Date: 2013-07-24
From: Dan's Barn, VT 12

To: The Yellow Deli, River Road
Miles today: 17.7

DAY 45MILES ON AT FOR DAY- 17.7 MILES TOTAL FOR DAY- 17.7When I woke there was coffee in the barn. Dan had brought it in for us. What a nice treat! I needed it. I was tired from going to bed so late the night before.I packed up and went to the house to thank Dan for his hospitality and then headed out. Stinky Jesus decided he wanted to hike with Nightwalker and I which was nice. It was nice getting to know someone new.In the middle of the day I checked my phone only to get a text from my Mom saying that my former teammate and classmate Amy had passed away. I hadn't talked to her in years. I think I was in shock. I said it out loud to the boys but it didn't quite click. I also didn't know any details of what happened.We all chatted the whole way. It made the hike fly by and distracted me from my thoughts of what I had just read. We stopped at The Lookout Cabin which had an awesome view. That was really our only view for the day. Later on Moose Legs caught up and so did Nectar. Moose legs hiked past us but Nectar tagged along.We met a NoBo named Bubba Gump who was from Holyoke, MA which blew my mind! That was only 20 minutes from my hometown! It's amazing what a small world it is! We also passed another NoBo named Moxie who had been friends with a group of NoBo's we saw a few days before.As we came down to a gravel road/parking lot, we came upon some trail magic! Sodas and cookies. Yum We also managed to get lucky and there was a guy named Mitchell with his two kids just leaving the parking lot. We had planned to hike a little bit further but here was a free ride right in front of us... So we took it! We had heard great things about the Yellow Deli in Rutland, VT from passing NoBo's so that's where we hitched to.When we arrived we went straight for the deli to get some grub. It was DELICIOUS. I mean really... this is a place I would come back to in the future just for food. Our waitress was young and super friendly even though we were smelly. I could tell there was something different about this place. Everyone dressed similar... Conservative even. And everyone was really overly friendly almost. Come to find out after looking around, they were a community known as the 12 Tribes. Religious but not in your face about it. Just very kind and giving. I liked it!We told Moose Legs where we were and he met us there too. I also met another SoBo named Smithy. He was from Maine and had started around the same time as Stinky Jesus, Nectar, and Moose Legs. Finally! More SoBo's!I had eaten so much I needed a little pick me up so I got an iced coffee. The girl gave it to me for free! Said i deserved it for all my hard work and hiking. Could this place get any better? YES... And it did! Natan, who was sort of in charge of the hiker hostel, showed us around. This was by FAR the nicest hostel I had ever seen. We even got welcome baskets with juice and fruit and PB balls! That doesn't happen... EVER!I immediately went for the shower which was amazing as always. When I came out I met some other girls who were staying at the hostel (the girls room was separate from the boys). Their names were Greenbean and Chickidy. They were both NoBo's. They showed me to the lovely stack of hiker clothes.. I grabbed some nice conservative Jeanie pants and decided to wear my own jacket.We decided to go to a movie since there was a theater. It would be my first movie on the trail.... Turbo in 3D! It was adorable!After it was over I realized I was in town... I had Internet. Now that all the distractions of meeting new people and movies and food were gone... I thought of Amy. I still had no idea what was going on. When I looked up what had happened I was horrified. She had been murdered in Boston. I instantly started crying. It was just so terrible and scary. I won't go into detail, but what I will say is to all females out there on your own... Be safe. Constantly be aware of your surroundings. Carry mace or a knife with you and don't trust anyone. Always go with your gut feeling. Life is so precious and it can be taken away in an instant. Amy was a beautiful person that touched many lives. Amy... May angels lead you in.