Date: 2005-08-25
From: Clarendon Shelter, VT

To: Rutland, VT
Miles today: 18.0

25 AUGLast night I had a dream that I had hiked into a hostel, where Dandy was beginning to introduce me to thru-hikers I hadn¢t met before, but this one young man got up without introduction, walked up to me, grabbed me by the chin and yanked out a GPS tracking device/microphone out of my left nostril. ¢Mr. Cricket,¢ I half-growled thru my teeth. ¢Sure is,¢ he said, without missing a beat, and proceeded to walk me out of the hostel and to a shed. The shed looked like a normal shed, lawn mowers, buckets, etc, but the moment he closed the door, flat screens popped up on each wall, and there were people typing away on both sides. Some EM machine checked my body for malfunctions, a shoulder was replaced (much like in Terminator 3), and tracking/bugging/weapon devices were re-planted all over my body as I walked on a treadmill. Suddenly, all the technology disappeared, and it was just Mr. Cricket and I¢¦ This is the PG-13 version of the dream, but it ends with me saying ¢I¢m an alien.¢I like this business of hiking solo. Got a bit of trail magic this morning, which was quite timely, since I am running low on food. Walking through some orchards, picking apples, then through hemlocks, on soft pine needles. At the side trail for Killington Peak, I decided to go up, thinking that blue blazes (side trails) are usually much easier than the AT. The 0.2 mi trail turned out to be a rock scramble straight up, and I came out at the top huffing and puffing. There were some ladies sitting on a rock, and I joked about the climb being at least a 5.5, but they didn¢t laugh, nor did they look wrinkled or stressed in any way. At the very top, I encountered more folks, with kids and dogs, that have obviously not come up this crazy trail¢¦ turns out there¢s a gondola! Of course, who would have thought. An older man tried to convince me to take the easy way down, but I am on a mission ¢ Crazy Horse must be near ¢ so I ¢make like a fetus and head out¢ (Crazy Horse has a whole slew of sayings like this). I hitched a ride with a Rutland local that not only delivered me to the front door of the Back Home Again hostel, but shared his cookie ice cream sandwich with me, and spilled out the town history and a whole list of local entertainment events. The hostel is run by the 12 Tribes (intentional) Community, and is located above a caf© by the same name. The caf© is beautiful ¢ everything is made of wood, mostly hand carved, with inlaid dried flowers and ferns, calming music, and smiling staff. They all have strange names and I had difficulty remembering them at first. I was shown to a girl¢s dormitory upstairs, where I showered, before coming downstairs to work for stay. They had me do some cleaning, but the moment the rag was in my hand, a lady asked me if I¢d like something to drink, and about a half hour later she insisted that I eat. Their food was delicious! Everything is organic, and made with peaceful care. The crew is young, and they¢re excited to hear our stories. AND, I finally caught Crazy Horse ¢ he¢s staying at the hostel, too! He played his guitar for the caf© crew before retiring for the evening.