Thanks to Tom and Nancy, I brought hiking sticks in hopes it will help my knees. I tried hiking sticks once before and found them to be noisy and cumbersome. I hiked 1600 miles without them even though many tried to tell me what a difference they make. I wished I liked them. Now I am learning to like them because they help with impact and stability. I do think they will make the difference so my knees can make it all the way. I feel so great in every other way!! Vermont has brought the excitement of the trail back in full force.
PM. This morning Matt wanted to know what our goal was. I said we will stop when our bodies are ready. Then he informed me that men don't work that way, they need a destination. OK. What would you like to do? We agreed on 15 miles. When we came to a nice river I had to insist we stop and have lunch. Felt great to cool the feet. Matt is having quite a bit of pain in his feet with one area looking especially bad. Pulled out the mole skin to doctor them up a bit.
Hurricane Irene has done terrible damage in this area. We had a detour due to a bridge that was wiped out by the storm. Looking at the river you can see where massive amounts of water had brought down trees and all kinds of structures. We saw parts of a fireplace where a house once stood. Huge beams looked like they had been tossed around.
During the detour we met a man who has beef cattle and many acres of land. He was picking mulberries from some bushes on the side of the road. We had a nice chat and continued.
We met the ridge runner who informed us we could get a free gondola ride down to a lodge and then back up to the trail. Coopers Lodge is where we will find it. This is around 13 miles. Sounds good.
We were on a constant incline. We were at the beginning of a long walk up Mount Killington. Happy Place (Matt) struggled last time he had his pack on and had to hike this elevation. Today, Mark and I were amazed at his pace and strength all the way up the mountain. It took us several hours with drizzling rain and intense rock climbs. We made it to Coopers Lodge at 5:08 only to learn the Gondola closed at 5:00. Ugh!!!
Jane sent us an email letting us know there was live music on Saturday. I was looking forward to that so we discussed hiking down the mountain where the gondola is. It was not an easy decision because we weren't sure what it would be like. We were fogged in. Because I like an adventure and the thrill of the uncertainty, I suggested we go for it. The guys agreed and we headed down.
We thought the grass may be somewhat weed whacked. Instead we found ourselves bushwhacking through a tall, thick quagmire of weeds. It was wet and slippery. Turned out to be a crazy idea and all I could do was laugh at the silliness. Once we started down, there was no turning back. The fog cleared at one point and we could see how far away the lodge was. We could hear the music. Matt kept the pep talk going until three wet, sweaty bodies full of dirt came out of the weeds into the opening near the lodge. We find a pie mic table to clean up a bit only to learn that the concert was over. We meet Bill who saves the evening he takes us to the Long Trail where we can put our tents up across the street. Live Irish music, shepards pie, corn beef and a great night. Bill is a great guy who enjoys following through hiker blogs. He is retired and works part time at the ski slope. We so enjoyed his company and his kindness. People like Bill make you feel good about this world!
Miss Janet showed up and joined us for dinner. Matt sure picked a good week to join us.
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