We came, we played trivia, we kicked some butt

Pancho and I were victorious at trivia night tonight, at Bentley's in Woodstock, VT. We had some crucial assistance from Amy Hanson, on some recent movie questions that put us over the top. Won some Sam Adams glasses and tap pull for the bar at home!
We're back out on the trail tomorrow after our extended stay at the Hanson' place in Quechee. We are the house guests that never leave.... But Pancho's leg is much better and we are unbelievably grateful for being able to stay here this week. MANY thanks to all the Hansons!

The Continuing Saga of Pancho vs. the Pox

And that's exactly what it looks like. If you don't want to see the pox, stop scrolling, because we did decide to document our latest trip to the ER in photographs. You know it's bad when medical professionals walk by and go "ewwww...what IS that?!"

Mother Nature 1, Pancho 0

Spending an accidental zero here in Hanover at the ER. Pancho had a close encounter with poison sumac and his leg has exploded into an oozing, infected mess. We are taking an unplanned three day break, to let him get the problem under control. Good times!

Overwhelmed by cuteness

Vermont has some appallingly cute little towns. Not to mention some damn fine cheeses and local beers. We have enjoyed all of these things in quantity this last week, mostly due to the amazing hospitality of my friend Heather, who I haven't seen in ages. Not only did she put us up at her family's beautiful place in Quechee (appallingly cute), she slackpacked us from Killington to Hanover, NH, during some unusually, brutally hot weather. And, today is her birthday! So, happy birthday, H, and thanks for a fabulous week!

After a dip in the river, West Hartford, VT.

VT pine forest.

With Heather and the boys.

Pancho's Theorems of AT Travel

So Pancho has developed a number of theorems concerning the layout of the trail, I suspect to take his mind off how much he hates hiking :).

Theorem 1:
When in doubt, the trail always goes up.

Theorem 2:
After crossing a road, the trail always goes up.

Theorem 3:
When approaching a shelter (or town or anything even remotely desirable), the trail always goes to shit.

Yesterday, we found this lovely expression of Theorem 1:

Best. Hitch. Ever.

After a couple of days slogging through the Vermont mud, constantly swatting away the black flies (surprisingly, not nearly as bad as the Massquitoes) and peeling slugs off of everything we own, we decided to spend a night in Manchester Center. We had heard great things about the Green Mountain House, a hostel in town. Jeff at the hostel told us to hitch into town, eat/shop/etc., then call when we were ready to come to the hostel. So Eric sends me out to the roadside to hitch—yes, it’s totally pimping me out for transportation. Hitching can really create some rejection issues. I stood there for a while with cars whipping by, getting no love at all. Then this big, old-school woody bus comes over the hill, like a lot of places use for tours. I thought “what the hell,” and threw out my thumb.

Next thing we know, we’re climbing in the Magic Bus with the Bridgewater Boys, complete with love seat, barcalounger, and beer coolers in back. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and drinking beer with these great guys in Manchester. Then on for a great evening with Jeff at the Green Mountain House, a really terrific hiker stop.

The Magic Bus and crew.

We lucked out with another awesome hitch a few days later, when we decided to head down the mountain into Danby, VT to dry out after a very soggy night and morning. Walking along a very isolated gravel road in the pouring rain, we got a ride from Trey and Julie, who are just moving from Smyrna to Tallahassee. They squeezed us into a jam-packed car with their two dogs and drove us into town. Amazing!

A little uphill skiing, Bromley Mt., VT.

Bromley Mt. observation tower.

So it’s not quite the Promised Land….

I’ll readily admit to being one of those people whose experience of New Jersey was limited to the turnpike. So I was a bit surprised to discover that beyond the highway, Jersey is a honking big swamp. With vampire bats cleverly disguised as mosquitoes, who enjoy a little DEET aperitif before they suck the life right out of you.
Here are some pix to catch up from the last, image-free post:

Coming across the Knife Edge (PA). Just before Pancho
snapped one of his hiking poles.

Looking down into the Lehigh Valley.

Crawling up Lehigh Gap.

Filbert BnB, Danielsville, PA. A great old house, run by
Kathy, who really takes great care of the hikers who come through.

The old general store inside the Filbert, really perfectly preserved.

Our buddy Brew-ha, from Alpharetta, outside the Eckville shelter in PA.

Deerhead Inn, Delaware Water Gap, PA, home to a
pretty amazing little jazz bar.

The first bait vending machine I've seen, in Delaware Water Gap.
According to Beanpole, from Alabama, these are not uncommon.
I have a number of logistical questions about the operation of these
machines, most of which really creep me out. 

A bit of trail arcana for y’all: the most bear intensive areas on the AT are the Smokies, Shenandoah (where we had 2 encounters, without actually seeing the bears), and—yep, you guessed it—New Jersey. Within the first 10 miles in Jersey, I look up and spot two big black heads in the brush, about 20 feet away. After I snap a couple of photos, a third casually walks by us, across the trail. Love that we had to come all the way to New Jersey to see the most bears….

Bear, NJ.

Barcaloungers, AT-style. PA.

We also stayed at our favorite place so far in Glenwood, NJ—the Glenwood Mill BnB. Sue and her husband did a wonderful restoration of a 206-year old grist mill, and she takes great care of the hikers coming through town. Check them out online, and stop in if you’re in the neighborhood. Leaving Glenwood, we hit one of the really unique sections of the trail—a boardwalk running through a marsh and over a cool wood suspension bridge.

Glenwood Mill BnB, NJ.

We headed from Glenwood to Greenwood Lake, NY, a neat little vacation town on a beautiful lake. Just as we approached the NY state line, atop a ridge, we got a parting gift from NJ. I glanced up, and right in the middle of the trail was a huge bear. We looked at each other and he ambled into the bushes and sat there, about 10 feet away, watching as we passed by. In Greenwood Lake, we stayed at another awesome place, Anton’s on the Lake. The Anton family—Patricia, Robert, and Matt—are some of the most hiker-friendly folks we’ve met. They slackpacked us for a day, drove us around town even though they’re in the midst of a major renovation, and were generally fantastic.

Heading out onto the boardwalk, Glenwood, NJ.

Boardwalk suspension bridge, NJ.

After Greenwood Lake, we descended into the Hudson Valley. It was one of those days, when both of us felt awful at the same time, just not feeling strong and energized. We ended up staying at the Bear Mountain Bridge Motel, a cute old-school motor lodge in Fort Montgomery, NY. The next morning, we crossed the river on the Bear Mountain Bridge, with some pretty amazing views of the Hudson.

Approach to Bear Mountain Bridge, NY.

Originally, we planned to head into NYC for a couple of days, from the AT railroad stop near Pawling, NY. Since we’ve fallen a bit behind schedule, we changed that plan. Instead, we ended up at the Dutchess Motor Lodge in Wingdale, NY, former home of a massive psychiatric hospital (which conducted human experiments according to Wiki). Though the lodging was a touch sketchy, we did have some damn fine Q in Wingdale, much to my surprise, at Big W’s Roadside. I was originally suspicious of pulled pork served by anyone with a heavy NY accent, but they had a pit running in the yard, and served some awesome smoked meats and mac-n-cheese.

Nothing too eventful in Connecticut, though I did put on a show for some dayhikers. Late in the day—around 7, when I thought only other thruhikers would be out and about—I headed to the stream for a little wash. So I’m standing on a rock, in the middle of a rushing brook, wearing only my purple Patagonia panties and a pair of Keens, when a happy little dayhiker couple appear. Guess they weren’t prepared for what goes on in the woods late in the day…. For all I know, I’ve already gone viral. J After we blew through the 52 miles of Connecticut, we were back among the Massholes. And discovered that Mass is an even bigger, more mosquito-infested swamp from hell than New Jersey. I have been marinating myself in DEET since we crossed the state line, and I still feel besieged by the blood-sucking bastards. We also learned that Massachusetts needs to take some lessons in boardwalk construction from New Jersey. It’s like being in a funhouse, with the walkways tilting every which way, some totally underwater, in some truly nasty, stinky swamp muck. It’s also challenging to eat when there is a swarm of 15-20 mosquitoes flying around your face and into your mouth. Ick. Really? How bad will the side effects of spraying the DEET on my face be?

Definitely had some more bear action here in the Bay State. A couple of nights ago, some guys at our campsite had seen a bear in camp the night before. Then I headed to the stream in the morning, and saw a cub taking off through the brush. Oy. Filled the water bottles and hightailed it back to camp. NEVER good to see the baby when you don’t know where mama is…. After we hit the trail that morning, we saw some very large tracks in the mud.

At the moment, I’m blogging under the influence, in the bar at Applebee’s in Pittsfield, MA. We’re taking our first zero since Delaware Water Gap in Dalton, but had to take the bus to Pittsfield to hit the Walmart. And the Applebee’s was too tempting to pass up—a scary statement, but too true.

Tomorrow morning, we head to the top of Massachusetts, planning to stay at the lodge atop Mount Greylock. Then we have a tough week, heading into Vermont and up in elevation. Hopefully, we won’t have such a long break before our next post, and the delay hasn’t sent y’all looking for more interesting online pursuits.