I’m in Vermont. And I’m on the struggle bus.

It’s rained 5 of the past 6 days. Yesterday it rained so hard all day I couldn’t use my phone because the touchscreen was too wet, and my gloves were too wet, and my fingers were too wet. Luckily Siri was able to send a message to my shuttle driver through voice commands, and I was able to get into Bennington for a zero day today. I needed it!

Other than the rain, and its tendency to make me slip and fall on rocks and off wooden planks over swampy sections and down hills into streams face-first, my only other real grievance right now is with USPS. They misplaced my resupply box for a couple days in Richmond, so it arrived here in Bennington neither as scheduled yesterday, nor on my zero day today. On the bright side, it popped back into existence this morning. In Jersey City!

Such a logistical obstacle has not interrupted my journey yet to date. In all the years I’ve been out here on the AT so far — what’s it been, about three? — the weekly boxes have arrived on time. Not necessarily by the scheduled delivery date, but always by the time I needed them. This is the first time I can’t simply move on up the trail after a zero day.

As a countermeasure, I’ll have the friendly neighborhood shuttle driver drop me off 20 miles north of here, and I’ll hike back south. That’ll give USPS an entire Sunday to joyride my package around the tri-state area before they have an opportunity to deliver it again on Monday. Failing that, I might just stay in Bennington forever? Or ask the post office to “bounce” my box up to Rutland, VT so they can keep this slapstick going another week? I’m out of good ideas. And almost out of good food.

Sorry to get all Empire Strikes Back on here. This trail has been nothing but Return of the Jedi 99% of the time recently. I got to camp out at a drive-in movie theater. I’ve had so many ice cream sundaes. I’ve had revitalizing visits with friends and family (and friends who are like family, and family who are dear friends) in New York and Connecticut and Massachusetts. (And I haven’t forgotten Virginia, either! Was that last year?) Even today I had a local chocolate peanut butter stout (Madison Brewing) with my tuna melt lunch. Luscious is bruised, quite literally, but not broken! And tomorrow will be a sunny day, and the mountains here are truly green.

Shout out to Mother Nature and all the other lovely and loving moms, past, present, and future, and nurturers of every kind in my life and in yours. ❤️