South Pomfret, VT (USA)

I’ve had my eye on a long section in Vermont that didn’t appear to have any road access.  This morning, I did some research on possible access points and I left the house with a hope that I could hike a 5+ mile section in the Green Mountains.  I drove north on I-89 until I reached Royalton - from there, I used VT-12 until I located Chateauguay Road (north of Barnard).  This road had an AT Trailhead somewhere in the mountains but the question was whether the road was gravel or mud by that point...  After driving about five miles, I was disappointed to discover that the nice gravel ended short of the trail crossing.  Defeated, I backtracked to VT-12 and drove south to the outskirts of Woodstock.  Eventually, I located another gravel route, Cloudland Road, that did take me to an AT Trailhead.  I parked there at around 1015 and quickly headed NOBO.  I’d initially intended to hike over four miles in the area but the parking spot was in the middle of the hilly section.  The lateness and temperature (high 70s) took away some of my determination to hike the whole thing...  Regardless, it felt good that I didn’t have to hike the whole section.  After the climb began with a walk on the edge of a beautiful field, the trail was full of little ups and downs.  Most took me over rocks and down into empty creek beds.  It was mostly shady and pleasant in the woods and I made really good time.  There was a dramatic descent to the Thistle Hill Shelter but, after turning around, I made a quick climb to the main ridge.  Didn’t see any animals all day - and the only people I saw were an extended family (they appeared to be two fathers-in-law, a mother-in-law and a young couple).  Finished my hike (after almost five miles) at 1200.  Didn’t even feel sore or winded, only sweaty.  Checked out the Cloudland Market (closed indefinitely) and then headed back to civilization.  On the way home, it was nice to see all the people out, enjoying the day, in Woodstock and Quechee - other than a few masks, there was no evidence of COVID-19.  Hoping for more images like that!  AT Today = 2.30 miles / G.T. AT = 1597.46 miles]