Vermont Vindication and Other Observations

As we advance to the Granite State, we cannot help but feel excited as we have but two States left in this long adventure.  Sloshing out of Vermont was something we looked forward to for quite a while but in some respects, I, for one, am sad to see it in the rear view.  

Vindication for Vermont

Rough Start

Miles of Mud – Ma Wampus prepares to do some rock hopping

Day 1 in Vermont involved a huge rainstorm, which continued through our third day.  To complicate matters, the people using the trail had significantly increased.  Northbound and Southbound thru-hikers, the day hikers, and those completing the 200+ mile Long Trail, were all on the trail.  

Slick rocks are slow going

These groups all competed for the same resources, like shelters.  If you were not at a shelter by 4 PM, you would be tenting in the rain.  In addition, many of the Long Trailers were new to Thru Hiking and were unfamiliar with basic things, like shelter etiquette.  No, you should not set up your 4 man tent in the shelter.  No, placing your sleeping bag diagonally in the shelter is not good practice. No, you should not walk around in the shelter with your muddy boots.  Wet and cold AT Hikers are not always good at advising either.  One Long Trailer decided he could sleep with his food instead of using a bear box.  An AT Hiker told him it was true, but he should use the food as a pillow.  I raised my eyebrows and the AT Hiker whispered my way, “Seems less painful this way.”  

My hiking day was being cut short.  The trail was mud, wet rocks, and slick roots – miles of it.  It took every bit of concentration to ensure you stayed on your feet, and that those feet remained somewhat dry.  Most of us were only partially successful.  I really disliked Vermont – I just wanted out.  

Less than successful keeping upright and dry

How are we supposed to do that?????

Attitude Changing

Little Rock Pond

I am unsure how my opinion slowly morphed.  Perhaps it was the Moose Crossing signs on the roadway, the cascading falls found on the muddy trail, or clear alpine lakes.  It might have been the waitress that laughed at me when I told her every Wal-Mart in the South sold maple syrup (I was sooooo wrong).  Maybe it was the warming hut left open by the ski patrol on Bromley Mountain.  Sitting in an enclosed building with a clothes dryer watching the rain pelting down on something other than you always warms the spirits.  It may have been snacking on Killington Peak, sitting in an Adirondack chair overlooking an amazing valley while the working ski gondola behind us promised hot food below.  It could have been the Inn at the Long Trail – Vermonters placed an Irish pub right off the AT!  

Sunrise on Bromley Mountain

Bromley Ski Lanes

I know for sure when it changed though.  Walking in the muck, in sheets of rain, I could see what I thought was a hiker ahead standing ankle deep in mud.  All of a sudden he swings what I thought was a large stick right into the mud with a big splash.  Clearly, the water and muck had finally driven this poor soul off sanity’s edge.  

I rock hopped through the muck to see if I could render some aid or at least a kind word, then I saw the shoulder patch.  It was a trail maintainer, and the stick was actually a hoe.  He was draining the trail, one little section at a time, in the pouring rain.  It was a quixotic response that any person who has ever been on the other side of Mother Nature could immediately understand.  I just started laughing.  The trail maintainer looked up and started laughing too.  Two madmen laughing in the rain.  Perfect.  

The Vermont trail was difficult but beautiful.  One can scarcely read any blog and not hear of the mud, but you will also hear of the beauty – of the landscape and the people.  Not all are convinced – Ma Wampus is definitely looking forward to New Hampshire.  

Other Observations

During our foray through Vermont, we sloshed through a ghost town called Aldrichville. This lumber center had multiple buildings, a thriving community of French and English speakers whose neighborhoods were separated by a brook.  The brook is still there but all evidence of the mill, the town, and the field where the baseball team played are all but gone.  

Aldrichville

We also came across a couple of stories from our fight for independence that centered around Vermont.  The first involves a regional hero and the other an enemy that unwittingly contributed to part of the cultural quilt of America.   

007 Frontier Style

1777 Rutland VT – 3 miles from the AT.  Ann Story was a frontier woman and widow who lived in the Vermont wilderness during the revolutionary war.   She raised  five children, two of whom joined the Green Mountain Boys, a local militia well known for its war exploits.  Ann provided information, housing, and other resources to the patriot cause.  These efforts resulted in her home being burned by British aligned Iroquois.  Ann hid, but was found by Tories, including one particular viscous sort named Ezekiel Jenny.  Jenny held a gun to Ann’s head demanding to know information on the Green Mountain Boys.  Hearing the click of the gun’s hammer, Ann boldly refused, instead insulting Jenny.  Killing a widow of small children was a bit much for even Jenny, so he left.  

Ann wasted no time.  She ripped a page out of the family bible and gave it to her juvenile son who ran it to Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys.  The page was code, a signal that the British were in the area.  The Boys mobilized immediately resulting in the capture of all of the Tories.  

POWs and Christmas Trees

A Quick and Easy Job

1777 Vermont – 9 miles from the AT.  General Friedrich Riedesel led the Hessian forces during the War for Independence.  His superior, the Duke of Brunswick, had made a deal with British King George to help put down the rebellion in the American colonies by initially supplying a little over 4000 soldiers.  The Duke was told the conflict would last a year at most.  

Riedesel found his situation problematic.  The British generals were not united in action.  The US militia, particularly the Green Mountain Boys, were very aggressive and well led.  Riedesel shared his concerns with his Duke – this conflict will last much longer than one year.  

Not Quite So Easy

Riedesel’s insight proved solid.  At Hubbardton VT, the Green Mountain Boys led a rearguard action against a combined British and Hessian force.  This action should have been an easy win, but it almost ended in an American victory, and would have been, had it not been for Riedesel’s arrival.  At Bennington VT, the American militia prevailed, capturing hundreds of regular crown soldiers and Hessians.  

These small engagements slowly stripped British General Burgoyne of troops.  When the Americans attacked at Saratoga, Burgoyne had lost his Iroquois allies and hundreds of soldiers.  British Generals Howe and Clinton were tied down as well, holding on to territory, and were unable to assist.  The unthinkable then occurred – an entire British army was captured, including Riedesel and his forces.  This British defeat resulted in the French joining the war, which changed everything.  

POWs or Immigrants

Hessian prisoners of war were marched first to Virginia but later to Frederick Maryland, where something strange occurred.  Frederick was inhabited by Americans of German descent.  In addition, the Duke did not abandon his captured troops – he continued to pay them, so the POWs had disposable income.  American militia guards were replaced with kids and the POWs were allowed to come and go – so they could shop.  Within a short period of time, the POWs started mixing with the local population.  After the war, many of these men stayed.  The US Park Service research indicates hundreds of thousands of Americans can trace their lineage to these POWs.  

Christmas Tradition

Riedesel was exchanged for an American general.  He was then placed in Canada, as a sort of governor.  Around Christmas, he did a strange thing, never seen before in the North American continent: he put lights on a fir and lit it – the first public Christmas Tree lighting!  

Shoutouts

Thank you “Bonus Cheese” for the egg sandwich before tackling the Bennington Gap, and to “Spirit” for the fried chicken and cold soda – it was awesome!  Thank you Billy Mitchell for your continued support – your grill is simply magic whether it’s going in GA or in ME.  Your hiker box saved the day!  Finally, thanks to the folks leaving the water and soda caches – much appreciated on those long hauls.