A storm rolling into Vermont turned an ordinary day on the Long Trail into one of the more memorable stretches of a thru-hike: slick rocks, disorienting winds, a near-impossible water supply — and a face-to-face meeting with a mama bear and her two cubs.
Day 38 of the hikers' journey covered just 6.7 miles between Coreless Camp and Spruce Ledge Shelter, but conditions made it feel like double. For two days a huge storm system had been building. The hikers could feel it before they saw it: barometric pressure dropping, rocks sweating with condensation, underbrush swaying so violently that walking on the ridgeline made them feel seasick. Falling autumn leaves buried roots and rocks, hiding the ankle-twisting hazards underneath.
The sensory chaos had a real effect. When they stopped for lunch on a fallen tree, their inner ears kept convincing them they were still moving — the same disorienting feeling of stepping ashore after a long boat trip. Lunch itself was a highlight: with cooler weather making butter practical to carry, they built creative tortilla wraps from trail mix, peanut butter, dried bananas and berries, a welcome change from weeks of rehydrated beans. There was also comic relief in the form of Rock Rabbit's chronically disappearing spork, now tethered to his passport bag and permanently renamed The Damned Spork after it tried to escape during lunch.
Then came the bears. Rounding a corner in the roaring wind, one hiker stopped three feet short of a bear cub sitting right on the trail. Three bears in total — two cubs and their mother — were as startled as the hikers. One cub scampered right, another bolted up a tree, and the mother stood up on her hind legs to survey the scene. Nobody grabbed a camera. Everyone stood still until the mother dropped down, the treed cub tumbled after her, and the family sauntered off. The hikers sang their departure and walked away grinning.
They reached Spruce Ledge Camp just before the deluge — grateful, because Vermont is severely dry and every water source that day was barely trickling. Rock Rabbit coaxed enough water from a dribbling stream for chicken and rice stew before the rain finally gushed in behind the wind.
The takeaway for anyone dreaming of a long trail: 7 miles in storm conditions on the Long Trail can take the same effort as 12 to 15 on the Appalachian Trail, autumn leaf cover hides trail hazards, water sources can't be trusted in dry spells, and bears are best met with stillness, not phones. It's a vivid snapshot of what a long-distance hike actually feels like — weather, hunger, gear quirks, wildlife and all.
