If the trail ahead resembled yesterday’s stretch, there wouldn’t be any suitable places to stop for 7.5 km. So we ate breakfast at Tillotson Camp before heading out. I walked for 30 minutes, stopped and waited for my friends to catch up. Once we had all reached the meeting spot and rested, we would start again. We were gradually gaining our trail legs, but the conditions made for slow progress.
On the descent off Haystack Mountain, Rob lost his footing on a steep rock wall and slid about 3 metres into boulders, bruising his thigh. When he reached our meeting spot and we learned what had happened, we quickly reassessed our plans and decided to exit at the next road. We reached road 58 at Hazen’s Notch and considered our options. We had no phone service in this valley and the trail map only gave a limited view of our broader location. Mark and I walked west on Road 58 towards Montgomery Centre. With some luck, we would be able to hitchhike a ride into town and from there, arrange a ride to Jeffersonville to retrieve our vehicle. Mark and I made it most of the 8 km to Montgomery Centre on foot when a car pulled up behind us to offer a ride.
Ilene picked up George and Rob who started hitchhiking about 30 minutes after Mark and I set out. She stopped behind Mark and I, and took the four of the us the rest of the way to Montgomery Centre. She laughed as we slowly removed ourselves from her small car saying we reminded her of a car full of clowns at the circus.
Ilene
Ilene lives in Vermont but is originally from New York State. She said her family gives her a hard time for picking up hitchhikers, but she remembers what it is like being a hiker. We were not her first group of hikers to need a ride and we won’t be her last.
I stopped into four businesses on the main street of Montgomery Centre, looking for help getting to Jeffersonville. I received three offers of help. These townspeople were very helpful. One woman from a bike rental shop, drove home to get her friend who she knew was just watching TV to give us a ride. Amy, the TV watching friend, arrived 10 minutes later with a pickup truck and happily drove us to Jeffersonville. She was as curious as us to see the flood damage in Jeffersonville. Luckily, the Smuggler’s Notch Inn, where our vehicle was parked, is on high ground so all was good. We paid and thanked Amy for the ride, loaded up our vehicle and set out for home. The rest of the Long Trail will still be there to hike another day.
We weren’t done with the bad weather. As we drove through south Montreal, tornado warnings were being repeated regularly on every radio station. A giant green storm front was heading directly for us. We drove through heavy rain and were surrounded by lightning, but missed the few tornadoes that touched down in the surrounding area. Once we reached Ontario, the skies cleared and we took turns driving into the night