What a lovely breakfast we had this morning. I can’t say I ever eaten Breakfast Tacos, so this was a first. There were scrambled eggs, green tomatoes, green salsa, cheese and cilantro. The Chef made muffins with green tomatoes and cheese. It was scrumptious. We all piled into the Van and Mosie drove us back to the trail by 9am.

Blue and I took off with Mary Poppins but she is a bit faster than us. We told her we’d meet up for lunch at the River Crossing. The morning was perfect for a good climb. The ground was moist but not too muddy from yesterday and last nights rain. We had a grassy knoll that had views of the Vermont Farms, where Blue and I considered hiking yesterday. I’m glad we stayed in the Treehouse and Norman thoroughly enjoyed his stay!

About five miles up and over, we arrived to Barnard Brook. There was a cable that was strung across the river, giving hikers something to hold on to as they cross the river. I waded with my shoes on and it was shin deep. Blue headed up the creek, not wanting to get her shoes wet, and was able to stay a bit drier. We stopped and had lunch with Mary Poppins, and talked about the rest of our days hike.

There was a lot of climbing today and the only thing I can think about, is this is our preparation for what’s to come. Besides it being hot and humid, we had no rain for most of the day. Vermont is getting prettier the farther north we get. Today we went through forests and then we’d open up to fields of grass with wildflowers everywhere. There were quite a few private property’s that we skirted with signs asking hikers to adhere to the trail. It was a picturesque day indeed.

Around 2pm, I found our first raspberry field of the day. The first patch was smaller but the further north we went today, we had fields of raspberries. Blue and I needed buckets to collect as many as possible, but we also needed to get some miles completed. We ate and walked, ate more berries and walked a bit more. Such a great snack after lunch of Beef Jerky and Potato Chips.

Today was a gorgeous day and truly showed the diverse nature of this region. The tall lodge pines reached the sky. Some were 250-300’ high, then there were alders that were older than Moses, with field of grasses filled with ticks, not so good. Each time we exited the grasses, Blue and I would search for ticks. We found a few and would squash them and move along.

Around 4pm, we stopped for a snack. We both were a sweaty mess and needed to replace some sodium. We found a good log to sit upon and proceeded to finish my bag of potato chips. Then we moved on to Seaweed. I’ve found that my body tells me what I need and today it required lots of sodium. It started raining, which was fine with both of us. It actually cooled us down a bit. This rain didn’t last but a few minutes. We finished our high salt intake and now up, to end our days work.

With only two miles to go, and mostly downhill, we scooted through the mostly forested area. There were a few gullies with ferns, standing water from the last couple of storms, and the earth smelled so good. I found tons of mushrooms today. Big ones, tiny ones, groups of shrooms growing on dead tress. We found a clean water source and filled up. Tap water taste terrible after days of fresh running creeks and springs.

Around 6pm, we arrived in West Hanover, which is a small town with four villages. It was hit hard by Hurricane Irene in 2011 and close to 3000 families lost their homes. Much of the area hasn’t rebuilt but the heart of the town is Linda. She has the Blue Barn and houses hikers on her property. When we arrived, there were no less than 12 tents pitched in her backyard.

Linda was in the front porch celebrating her 37th Anniversary with her husband. The three daughters and friends were there, having a great time. Linda offered us a soda and told us to pitch our tent anywhere that there was high ground. When it rains, her yard floods. Good to know. We found a high spot and went to work building our homes for the night. Afterwards Blue went to the river to cleanup and I started talking with Mary Poppins.

Vermont is growing on me, just as I am ready to leave. It’s diverse beauty is in the terrain, the countless ecosystems and the people I’ve met along the way. Vermonter’s as they call themselves are hardy, they have roots and typically stay for generations. Linda is third generation so she’s a local. Her Grandpa moved here from Scotland when he was three years old. Linda’s Dad is one of nine and he was the guy that repaired everyone’s tractors in the area. There is not a soul in town that doesn’t knows him! And Linda, she has remained in West Hanover and loves hikers. These are your typical Vermonters, strong, know who they are and what they stand for. They are a wonderful and inviting community of people.

As I close up another state, I am so grateful for my family and friends. I’m a Californian, born and raised. I have no intentions of leaving but I love exploring other areas. Tomorrow Blue and I will be entering New Hampshire. That will be a new state, with only Maine left. Hard to believe that I have walked this far. With God’s blessing, I will be on my path for Mt. Katadrin by next month. But now, I’ll keep trekking, one step in front of the other, one day at a time.