Date: 2007-08-21
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Alrighty, skipping right ahead. Vermont... can be summed up by simply saying, AWESOME. But there are some memorable events I need to elaborate on. First of all, I packed a sixer of Busch Light beer into my pack in North Adams, Massachusetts thinking it would be great to celebrate a new state with a few frosty brews, I shared with my fellow hikers of course. It turned out to be a great idea, however the pack was REALLY heavy with that added weight. At the Vermont/Mass. border and the southern terminus of the Long Trail (North America's first and oldest long distance hiking trail that runs from the mentioned border all the way north to the Canada/Vermont border), Rex, Wrong Way, and I cracked a cold one and said cheers to our 12th state. "Attention hikers, August 17-19, the first annual Long Trail festival will be held in Rutland, VT." Of course I attended! After hiking some big miles up to Manchester Center, VT, Wrong Way and I decided to hitch up to Rutland (33 miles north on U.S. Rt. 7, 50 'trail miles' north). This was the longest hitch hike I've ever attempted and successfully completed. After an hour of holding my thumb out, a nice family in a Volvo station wagon from Brooklyn, NY picked us up. They were headed to Rutland to pick up their son from camp, so it worked out perfectly. So we got to Rutland around 2pm, bought some beverages, pitched our tents at the fair grounds (the festival's location) and enjoyed some great live music, cheap hot dogs, and most importantly... saw some of our other friends who were both ahead and behind us on the trail which we hadn't seen in a long time. I especially enjoyed seeing and hanging out with my old pal J.B. again, I hadn't seen him since Damascus! Sunday morning came around and I got a ride from a local lady named Susan (great lady, many thanks!) and it was back to Manchester Center where I had left off, 3 hiking days south of Rutland. Needless to say, in almost 3 full days I got back to Rutland and stayed at the Inn at the Long Trail with Fuzzy Monkey, Sweetwater, and a Long Trail thru hiker named Arch Angel. We all had a great stay, and before I knew it... I was almost to New Hampshire. On a more introspective note, I need to mention something else that I've begun to realize about myself on this journey. The people on this trail are amazing. The whole experience is so much more social than I had ever expected. I got my first real taste of this at trail days in Damascus, VA, but it was in Rutland at the LT festival that it really hit home. It was still too early in the hike at Damascus for this realization to occur. I hadn't formed strong enough bonds or become friends/shared similar experiences with nearly enough other hikers yet to really feel like I fit in with the hiker culture or family of the AT. I remember my little bro Nick seeing all of his fellow hikers from last year and I recognized they had this bond that I didn't have yet with those I had been around on the trail. I was almost jealous. I didn't understand then, but now I do. Trail days will be the same for me next year, similar to the way Rutand was for me this year, and Damascus for Nick.