We left Bennington, VT, around noon. It only took us a few minutes of hitchhiking before Steve, a salesman on a cold call at the hospital, stopped to give us the 7-mile ride to the trailhead.
I enjoyed the walk, the sun peeking through the canopy, and the sense of accomplishment after plodding uphill. I sound like an old steam train getting ready to leave the station—a “choo” for each step up the hill.
I love how attentive Dennis is to me. Knowing I am sick does not mitigate his struggle, yet he waits for me on the climbs, helps me put on my backpack, and makes supper. I’ll be glad when I can do more of my share. As it is, it is all I can do to help set up the tent. The Hubba-Hubba two-person hiking tent is easy to put up and provides room for the two of us and our gear, which is nice when it is raining.
Near Split Rock, we met “Ruby,” a Canadian who is attempting to hike the LT in three weeks. At the Melville Nauheim Shelter, she nominated Dennis as mayor. He proposed raising taxes to build a water spigot near the shelter.
Dennis taught me how to purify the water using a Sawyer squeeze filter and how to light the camp stove. With these cold mountain streams, getting water is not always a pleasant task, but tonight, the water was cool and refreshing. I enjoyed soaking my feet in the bubbling waters while watching Dennis prepare the water for supper and tomorrow’s consumption. Unlike Cheryl Strayed’s experience in Wild, we have no water shortage. If we consume our two liters, we can easily find more.
I am grateful to Sue “Talks-A-Lot” from the Appalachian Trail Club of Florida and Dennis, who talked me into using hiking poles. I don’t think I could do this hike without them. I use them to climb, balance, and break falls. They have saved me innumerable times. I’m still not as proficient with them as the experienced long-distance hikers, but I am developing a stride.
During the night, I heard foxes, coyotes, prancing deer, and perhaps a fishercat. I have yet to see wildlife other than a toad.
