Lincoln woman comes to the rescue
Editor’s note: Rachel Horn is a resident of Los Angeles and a summer employee of at the Farm & Wilderness Camps in Plymouth.
LINCOLN — Bravo to you, Lincoln, Vt.; I spent four hours of my life in your town and experienced a most true and beautiful act of kindness.
Summer of 2015 was busy for me. I was driving a 15-passenger van and canoe trailer all over your Green Mountains, resupplying a group of teenagers hiking the Long Trail. I was supervising said teenagers in their rock-climbing and lake swimming. I was doing all of the things that any summer support staff at the Farm & Wilderness Camps in Plymouth does every June-August in your fine state of Vermont.
One average Wednesday in July, my co-staff and I were scheduled to resupply our Long Trail kids at the trail crossing at Lincoln Gap. The “Detour” sign as we entered Lincoln informed us that the bridge on our route was under construction, so I entered the general store to ask for some direction.
The woman at the counter tells me that I should probably choose a different trail to hike today because “not only is there construction road blockage on the Route 100 side, but there is a house being moved, and the road from this side will be closed very shortly.” I tell her that we have got nine hungry trail hikers to supply with their food for the week, and that we absolutely have to get to Lincoln Gap today! After some quick directions and a warning that we may get trapped on the trail side of River Road during the road closure, I hop back into the van and we make a bee-line for the gap.
“OK, kiddos! Give us all your trash! Here’s all your food! Who needs more blister Band-Aids? Refill the hand sanitizer!”
Despite our attempts to hustle the transaction, my co and I were too slow; when we got back down off the gap we found that the house had blocked our way down. And since it pours when it rains, we had forgotten a couple of food items and needed to re-deliver before the group could continue their mileage for the day and set up camp. Trapped between an oversized load and a big pile of dirt, we parked the van on one side of the barricade and walked toward the crowd that had formed to watch the house parade.
Our highest hope was to hitch into town and back before sundown. Enter the woman from the general store, who came up to watch the house-moving entertainment. We tell her the story, ask her if she’ll sell us some fresh veggies from the deli, and if, perhaps, she knows someone trustworthy who would give us a ride.
“My car is the Subaru parked on Geary. Here are my keys,” she tells us. “And yes, we’ll take care of you with the veggies.”
We take her keys, find the car, drive to town, return with the groceries, walk to our van, drive back up to the gap, and see our trail-hikers off.
The house cleared the road before too much longer, and while we were on our way home, I had time to process what had just happened. I met a random woman in the general store of a small town in Vermont. She gave me back-road directions to get to where I was going. She gave me the keys to her car because a house was blocking mine. And she sold me vegetables that she normally does not. I met a random woman who actually is a super hero and who saved the day.
My summer in Vermont was filled with incredible people; I am happy to have encountered such a special lady to add to the list. Lincoln, Vt., thank you for the entertaining time, and thank you for sharing Vaneasa Stearns with me.