Northbound travelers enter Vermont from Massachusetts by way of climbing out of the Hoosic river valley along Sherman brook, crossing it twice on foot bridges, then walking through Clarkburg state forest and finally coming upon Pete′s spring shortly before the state line.

The AT in Vermont travels along the Green Mountain ridge to US 4 and the Long Trail Inn, where it then takes the Maine Junction eastward and crossing a series of mountain ridges until it arrives at the Norwich, Vermont to Hanover, New Hampshire bridge over the Connecticut river

Number of Days Afoot: 12 days, Day 131 AT - Day 142 AT

Distance in 1979: 134.3 miles

Killington Peak, 4235 feet, summited on 27 June 1979 on Day 137 AT

Mount Mansfield, elevation 4395 feet, summited in September 1982

September 1982, completed the Long Trail to Canada

17. 03 July 1979, Woodstock, VT   Day 141 AT  Total Miles Afoot: 1760.1

Excerpt from pages 316-317

I sleep late and then have breakfast with Lori and Judy. They arrived yestereve shortly before dark after having gone to town. As soon as Babe and I begin taking steps this morning, I see two grass snakes along a brook and afterwards we climb up to Beacon Hill where there is a great view of Mill River Valley.

Soon, we pass the Scouts and continue along a brook, logging roads marshes and then come upon Governor Clements lean-to, an old stone structure with a built-in fireplace located next to a wide rushing brook where I stop for a rest.

Babe finally shows up and there appears to be something wrong with her; I call her to me to take a look. I find stuck in her nose and snout many porcupine quills and she is especially sensitive to my touching her face.

What a situation! I decide the quills must come out right now! I leash her and sit down on the edge of the bunk, position her between my legs and then slowly I squeeze my legs around her upper body and neck to hold her still. She begins to writhe and I speak soft but firm to her in order to calm her.

This having worked, I then begin to inspect her face closely and find eleven quills. I grab the first on with the thumb and forefinger on my right hand and begin to pull. She squirms but is finally comes out. I continue to mollify her with my voice and after removing the third quill, we both settle into the tedious work at hand

I finish pulling out all of the quills in just under an hour. My right hand is worn out and I can only imagine how her face feels. Afterward, with the leash still connected, I take her to the brook and we both go into to wash her face. She gets frisky in the frigid water and I then know she will pull through this one. I really hope she learns this lesson about porcupines much like earlier it was evident she had learned the lesson about rattlesnakes.