Appalachian Trail Hike: Vermont - Mile 1604 - 1755

Hello all! Vermont started out rough with my mysterious illness and fever that lingered throughout the remainder of the state. I feel as if I didn’t get to enjoy how beautiful hiking in Vermont is because I was part zombie.

Appalachian Trail Hike: Vermont Summary

Statistics:

Days: 7
Full hiking days: 5
Zeroes: 2
Neros: 0
Total Trail Miles Covered: 119.3
Total Elevation Gain: 23,590 ft
Total Elevation Loss: 25,596 ft

Highlights:

Excited to be in Vermont, a completely new state for me.
Hiking on the Long Trail section was beautiful.
Rutland was fun and meeting other kind hikers.

Lowlights:

Starting the state with being so sick. Never fully recovered while in Vermont.
Weather either rained or was terribly hot.
Lugging sleeping pad around for an extra few days.
Emergency double zero forced my timeline tight.

Appalachian Trail Hike: Vermont Detailed Version

Day 75 & 76: Mile 1618

Trail Daily Miles: 0
Elevation Gain: 0
Elevation Loss: 0
Weather: Who knows? Didn’t go outside.
Overall Day Sentiment: So sick.

If you know anything about me, you know that I love statistics. Specifically health statistics in the form of any information that my Garmin watch likes to tell me. In this particular instance, my Garmin watch told me that I didn’t sleep at all that night. I thought this might be the case, as I flipped and flopped with a fever nearing 103°. In general, I try to not take any fever reducer medication because obviously my body is trying to fight off something so I would like to give it the opportunity, but my goodness I did not sleep at all that night.

I lounged around all day and prayed for tiny naps. In the evening, I ended up taking a fever reducer because I was in too much pain/my throat was so swollen that it was hard to swallow any food.

I woke up the following morning after an emergency zero day to feel the exact same. My watch told me that I got one hour of sleep in the night - which I guess is an improvement? Considering I had a strict schedule to keep I decided that I should go to urgent care and see what was going on. George accompanied me in the taxi to urgent care and he got to see the US health system in person (oh boy).

They gave me myriad tests and I tested negative for everything (Covid, Strep, Lyme). Acute tonsillitis is what was settled upon and they gave me a steroid shot to try and help the healing process along. They had warned me that the steroid shot would keep me awake and I would feel better and a little jittery for the next six hours at a minimum. Considering I have been feeling like something stuck to the bottom of your shoe, this was actually exciting to me to feel a little bit better.

When I got back to the hotel after urgent care and my steroid shot, I actually took a three hour nap. I told my sister this, who is a nurse, and she was also shocked. That will tell you maybe how tired and sick I actually was. I started on a fever reducer regimen because I needed more sleep and as I’ve mentioned sleeping with a fever is near impossible. George did the majority of my chores including laundry (bless him) and we did a quick resupply. I went to bed after my second emergency zero really hoping I felt better in the morning.

Day 77: Mile 1618 - 1647.1

Trail Daily Miles Covered: 29.1
Elevation Gain: 4929 ft
Elevation Loss: 3916 ft
Weather: Sun, Rain
Overall Day Sentiment: Maybe a triple zero?

After the emergency double zero for my sickness, I had to get back on trail if my timeline was even remotely attainable. Despite my rest for 2.5 full days, I still felt cruddy. The steroid shot would supposedly still be in my system here and there over the next few days, but I sure did not feel that way. George and I set out with the taxi service I had been using the past few days to get to and from urgent care.

There was a short cut off later on in the day that would save over 5 miles by taking the Long Trail instead of the AT so I opted to do that. Then I was able to cover some miles while my body was still recovering.

George and I arrived with the shelter and they were already several folks in it. I did not want to be kept up by any snoring or chatting, so I walked a bit away and set up my tent. Once I set up my sleeping implements in my tent. I passed out. Suddenly two hours later, I woke up absolutely discombobulate as I looked around and was nearly dark.

I quickly make dinner eat and then try to go back to sleep. I know it was a big day for my first day back on trail and so I need as much rest as I could possibly get. My throat remains swollen and I am on a strict regimen of anti-inflammatories to bring down the swelling which helped with the sleep - marginally. Luckily, I was able to fall asleep readily again and sleep through the night.

Day 78: Mile 1647.1 - 1668

Trail Daily Miles: 20.9
Elevation Gain: 4003 ft
Elevation Loss: 3930 ft
Weather: Rain
Overall Day Sentiment: Thankful for a shelter

It ended up raining most of the night so packing up camp is always a slog after that. We had two potential stopping points in mind, depending on how I felt.

The rain continued most of the day and really played into Vermont’s nickname, Vermud. Boards and planks lined much of the trail to attempt to alleviate the mud/puddle situation. But with it down pouring so much, everything was going to get wet anyway.

When I arrived at the first shelter of the two potential shelters, I was completely soaked through and was slightly miserable. George was already and set up, making the decision for me. Luckily, we both got spots in the shelter and we ended up playing a few games with two section hikers. They were wonderful women who knew a lot about the flora of the area and just plain made us giggle.

After we all ate dinner, another group of three hiker showed up and the seven of us squeezed into a six person shelter. It was slated to rain again that night so everyone wanted to be inside. This group of three had little hiker etiquette, so it really did change the feel that the four of us had going on before that.

With me finally being dry and tucked into my bag I tried to make it in early night and fall asleep, despite the lack lack of self-awareness from the later arrivals.

Day 79: Mile 1668 - 1690.4

Trail Daily Miles: 22.4
Elevation Gain: 3601 ft
Elevation Loss: 5346 ft
Weather: Rain, Sun in Rutland
Overall Day Sentiment: Rutland is as cute as I hoped!

The rain had continued all night, which made me extra grateful that I was able to be in the shelter. It was still drizzling when I got ready to leave camp, so my motivation was lacking. I have been looking forward to getting into Rutland, Vermont for sometime because it is a well-known trail town.

The miles into Rutland were not too difficult, but boy they were muddy. A few days of rain had really given the trail a dose of saturation that it already didn’t need. Most of the boards that are provided to walk over muddy areas were sunk or when you stepped on them would continue to sink. There was also a strange super rocky section that had me flashing back to Pennsylvania. It was so rocky in fact that the trail was hard to find and there had to be rock cairns leading the way.

George had arranged a ride with a Trail Angel to get us down the road into Rutland. The Trail Angel was too kind and ended up taking us to get ice cream as we were entering town. We both got a ‘maple creamy’ which is just a maple syrup flavored soft serve ice cream. I guess one in Rome…

This gentleman was also kind enough that he drove me to two big box sporting good stores to look for a new sleeping pad as I had finally had it with my deflating one. Unfortunately, there were only heavy (car camping) sleeping pads available and I was not ready to give up just yet in my search for a light backpacking one. I had been blowing up my sleeping pad roughly every hour for 600 miles so I could wait a couple more days for me to get to a proper gear shop.

Rutland is home to an infamous hiker hostel, The Yellow Deli. The Yellow Deli is associated with a controversial and secretive Christian fundamentalist group called the 12 tribes. I hesitated staying here concerned about potential misogyny that is well known in this group but my curiosity won out and I decided to stay there.

The accommodations and my experience were nothing but lovely. Everyone was kind and generous. They had laundry available along with some special loaner clothes (fundamentalist clothing) that covered up every inch of me, i.e. a long skirt and button up long sleeve shirt. There was a great communal space that had tea and coffee available. The actual location was close to resupply spots, the bus station, and other restaurants. The only really distinguishing factor was that the dorm rooms were separated by sex, which I had not run into yet on the Appalachian Trail. There were three other women in the women dorm for the night and honestly it felt like a sleepover.

Once my laundry was done, as I did not want to go out into public in my fundamentalist loaner clothes, George and I went out to dinner and did a quick resupply. There were a lot of fun and engaging people that were also staying at the hostel and so the evening was filled with laughs as we shared trail chats. Rutland is also a trail town for another national scenic trail, The Long Trail. There were a few folks who were hiking that instead of the Appalachian Trail so it’s great to get different insight about different sights in the area.

The reason the dorm that I was in felt like just a sleepover is that the four of us stayed up gabbing and giggling until way too late, but it was great to connect with some like-minded strong women.

Day 80: Mile 1711- 1735.6

Trail Daily Miles: 24.6
Elevation Gain: 6192 ft
Elevation Loss: 6579 ft
Weather: Sun, Hot, Humid
Overall Day Sentiment: A new sleeping pad!

The Yellow Deli also provides breakfast in the morning cooked by rotating families on the schedule. This is an optional add on to your stay, but it was nice. Speaking with a young family that is in this religious group was interesting. There is a farm outside of Rutland that the majority of folks in this community live on and it is an option for hikers to go and volunteer for a day or more. Sometimes leading hikers all the way into joining the group.

There was a proper gear shop just down the road in Killington. There was a bus stop directly in front of the gear shop, missing a few trail miles, so George and I opted to do that. After 600+ miles I could no longer blow up my pad in the middle of the night. I found the exact sleeping pad that I had wanted at this gear shop and it was lighter than the one that I have been lugging around. I gleefully went to the Post Office to rid myself of this deflating one so I could send it back to Nemo only to find out that it was a federal holiday therefore the Post Office was closed. So not only had I been carrying this pad that did not work around for more than a month, but now I had to carry it’s extra weight in addition to my new functional pad.

Back on trail, there was a neat boardwalk section that led to what seems like a popular tourist area as there were lots of families looking at a set of waterfalls After that boardwalk section.. oh boy did I climb. It also was getting warm and so I stopped every water source that I could throughout the day. Little did I know that this steep climb was prepping me for what was to come in the Northeast. In fact, there was a section with a ladder and I am not referring to the rebar that is put into rocks that creates a makeshift ladder. I’m talking about a literal ladder that you just get from a home-improvement store. I vividly remember laughing out loud because of how wild me climbing down a 12 foot ladder was that someone had just brought into the backcountry.

Towards the end of the day there was a store that had some great snacks, but I had hiked too slow up the initial steep climb of the day, so I did not make it prior to closing. Because it had been so hot, I was desperately dreaming of ice cream.

I arrived up the last climb of the day to find George all set up and eating his dinner with a beautiful sunset. I set up my tent quickly and went to the far water source, not really paying attention to my surroundings. I had my headphones in and I was listening to an audiobook that had gotten to the good part. I filled up my water innocently and made my way back to where our tents were set up. When he asked me, “did you see the bear cub?” In that moment I really wish he had warned me in advance that their bear club were by the water because my headphones were in. Luckily, I did not see the bear cubs nor the mother bear that was inevitably close by.

We were arriving in New Hampshire the following day and wanted to stay in Hanover, but there was limited accommodation there. Dartmouth University is located there and there was an event that weekend so all accommodation has been booked. Luckily there was a Trail Angel list that we looked at and messaged many folks. We ended up getting in touch with one who had availability for the next day, thankfully!

Day 81: Mile 1735.6 - 1757.9

Trail Daily Miles: 22.3
Elevation Gain: 4865 ft
Elevation Loss: 5825 ft
Weather: Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: Is that a naked man and a new state?

This ended up being one of the strangest days on trail I have ever had. Not for any bad reason, but because there were many different things that happened, it’s difficult to think about this all in one day.

It started out normal with George and I hiking together and realizing that there was a tiny store that had breakfast sandwiches and coffee slightly off trail so the trail provided and we went. They ended up having gluten-free bread so I was also able to engage with a breakfast sandwich.

We continued on knowing that we were going to hit New Hampshire today. So there was good energy between the two of us and we were motivated to get miles in to arrive at our destination. We came upon an older man out in his yard and something felt a little bit different about what he was doing. I got Lasik eye surgery in the past few years and have sharp vision. This sharp vision allowed me to realize that this man was walking around outside completely naked. I pulled George aside and warned him what we were walking into/near and we both started to giggle. We continued on like everything was normal and the guy ended up saying hi to George and they made direct eye contact. I had seen enough and so I gave him a slight wave as I kept my eyes forward on the dirt road leading to the trail.

It was only a short distance to get into Norwich, Vermont, which is on the other side of the Connecticut river to Hanover. I quickly sent my extra defunct sleeping pad home - hallelujah! From there, we walked over the bridge and there was a sign halfway across the bridge delineating the two states. It was a bit strange walking into my second to last state on the Appalachian Trail.

Before anything else, we wanted to eat and it felt like getting to the new state was worthy of celebration, especially considering how Vermont started out for me. We found a small spot in town that had $3 margaritas because it is in fact a college town. A quick resupply happened just before we went to the Trail Angel‘s house for the night.

Once we arrive at the Trail Angel‘s house, I did not want to leave again. She had laundry available to us, loaner clothes, and a shower. When I was clean, I snuggled in for the night and fell asleep relatively early ready for continuing on in the new state the next day.