Welcome to Vermud!

Jim finished up Massachusetts and hiked through Vermont in just a week—good riddance! He has been the least impressed with the AT through Vermont as any place so far. He has not seen any spectacular scenery or wildlife, just the “green tunnel” of mud and roots. People say it has been unseasonable rainy this year on top of being known for its miles of muddy trail. I pick up Jim daily in the humid heat of the late afternoon, covered in mud from his knees down and full of scrapes and bruises from slipping and tripping on the slippery rocks and roots hidden in the depths of mud. After the short but relatively mild earthen trails through Massachusetts, the trail continues to be a grueling series of steep ascents and descents. And do I miss it? No way!

My experience of Vermont has been quite lovely. I’ve enjoyed a few small hikes as a “muggle” (what through-hikers call hikers who are not through-hikers), and have spent many hours driving the scenic back roads of Vermont while trying to locate places to meet up with Jim where the trail intersects a road. With its rolling green hills, historic covered bridges crossing running rivers, peaceful ponds, bucolic farmland, and charming small towns, I have loved Vermont. There have been times on some of the gravel or dirt roads when I have wished I drove a 4-wheel drive or had cell reception for navigation, but so far AT&T, my little hybrid, and I have made it to where we needed and back again (knock wood).

Also, Vermont has a great network of state parks campgrounds (complete with hot showers), that I have been able to completely eliminate my role as Sherpa for a time. After I find a campground to serve as basecamp for about 2 days, I can drive right up and have camp set up in just about an hour, leaving the rest of my time my own. Of course I spend quite a bit of time planning and navigating where our next camp will be and how many miles Jim will need to hike before I can get to him, but I still have a fair amount of free time

I found a library selling used books for their summer fundraiser and stocked up on reading material. And I’ve decided to use some of my spare time playing the role of tourist and visiting some local attractions. Vermont is rich in history and art. I found myself overwhelmed with choices of museums and attractions. I’ve decided to check out some of the more obscure and perhaps less visited ones.

Sometimes it’s a bust—all hype and no substance, but sometimes you find a real gem. One such gem was the Norman Rockwell Exhibition/ Sugar Shack in Arlington. It was a small country store where they make there own maple syrup and sugar, but they had a room on the side where they showed a video about Norman Rockwell and displayed hundreds of prints and examples of his work. (We all know he did lots of Saturday Evening Post Covers, but did you know he also did the illustrations for the Boy Scouts of America Magazine as well as their handbook? Me either.) Originals? No, but they had a copy of one of his paintings that they say was the same colors, textures, etc. as the original. I know it sounds hokey so far, but the interesting part is that Norman lived in Arlington for a great deal of his career. He used his friends and neighbors as models for so many of his paintings—there is the draw. They had pictures and stories from his neighbors in Arlington that were featured in Rockwell’s work. It was so interesting and absolutely FREE! (Of course I bought some of their pure maple syrup.)

Another gem was the Vermont Marble Company Museum. Established in 1880, they were once the largest marble company in the world. To mine and craft the marble, they brought in employees from all over the world and established the town of Proctor, Vermont. They constructed the marble for some of our nations treasures such as US Supreme Court Building, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to name a few.

It is also worth mentioning that The Long Trail is a 273 mile trail starting in Vermont and ends at the Canadian border (if only Jim chose this trail I could have completed!). This trail coincides with the AT for a time until the AT makes a turn Eastward towards New Hampshire, so he is meeting more hikers doing the Long Trail for a time. He continues to meet some interesting people including “Kodiak”, a retired police officer from Anchorage, Alaska Whose wife was off trail after a 4 day stay in the hospital for anaplasmosis, yet another nasty disease spread by ticks! Interestingly, they have hiked many of the caminos—yes, there are more than just El Camino de Santiago de Compostela. They highly recommend any of them. Hmmm…I’m thinking our next hiking pilgrimage will be in Spain!

Jim’s last few days in Vermont were not so bad. The trail was nicer and most importantly, drier. He crossed into New Hampshire on an auto bridge over the Connecticut River, which oddly had no signage or fanfare announcing the state line. New Hampshire holds the White Mountains National Forest. You won’t meet an AT through-hiker who doesn’t approach “The Whites” with a great deal of apprehension—present company included. Relatively they are not very high, the tallest, Mount Washington, topping out at 6,288 ft. But it is not the height of these mountains that makes them so tough, it is the weather, exposure, remoteness, and trail conditions (steep and arduous), that earns their reputation as the most challenging place on the AT. Keep following along to see how it goes…

And our pictures:

View from Lookout Shelter where I hiked up to meet Jim. It is a privately owned cabin with a platform built on the roof to enjoy the spectacular view generously made available for hikers to use.

Here Jim captured a picture a the Red Spotted Newt in its final stages of life. They are born in the water as a tadpole. We saw so many of them along the trail in the middle stage of their life which last about 2 years. In the final stage of life it returns to the water, turning green but retaining its red spots.

This is the Mount Greylock Memorial. Jim chose not to walk up to the observation deck due to the number of prepubescent girls milling about on a field trip.

An employee of the Forest Service at Gifford Woods ceremoniously raises the flag accompanied by a recording of the National Anthem (a very acid rock version).

More Trail Magic for Jim!

Quechee Gorge

Step back from that ledge!