Back on the A.T.

5.25. My hitch from Rt. 108 back to the A.T. was an experience to remember. I stepped on Rt. 108 and 10 minutes later a man in a pick-up stopped. I got in and was greeted by "Mack", his large and friendly Golden Retriever. This man went out of his way to take me all the way into Stowe, where Rt. 108 intersects with Rt. 100.

I copped a quick Ben & Jerrys from the mini mart and hit the street with my thumb out, because I had a long commute back to the A.T. and a long hike to the first shelter. I was worried about making the trek before dark.

A few minutes later, I was picked up by a French-Canadian couple in a VW Vanagon. They took me several miles and let me out in the country where they turned off for a day hike.

Then I was picked up by a young woman who said she thru-hiked the A.T. in 2001. We had a lot to talk about and the ride ended too soon, but she too, took me farther than she intended to go.

After that, it was a professional photographer who regaled me with stories of his trips to Alaska and Russia, and his Russian girl friend (acquired in the U.S., not imported, he said).

Next a very young woman in a 4X4 pickup with a stick-shift; my kind of woman.

Then a very nice woman, who took me into a small town with only a gas station, Post Office and library. She was delivering something to a local resident and she dropped me at the library. She said if I was still there when she came back that she would take me on the the A.T., another 10-12 miles.

But I was not there when she returned, for I was picked up within minutes by an employee of the Killington Resort. He grew up in Vermont, moved away for thirty years and recently returned. "Never to leave again," he said.

My Killington friend dropped me in the parking lot where the A.T. intersects with Kent Pond on Rt 100, and I hiked the 7 miles to the shelter before dark. It was an incredibly successful hitching day for me. An amazingly quick transition from the Long Trail back to the A.T.

About half-way to the shelter I met Tom Banks, another north-bound hiker. Tom is a U.S. Park Service Ranger who is taking a break to hike the A.T. from Massachusetts to Maine. We hiked that day and the next day together, but today (as I write this) he went on ahead of me. He has a tight schedule, because he must get back to work, and that forced him to hike twenty miles today. "No thanks," I said.

Tom is a genuine, 100% liberal. We had some spirited discussions about political and social issues. I like him. Hope we meet again.

I'm in the Woodstock, VT library. Hitching back to the A.T. when I leave here.