May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
- Bob Dylan
As I was ascending Bamforth Ridge, just inside Camel's Hump State Park, I came to an overlook with a bench. It's not very often you find a bench in the middle of the woods... so naturally, I took a seat to catch my breath. On the bench was a plaque dedicated to a fellow named John "Nutsy" Notte. No mention of why the plaque was there... just his name, his age, "in memory of." And a famous lyric by Bob Dylan.
I love that song.
This past week has been pretty great overall. It started off with me leaving Waterbury after a day of rest in the Best Western. I lounged in my room and watched too many Halloween specials on TV. I tried to catch a ride for about half an hour as I walked from the Best Western to a busier intersection. Nobody was stopping. Well, except for the people at the stop sign I was standing next to. They stopped. And gave me dirty looks as they rolled on by.
Alrighty then! I thought a break was in order and walked a little further down the street to a pizza joint. Had myself a nice little pizza and some soda and hit the street again. And again, NOBODY was stopping. What the heck? I was even somewhat clean-looking at this point AND in a perfect spot for someone to pull over.
Thirty more minutes... No one.
Well, I might as well start walking the 8 miles back to trail. Someone will surely get me along the way (and hopefully soon!).
Three miles later I arrive at a little outfitter alongside the road. I didn't really need anything, but again, I thought I could give my thumb a break for a bit. The lady inside was really nice (despite not being able to give me a ride, haha), and I enjoyed conversing with her for a bit.
Back to the road.
However, this time the hitchhiking gods were smiling upon me. Stuck my thumb out, and right away a car pulls over in front of me. I scurry towards the passenger window as the driver scrambles to clear his front seat of books, papers, food and cassette tapes.
"Hey! I'm trying to get back to the Long Trail."
"Yeah, yeah. Get in!"
Haha, this guy is already unintentionally making me laugh. I step into the car with my pack crammed in front of me. He's listening to NPR.
"Here, you want some bread? It's fresh! I just picked it up." He hands me a massive loaf of bread.
"Sure! I love bread!"
The next 10 minutes were awesome.
This guy was a Cuban American who moved to Vermont twenty years ago or something like that. The only things we talked about on the way to the trail were lingual dialects and porcupines.
Like I said, it was awesome.
He dropped me off and wished me luck as I thanked him again for the bread and the ride. It had been raining all morning while I was still at the hotel, but now the sun was out and blue skies complimented the green farmland surrounding me.
It was a good way to start the next leg of my journey.
As the days went on, it warmed up a bit, then it got extremely cold again (with highs in the 20s), then proceeded to warm up again with some rainstorms. This morning was my wettest yet. Hiked about 6 miles to get to the next road crossing in a complete downpour. With the wind, it was downright miserable.
But you just gotta keep walking. It's all part of the package, I guess you could say. And the miserable days definitely make you appreciate every little luxury we spoil ourselves with in town. I nearly jumped for joy when I found a DRY towel to wipe my face with. It's not much fun (nor very effective) to dry off with a wet towel. #TheMoreYouKnow
Another thing I have learned while being on this hike... LOOK WHERE YOU'RE GOING. I was trekking along the other day, moving at a decently fast pace, when all of a sudden — BLAMM! I walked right into a tree.
What the...??
Seriously, how did I not see this giant horizontal tree laying across the trail right at eye level? It's pretty obvious that when you hike you have to look where you're going (it helps, at least)... but while concentrating on the rocks and roots and mud and ice, you often neglect anything above the waste. It's a trail! Of course I don't need to look up — BLAMM. That's when you walk into a tree. #TheMoreYouKnow
So yeah, it's been a great week overall. Despite some of the miserableness that comes with a long distance hike, the views have been breathtaking, the woods have been peaceful, and the [few] people I've encountered have been heartwarming.
I'm now over half way through the Long Trail, and it's southwards from then on! Quebec to Georgia. Man... We'll see little ManCub. We'll see.
PS, did you know Quebec's abbreviation is QC? And they speak French there! Vermont basically borders France. Think about that. #TheMoreYouKnow
