Date: 2018-11-07
From: Elm Street

To: VT route 12
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

Before I talk about this fabulous day, I want to say thank you to one of my readers. The lady at the front desk of our hotel said one of my readers had stopped by a day or two ago with a gift for me. Understandably the policy here is to not give out guest information. I¢m sorry that happened, but thank you for thinking of me! We are here until Friday morning if you would like to stop back by. Please don¢t feel obligated, I just want you to know that I am grateful for your efforts. It was a little past 7:30 this morning when I jumped on trail. I crossed a creek right away and crossed it again 10 minutes later. The flow of the creek was slow and silent. I continued on listening to the rustle of fallen leaves below my feet. I came to a road just as the sun started to come out from behind some clouds. This was becoming a beautiful day!  After I crossed the road and stepped back into the woods. The sun continued to shine through the now bare trees. It warmed my bones, and made for pleasant hiking. The other nice thing about bare trees is that I could easily see mountain peaks in the distance. I had amazing views nearly all day long!  I was looking at one of those views when I nearly stepped in a fresh pile of bear poop! I haven¢t seen a bear since Pennsylvania. A few more feet down trail there were bear tracks too! My hopes were up, but no bear appeared. Soon I was hiking beside a farm. I could hear a couple of dogs barking. I thought that would be enough to scare away a bear. So I just started watching busy birds preparing for winter as I hiked on. That¢s when I heard the first gunshots of the day. I was in need of a privy, and Guthook¢s said a Shelter was near. Much to my surprise there was a proper sign! I walked the 0.2 miles off trail to find a clean privy and nice shelter. I¢m impressed with Vermont¢s amenities.  As I was leaving the shelter I heard gunshots again. The day really had become a perfect hiking day. There was enough breeze to keep me from sweating, and enough sun to keep me from chilling. The trail had become a nice wide path. Almost like a service road. I remember thinking I could hike forever on a day like this day with a trail like this trail. That¢s when I realized I hadn¢t seen a white blaze in a while. AND this really is a service road. You guessed it...back I went! Those service roads get me every time! Once back on trail I realized I was getting close to a town. There was a creek crossing just before I started going down into town. Sure enough I slipped off the boulder and landed ankle deep in water. I had managed to keep my feet dry for 3 hours today. More gunshots. I continued into the village of West Hartford. It¢s a quaint little northeastern community. I hiked past historical a building known as the West Hartford Meeting House. I¢m sure it was constructed in the 1800¢s, and has been very well maintained. I was just walking right on through town, when a pick-up truck stopped and asked if I was lost. I didn¢t think I was lost. I said ¢no¢. WRONG! Thank goodness he stopped. I had walked right past my turn. Never fear, trail angel Bob is here! He gave me a ride back to my missed turn and all the way to the woods. I learned that Bob was born and raised right there in Vermont. He¢s a retired farmer. Farmers can¢t rest, so now he makes maple syrup. I find that super interesting! Our conversation was good, so I talked with him another 5 minutes or so before I got out of the truck. As I was leaving he grabbed a wooden box off the dashboard and said I have a gift for you. He pulled out a 1979 half dollar coin and put it in my hand. He gave me a little sideways hug and kissed my cheek. Then he said ¢God Bless¢. I thanked him for my gift before stepping out. I¢ll always remember trail angel Bob, he reminded me so much of my dad. In so many ways! From there the rest of the day was a steady roller coaster of up and down. The terrain was great and I made good time. I sat on the steps of a privy for lunch. They were new wooden steps, and they were dry. I was planning to sit in the shelter, but for the life of me I couldn¢t find the shelter that privy belonged to. My Guthook¢s app said I was right there. I searched all over and saw nothing! It¢s not like I couldn¢t see clearly since all the trees are bare. I left that place scratching my head. A couple miles or so later I saw a sign for Cloudland Shelter. It said 0.4 miles with an arrow pointing the direction. I thought to myself SSSSUUUURRRE there¢s a shelter down there. I stayed on trail but wondered what would I have done if I were planning an overnight? I mean I know I would just pitch my tent, but what if someone was doing a weekend and planned to shelter only?  Anyway, I hiked on comfortably with the UPs and DOWNs. I came to another one of those man made rock walls. This one went on for a good mile. I can¢t imagine why these walls are here. Ive thought maybe they were built during war times for soldiers to hide behind while reloading their muskets. I have such an imagination!  Just past the rock wall I began to hear a moose bellowing. He bellowed 3 or 4 times. I had to make sure it was really a moose I heard, so I double checked on YouTube. It REALLY was! During my last moose encounter all I got was a couple of grunts. There was one more creek crossing. I just went right in. I¢ve given up on the idea of dry feet. I hiked through a few fields, and saw a mare and colt grazing. Right then my thoughts landed on my Aunt Joanne. She¢s always there for me. I am blessed and oh so grateful! With 2 miles left to go my body started letting me know it was ready to be done for the day. I pushed through my last big UP and enjoyed the view for a minute. It was almost sunset so I hurried down the other side to beat the dark. I heard rapid gunfire on the way down. That¢s NOT deer hunting. It was dusk when I reached the bottom of the hill. There was Papa Big Swig waiting patiently as always.  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018).  Where¢s your faith?