Final days in Vermont

Hiking in southern Vermont meant trudging through mud pits half way up to your shin. About 2 miles before stopping at Lost Pond shelter, Jack and Chris reported an absolutely awesome view from Baker Peak. It had a super-good view...not 360 degrees. They sat on a rocky outcropping. One could see the clouds below the mountain summit. You could see the sun lowering over the horizon.

They met southbound thruhiker Sysifus with his gorgeous purebred husky. Sysifus hails from Georgia. He is 19 years old and goes to Georgia State. The guys learned that anyone with over a B average in high school can go to state university for free.

On Saturday, they went to the Rutland Walmart to resupply and purchase cold-weather gear for the upcoming White Mountains. They stayed at a hostel in Rutland. The town was having a sidewalk sale/festival and our hikers bought freshly-squeezed lemonade.

Since Massachusetts there have not been that many thru-hikers. On Sunday Madhatter, an AT trail angel, put out a cooler filled with cans of soda with a note mentioning the "Madhatter's Tea Party" at the 500 miles to Katahdin trail marker.

On a sad note, again on Saturday, while Jack and Chris were sitting at an AT road crossing in Vermont drying their raincoats, two cars rode by them at 40 mph. Some of the people in the first car shouted, "hippies" at Jack and Chris. The second car with another 25-year-old in it threw a full can of beer at them and it nearly hit them and burst like a grenade. Guess not everyone has the same love for hiking the AT.

They saw Sasquatch again, as he had predicted. He is section hiking the whole Vermont portion of the AT in two weeks. They saw him on Sunday---with his dog---and he gave them his ATC business card. They noted that they are approximately in the middle of the pack of northbound thruhikers. They have noted they see other thru-hikers in spurts. Some of the other thru-hikers stop along the trail and spend zero-days off the trail in the trail towns that line the AT.
Jack and Chris have yet to spend a zero-day either off or on the trail....by Providence.

On Sunday morning they were able to attend Mass at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Rutland, Vt. The last time they were able to hike on their own to Mass was on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Holy Family Church in Pearisburg, Va back in June. Also interestingly, that Saturday was one day before the patronal feast of our church...the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Interesting "coincidence."

As of Sunday night they were 162 miles from the Canadian border. The Long Trail to Canada and the AT share the same route for a period of miles then bifurcates. The AT turns eastward toward New Hampshire, while the Long Trail heads directly north toward Canada. On Sunday night they went off to the Long Trail to Tucker Johnson shelter, near US 4.

They must average 18.8 miles per day to get to Mt. Katahdin by day 100.... a much easier average then the beginning required average of 22 miles per day.

They were planning a long hike day for Monday. Somewhere in New Hampshire by Tuesday.

Postscript for Monday: They wound up spending the night in Thistle Hill shelter. They completed their Monday goal of 30 miles along the trail. They wound up just a few miles shy of New Hampshire. Got to talk with them as they approached the Vermont/New Hampshire border and vicariously shared the thrill with them of entering the state of the White Mountains (New Hampshire) and the last AT state before the final AT state of Maine. Talked with them as they walked through the pretty town of Norwich, Vermont. In thanksgiving to Divine Providence for continued safe travels.