Today was a holiday for me so I decided to return to the large, isolated hiking zone in Vermont where I’d spent the last two days. Left a bit later than I’d planned (0745) and had a further delay while getting breakfast at McDonalds in West Lebanon (0800). Even with the slow start, though, I easily reached Stony Brook Road ((via I-89, VT-14 and VT-107) and found the same parking spot I’d used two days before by 0900. As I got ready to leave Nessie, I realized I’ve been really fortunate recently: I can drive less than 40 miles to log AT miles (the best I ever had before moving to New Hampshire was about 60)! It was clear and sunny again but the temps started at 31 degrees - this required two layers, along with light gloves and earmuffs (I was eventually able to shed the latter items). After about 0.5 miles, I intercepted the AT at the footbridge over Stony Brook and started up a long climb to the east (AT NOBO). When I reached the top of the ridge, I had a pretty easy walk for a while. I could see for miles in both directions because many of the leaves had fallen in this area and because I encountered large clearings where the loggers had cut down lots of trees on both sides of the AT. As I mentioned previously, the white blazes weren’t very easy to see in the area and the fallen leaves covered the beaten trail - now there weren’t ANY clues to see where I was going! I must have walked almost a mile with uncertainty before I felt like I was in the forest again... Soon after that, I noticed a boot print on a rock as I crossed a small stream - I hadn’t expected to see anyone so it came as a surprise. A bit later, though, I caught up to a backpacking father and daughter (also NOBO). They were headed to VT-12 and had spent the night before at the Stony Brook Shelter with almost everyone I’d met the day before (i.e., the five older guys with complaints and the six smiling youngsters). I therefore got a taste of trail communication within a SOBO AT “Bubble” - it was amazing how much information could be shared by a few messengers traveling between hiking groups nearby! Even more interesting to me, though, was that the dad had lived his whole life in the area - he told me tragic stories of two major 100 Year Floods in the little village of Gaysville (at the bottom of the hill) that had changed the entire history of the region between Stockbridge and Bethel. His advice: don’t build anything in the valley below - ever. They were hiking a bit slower than I was so I continued north ahead of them for about a mile. At that point, I had the deja vu feeling (not strong enough), marked position in my iPhone maps (close but not exact) and some photos I’d taken the day before (best indicator) to tell me where to turn around on Bull Hill. Once I located this spot, I started my backtrack immediately. The wind on the top of this hill was sharp and biting, despite the sunlight, and I was glad to get back into some cover. As I passed the Dad/Daughter pair on the downhill, I wished them well. Right around the same time, I glimpsed a fast-moving figure in the trees on the ridge above and realized there was a hiker following me. I stopped to let him pass but ended up tagging along with him after I learned he was a SOBO Thru hiker named “Abe Lincoln”. He grew up in Tennessee and spent his young life on the AT before becoming a long haul trucker. After getting divorced a few years earlier, he bought a van and decided to live on the road. This meant that he was able to hike all year long (with short work gigs in between) - he said he’d been on a trail for almost three full years (including a CDT Thru hike). In early 2020, he used some long trails to connect the Florida Trail to the Benton MacKaye Trail in Georgia and Western North Carolina. Just before entering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, COVID-19 forced him off the AT. Undeterred, he went to North Dakota and hiked hundreds of miles of the North Country Trail (all the way to Duluth, MN). After that, he worked for a few months and then decided to try the SOBO AT Thru hike. He had been hiking for such a long time that he was used to 30 mile days and was going MUCH faster than all the other SOBOs I’ve met. What an interesting guy! I had thought about bailing off my backtrack on a logging road but enjoyed hearing his stories so much I walked all the way to Stony Brook Road again before I realized it. Would have liked to hike farther with him but, as usual, normal life was calling... Headed reluctantly back to my car, arriving at 1230 after about 7 miles of hiking. It was a bit warmer (high 40s) but it was clear that winter isn’t too far away. Glad I was able to chip away at this ~18 mile section this weekend - I’ve only got about 7 miles left in Vermont and it’s all accessible from paved roads. My body feels OK (I think my new day pack takes the stress off my back). What a great New England Fall weekend! AT Today = 3.3 miles / G.T. AT = 1717.6 miles / AT Left = 467.7 miles
