Steve Labombard of Bennington VT has got to be our most consistent and conscientious reader. We don’t have relatives, much less total strangers, who have followed our ramblings as closely since the very early days of our pre-hike entries as he has. Steve was on the lookout for us with trail magic in the Bennington Gap, but we missed him as we passed through. Later, we heard from Kleenex we had missed him by about a half an hour at Mad Tom Notch (we were just a little too early!). We must admit we got the collective “big head” when we got an email from Steve confirming this fact! Which brings us to today…

Our initial plan had been to go only to the next shelter, but with our eagerness to get into Hanover, NH, and with the great weather forecast, we decided twelve miles wasn’t nearly enough today, and we would try to push on to West Hartford. We were first out of camp, a little ahead of the in-laws Rhino and Spiceman. The trail was mostly downhill (about 1,200′) to VT 12, and as we approached, the mist in the valley was very New England picturesque. At the road, we ran into Otto and Perch and their hiking friend Rambler who is joining them for a section, all of whom the local farmer had offered the use of his barn last night. Spiceman and Rhino arrived soon after, so we had quite a hiker gathering at this major road/trail crossing.

Still looking at a long day, we were the first to leave, where we discovered the 800′ climb up Dana Hill to be today’s version of yesterday’s sweat maker Mt. Quimby. Dana Hill was followed by several other shorter but equally steep climbs. Descending Totman Hill, we successfully avoided a knee-deep, shoe-sucking bog area Captain Guts had warned us about while at the shelter last evening. Southbounder intel is always appreciated! Speaking of SOBO’ers, after seeing none yesterday, we ran into a young thru hiker at Totman Hill. He said he had not seen another fellow southbounder in six days! Perhaps the southbound wave is coming to an end…

After another steep climb and two very nice open vistas (a new wrinkle for VT made possible by the open fields we’re now encountering), separated by a road through the woods with some of the nicest rock walls we’ve seen the whole trip, we came to Cloudland Road. Here X stayed with the packs while N went to explore the nearby Cloudland Market. This upscale family operation sells only Vermont products, and from its limited inventory, N was able to secure some meatballs made onsite from their own Angus beef and two Vermont sodas. Adding our own non-Vermont crackers, it made an elegant little lunch.

As we started the climb up Thistle Hill, we still had seven miles to go and once the energy from the meatballs ran out, we were feeling a little beat. But as we came down to the obscure gravel Joe Ranger Road, that all changed. First we saw a vehicle with an open hatch, then some coolers, then a small folding table, and then when the man said “I know you’re the Troverts!”, we knew it was Steve Labombard and his canine companion Tank.

Unbeknownst to us, we had missed Steve by less than five minutes at Woodstock Stage Road in our rush to start the next climb earlier this morning. However, Steve met the rest of our current bubble, who told him of our plans to reach West Hartford. After taking care of everyone else, Steve had packed up shop and moved to intercept us at Joe Ranger Rd. He plied us with sodas, homemade cake, and fresh fruit, while firing up his camp stove to make us Sloppy Joes. We were overwhelmed! His timing was perfect this time as we were much more in need of a break and a re-fueling here then at the previous near misses. It was great to finally meet Steve and we can’t thank him enough for the bounty he bestowed upon us. Only on the Appalachian Trail could this sort of thing happen…

Refortified, we zoomed the final three and a half miles into town where we are camped behind the Hartford Sign Company at Steve and Cathy’s. Their home and business (which the AT passes) was inundated by Hurricane Irene but is now back and better than ever. They welcome hikers to their backyard, and there are eight of us here tonight enjoying their hospitality. This has turned out to be one of our most memorable days on the trail.