Day 22 – Stratton Mountain
Hike North______________The Long Trail______________Hike South
The Long Trail End-to-End Journal
October 17, 2007
Bromley Shelter to Stratton Mountain
LT Miles – 15.8
Total LT Miles – 231.7
Extra Miles – 1
Bromley Shelter
Eric cooks breakfast in the darkness before dawn. He’s gone at first light – at least a solid half-hour before sunrise. I pack my things and head south shortly thereafter. Town calls.
It’s a quick two miles downhill to Vt. 11/30 – the road that leads into Manchester Center. I hitch a four mile ride with a man dressed in a shirt and tie on his way to work. He asks me about local trails in the area as I glance out the window, recognizing many places with old memories on my mind. I was in Manchester Center on Septermber 11, 2001.
He leaves me at an interstate exchange where our paths separate, about a mile out of town. I walk and enjoy the early morning. A car pulls over on the shoulder in front of me. As I approach, I see the lone driver clearing things from the passenger seat, and suddenly the passenger door flies open. Even though it’s only a short distance to the center of town, the driver insists on giving me a ride. “Do you have a trail name?” she asks.
“Duct Tape.”
“Bluebird,” she says, extending a hand. She hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2005.
She leaves me at the front door of the Price Chopper supermarket, with a smile on my face from her bright, cheery attitude. “You made my day!” she says. I purchase my usual resupply, as well as a pack of eight dogs with corresponding bread for my dinner tonight. I search out the local Friendlies chain restaurant for breakfast. They have a special called the Two-fer, or something like that – two eggs, two sausage, two pancakes. I order it twice.
I stand with my thumb out for nearly a half hour for the hitch back up to the trail. Finally I get a ride from a man who likes to day hike in the area. Upon learning that I’m from Pennsylvania, he remarks that he travels to the Gettysburg area annually – to purchase a case of wine from a local winery that he and his wife particularly enjoy.
Spruce Peak, looking back toward Manchester Center.
I walk a featureless stretch of trail in the deep woods, fueled on coffee. The closest I come to seeing another person appears in the form of a vacant green US Forest Service truck.
Don’t miss the next page! (This day continued)
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