The Yellow Deli, Rutland, and the 4th of July

The Yellow Deli

The Yellow Deli is, as it sounds, a deli. But it is also much more than that. It is famous amongst AT thru-hikers because of its reputation for delicious food, the hostel space attached to the deli which is donation based (allowing those of us with tighter budgets to still experience a great place to stay), and lastly, because it is run by a religious organization known as The Twelve Tribes, which some organizations have classified as a cult.

I was initially hesitant to go to the Yellow Deli, unsure of what an experience staying with a “cult” would look like. But alas, I am a sucker for new experiences, and most importantly, I had found a group of hikers that all wanted to go there at the same time (for the Fourth of July), so I felt safe.

The Yellow Deli is in Rutland, VT, and getting there is actually quite simple for thru-hikers thanks to the commuter bus: TheBus.com. The Bus runs around various towns in the area and most importantly, it will shuttle thru-hikers for free.

So, after I climbed down off Mount Killington, I got to the highway and waited for the bus to come by. Forty-five minutes later and I saw it appear on the horizon. I grabbed my stuff and waved to it frantically, hoping it would not speed past me. It pulled over and a friendly bus driver waved me inside an air-conditioned bus (which I was grateful for) and asked my destination before heading off to the bus stop in Rutland, which is literally just around the corner from the Yellow Deli.

Thoughts/Impressions/Experiences of The Yellow Deli:

• The building is adorable. From the outside, a friendly sunflower with the deli name hangs above a wooden door and music you would expect to hear at a renaissance fair plays softly from speakers.

• Upon entering, a friendly man behind the counter asked if I was a thru-hiker (as if the smell coming from my clothes and the dirt and grim covering my body did not make it obvious enough). He then produced a large, ice cold glass of hibiscus yerba-mate tea for me to have, on the house. BUT, since one should never “drink the kool-aid” when visiting your local cult, I declined…. JUST KIDDING! I gulped that tea down and asked for a second, it was delicious!!!

• A woman then walked me next door (the hostel) and showed me a hiker specific code that would get me in and out of the hostel, and brought me to the second story which was a women’s-only floor. There, they had a kitchen, showers, and laundry, all for us to use!!
• Lastly, I found on my bed a sweet note welcoming me to The Yellow Deli, and a basket of snacks (including the best homemade mint-chocolate chip cookie I have ever eaten in my life).
• The floor below the women’s floor housed visiting men, and the co-ed common room, where a mini fridge held drinks and snacks
• The hostel is also kitty-corner to a Walmart and dollar store!
• I initially planned to only stay there one night, but I loved the hostel so much I stayed for two nights.
• The people of the Yellow Deli were extremely kind and wanted to help us thru-hikers. Just look at HOW MUCH ICE THEY GAVE ME when I asked to have some for my knees. Also, the morning I left, they gave me a yerba mate + peanut butter synergy bar that was delicious (as all their food was)

• The Yellow Deli offers a free hiker breakfast in the morning in the deli, and if you want to join, you can go with the members of the Twelve Tribes to a separate house where they have a large communal dinner.

• Overall, I highly recommend staying here. The hostel was extremely clean and well organized, and it is maybe the nicest hostel (especially when taking into account that it is donation-based) that I have stayed at as of yet!

Fourth of July

As I wrote before, the initial reason for going into town was the 4th of July. A ton of hikers showed up, to name some there was Shorts, Trudge, Cali Roll, GORP, Hambone, Mary Poppins (MP), Crushing It, Lighthouse, Ultra, and more! The sad part was that because it was the 4th of July, many of the local food joints were closed. To make up for this, a group of us bought food supplies and fireworks from Walmart, and went to a section of town that we were told it would be okay for us to celebrate and set these off (no big exploding fireworks, mainly sparklers and colored smoke). We ended the night in the hostel common room playing go-fish 🙂

The next day, most of us decided to zero and even more hikers showed up. This led to a spontaneous decision to rally the troops to go to a nearby brewery. Once there, one of my friends, a guy named Shorts, offered to buy a round for everyone (Trail Magic!). Sadly, that specific brewery was not very hiker friendly (or, at least, they were not receptive to a large group of folks who wanted to sit together), and so we left and went to a nearby bar where there was live music and we danced and sang until the night ended.