WELCOME TO VERMUD

Hi all from an unplanned stop in Bennington, Vermont. 11 states down, only three left - of course these are three of the hardest states. Vermont isn't normally regarded as an ultra tough state, but this year it is. One word: MUD.

It rained every day I was in Massachusetts, but the trail there is newer and better made, so only small mud puddles exist. However, as soon as you cross the border into Vermont, the AT joins the Long Trail - the world's first long-distance hiking trail. The Long Trail runs from the Massachusetts line to Canada's border, and is a decade or so older than the AT. The AT shares 97 miles of it through southern Vermont before turning east to New Hampshire. As an older trail, the Long Trail doesn't have modern techniques to drain water from the trail and often times the trail itself becomes the drainage path for heavy rains. The trail is now a giant string of mud puddles in flat areas, and you walk through cascades of water on the inclines.

And rain there is. I saw on TV that Vermont usually gets 1.3 inches of rain in the first half of August, but has received 5.8 inches so far. Funny, I've heard there's a drought now affecting Virginia.

The hiking takes on a totally different aspect in these conditions, and the 17 miles I did yesterday were spent doing a continuous rock-hop and slog through ankle-deep mud and water. Its truly exhausting, and more than a little treacherous. At one point, the trail walks across a boardwalk on the side of a marsh, but the water is so high, the boardwalk was submerged under 8 inches of water. I took my boots off and did that part barefoot, but any effort to keep dry was truly pointless. Within a half-mile of starting, my boots and socks were soaked and by the end of the day, my feet were shriveled prunes. And you can imagine the smell this might produce.

None of us expected these conditions and all of a sudden, the normally skip-able town of Bennington has become filled with northbounders who are a bit shocked. Thankfully, this is one of the few towns in New England with reasonably-priced motels, and a group of friends and I split a room last night. Today was thankfully sunny and there were tents and bags and clothes and socks and boots drying all over the lawn of the motel today. Hopefully the trail has dried out a bit today - no one is in a big hurry to get back out there.

Its funny. For the last few weeks, most of us have noticed that the southbounders we come across are pretty dour people - very serious and quiet and not very joyful and social like the NOBOs tend to be. We just figured the SOBOs are a more independent type, but now we understand why - they've been walking in this rain and mud for 600 miles. One guy told me that in Maine they walked through knee-deep muck for four miles at one point, with no possible way around.

Already, a few NOBOs have called it quits. I know I've had thoughts of doing the same if the weather keeps up like this. For four months, I've been really looking forward to Vermont and northern New England, but this is not how I wished to see this part of the trail. But its a challenge to rise to, and I keep hope that conditions will improve soon.

Come on sunshine!