Big Points to Bennington

So today is Friday, August 2nd, and I woke up at the Sherman Brook campsite, just a few miles shy of the Vermont border in Massachusetts. When I’d first arrived at the campsite, I was the only person there, but after I’d eaten dinner and done my recording for the day, a bunch of other hikers showed up, but I didn't really see who they were, because I’d already gotten into my tent for the night. This morning, I noticed that a hiker named Moss had set up his tent adjacent to mine. I was on a platform, and he was on the ground.

And a quick side note here. Having a tent platform is a huge luxury when you’re hiking the Appalachian Trail, because it keeps your tent off the ground and not in contact with anything that would get dew on it. So whenever I get the chance, I set up on a tent platform, because that means my tent will be dry the next morning — if it doesn’t rain, that is. And that was the case today, which I was very thankful for.

Anyway, when I saw it was Moss, I said hello, and he immediately asked me whether I’d heard the tree that fell over during the night, and I had. That made us both a bit concerned, because there hadn’t been a storm or anything, and there were lots of other trees around that didn't appear to be in distress. So it was very unexpected. I was really thankful that another tree didn’t fall anywhere near us.

[Wife note: I found a pic of Moss, which also features Pac-Man, who I think is likely the hiker that was mentioned in “Don’t Blame You.”]

Pack-Man, Moss, and Bam Bam [Photo credit: Christopher Marshburn]

It's always unsettling in the middle of the night when you hear a giant branch or a tree or something come down, and you wonder whether any of the trees around you are going to do the same. I remember that one hiker remarked to me very early on that they weren't worried about bears or snakes or ticks or weather. They were worried about tree branches. And I think there's some validity to that fear.

This morning, the weather was very reminiscent of the weather in Pennsylvania. It was just very heavy and still and humid. I think the humidity was in the upper 90s when I checked the weather app. So, you know, not terribly comfortable. I’m very much looking forward to the weather breaking a little bit.

I got hiking at about 7 o’clock, and within a few miles, I had crossed over into Vermont. And Vermont has a funny nickname on the AT. Hikers call it Vermud, because it can be very muddy at times. And something that I wasn't prepared for is that it's not consistently muddy. Vermont has these features that I haven't seen before. The trail will be just fine, and then you’ll suddenly come to a section that is just all mud. And there doesn't appear to be any particular reason for it. I don't know what the geology behind that is. Maybe there's groundwater or something just below the surface, and it seeps up and creates these muddy sections of trail? They’re only about 50 feet long, but they're really bad.

The Green Mountain Club, which manages the trail in Vermont, asks hikers to walk through the mud when they come to one of these sections, rather than trying to get around it, because when they do that, they end up trampling over all the vegetation. But hikers clearly haven't heeded that, because whenever there's a big section of mud, there's always a trail in the woods around the mud. Personally, I didn't trample any new vegetation, but I certainly took the detours that were available to me, so I didn't have to get my shoes too muddy.

One of the unfortunate things about Vermont so far — and I really hope this doesn't persist — is that the cell signal has been very weak. It's been a very nice luxury probably since Northern Virginia up through Massachusetts that there's almost always been a reliable cell phone signal. I know that back in the days before cell phones, no one worried about this kind of thing, but now that we do have them, it's such a nice way to stay in touch with people and have that extra layer of security in case something goes wrong. I'm hoping that once the trail reaches higher elevations, maybe the signal will be a little bit stronger.

Early Vermont hasn't been bad so far. Just sort of rolling hills, some steep stuff, but nothing major. I suspect that’ll change fairly soon, though. I was making decent time, and my plan was to get to a campsite that’s about 4 miles from the road into Bennington, Vermont, and I’d meet up with my friend Jim there in the morning. But at the rate I was going, I’d be pulling up to the campsite at 2:30 in the afternoon, and I didn’t really want to hang out there for that long. For one thing, it just wasn't a particularly nice campsite. Sorry, Vermont, I’m sure there are some lovely campsites still to come. Another reason was that it was very muggy, and rain seemed inevitable. And sitting in a hot tent when it's muggy out and you're trying to hide from the bugs is not a great way to spend the afternoon.

A third reason was that I’d seen some comments on the Far Out app that earlier in the season, there was a guy who would hide in the woods around this campsite, wearing a yellow ski mask, and he’d throw rocks at hikers. Now, the trailhead into Bennington is only 4 miles away, so maybe this guy hikes in from Bennington and just likes to wreak havoc, but I really didn’t have any interest in dealing with something like that. Fortunately, that's the first time since Hot Springs — where there were stories of LSD Larry hanging around — that I’d heard of someone harassing hikers. But basically, all that put together inspired me to just make my way into Bennington for the night instead.

That turned out to be a great decision. I booked a room at the Catamount Motel, which is somewhat reminiscent of a motel in Tennessee that S.'s family owned for many years. They also offer a free shuttle from the trailhead. So, a great hiker rate and a free shuttle. No rain. No humidity. No random guy in a yellow ski mask throwing rocks at me. The decision seemed pretty obvious. I got picked up just before 5 o'clock. It had already started to rain at that point, so I was very pleased with my decision to go to the Catamount. And it had been such a hot and sweaty day that taking a shower was just heavenly.

S. let me know that there was a brewery less than a half mile from the hotel, so shortly after I’d gotten cleaned up, I of course started making my way down the road to downtown Bennington. I got to the brewery and found myself a seat at the bar. It was a really great little spot. It looked like it belonged in an indie film. Sort of dark. Full of locals who all know each other. The back of the bar was decorated with records, and the sound system was just this old school record player and some speakers. They were playing some sort of esoteric — I don't know what the right word is, just not mainstream music. I ordered their Green State lager, which was delicious, and a huge burrito.

I texted S. a picture of the place to let her know that I’d made it to the brewery, and she was like, “Wait. Where are you? That doesn’t look like the place I found.” I told her it was Harvest Brewing, and she said, “What? I thought you were going to go to Madison Brewing Company.” It turned out that the brewery she’d found was 500 feet further down the road. I’d just been so fixated on getting some food and a beer that I literally just walked into the first brewery I saw.

So, big points to Bennington for having a brewery you can stop into on your way to the other brewery. After I finished my burrito, I popped over to Madison Brewing and tried a flight of their beers — and ordered some fried cheese curds. The place had a much more traditional brewpub type of setup. It was lovely. And they had an English strong ale called Old 76 that was very good.

After that, I was full and tired and ready to make my way back to the motel. Not so full, I guess, because I stopped into a convenience store for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s on the way. It was still sprinkling a little bit, but nothing major. Still, I’m definitely pleased to not be camping tonight. I had a nice chat with S., and soon, I’ll be going to bed. I'm looking forward to seeing my friend Jim. I'm going to spend Saturday and Sunday with him, and I’ll be back on the trail on Monday.

Wife note: This stuff is🔥.]