A fantastic morning, the weather was cool but not cold, the sky was overcast but not raining, and the trail was interesting but not challenging. We were on a mission to get up early, pack quickly, and make it into town early to relax. With only 10 miles to cover we made good time and only stopped for one short break at a scenic overlook. We had a pretty easy time getting a ride into town and immediately started taking advantage of being back in civilization yet again. There were visits to McDonalds, a couple of outfitters where Landon and Miranda both got new shoes, and Landon got a new warmer sleeping bag. We ended up at Ben and Jerry’s where Landon dropped $40 on The Vermonster – a ridiculous concoction of 20 scoops of ice cream paired with heaps of nuts, brownies, waffle cones, sprinkles, whipped cream, about four bananas and whatever else they had to throw in the bucket. He wanted to try to eat it by himself but of course didn’t really come close. The more sane among us went for a mere banana split with a total of three scoops of ice cream.
When we were done there we got picked up by Jeff from the Green Mountain House, a hostel just outside town. Turns out this place is amazing. Possibly the best hostel on the trail, only Elmer’s way back in Hot Springs may still be able to compete for that title. For $25 we get real beds, a pint of ben and jerries, free soda, a decently equipped kitchen with things like milk, pancakes, eggs, etc. There’s a computer, a flatscreen TV with a DVD player and video library, WIFI, and the whole place is as clean as your grandmother’s house. We watched Zero Dark Thirty, and were enjoying the place enough that we decided to take a zero day here tomorrow.