The forecast said today would be an unseasonably warm day and it was - from the moment I left the house, it was short sleeve weather! In anticipation of this awesome opportunity, I'd set up a shuttle ride with my friend (Liz). However, she texted late last night that she'd be unable to help today. Undeterred, I decided to drive to the hiking zone anyway and figure out how to make the best of the situation. I packed for several options: overnight, hitch-hiking, short sections. On the way out of town, I got breakfast at McDonalds in West Lebanon (0805) and then crossed the Connecticut River. I took I-89 to the South Royalton exit and then drove west on VT-107. My target was the last hiking zone I’ve got left in Vermont: a nearly 18 mile section between River Road in Killington and VT-12 near South Pomfret. Denied access twice previously (from two different directions; poor road quality and private road signs), I’d almost despaired of doing anything but a shuttle ride with an overnight. However, a recent mix-up with an Amazon order (they sent me the wrong item) gave me access to a detailed trail map of the area, complete with dirt/gravel roads that don’t appear on Google Maps. This gave me another option for AT access via Stony Brook Road (off VT-107) near Stockbridge. Armed with this intel (but no GPS), I managed to find the (gravel) road and then followed it to the end of the “good” surface. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the Trail! There were two dirt tracks beyond that point and I was able to eliminate one because Nessie successfully got me to where logging trucks were cutting (dead end). The other choice was worse - I didn’t even dare to drive on that road. By this point (0930), I decided that ANY hike was better than none so I left my car at the fork and started walking, even though I really didn't know if I would find the AT. About 15 minutes later, I found a white blaze and was able to start my actual hike (SOBO) - whew! Because of the steepness of the five mile section to the west, I decided to hike on that side first (hoped to backtrack across the road in the afternoon). This took me up to the top of Quimby Mountain and gave me some spectacular views of Pico and Killington, along with lots of pretty foliage. The weather was warm and pleasant and it was great to be outside on such a nice day! Like most of my hikes recently, I really didn’t see any wildlife (unless I count the grouses that loudly thumped their wings as they tried to escape me). White blazes were scarce - this wouldn’t normally be a problem but the falling leaves made it difficult to find the beaten track in a few places... I only saw one hiker all day: Pablo/Storytime told me he was actually a PCT hiker from Vermont who’d never hiked any AT until COVID-19 canceled all his adventures on the West Coast. I spent a lot of time talking to him and this slowed me down a lot, in terms of big mileage. I found a turnaround point that was only about two miles from River Road and headed back immediately. The weather really nice - the sun was out and temps reached the mid 70s as I was hiking! For this reason, I struggled with the decision about whether to hike longer. On the “con” side, rain was expected before dark. I eventually came to the conclusion that this was a “bonus day” and shouldn’t require me to tire myself out, get hurt or get soaked. So, back at the gravel road where I started, I called it a day and walked back to the car (1300). This meant that I only hiked about 6.5 miles but I wasn’t too sore or tired. Another good thing: I had time to explore several other dirt roads nearby. Some were impassable but others had some promise. In the end, I circled clockwise all the way around the hiking zone and arrived in Woodstock on VT-12. Fortunately, by doing this search I found (with help from locals) an excellent AT access point off Green Gate Road that I can use to cut the section into smaller pieces! Even with my short day, this discovery makes the idea of finishing the AT in Vermont before the snow seem like a real possibility. Cross your fingers for me! AT Today = 2.8 miles / Grand Total AT = 1710.1 miles
