Date: 2004-08-21
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Manchester Center VT
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: moderate rain

8/21/2004 Gather & SlimerWake early, eat the last of my food, pack up. Pouring down rain this morning, very cold and chilly. Head out into the mess shooting for Manchester Center Vermont. It¢s 10.6 miles to the trail head leading off to Manchester, then I have to hitch or walk another 5.5 miles into town in this mess.Mud, I have never seen so much mud, slow hard going through here. Pass by Winhall river, pass by William Douglas Shelter.I figure Gather is about 2 hours behind me as he likes to sleep in sometimes. I get to the trail head, get on the highway and start hitching. No one will pick me up, it¢s cold and wet out here, I¢m very hungry. Miserable as hell I am!!A Ford Ranger Pickup passes me by, there is a hiker all hunkered over in the back of it. Why won¢t someone pick me up! I get to a little caf© by the side of the road, go in and get something to eat. I am a total mess, soaked, mud from head to toe! Get some strange looks. As I get through eating I ask a man at a table how far it is into town? He tells me about three miles. He said you¢re hiking the A/T aren¢t you. I say yes. He said he would take me to town (Thank you Lord).We go outside, still pouring rain, I¢m thinking of poor Gather out there in that mess. The man walks up to a new Mercedes! I tell him I¢m too muddy and wet to get in a car like that. He tells me not to worry, pile in son, so I get in, beautiful black leather seats. Glad they were leather.The man tells me he was a film maker, had made a few films in NC. Said the name of one of them was ¢A Preachers Day¢ or ¢A Preachers Life¢ not sure, but it was something about a preacher. I did not remember the man¢s name. He also said his son and daughter had hiked the trail, Thru-Hiked it. He was a very nice person. Also said he had a niece going to school at Chapel Hill.The man dropped me off at the ¢Sutton Place¢ a low rent kinda sorta bed and breakfast place. I thank the man with all my heart and offer him money for gas, he refuses the offer.I ring the door bell at the ¢Sutton Place¢ man comes to the door, seems to be in a hurry, throws me a couple of towels, points to a room and said make yourself at home. And off he went to watch TV! Very strange. I go in and un- pack my wet stinky muddy mess. I¢m here to tell you I don¢t see how in the world that man let me in looking like I did !They have a living room here with TV, movies and books, I go in there. There sits Gather!!! He¢s already showered, clean DRY clothes, all laid back watching TV!!Now I know for a fact he was at least two hours behind me in the woods!! I asked Gather how in the $%#@ he got here in front of me !! He said he stepped out on the road, the very first vehicle that came along picked him up. Gather said it was a Ford Ranger pickup. And he rode in the back!!!!!! That was Gather I saw all hunkered down in the back of the truck that passed me on the highway!!We both call home, mom & dad get a good laugh out of the pickup story, personally I didn¢t catch the humor as they did. We tell mom & dad we will probably take a zero day tomorrow as most everything we have is wet.I shower, change clothes and we go eat, I had just ate but I¢m still hungry. The waitress at the caf© is used to thru-hikers, she just looks at us and shakes her head. We really don¢t care what she does as long as she keeps bringing the food!Then we go to the Laundromat to wash and dry our things. Get there just before closing time. No soap here, I race across the street to a store to buy soap. I hear someone yell out ¢SLIMER¢ I turn and see a big man in the distance, I¢m in a hurry keep going. Feel bad, but didn¢t have time to stop. Wash and dry our things, feel sorry for the next person that puts clothes in the same washer we used! Gather and I go back to the Sutton Place watch TV   and turn in ¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦¢¦.Gather and SlimerStratton Pond Shelter to Manchester Center   10.6 miles (trail miles only)