Barnard, VT (USA)

A friend from High School days (Liz) asked if we could go for a hike on the AT and I gladly agreed! The weather was forecasted to be cooler (60s) and dry, so we made plans to meet up at the AT Trailhead on Stage Road (South Pomfret, VT), just north of Suicide Six (0915). After we both arrived, we quickly shuttled one car to the other end of the targeted section, parking on Pomfret Road near Bartlett Brook Road. We then started SOBO on the AT, into the Green Mountains... Within the first 100 yards, we encountered a wide creek with no bridge. I’ve seen plenty of these over the years but it still took a while to find an easy ford. Unfortunately, Liz ended up getting both of her boots completely drenched.  Undeterred, we continued our hike - it helped that the sun was warming and drying everything. As we walked, we were surrounded by older, tall trees - in a few places, though, we crossed fields with breathtaking views of the surrounding hills. The grass in those places was at least thigh deep - a testament to the impact that COVID-19 has had on the trail usage. We stopped several times, especially on our way up the three hills (+/- 500 feet) we had to climb. We wisely avoided mud and poison ivy and kept up a steady pace. In the middle of the hike, we passed two solo guy hikers - otherwise, we saw very little evidence of people or wild animals. After reaching the end of the roughly 2.5 mile section (1145), Liz told me about a General Store nearby and suggested we get lunch there. We then drove north on Stage Road to the little town of Barnard. Other than the store, there wasn’t much else to see - but they had a great sandwich shop and picnic tables across the street. It seemed to get cooler and windier as we ate but we enjoyed our meal and had some fun conversations about old Cape Cod. After we were done (1230), Liz drove me back to my car and we said goodbye. It was great to catch up! Before going home, I decided to head back to the trailhead we’d used in the morning to tie up a loose end I’d left in 2018: a climb of the eastern side of Dana Hill. Starting at 1245, I hiked SOBO up a steep incline and appeared to reach the ridge quickly. However, what should have been an easy section ended up being harder because my inability to find the turnaround point on the summit - there were actually several places that looked like the top. So I’d be sure I didn’t miss any mileage, I decided to hike downhill (towards VT-12) on the other side of the ridge. This decision led to the bonus of seeing a large flock of wild turkeys in a big field on the hill, so it wasn’t a “mistake.” Didn’t see any people at all and made good time after I started my backtrack (about 1.5 miles from my car). I reached the road again at around 1400 (after about three miles). I was barely sweating and felt like all the effort had paid off - my trail legs had definitely returned by the end of the afternoon. When I checked my pedometer and trail guide, I calculated that I’d hiked six miles today but could only count about half that. This was due to a correction I had to make for overestimating miles on other VT sections and what appeared to be a possible reroute of the AT on Dana Hill. It’s all good, though! Just have three sections left in Vermont - may need to do some camping to finish them. It was a great day - glad Liz was able to hike with me! AT Today = 2.60 miles / G.T. AT = 1570.56 miles