Day 27: 9.8 mi (1701.9 – 1710.1)

Today’s goal was to get into the Rutland Verizon store to get my phone fixed… and hopefully, new shoes and resupply,  but the first and most important goal was breakfast. I had read about this restaurant right off the highway that serves breakfast ALL Day…till they close at 2 pm. So, the immediate and most pressing goal was to get there before they closed. In order to do that we had to catch the free public transit.

And to do that, we had to walk down to the PICO Ski lodge and wait.  If we hustled, we could catch the bus with time for breakfast. Success! We made it with an hour to spare. The restaurant,  Maple Sugar & Vermont Spice was just that. It even smelled like that.

Breakfast was amazing! Paul, as usual, chose an omelet. I, on the other hand, chose the special that included sugar spiced pancakes with real (from the premises) Vermont Maple Syrup. Yum. Once fully satiated,  it was time to catch the bus once more and figure out how to get to the Rutland Verizon store. Turns out, it wasn’t that hard. The public transit was free and easy. The bus drivers were GREAT! They were a wealth of information and quite the characters. We boarded one bus at the Rutland transit center and felt like we were in a sitcom. This town was once the world’s foremost place for marble but has now slipped into a bit of aged despair it appeared.

We got to the Verizon store, and short of paying off my phone, so I could get a new phone (that I’d probably break on trail), or putting in for a replacement (which, with insurance would take 3 weeks and have to be mailed to an actual address), I opted for a wireless charger and an OtterBox Defender Case. The charging port is now protected, in the event my phone decides to charge from there, and I have a workaround to charge it via the wireless charging pad. On the other hand, Paul’s phone was hopeless and will only accept a charge from only one specific USB-C cord we have. We better NOT lose that cord! So, instead of $1600, we got out of there for $44. I’d say that’s a win.

Now, onto our next chore or task. The dilemma was, do we stay at the Hiker Hostel/Yellow Deli place downtown (for free/donation), or the Hampton Inn that we were looking directly across from the Verizon Store, the Dicks Sporting Goods and the adjoining grocery store? The fact that they gave us a decent discount, had laundry, and were in easy walking distance to our remaining tasks, pointed to the Hampton Inn. I tell ya, this hike is going to be way more expensive than we figured.

Our foray into the Dicks Sporting Goods was disappointing.  When I asked the person working the shoe department what was the “drop” for the Merrells and Brooks Cascadia shoes we were trying, she replied, “What’s a drop?” Thank goodness for Google.

Paul, for sure, needed new shoes ASAP. I could get by, but I thought it would be better to get new shoes for the 150 miles it would take to get our new shoes ordered and shipped to us. (This turned out to be a horrible idea) It was a no-win situation between the Brooks and the Merrells. Both were 8mm drop. I knew that going from a 4mm drop to an 8mm might be too much, but going to zero would be untenable.  Brooks Cascadia it was. They felt better on my feet than my tired Hoka Speedgoats, and would protect the side of my foot much better, but I didn’t really account for what it would do on the upcoming downhills (steep down hills). While Dr. Morgan of Blazephiso thought I’d probably be okay, if I kept to short strides, I don’t think I actually communicated how sore my foot was already. After completing the rest of our “town chores,” we decided that tomorrow would be an “on-trail” zero, rather than pay for another night of air-conditioning. Before getting back to trail, and because it was a Sunday, we headed to church, dressed in our “cleanest” hiking attire (which was our just washed clothes) with packs full for 4 days of food. The first church, the bus driver dropped us at, which was beautiful, turned out to have been closed for two years, but they have yet to take down their website. The next closests, we quickly walked to, and were an hour late, as mass had just ended. Again, they failed to update their website. Luckily,  some parishioners knew of another church with an 11am mass and drove us cross town to it with 10 minutes to spare. Once mass was over, it was time to walk back to the bus terminal and get a ride to the outfitters in Killington. We needed fuel for the week, and maybe they’d have a better shoe collection. 

No shoes, but they had beer and a porch that we hung out on for a couple hours before we walked to the deli/gas station for a sandwich.

It is here that we finally fashioned our “Hiker to Town / Hiker to Trail” sign out of a paper bag. The next thing was to put it to the test. I swear, 2 minutes, and we had a ride back to trail! The irony was, it was a guy (John Boy) who had camped next to us while at the Killington Mtn lodge. He lives in Maine and was only doing a section with some friends. He and his son were now helping his friends and other hikers slack pack sections. Once dropped off at the trailhead, we discovered there was no easy place to camp. This would require an uphill climb of 5.4 miles to the nearest shelter, or find a stealth site along the way. So much for a zero mile day. Ugh! We waited at the base of the trailhead filtering and cameling up with water till it cooled down into the late afternoon before we began our unintended miles…uphill!

3.7 miles uphill, and off a crossing dirt road amongst the trees, we found a suitable stealth spot. In fact, it afforded us a glimpse of a sunset. Our first so far on trail.

Day 29: 13.4 mi (1716.1 – Abracadabra Coffee)

We were happy we attached our rain fly before going to sleep, as around 2 am it poured for an hour, and then was done. While we heard some trampling around in the woods adjacent our camp spot, we still have yet to see any significant wildlife beyond squirrels, frogs, Red Efts, and non poisonous snakes (of which, we are happy). Today, however, we witnessed a giant turkey clumsily and loudly “fly” through the crowded branches of the green tunnel, having been startled by two SOBOs marching up the trail. It was like a medicine ball had been thrown in the air and was bouncing like tennis ball off the trunks and dense array of branches, looking for escape. It was comical and tragic all at the same time. He should have just stayed put.

Today was a fairly comfortable trail. While the climbs were gradual, the downs were NOT. My feet kept sliding around in my slightly “too large” of shoes, so I tightened them down. BiG Mistake! The physicality of the days hike reminded me of water polo workouts while wearing a 10lb weight belt and holding a 10lb rubber brick or 5 gallon sparkletts bottle above my head. Oh, the flashbacks! Yup, that sport has prepared me well for situations like this. By the time we got to Luce’s Lookout and took a break, something was not right. That .2mi off trail foray to the “lookout” didn’t even provide a view as advertised unless you climbed up a rickety wooden ladder to the platform above the roof.

NO WAY! Not my cup of tea…so Paul climbed up and spent some time checking out the “view.” Just as I suspected, there were more tops of trees.

As there was a heavy thunderstorm on the horizon, expected to downpour near 7pm, we hightailed it down the side trail back to the AT. Nope. Foot not happy about that. New plan. Take the alternate in 1.7 and onto a plausibly flat road for a workaround and to relieve the foot pain. Nope. Switch out insoles to “old” Superfeet. Helps a little, but damage has been done. Laces were way too tight for too long with the steep downs and an 8mm drop. Idiot! Hmm. What to do? We finally get to the parking area, which leads to a proper gravel road…downhill, of course. There is no place to camp, so onwards we trudge. Both sides of the road have magnificent homes and some farms, all posted, “Private Property.” We look in earnest for someone peering out a window or perched on a porch, hoping for the opportunity to ask if we can pull up a patch of lawn behind their barn for the night. No such luck.

We walk on. The sun is setting, and the sky is getting darker. We (I) continue to hobble down the road. We make one turn and then another as we follow the route that will take us to Highway 12 and maybe a way to get some relief. We make another turn and discover a secluded park-like spur. No signs posted. No one around. We find a secluded place to set up next to a flowing stream and call it. While in immense pain, it’s a relief to not be walking. We’ll either wake up somewhat dry and hopefully “refreshed” and/ or pain free, or we will be talking to a bright flashlight at some ungodly hour and taken to the Pokey. Either way, we’re done walking for the day.