Day 51 - The Red Carpet State (21/8/2016)

This morning I woke up determined to cover the 12 miles to Rutland in a reasonable amount of time. I set out with the goal of keeping 2 miles/hr including any rest time. It turns out that Vermont made this easy. Vermont is essentially a long, soft, red carpet.

The Red Carpet State

My only real delay was for some trail magic (hamburgers)!

Tonight I'm staying at the Yellow Deli & Hiker Hostel. Yellow Delis are run by the 12 Tribes, which is a religious community (read commune/cult). I'd hoped to spend more time finding out about them, but when you have to resupply and you've already lost a few days in Hanover, it's hard to fit some anthropology into your day. I did, however, have dinner at the deli, and I can say with certainty that they make amazing sandwiches and the fruit salad was impressive.

Also, despite being a commune, they are very welcoming and inclusive. Here's the label on the deli bathroom doors (note that they do segregate men and women in the hostel, which is unusual):

 And this card was in my "welcome basket" on my bed:

And everything hostel-related is by donation or work-for-stay.

So whatever else you might hear about them, they are genuine in their desire to support people.

Start: mile 475
End: US 4, near Killington
Distance: 13.4 miles