So I've now finished Vermont, and entered Massachusetts. Vermont started with beautiful gentle terrain, and descended into a muddy hellscape*. I had my rainiest experience there, but also my biggest miles. The people were the nicest, but also the craziest. Here's a list of conspiracies that featured in my interactions here:
- Contrails
- Fixed elections
- Bigfoot
And my personal favourite:
- Lyme disease is because of chemicals the government is putting in the water
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| Massachusetts from Vermont |
So far, Massachusetts has been like someone flipped a switch. The mud disappeared as soon as I crossed the line, to be replaced by piles of rock reminiscent of New Hampshire. Definitely the most abrupt change across state lines that I've experienced so far.
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| Vermont from Massachusetts |
My plan had been to get to North Adams as early as possible, get dinner and food resupply, then camp down. It turns out that most of the trail near town is in the watershed, so camping is prohibited. I camped down illegally about a mile in from the road. I found dinner and food, and then, under cover of darkness, I slinked back to my tent.
To the list of "hard things" I'll add "finding a bear hang in the dark".
My next stop will be Great Barrington, where friends will collect me for a weekend in NYC, and then some hiking in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
* hellscape might be an exaggeration
Start: VT 9
End: my secret lair
Distance: 17.5 miles
Another state down! Way to go!!
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