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Wed 26
⁃ Camp at Happy Hill Shelter
Chatting with a few NOBOs while waiting for laundry in Hanover, I heard the bubble is about a week or 100 miles behind them, so it won’t be long until I’m fighting for campsite and shelter space.
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Well, the purists can hate me. I took my second blue blaze bypass today (the first was taking the blue blaze over Mount Monroe, rather than following the AT around the base of the mountain) while leaving Velvet Rocks Shelter (I took the other end of the loop down rather than doubling back). And I’d do both of them again. First, I got great views on Mount Monroe (and could basically see the AT down below (and it’s lack of great views). Second, the quarter mile or so I skipped today was through a valley I had walked thru some of already, and would’ve required going back down a long, steep descent.
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In line with a lot of the FarOut comments, the RWB rec center is more hassle than it’s probably worth for the shower and laundry. First, they don’t let you start laundry or showers before 10:30 am (despite signs indicating 9:00 still being scattered everywhere). Second, there’s not much communication among the staff on whether the combined laundry room/shower room is in use and who’s next for each.
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Managed to get into the Dartmouth Dining hall for lunch. Apparently they’re no longer actively allowing hikers in. No matter, I just put on my best “Dartmouth Student” face and “left my ID in my room today.” I’ll give the dining hall a solid 8.5/10—better than Rose (7.5/10), but not quite as good as Harvard (9/10), and nowhere close to UMass Amherst (10/10). Excellent variety, generally decent quality, with some standouts (spanakopita, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies), plenty of fresh fruits available (the plum and peach I had were each excellent), and a wide selection of soft drinks including a coke freestyle machine (yay, cream soda!).
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My last few stops in Hanover felt like a scavenger hunt, going around collecting all the free stuff. First, a burrito I got almost for free via a monthly Grubhub Amex Gold credit. Second, a free ginger cookie from Lou’s bakery, a consolation reward since they ran out of doughnuts earlier (in fairness, I walked in 3 minutes before they close). And finally, a free slide slice of cheese pizza from Ramunto’s. Combined with a peach from the dinning hall, this makes an excellent feast of fresh, real, and free food for dinner tonight.
Thurs 25
⁃ Camp at Happy Hill Shelter
Ugh. Woke up to the rain today.
So, uh, cooking in my tent kinda caught up to me. Spilled boiling water + mashed potatoes on myself and the inside of my tent. Fml.
! Content Warning: Unfun Medical Crap !
Also other great things happening to me: had some diarrhea and might also be starting to develop hemorrhoids (something something that’s what happens when you only shower every 4 days and don’t wipe well…).
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Was originally planning to take a half day and start after the rain stopped at like 2 pm today, but eventually decided to just take a zero instead.
Fri 26
⁃ Camp 0.6 mi S of Totman Hill Rd
Today turned out to be a pretty great day. Lots of ripe raspberries, countless idyllic fields of grass and wildflowers, and several quiet, calm miles through the forest.
I’m still trying to balance the lack of motivation for breaking camp in the morning with the joy of walking. And also trying to balance the necessary structure of planning shelters and resupply points with the freedom of getting up with the Sun, walking as fast or as slow as I want, taking breaks when there’s a pretty view or a nice photo, and stopping for the night whenever I’m tired.
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! Content Warning: Unfun Medical Crap !
Hemorrhoids seem to be getting worse, but I have solid poops again. Like, legitimately solid poops, not the semisolid, PB like poops I’ve had for most of the trail.
Sat 27
⁃ Stay at The Lookout
Stopped at the “On The Edge Farmstand” for a nice lunch. Had a sandwich, half a block of smoked cheese, and a grape soda (my latest random craving). I decided to also pack out out a pint of ice cream (or at least whatever’s left of a pint after I I eat some).
Update: I ate the entire pint (I’m my defense it was lighter and fluffier ice cream than Ben and Jerry’s are). So instead I packed out an apple turnover (they didn’t have individual slices of pie, only small and large ones, which seemed like a logistical nightmare to pack out :/).
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I hiked with Camelback for a few miles today, who I’d met while at the farm stand earlier today along with Shiitake. Cool dude. He and his 10-member tramily are staying at an Airbnb in Rutland (nearby town to Killington) and taking a double zero, in celebration of making it 500 miles. He also mentioned offhand an offer to join in the next one if we’re still hiking around eachother.
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The Lookout ended up being a pretty popular spot. Two other SOBOs and five NOBOs are also here tonight. Still plenty of space to spread out though. Feels super homey with a fire in the fireplace (first on-trail fire I’ve had, excluding the one at OCSC). Managed to catch a double rainbow and parts of a nice sunset from the lookout on top of the cabin, though I was dodging smoke while I was up there.
Also met back up with Crocstar, who’s part of the same tramily as Shiitake and Camelback.
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I’m starting to see why people say the people are their favorite part about thru hiking. I can’t quite put my finger on why tonight was so nice, but being around people was definitely part of it. So maybe I’ll crash the Crocstar/Camelback/Shiitake tramily eventually.
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I’m doing some planning on future resupply points, and I’m finally trending towards shorter food carries, more fresh (aka “real”) food, and more in-town resupplies instead of mail drops. I guess I’ve gotten sufficiently tired of 12 lb food carries, eating only clif bars, and getting screwed over by the post office’s limited hours.
Sun 28
⁃ Gifford Woods SP AT site B
My Lightning to headphone adapter seems like it died yesterday evening. Good thing I carried a spare all the way from Katahdin I guess? (same deal for an earphone tip I’d lost a few days ago, where I finally used the spare one)
Maine smelled like Pine Trees. New Hampshire smelled like an old log cabin in the forest. Vermont smells like wildflowers.
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Can’t say I was expecting to take public transit while on the AT. But if you think about it, it actually makes perfect sense. I don’t have a car where I am, and several other people are also making the same trip over the course of a day. Even more so, it’s connecting a small ski town to the much larger city, benefiting both during the ski season. Oh, and the bus is currently free, instead of the (already reasonable) standard $2 fare. I’m going from Killington to Rutland to grab lunch and resupply, which is an ~11 mile trip one way.
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Had a good late lunch at The Yellow Deli in Rutland. For those unaware, The Yellow Deli is one of the businesses run by The Twelve Tribes “cult”. Eh, from what I’ve read, supporting it isn’t much more politically questionable than eating at Chic-fil-a, and the food was good, the people were nice, there was a hiker discount and free drink, and they didn’t try to convert me (or even mention anything about it). Apparently they also run a donation based hostel there as well, though logistically, staying at the state park is simpler (since I need to go to the post office tomorrow anyway).
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Remember how I was raving about how convenient the bus was? Well, I’m annoyed now. After 5:15, the normally hourly frequency drops to a 2-3 hour frequency (ie, the next bus is at 8:15 and 10:15). And guess who (1) didn’t check the schedule carefully and thus (2) managed to miss the 5:15 bus by ~5 minutes?
Hint, it was me. I missed the bus.
I tried calling an Uber (which would’ve been mostly offset a monthly Amex credit), but no drivers were available. So, I guess the universe decided I should chill in Rutland for 2.5 hours I guess.
Oh, and it seems I’m not alone in this annoyance. Two other people at the transit center were also hoping the Killington bus would be coming sooner than 8:15.
Had I not left my bag at the state park, I would’ve probably just stayed at The Yellow Deli hostel. Oh well. Live and learn.
And the silliest part? I spent about 10 minutes in Walmart dealing with the revelation that VT seems to no longer allow any single use bags. So I initially was going to just pay for a reusable bag (that I would’ve ironically only used once), but ended up pulling the Aldi trick of using a large empty box to carry my groceries. So yeah, a single-use bag ban made me miss my bus.
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Rather than have dinner in town (in addition to in town lunch), I decided to treat myself to a box of fancy Mac n cheese and a can of chicken while I was at Walmart. Had I known I wouldn’t be leaving Rutland until 8:15, I would probably have done things differently. So yeah, after getting back to the campground a little after 9:00 PM, I started dinner around 9:30 PM, and ate around 10:00 PM. Ugh. And I still have to set up my tent. Guess I’ll finish charging my stuff in the morning while I shower. At this rate, I’ll be happy if I start hiking by 1:00 PM. So I doubt I’ll hit my desired 20 miles to the Clarendon Shelter.
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! Content Warning: Unfun Medical Crap !
While at Walmart I grabbed wipes, a cream, and suppositories for the hemorrhoids. After using them tonight, I was reminded what I’d learned from past experience: my butt does not like witch hazel at all (I grabbed them again this time, mainly to use as a cleaning wipe, but I think I’m going to dump them in a hiker box bc I’m not carrying something I can’t use). Hopefully the other two products work as well as they did last time.
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