Date: 2021-06-08
To: Killington, VT
Miles today: 52.0
Weather: light rain

The motel's broken mailbox was why my maildrop had not been delivered. Although I replenished the food, I forgot to replenish other supplies, so "Attention Hikers! Toothpaste is now optional on the AT!"Monday started promising, meeting day hiker Noah, a mechanical engineering student from Florida interning in Vermont. Atop Bromley Mtn is a ski resort, and in the shrouded mist the ski lift looked like the Starship Enterprise. But descending the mountain, the mud was slippery, and when one foot would momentarily slip in the mud, the Beach Boys "Surfin' USA" would play in my head, followed by "Look, I be hangin' ten!" I found a Happy Face image in some fungus on a tree. There were a couple Rochester connections that day. Thru-hiker Sprink had lived at Rochester's Zen Center for 11 months, and a weekend couple mentioned the "Grand Canyon of the East", Letchworth Park. At the shelter that night, where I would have solo #5, I thought it had all the attributes for a "condensation station" - low temperatures with a lot of mist kicked up from a raging stream nearby. Fortunately it didn't turn out as bad as I feared.Tuesday presented a rock climb atop Baker Peak, with good views. The return of warm temperatures had me rocking "the bugs are back in town, the bugs are back in town" in my head. Again, there were few hikers. With my head down studying foot placement on the trail, I was startled and gasped "oh Jesus!" when I heard a quiet hello. It turned out to be a hiker rather than Jesus. In the late afternoon after reaching the shelter at Little Rock Pond, I was a bit nervous when a local family stopped near my shelter because their large dog had barked and growled when I had passed them, so I was relieved when they left. The pond had a nice view.The next day I felt tired from the start, and only saw two day hiking couples all day. The shelter that afternoon was rather dumpy, and for the first time over three states, it did not have a bear box. I put up a pretty good bear hang for my food.Thursday was the longest day of my trip at 14 miles, but I started early and felt up to the challenge. Early on, I met Fresh Grounds, a well-known trail angel, who follows front-running thru-hikers and who was just getting ready to cook for some that he said were coming. I find his approach curious: after all, the front-runners already have advantages - young, strong, fast, long distances - and then you add a trail angel who follows them and feeds them? What happens to the huddled masses yearning to be free? With forecasts of morning and afternoon thunderstorms, I hiked on, hoping beyond hope that I could make my destination before the rain. It added to my stress, not taking adequate breaks while traversing two difficult water crossings. But I did take the time for Angry Bird. I'm not a video game player, but that day I played a real-life version of it when a large bird, somewhat like a turkey but smaller and different coloring, charged me three times until I finally ran past it on the trail. Fresh Grounds was wrong on two predictions - fortunately the thunderstorm didn't arrive until evening, allowing me enough time to hike, set up my tent and eat dinner, and that I "wouldn't be lonely tonight". I saw no hikers the entire day, only two arriving at dark who I never saw again. The Cooper Lodge shelter was memorable in two respects: the best name for a privy on the AT, the "Cooper Pooper", and maybe the worst condition, trashed by locals or ski patrons from Killington Mtn. The storms and gusty winds hit long and hard that night, but my tent held up and kept me dry. The next day was my hike to the Inn at Long Trail and a scheduled zero. But a transformation had occurred overnight, a confluence of emotions I didn't quite understand and found hard to shake. I was disappointed at the paucity of hikers and the lack of opportunities to share conversations and form connections. Although the hiking went better than expected, I felt disconnected and dissatisfied. I decided to leave the trail. I considered giving it more time, but doing so would mean I would miss my daughter from Boston who was currently visiting home. But I soon found that the logistics of leaving would not be so easy - and maybe nonexistent. I was quickly confronted with obstacles. Vermont's restrictive Covid response meant that Amtrak and bus routes were shut down. Uber, or Uber drivers, did not exist. The chances of getting a shuttle to Albany seemed slim. At long last, I discovered Cape Air, a small airline that flew to Boston, giving me a link to home. Usually my decisions are slow and considered. This decision was much faster, fueled by a sense of feeling trapped. Travel options - both out of Rutland or towns further north along the AT - were diminished. The lack of hikers surely was a factor. My days looked forward more to reaching the destination and having time at night to read in my tent rather than focusing on the journey. My trek forward was not as well-planned as my trip so far. Given the circumstances, I decided it best to leave the trail now. So that's what I did.