Date: 2020-09-03
From: Route 2 (Williamstown)

To: Melville Nauheim Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

My brother Chris and his daughter Grace are vacationing in New England and fortuitously were passing through Williamstown on their way to Vermont. They stopped for the night, gave me a ride to my motel and, after I got my chores done yesterday (including handwashing my disgusting socks and shirt in the sink), we caught up over breakfast at a local diner. It was heartwarming to see familiar faces so far from home. I've now seen my brother, sister, daughter, three sons, a nephew and a niece on trail. I'm very blessed they all took time to visit and, in my kids' case, hike with me.Chris and Grace drove me back to the supermarket near the trail on route 2 where I did a light resupply to get me to Manchester. I didn't get back on trail until noon, so I decided to see how far I'd get and not push for a specific goal. But I still needed to lay down some miles. Katahdin will probably close in less than six weeks. And even more imminent, the Kennebec ferry stops running September 30th.The Kennebec is the widest unbridged river on the AT. Maine has many rivers (often called "streams" or "brooks") that must be forded, but the Kennebec is far wider and deeper. Because there are unscheduled releases from the dam upriver that can raise the water level two feet within minutes, and the ford is already waist-deep, it's recommended that hikers not ford it. Although many have done so successfully, years ago a hiker died trying and the ATC began contracting a canoe ferryman to take hikers across one or two at a time. The canoe has a white blaze on it, indicating it's the official route, and the ATC warns against fording every chance it gets. The ferry only runs a few hours a day. If you miss it, you need to camp and wait until the next day. It stops entirely at the end of September. Last year and in years before, the ferry ran into mid-October because it's only 150 miles from Katahdin and some hikers are still on trail. Not this year. I contacted the ferryman, who not only didn't know why the ATC opted to end it early but didn't even offer an alternative after the 30th. The AT center in Monson also had no answer. So apparently this year it's not all that important to the ATC that hikers safely cross the Kennebec. There are supposedly private ferries. But I really don't need the drama, expense, or worry of arranging one. Nor do I particularly want to roll the dice on fording. Easiest just to get there before month end. All that just to say I couldn't simply hike a few miles today and call it a day. I have a deadline. And any slack time I want to save for the Whites.Had some rock scrambling to reach the first ridgeline. Since there will be plenty of this in New Hampshire and Maine I took a few minutes to figure out a way to securely stow my trekking poles out of the way of my arms and legs. The yellow bungees that have been uselessly dangling from my ULA pack since Damascus finally came in handy. I'm now ready for the Whites. Bring 'em on!The AT in Vermont is coextant with the Long Trail for the first hundred miles. The Long Trail is even older than the AT, having begun in 1909 and been the model for trail artifacts like shelters and blazes. In fact both trails are blazed white. Many people thruhike the Long Trail, which runs 272 miles from Massachusetts to Canada over the Green Mountains, and September is the prime season due to fewer bugs and less mud. Vermont is often called Vermud thanks to the truly awful conditions that persist from spring thaw well into summer. When I LASHed this section three years ago in early July after a storm, the mud was so bad I practically had a mental breakdown trying to keep my feet dry, stumbling into Bennington an emotional wreck. The trail was nearly one long mud puddle, wider than the trail in many places. I learned an important lesson then about not fighting the inevitable - namely wet feet - if you want to keep your sanity. It was probably my worst day ever on trail, and that's including some incredibly nasty storms and a brush with hypothermia.The mud today, however, was barely noticeable. Most mud patches were squishy but not standing water. My foot might sink in a couple inches at worst but it wouldn't soak my socks. The patches were usually avoidable by stepping on stones, roots, or branches thrown over the mud, but they often weren't worth contorting to avoid. In fact Vermont is possibly the most pleasant hiking since southern Pennsylvania.Before I even reached the Vermont border I met two girls who were attempting to thruhike the Long Trail (LT). One of them asked if I was dayhiking. I guess my small pack, recent shower, and trimmed hair and beard give that impression to the uninitiated. I imagine many dayhikers and maybe a few inattentive long-distance hikers think the same. I've been told more than once I'm too clean to be a thruhiker. Maybe that's a compliment, but it doesn't feel that way! My gear, beat-up Smartwater bottle, tattered shoes, worn shirt, quick pace, gaunt face, and steely gaze of chipped granite (I wish) are dead giveaways to those who know what to look for, not to mention the odor that resurfaces after mere minutes of sweating.  Ran across more LT-ers as I climbed through beautiful spruce and pine forests, past ferns and beaver ponds. A kid sitting in the trail looking exhausted a mile or two past the border. Wants to lighten his pack by ditching heavy food. Another pausing at a pond, a Boston-accented guy named Chris pushing to meet friends at Stratton in a couple of day - an ambitious schedule for just starting. Most take 3-4 weeks to hike the LT, and most go north, though I did meet a SOBO at the Williamstown Stop 'n Shop just finishing his hike.All had heavy, often enormous packs. Fresh faces, giddy about the hike and nervous they are doing everything wrong. Full of questions, which I was happy to answer if I could. It all reminds me of Georgia when I started a LASH there last March.Suddenly the perfect cool, sunny day became overcast. A very light sprinkle began. But rather than strengthen, it soon disappeared and the sun returned for the remainder of the day.In late afternoon at Congdon Shelter a young AT SOBO named Bunion looked like he was done for the day. He acted listless, not much for conversation, limply eating peanut butter. Tried to get him to open up, but it just wasn't his day. Maybe tomorrow will be better.I still had daylight and headed for the next shelter six miles away. As the sun began setting I dropped steeply to cross route 9 and climbed up switchbacks to the shelter, passing through a split boulder the size of a van. Five Long Trail hikers were already cozy in the shelter. Brian from Burlington, Chloe and her boyfriend, and two other girls. The shelter was set up with three double-wide bunk beds, and one upper was still free. It was already hiker midnight so I kept conversation to a minimum, ate, hung my bag, and went to sleep.