Gambit McCrae
09-18-2018, 12:39
I took the first half of September off from work to do my annual 2 week trip. Last Year was CT, NY, NJ and Northern PA and was a blast. I went with a best friend/ #1 Hiking buddy and we had the time of our lives. Averaged 18.25 MPD with very little problems and really set high expectations for future 2 week trips.
Fast forward a year, #1 hiking buddy has moved, changed careers and has only been able to hike 15 miles with me in 2018. Regardless of expectations or the lack of prep miles we have still talked up a 2 week trip consisting of Northern Mass and all of Vermont. #1 Hiking Buddy explained he only had 1 week of vacation to spare this year and told me to choose when he should use it for the 2 week trip. I told him to meet me half way thru the hike, that it would boost my morale and I assumed that northern Vermont would be much greater then anything in Mass.
So the game plan was to walk from Goose Pond Rd north for 2 weeks and end up in Hanover, NH - Hopefully having enough juice to push on into New Hampshire as far as time would allow.
I flew out solo and got on the trail after a late night pickup in Hartford, CT. Jesse in Sheffield is top notch and I would reference her to anyone needing help in the Sheffield area. A++
Week 1 - I have learned thru hard knocks that I do not like solo hiking. Day 1 Morale is always high. I started off with a 24 mile day to Tom Lavardi in Dalton, MA. Made some hiking friends going to Maine and could keep their pace. By day 4 I was so depressed and discouraged from going further solo that I was ready, as times in the past, to throw in the towel. Fortunately for me I have learned who to call and who to not call at home when discouraged on the trail. I called Ms Gambit, and I called my dad and after a quick pep talk they talked me into getting a room at the catamount Inn in Bennington. I had gone 65 miles in 3.5 days and my brain and body was not working properly any longer. I had had little to eat and felt like my body had taken all it cold without more support then I was giving it. I learned that this is my downfall. Expecting my body to work all day, while putting little to nothing back into it. I got to the inn and started downing liquids and ordered a large meat lovers and 1 lbs of chicken from Bennington Pizza. I ate all of that. I hit Glastenburry at 8am the next morning recharged and ready to hit it hard again. I made it from Bennington to Manchester Center in 2 days, pulling off a 26 the second day during the first phase of hurricane Florence.
Rutland is where I was to meet #1 Hiking buddy and I had arrived a day early, so I got a day of rest!
Week 2 - I awoke at midnight to my buddy poking me, he had finally made it from Albany airport and had arrived at the Green Mountain Hostel. We got to the trail at about 9am and began our hike heading up Bromley. Week 2 was disappointing for both of us. It was disappointing for my buddy because of the effort he had made to join me vs the payoff which we both agreed was very minimal. Lots and lots of up and down, with no views. As well, due to me being conditioned from hiking all year, and then hiking the week before as well as his expectations based on last year's daily miles we started out at 20 mile days which after 2.5 days had more or less really taken its toll on my buddy. We got up and over Killington just as Florence was hitting NE with Phase 2 of storms. We got to the Yellow Deli Hostel(Good Experience) and sat out that night of storms. In town I had a huge gourmet burger, large sweet potato fries, a big bowl of coleslaw and a 16oz ribeye and 1lbs of mashed potatoes....for 1 meal. After the storms we got back on the trail and continued north for the last leg(45 Miles) which proved to be a whole lot of up and down.
After 13 days of walking north we got to the VT/ NH bridge at 7:30 PM on Thursday night. I had 2 shots of Jack left in my trail bottle and I took a double at the bridge in celebration. The hopeful miles into New Hampshire never happened. After the 202 in 13 days we both wanted a break. We had taken no zeros in the past 6 days and I had only taken 1 zero in 13 days. We got a room at the Days inn across from Dartmouth Coach and laid around and drank beer for 2 days, just enjoying not having anything to do until work on Monday. Already as I have been home for 2 days, the trip has soaked in as being over, and another "Grand Adventure" but I have not and won't forget the downfalls of the trip. The heat wave in Mass, the mosquito's so thick they smeared black on the back of my arms, and the relentless up and down pud's of eastern Vermont.
Key Points of Interest and accolades:
Jesse of Sheffield: A+
Staying the Bunks on Mt Greylock: B-
The bunk house on Mt Greylock is $35 but is a hot stuffy room. In little to no way does the lodge really accommodate LDH's. Dinner was $40(I opted for my pasta side) Beers are $6 a piece. Piano playing at dinner along with wine tastings and orderves. Just a real yuppy place.
Green Mountain Hostel in Manchester Center, VT is the cleanest, nicest hostel I have been in thus far. Duffy runs that place like a naval ship and it pays off. Very nice, very clean, A++ rating to this place.
Yellow Deli Hostel: Community bunks, Free, not spectacularly clean but hey it was right in town and we appreciated it. B+
Hanover, NH: People planning to end their trip, OR zero in Hanover need to understand that this is a very yuppy little town with only 1 suitable accommodation for hikers- The Sunset Motor Lodge. <<It was sold out, so we ubered into White River for 2 nights, and then into Lebanon for the last night across the street from the Dartmouth Coach.
Dartmouth Coach bus ride from Lebanon to Boston Int airport (BOS): Key notes on this!!! Seats are actually first come first served even though you punch in what time you wanna take the bus. The $38 ticket I bought is good for 365 days after purchase. This station is also NOT in Hanover but 7-10 miles south in Lebanon, NH. So if you end your hike in Hanover expecting to take the "Hanover" bus to BOS, you need to plan ahead and have a taxi or uber ready to take you to the airport. Best case scenario for you is to get that ride the day before your flight leaves to the Days inn across the street from the bus station, and then walk over the next morning(we left at noon- about a 2.5 hour ride)
Vermont MUD!!! What a sham. I was completely let down by all the hype of Vermont MUD. I didn't feel like there was any more mud, roots or rocks than any other state. I do understand that in certain months of the year, Vermont has a mud season, but hiking it in September that was not a problem, even with some storms moving thru. My 26 mile day in the rain did prove to have some angry mud spots, but it wasn't like it was 26 miles of trudging thru non stop knee high mud bogs.
Wildlife: Day 1 was the big wildlife day - 1 porcupine and 3 bears in Mass. I also got to see a red tail hawk take a squirrel out of a treen right before the Vermont Mass state line, and I saw 2 owls. Saw lots of Moose droppings(6-8 piles total), heard a moose crashing thru the woods just south of Manchester Center, VT. And heard a moose calling all night at Little Rock Pond Shelter.
I must add>> I asked about cold weather gear prior to my trip and I was skeptical of the majority response which was on average: "Pack for late fall hiking".
I took middle of the road. Summer bag, drifit long sleeve and zipoff pants for camp. Light puffy. down beanie.
5 of the nights I was so hot I laid on top of my bag sweating.
3 nights I was comfortably cool(cold front) - Slept 1 night in my puffy but stayed warm.
2 nights were a medium of the other 2 but mainly warm.
Pack weight with 4 days of food, 16 oz of whiskey and 1 liter of water was probably around 21 lbs
4366443665
To be continued with more pictures...
Fast forward a year, #1 hiking buddy has moved, changed careers and has only been able to hike 15 miles with me in 2018. Regardless of expectations or the lack of prep miles we have still talked up a 2 week trip consisting of Northern Mass and all of Vermont. #1 Hiking Buddy explained he only had 1 week of vacation to spare this year and told me to choose when he should use it for the 2 week trip. I told him to meet me half way thru the hike, that it would boost my morale and I assumed that northern Vermont would be much greater then anything in Mass.
So the game plan was to walk from Goose Pond Rd north for 2 weeks and end up in Hanover, NH - Hopefully having enough juice to push on into New Hampshire as far as time would allow.
I flew out solo and got on the trail after a late night pickup in Hartford, CT. Jesse in Sheffield is top notch and I would reference her to anyone needing help in the Sheffield area. A++
Week 1 - I have learned thru hard knocks that I do not like solo hiking. Day 1 Morale is always high. I started off with a 24 mile day to Tom Lavardi in Dalton, MA. Made some hiking friends going to Maine and could keep their pace. By day 4 I was so depressed and discouraged from going further solo that I was ready, as times in the past, to throw in the towel. Fortunately for me I have learned who to call and who to not call at home when discouraged on the trail. I called Ms Gambit, and I called my dad and after a quick pep talk they talked me into getting a room at the catamount Inn in Bennington. I had gone 65 miles in 3.5 days and my brain and body was not working properly any longer. I had had little to eat and felt like my body had taken all it cold without more support then I was giving it. I learned that this is my downfall. Expecting my body to work all day, while putting little to nothing back into it. I got to the inn and started downing liquids and ordered a large meat lovers and 1 lbs of chicken from Bennington Pizza. I ate all of that. I hit Glastenburry at 8am the next morning recharged and ready to hit it hard again. I made it from Bennington to Manchester Center in 2 days, pulling off a 26 the second day during the first phase of hurricane Florence.
Rutland is where I was to meet #1 Hiking buddy and I had arrived a day early, so I got a day of rest!
Week 2 - I awoke at midnight to my buddy poking me, he had finally made it from Albany airport and had arrived at the Green Mountain Hostel. We got to the trail at about 9am and began our hike heading up Bromley. Week 2 was disappointing for both of us. It was disappointing for my buddy because of the effort he had made to join me vs the payoff which we both agreed was very minimal. Lots and lots of up and down, with no views. As well, due to me being conditioned from hiking all year, and then hiking the week before as well as his expectations based on last year's daily miles we started out at 20 mile days which after 2.5 days had more or less really taken its toll on my buddy. We got up and over Killington just as Florence was hitting NE with Phase 2 of storms. We got to the Yellow Deli Hostel(Good Experience) and sat out that night of storms. In town I had a huge gourmet burger, large sweet potato fries, a big bowl of coleslaw and a 16oz ribeye and 1lbs of mashed potatoes....for 1 meal. After the storms we got back on the trail and continued north for the last leg(45 Miles) which proved to be a whole lot of up and down.
After 13 days of walking north we got to the VT/ NH bridge at 7:30 PM on Thursday night. I had 2 shots of Jack left in my trail bottle and I took a double at the bridge in celebration. The hopeful miles into New Hampshire never happened. After the 202 in 13 days we both wanted a break. We had taken no zeros in the past 6 days and I had only taken 1 zero in 13 days. We got a room at the Days inn across from Dartmouth Coach and laid around and drank beer for 2 days, just enjoying not having anything to do until work on Monday. Already as I have been home for 2 days, the trip has soaked in as being over, and another "Grand Adventure" but I have not and won't forget the downfalls of the trip. The heat wave in Mass, the mosquito's so thick they smeared black on the back of my arms, and the relentless up and down pud's of eastern Vermont.
Key Points of Interest and accolades:
Jesse of Sheffield: A+
Staying the Bunks on Mt Greylock: B-
The bunk house on Mt Greylock is $35 but is a hot stuffy room. In little to no way does the lodge really accommodate LDH's. Dinner was $40(I opted for my pasta side) Beers are $6 a piece. Piano playing at dinner along with wine tastings and orderves. Just a real yuppy place.
Green Mountain Hostel in Manchester Center, VT is the cleanest, nicest hostel I have been in thus far. Duffy runs that place like a naval ship and it pays off. Very nice, very clean, A++ rating to this place.
Yellow Deli Hostel: Community bunks, Free, not spectacularly clean but hey it was right in town and we appreciated it. B+
Hanover, NH: People planning to end their trip, OR zero in Hanover need to understand that this is a very yuppy little town with only 1 suitable accommodation for hikers- The Sunset Motor Lodge. <<It was sold out, so we ubered into White River for 2 nights, and then into Lebanon for the last night across the street from the Dartmouth Coach.
Dartmouth Coach bus ride from Lebanon to Boston Int airport (BOS): Key notes on this!!! Seats are actually first come first served even though you punch in what time you wanna take the bus. The $38 ticket I bought is good for 365 days after purchase. This station is also NOT in Hanover but 7-10 miles south in Lebanon, NH. So if you end your hike in Hanover expecting to take the "Hanover" bus to BOS, you need to plan ahead and have a taxi or uber ready to take you to the airport. Best case scenario for you is to get that ride the day before your flight leaves to the Days inn across the street from the bus station, and then walk over the next morning(we left at noon- about a 2.5 hour ride)
Vermont MUD!!! What a sham. I was completely let down by all the hype of Vermont MUD. I didn't feel like there was any more mud, roots or rocks than any other state. I do understand that in certain months of the year, Vermont has a mud season, but hiking it in September that was not a problem, even with some storms moving thru. My 26 mile day in the rain did prove to have some angry mud spots, but it wasn't like it was 26 miles of trudging thru non stop knee high mud bogs.
Wildlife: Day 1 was the big wildlife day - 1 porcupine and 3 bears in Mass. I also got to see a red tail hawk take a squirrel out of a treen right before the Vermont Mass state line, and I saw 2 owls. Saw lots of Moose droppings(6-8 piles total), heard a moose crashing thru the woods just south of Manchester Center, VT. And heard a moose calling all night at Little Rock Pond Shelter.
I must add>> I asked about cold weather gear prior to my trip and I was skeptical of the majority response which was on average: "Pack for late fall hiking".
I took middle of the road. Summer bag, drifit long sleeve and zipoff pants for camp. Light puffy. down beanie.
5 of the nights I was so hot I laid on top of my bag sweating.
3 nights I was comfortably cool(cold front) - Slept 1 night in my puffy but stayed warm.
2 nights were a medium of the other 2 but mainly warm.
Pack weight with 4 days of food, 16 oz of whiskey and 1 liter of water was probably around 21 lbs
4366443665
To be continued with more pictures...