Tuesday we met Kenny, Foster and Teresa of the Appalachian Trail Club of Alabama in Lebanon, NH, as they prepared to hike Vermont over the next three weeks.
We had dinner at a really great little Irish pub in Lebanon (complete with a live group doing Celtic music at 7 pm on a Tuesday night.) It was a lot of fun catching up with Foster - it's been a long time since we had been able to visit. We spent the night at the Sunset Inn between Hanover and Lebanon. It's a very nice Mom & Pop establishment right on the Connecticut River. It's evidently a hiker stop. There was an AT log in a plastic box in the lobby. The lobby was full of all sorts of interesting books. It looked like a great place to spend a 0-mile day - in fact we met another section hiker who had exactly that idea. The host gave the "girls" the room on the river side. Tom and Foster had to settle for the room without a view but there was no noise from the guys room. Foster and Tom have almost identical C-PAP machines so there was no snoring contest.
The next morning after breakfast and some repacking, we dropped the three hikers off in downtown Hanover close to Dartmouth. The trail runs right through Hanover by the It had just started to sprinkle - the beginning of a five days of rain, rain and more rain. At least here in the western mountains of Maine, we have had day after day of rain. The rivers are filling up and folks are watching the rivers rise. We hope that Vermont wasn't quite as wet.
We left Kenny's truck at their next stopping place and headed back to Bethel. On the way, we stopped at the Long Trail Brewery between Killington and I-93. Very interesting place. I loved the "Blackbeary Wheat" summer brew. Probably the first lighter beer I have ever liked. I brought a six-pack back to Maine. We are headed back on Sunday to meet them again and help with the next shuttle - the plans include a night in a lean-to on the trail but I bet they will want some real food and a dry bed!
