Date: 2017-08-09
From: Pete's Spring/Sherman Brook Campsite 

To: VT 9, Bennington, VT 
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: light rain

8/9Pete's Spring/Sherman Brook Campsite to VT 9, Bennington, VT 16.8 milesTotal miles:  1610.6After talking it over with Gravity, I decided it would be a good idea to push all the way to Bennington today and simply take a zero in town tomorrow. That way, I will already have a room and wouldn't have to worry about check-in times and the like. Bennington was 16.8 miles away, so I planned an early departure from camp and a steady day of hiking to get to town as soon as possible.  I was on the trail at 7:00.  There was a very steep climb early on that involved boulder scrambling and some hands and feet action.  It has been awhile since I encountered such trail, and although it was time consuming, it was a fun challenge. Near the top, I passed the junction with the Pine Cobble Trail. I looked at my guidebook page and noticed that I had traveled 1594.9 miles and had 594.9 to go.  At that point, I had traveled exactly 1000 miles further than I had to go.  The trail became less steep, and I soon found myself at the Massachusetts/Vermont border.  Homeward Bound arrived a few minutes later and took my picture.  The AT and the Long Trail will share trail space for the next 105 miles before heading their separate ways. I set a bit of Beau free in our twelfth state and said farewell to Massachusetts.  Vermont is often called Vermud in AT parlance, and it didn't take long to see why. While I have encountered muddy patches in every state, there seems to be quite a bit more mud in Vermont. I could see that it is often worse than now, as I walked on the ground alongside large stones set a pace apart down the middle of the trail. Other times, I walked on such stones through muddy areas. There were also places where long lines of planks have been placed, as I have seen in other states. I encountered some corduroy trail with small logs placed side by side by side to form a bumpy, but less muddy, section.  Many times there were no options but to trudge through the mud. Today is the last day for my present pair of shoes. It's a shame to think of my brand new shoes being introduced to the mud, but such are the realities of the trail. Despite the mud, rocks, and roots, I made pretty good time. I met another trail maintainer today. Crapper Trapper, who earned his unique trail name years ago when he was called upon to pack an old, iron toilet ring out of the woods during a clean up detail, was walking southbound toward the Massachusetts border. I enjoyed his tale about his trail name and thanked him for his service to the trail as we went our opposite ways. I passed a beautiful little pond and then entered a long stretch of plank boardwalk across a marshy area near it. I opted not to get water from the stream that ran from it. The stream seemed clear enough, but I always prefer to get water from springs or from streams that don't initiate from standing water. There was such a stream a few miles past the pond, and I made it there with a small amount of water left. While walking along one plank walk today, I saw a large number of snakes. Most slithered away when they noted my presence, but one pair remained long enough for me to get a photo. I'm not sure what type of snake they are, but I walked carefully to make sure I didn't step on one. It is their home, after all. Nearing the end of the day, I hiked along a very pretty creek for over a mile before turning uphill toward Harmon Hill. For over a mile, the trail was a very challenging combination of rocks, roots, and mud. I did my best at the disjointed jitterbug, and often felt like a candidate for the Ministry of Silly Walks, the delightfully silly sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus that I loved as a youth (and, truth be known, as an adult). I ended up stepping ankle deep in a muddy soup on several occasions, as I waited for trail conditions to improve.  Which they did, and I enjoyed a much easier walk for the last several miles of today's hike. I paused awhile at the top of Harmon Hill. The sun was glaring on the mist below, partially obstructing the view. I'll bet there was a great sunset to be seen from there this evening, but I was unable to stick around for it. Gravity met me there, and we continued to the top of the ridge above Highway 9. As instructed,  I called the hotel for a shuttle before beginning the very steep 0.6 mile descent. It was a rather unnerving descent, and I again joked to myself about coping stones. I made it to the bottom without incident, and the shuttle soon arrived to take us to the Catamount Hotel.  The Catamount has a reputation for being very hiker friendly and has lived up to its reputation so far. They do your laundry for $4.00 and, while I look a bit silly in my tie-dyed flowery shirt and leggings (the only clothes I could find in my size in the clothing box), it is a great feeling to be clean. Becky arrives tomorrow from Burlington, and we'll spend the day in Bennington seeing the town and getting supplies for our hike to Manchester Center. I am so excited to see her and to get to share part of this experience with her.  We will hike out of town the morning of the 11th. The first order of business will be the climb out of the valley.  Ah, the ups and downs of life on the trail.