Crossing into Vermont has been magical. For example, on August 28th we started the day by saying goodbye to trail angels Short-n-Sweet and Greybeard who hosted nearly a dozen hikers at their home the previous evening in Norwich, sharing with us the story of their son’s thru hike which inspired them to reach out and help hikers. We left their home before sunrise in order to hit our 20+ mile goal for the day. Our first break that morning was the home of the amazing Hart family, who have already provided support to 950 hikers this year alone. As we walked by they rang the bell on their porch and motioned us in for a huge homemade breakfast. The roadway immediately in front of their home runs about 30 feet above a whitewater river. Among hikers there is a tradition to dare each other to jump off the bridge. Egged on by my younger cohorts, I took the leap in my underwear, on a belly full of the Hart breakfast (see video below)! The jump was a gas and the water refreshingly cool. The video was filmed by one of my very good friends from the trail- Hero (from Mississippi)- who then jumped himself.

From there, we spent the day hiking through 20 miles of mountains, forests and meadows, reminding me very much of scenes from the Sound of Music. As we were emerging from the woods to a paved road, trying to decide whether to push another few miles, a truck rolled to a stop and the driver asked me if I had ever heard of ‘the Barn.’ The Barn is a word-of-mouth free hostel in Woodstock, Vermont, hosted for 22 years by Daniel Quinn (trailname: Bad Example). It turns out that the driver of that truck was none other than Dan himself and he invited us all to stay in the loft of his barn. While we pitched in with some light chores, dinner was being prepared for us by trail legend (and Jerry Garcia look-alike) Baltimore Jack. He has hiked the complete AT an amazing 9 times, including thru-hiking 7 consecutive years. It turns out that he and Dan are old friends and he was coincidentally staying with Dan while we were there. Baltimore made us an amazing spaghetti dinner with a huge salad, garlic bread with salami, and for dessert we had homemade pie from the ‘Pie Lady’ who sells home baked goodies and home grown produce next door.

Fast forward to August 30th where we did another 20+ mile day and were treated to ‘trail magic’ 4 times throughout the day, including a food and beverage booth set up on the side of the road by Jen, a bubbly young grad student from California who is out here doing PhD research on the psychology of thru-hikers. Jen’s booth was located at the point where Sobo (southbound) thru hikers pass their 500 mile mark, so it was a great milestone for us to celebrate!

And for me, the icing on the Vermont cake is the place from which I’m making this post. The Green Mountain House– in Manchester Center, Vermont- has a reputation among many hikers as ‘THE’ best hostel on the AT. Jeff the proprietor keeps the place immaculate and as a hiker himself, is very in-tune with hiker amenities. For $25, you get a clean bed, free laundry and showers, free beverages, a free pint of Ben and Jerry’s, free make-your-own breakfast and use of the spotless facilities which include the computer on which I’m posting this update, a great hiker lounge with huge color TV and well-appointed kitchen. No wonder that nearly every hiker I’ve passed going in the other direction has recommended Jeff’s place.

Today is 9/2 and I’ll hit the trail again early tomorrow morning, my daily hiking average now well into the 20 mile range. I’ll cross into Massachusetts in the next 2-3 days and from there the states will start piling up as the terrain levels out. The pictures below are from the past few days…I hope you enjoy!

 

The Pareto principle established the notion of the ’80/20 rule.’ As a thru-hiker on the AT, a specific observation one hears often is that when northbound (‘Nobo’) hikers reach the New Hampshire border, they have completed 80% of the distance of the AT, but only 20% of the effort. Assuming that had to be hyperbole, I repeatedly asked Nobos I met along the trail (especially in Maine as they were near the end of their hikes) whether they agreed with that statement or not. Surpringly, I never had a single hiker refute it. What that means to me (and to all Sobos) is that when we finish New Hampshire, we have completed approximately 80% of the effort of hiking the AT, though of course we still have 80% of the distance remaining. As I write this in the Emily Howe library in Hanover, New Hampshire- a literal stone’s throw from Dartmouth College- I am a mere 6/10ths of a mile from the Vermont border. I’ve completed all 442 miles of Maine and New Hampshire and I could not be more excited for what remains. It’d be wrong to say the trail will be ‘easy’ from here, but by all accounts it will be significiantly ‘easier.’

One way of measuring trail difficulty in different areas is to compare typical daily hiking mileage. Through Maine and most of New Hampshire my daily distance hovered between 10-15 miles. In the past 2 days I covered 44 miles on the AT and road walked 5 more miles for some sightseeing fun. South of New Hampshire, thru hikers routinely turn 20-25 mile days and seeing the terrain the past two days (see some of the photos below) I can see why- it is defintely getting easier.

The following pictures cover a period of 7-10 days from around the time we left Penny and Russ’ home in the White Mountains until this afternoon in Hanover. Incidentally, Hanover is the only town I’m aware of on the AT that I know I’ve visited as an adult. My daughter Emily and I came here to tour Dartmouth when she was choosing a college and we had a fantastic trip together. I had no idea at the time of Dartmouth’s relationship to the AT (the Dartmouth Outing Club maintains a large section of the AT in New Hampshire) or that the trail goes right through the campus and the main street of Hanover, but I had fond memories and was excited to see it again. My next entry will be from Vermont (or beyond!).

 

Sorry its been a while since I last updated, but whenever I’ve been in town I’ve been unable to get sufficient cell coverage to upload photos, etc. The following are things I’ve seen in Maine over the past two weeks. I’m writing from the computer upstairs in Honey and Bear’s (Marge and Earl’s) great hostel in Andover, Maine called “The Cabin.” I’ve hiked 275 miles so far and have 6 miles left until the New Hampshire border, which I will cross tomorrow. In terms of states, Maine contains the second longest section of the AT after Virginia, so covering all of it is a bit of a big deal for me. Earlier today I hiked Mahoosuc Notch, which listed as “the most difficult mile of the AT.” Basically, it was a one mile boulder field through which there is no particular trail. One simply scrambles across, over, under and through the boulders, taking off ones pack when necessary to squeeze through the gaps in the rocks.

Whereas I had been mainly hiking on my own so far, about a week ago a met a few people over the course of 3-4 days that have gradually formed into a hiking group of 7-10 people we call “the Dukes of Hazard.” Our group includes men and women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, from all over the US. We’re helping each other along while having a lot of fun together. Enjoy all these photos from Maine and I’ll post again soon from New Hampshire, probably after I make it through the White Mountains.