Day 145
Start: Williamstown, MA
End: Consultation Peak Stealth Site
Miles Hiked: 10.8
Miles on AT: 1610.4
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Ahhh, waking up in a soft, warm bed is a luxury I never take for granted while on trail. FarOut comments raved about the breakfast at this motel (The Willows Motel), so I had to check it out for myself. It didn’t disappoint! There were so many choices of fresh and organic fruit, English muffins and bagels, and even almond milk for the lactose intolerant people out there. I had my fill and was ready to start the day.
I was a bit too shy to hitch hike this morning, so I walked the flat 2 miles back to trail via the sidewalk. On the way, I got a few sandwich supplies for lunch and then eventually made it back to trail.
Right before I entered the woods, I spotted one of the houses neighboring the trail. They had a water hose set out for hikers, welcoming us to take the water we needed. Perfect! It’s these little things that make my day just a smidge easier that really brightens my experience.
It’s funny how these small acts of kindness can become such a big part of my memory of hiking the Appalachian Trail. For those of you who help hikers on the trail, know that your efforts do not go unnoticed, no matter how small they may seem to you. Someone providing a trash can that they empty regularly near a trailhead is a big deal! Leaving a cooler of cold drinks can lift a hiker’s spirits for the rest of their day. The time taken to provide such acts of kindness may be small, but it’s effect is so large. As a hiker, I am on such a hard journey that any comfort is magnified times 100.
Today was going to be a big day. I would leave MA and enter VT, can you believe it? I felt like I had just stepped foot in MA and now it was time to move onto the next state. But, before I could do that, I had to tackle the climb ahead of me. It was about 1500 ft of elevation gain, which sounded daunting. But, once I got started, it wasn’t that bad. Most of the climb was gradual, so after a little bit of rock scrambling at the end, I reached the top with no problem.
After all of that work, it was time for lunch. I pulled out my bread, used my pocket knife to cut the meat and cheese, and enjoyed my lunch of chips and a sandwich. A few hikers passed me while I was enjoying my lunch. They were a couple hiking the Long Trail, which is a trail that goes the length of VT and parallels the AT for about 100 miles. Little did I know, the trail would get a lot more crowded with Long Trail (LT) hikers.
After lunch, I finally made it to the VT border. Another state down!! And immediately at the border, I understood why Vermont is often called Bermuda. Yep, there was a huge puddle of mud right in front of the VT sign. Welp, I guess that was something to look forward to.
The rest of the hike passed relatively uneventfully. I stepped through and over a lot of mud puddles and wasn’t able to avoid getting my shoes muddy. A storm had been on my heals since lunch time; I could hear the thunder threatening in the distance, but I had managed to stay ahead of it. However, when I stopped at Seth Warner Shelter for a snack break, the sky opened up. Luckily, I was safely under the cover of the shelter and didn’t get wet. There were about 4 LT hikers there who were just starting their hikes. As someone who had been on the trail for months already at this point, the excitement and enthusiasm the hikers felt for their trip felt a bit foreign to me. I was a jaded AT hiker already more than halfway done while they were like new puppies, eager and jumping at the thought of embarking (no pun intended) on their journey. It was cute and reminded me of how I felt all the way back in Georgia.
After the rain stopped, I set out to get a few more miles done. I wanted to camp at a pond nearby, but when I got there, the tent site was already taken. Darn. I hadn’t seen these many hikers on trail in a long time! There was another site about a mile away and on top of a small peak, so I collected water and carried it up with me until I found the site. And it was perfect!
I set up and settled in for the night. It got dark quickly because I hadn’t been planning on hiking so long, but all was quiet and peaceful. After chatting with Janitor, it was lights out.
And that’s day 145.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.