Date: 2013-08-11
From: Seth Warner Shelter

To: Stealth Camp on Porcupine Ridge
Miles today: 15.7

It was cold last night, maybe mid-40s? I had to pee so badly, but I didn't want to crawl out of my sleeping bag. I wished that I had my hat and gloves with me. Thank goodness I still have my down jacket and long johns. I managed to zip myself all the way up in my sleeping bag and pull the top over my head. That kept me warm enough to sleep snugly. Pressure-D headed out of camp before me, and I followed in his muddy foot-steps. And boy was it muddy! I tried to keep my feet as dry as possible. I would have just stomped through the puddles and bog, but I knew I was headed into Bennington to wash clothes, and I hated the idea of putting clean, dry socks into wet, muddy boots. So I stepped around puddles and rock-hopped whenever I could. I'm guessing I added a couple of extra miles to the day's tally. I caught up to Snot-Rocket near Roaring Branch Pond. We hiked together and chatted. Having him there made me hike faster and made the hike pass faster than it would have otherwise. He's a really nice guy and has had some crazy adventures. We came upon Pressure-D, and the three of us hike together and chatted. I loved having the company, especially of these two. We passed several inviting ponds, but we had a momentum going and I didn't want to break our stride. We marched over the boardwalks, marshes, mud and weeds. We passed behind lake dams, where the water was at our hip level. We stopped at the Congdon Shelter for a snack break. I suddenly realized that we had passed the 1600 mile mark, and I had missed taking a photo. Woops! The miles are falling away quickly now, and that makes me a little sad. This has been such a profound experience on so many levels, and I feel like I've made some good friends. For the first time I realize how sad I'll be when we part ways for good. The three of us split up after the shelter. Snot rocket took off like a, well, rocket. Pressure-D hung back to make a phone call, and I picked my way through the rocks, roots and mud. I passed some day hikers heading up the trail from Bennington. They offered me a ride into town if I still needed one later. I worked my way down the rock way of steps. I'd had a least 4 different people warn me about this descent and wish me luck. I considered myself warned. They were right. It was kind of gnarly. Someone has spent a considerable amount of effort building this section of trail, and I really wished that I could better appreciate their craftsmanship, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I hated it. I finally made it to the bottom, and I crossed the road to see where the trail would pick back up. Someone had left a flat of clementine oranges. I helped myself to one, and then I walked back out to the road to hitch a ride into Bennington. It didn't take long. Within a minute of sticking my thumb out, a truck pulled up. I threw my pack in the back and the passenger moved to the middle of the cab so I could fit in. We headed down the mountain. The passenger hopped out along the way, and Vern (the driver) dropped me at the laundromat. After my experience in Kent, CT, I was a little leery of laundromats. But the nice people of Bennington, VT, couldn't have been more welcoming. I dropped my pack on a bench out front, and then I found a dark corner to change into my town dress. It's a fine art to get naked in public without being noticed, but I managed beautifully. I through my dirty clothes in a washer, and then I headed to a little local market/deli to do a resupply. They had huge chunks of Vermont cheese, smoked meats and large vats of maple syrup. Too bad all the quantities were too large to carry. I grabbed some veggies, a ball of smoked mozzarella, and a tub of tuna & macaroni salad and a Gatorade for lunch. Two local guys asked me if I was a hiker; they'd seen my pack out front. I said yes. They offered me a ride back up to the trail, but I declined because I still had laundry to do. They wished me luck. I headed back to the laundromat and changed my clothes over to the drier. Then I went outside and demolished my tuna and macaroni salad. It was large enough to feed a family of three, but I had no problem finishing it off. I went in to check on my clothes. The drier was finished, but my clothes were still damp. Hmmm...the machine wasn't working properly. I told the attendant, and she apologized. She pulled my clothes out and moved them to a different machine. Then she fished a dollar's worth of quarters from her pocket and pumped them into the new machine. I was half expecting verbal abuse, but she was nothing but friendly and helpful. When I went back outside, Snot Rocket was walking up. We talked for a little bit. He watched my pack while I walked down to a Stewarts to finish my resupply. I passed cute kid had a lemonade stand, and there's no way I could turn down a cup of lemonade from this guy. Snot Rocket, a big muscular tattoo- covered guy, was also powerless in the face of this kid's charms, he'd told me later. He, too, had bought a cup of orange "lemonade". I was glad I wasn't the only sucker around. LOL. I stealth-changed back into my clean hiking clothes, and Snot Rocket and I headed up the street in search of a hitch. Chito, a Filipino physical therapist, pulled over. His English wasn't great, but he was friendly. He confessed that he was a little scared picking up two hitch-hikers. He'd never done it before, but he'd seen me at the laundromat and I'd seemed pretty harmless. And he was bored. We thanked him for taking a chance on us. Snot Rocket and I hiked up the hill. We chatted away about this and that. We shared stories of various adventures we'd had. I enjoy his company, and I greatly appreciate that he'd slowed his pace so I can keep it. I also didn't hurt that he was packing in at least 10 lbs of beer, which helped to slow him down on the climbs. We hiked until 6:45 p.m., when we came upon a great campsite with a view. Yep, this was our stop for the night. We set up our tents and then started chatting. We talked as the sun went down and the stars came out. There's a meteor shower tonight, so we chatted as the meteors shot across the sky. We talked about Breaking Bad (the season premier is tonight), TV series, movies, books, bad hair cuts, Halloween, the trail, trail characters, you name it. Suddenly it was 10 p.m. Well past hiker midnight. It was so dark we couldn't see each other anymore. Even the mosquitoes had gone to bed. I took the last swig of my Scotch. It was time for bed. It was a great day filled with lots of laughs.