time to set up camp and hang out before anyone else arrived. Lots of catching up and swapping of stories was done. That shelter (Governor Clement shelter) was particularly cool. It was built in 1929 as part of the Long Trail and has stood the test of time. The walls are made out of stone and there is even a huge fireplace built into it with tons of space to spread out. I bet it would be amazing in the winter. Cross-country ski trails run right by it as well.The next couple of days Athena and I ran into awesomeness after awesomeness. I'm starting to see why so many NOBOs have said Vermont is their favorite state so far. Not only do we keep running into really good trail magic (like ice cold San Pellegrino and really good chocolate!) the trail has had so many fun surprises for us along the way. Now that the terrain is so much easier and we can do so many miles there is time to play during the day along the way and still get to the shelter or tent site without being completely exhausted and at a reasonable hour. On August 1st we crossed the Mill River via suspension bridge, where we stopped for lunch and the cool swimming holes through the gorge. We also got really great views from both sides of the gorge of the Rutland Airport. Now I know what you are thinking. The airport? Really? But yes, the airport is cool. It is a small airport (mostly private prop planes) that is nestled among these lovely, emerald green hills. At one of the airport views there were actually plastic lawn chairs. If someone took the time and effort to hike in those chairs, then I just had to sit in them and respect their efforts of course! The next day we passed White Rocks where there are these two crazy cool fields of rock cairns. People had mentioned them but until I actually came upon them I did not understand what they were talking about. For those who do not know, rock cairns are piles of rocks used since ancient times to mark a trail or pathway. The fields at White Rocks are not there to mark the way for hikers. They are simply there to decorate the surrounding forest with fabulous, handmade artwork! It made me so happy that so many people had taken the time to create these. Athena and I simply had to stop and build our own too. Later that same day we came to Little Rock Pond. The caretaker there let us take the canoe out on the pond and gave us each clementines! The pond has a beaver that lives in it with a huge dam. I was super excited when I saw the beaver slipping into that water from the shore. We followed his bubble stream for a while but apparently they can hold their breath for a really long time and we lost him. The best adventure lately though was on Bromley Mountain. In the winter there is a ski resort there. In the summer it is still open but on a smaller scale. There is an alpine slide about halfway down the mountain that you can ride for free. The catch is that you have to either pay to use the chair lift back up or hike it. If you are down to hike the 1/2 mile though you can ride it down as many times as you want! My sled was going full-throttle the whole way. I'm sure the people on the chair lift were shaking their heads at me as I laughed and squealed in delight as I rounded the twists and turns. Fun times and totally worth the detour! Today we made it into Manchester Center to resupply which allows me the time to do this update of my journal. Too many town days will make you soft though so I'll be back on the trail tomorrow! I've been warned that there are a lot more towns from this point on. This is both good and bad. It means that I will have cell signal and the ability to charge my phone more often. It also means the temptation of going broke staying at hostels and eating at restaurants. Hopefully I'll have a good mix of the two. I like being able to keep in touch but also love the solitude and peacefulness of having my phone in airplane mode most of the time. Taking a shower is a huge joy for me as well but some hostels are dingy and over-priced. I also sleep way better out in the woods than in the hostels. The soundtrack of nature lulls me to sleep. After so much time outside I almost feel strange being in an enclosed space with an artificial climate. I'm beginning to understand why some people just live on the trail on a permanent basis. I'm safe, happy and learning a lot. There is no place I'd rather be than hiking the AT. I haven't thought about getting off the trail for one minute in weeks. This is exactly where I'm supposed to be. I can't wait for the next adventure the trail holds for me as I continue on this journey. Thanks so much for the kind words of support that so many people have sent, especially to those who are perfect strangers. I may not respond, but I read every one with a huge smile on my face and a warmth in my heart. I covet your continued prayers for safety and protection! Please keep up the good work! And a prayer for continued good weather here and there wouldn't be a bad thing either!