Date: 2016-08-04
From: Clarendon Shelter

To: VT 140 and Wallingford
Miles today: 8.0

I was up at 5:45, ate my oatmeal and 2 cups of coffee, but wasn't able to get out before 7 am. The old guy crew was entertaining and spaced out all of my morning prep for the day. I started out with a 1 mile downhill for 500' followed by a 500' climb up to Airport Lookout (yes looks out over a local airport), 2 miles of rolling up and down and an 800' climb over Bear Mtn. I met a chatty day hiker along the way and talked for about 20 minutes. The forest was a beautiful combination of big maples and oaks. It as a nice day. Before the top of Bear Mtn, I met a Nobo who wanted to know about hiking in Maine and New Hampshire. 30 minutes later I was off again for the top ridge of Bear Mtn. From the ledge I called Plans Too Much, a local shuttle driver who I had called to from Hanover while planning out the next few days. He told me where to meet him by VT 140 and I headed down the 1100' to my pick up point. I made it down quickly and got there before the shuttle and was confused about where he told me to meet. I ended up in the wrong spot, but had asked Nobos going by if the saw a shuttle driver waiting for me. 20 minutes later, an SUV came screaming up the dirt road, stopped with the window rolled down and the driver barking at me, "what part of meet me by the foot bridge over the stream don't you understand?". I thought he told me to pass over the foot bridge, but he wanted me to wait before the footbridge. I got in the car, apologized and he drove me to the Wallingford post office where I picked up my mail drop, a new back pack, a 40 degree sleeping bag and dirty girl gaiters. I was hoping to put my old pack in the box that my new pack shipped in, but it didn't fit and I only succeeded to annoy Plans Too Much even more. With my stuff out of my backpack we threw everything into the plastic bag and box that my new pack came in along, through everything into the back of the SUV and we were off driving to Rutland and the Yellow Deli Hostel. It was an uncomfortable 15-20 minute drive. At the hostel, I talked to Ash, the guy who runs the hostel, got a bunk for the night, got organized packing up my stuff in my new Katabatic back pack and sorted out which gear I would send home. I included my tent in the box I was shipping home, my 15 degree sleeping bag and a number of misc other stuff. I walked over to the post office with my ship and mailed the box home. My old back pack didn't fit in the box I had so I left it at the hostel. I stopped by the local Walmart for a few bags of nuts and walked back to the yellow deli to eat dinner at 5 of a corned beef sandwich, chips and a salad. Up in the hostel I saw Bright Eyes again, talked to the other hikers for a while and called Plans Too Much to see if he could shuttle me back to the trail in the morning. This was an awkward call. He said no, but his wife could and would be by the hostel at 9 am. I put in a few journal updates, talked to other hikers and went to bed with the sun going down. The room was warm with fans blowing and an ice machine or some other machine making noise, and I didn't sleep all that well. The hostel though is intoxicatingly and has a pull on hikers.