Miles today: 15.4
Total miles: 486.4
I got up early to see the sunrise from the rooftop this morning. It was beautiful and quiet with fog dispersed in the valleys below. I said goodbye to my northbound friends and set off hiking. It was the first day hiking completely alone since I started. Usually I spend the day hiking alone but stop for breaks and at the end of the day with my crew but today I was totally on my own schedule which was a nice change. Again though, I felt so out of shape and especially like the uphills were far harder than they used to be.
I finally made it the 13 miles to Kent Pond where the boys said they’d meet me. But when I got there they weren’t there and texted me they’d meet me two miles up the trail at the Inn at Long Trail. So I set off, already pretty exhausted but excited to see them. About a half mile up, the trail came to a parking lot and crossed a road. I stopped to take off my raincoat and what do you know, a car pulled up and the boys were inside! Totally by coincidence they got there at the same time as me (they thought I was further ahead). It was so good to see them. Just a note about how amazing they are–they hiked an extra 160ish miles on the Long Trail in just two weeks, some of the toughest terrain around. I’m super impressed by them.
We hiked to the Inn, which is a half mile off the long trail/AT (which are the same trail for 100 miles in southern Vermont). The Inn lets hikers camp for free on their grass across the street. I was pooped so I decided to do that and the boys were so sweet and cut their day short, only walking 1.5 miles, to stay with me. We got delicious food at the inn and stayed dry inside while it downpoured like crazy outside in the late afternoon. Like true hikers, we had a second dinner at around 730 and got to watch live Irish music. It was super crowded and an interesting atmosphere, with a mix of motorcylcers, old people, and hikers. As we were about to pay, we discovered a section hiker at a table near us had paid for all of our dinners. We hadn’t even talked to him! He just did it out of the kindness of his heart. He had left before we could even thank him. I know I say this all the time, but I can’t state it enough. The kindness of strangers along the trail had astounded me. More than that, it’s changed me and made me vow to be more selfless and generous toward others not just on the trail but after and beyond.
After we were full, we headed out to our damp tents and went to bed.