Day 58 to 74, Mile 538.1 to 786.5

Day 59 Story Brook Spring Shelter/Campsite

We got a taxi ride to the trail head and hiked 10.2 miles to the Stratton Mountain Pond, then 3.3 miles uphill to Stratton Mountain summit/historical caretakers cabin/fire watchtower, and down 7.5 miles to camp...for a total of 21 miles! 

SEE VIDEO BELOW of climbing the 55 ft. watchtower! The view from the top was spectacular because we could see 4 states at once, including where we had come from in the Whites to where we were going in Massachusetts. 

FUN FACT: This is the landmark where Benton McKay conceived the idea for the AT (a footpath connecting all of the scenic ridges of the entire Appalachian Mountain Range) during a visit to Vermont in 1921. 

Day 60 Stealth spot

Today we hiked 18 miles in 8 hours; made good time even though trail's terrain was like a mini-Maine. The best part of the day was climbing the fire tower at the top of Mt. Glastonbury. It was built in 1927 and seemed taller than the 55 foot tower from yesterday. We watched Corinne eat her lunch below and dried our sweaty shirts in the cool breeze. Tomorrow we will be in MA. They say then that we have completed 20% of the miles and 80% of the mental challenge.

That night we learned of a missing child from the shelter across the stream. We joined the other thru-hikers and searched the woods with our headlamps crying out the little boy's name for hours. Eventually, the police found him almost 2 miles away, unharmed, and were thankful our prayers had been answered.  Even though it was a scary moment, our faith in humanity was restored knowing that complete strangers would help a fellow hiker, in the middle of the night, without thinking twice.

Day 61 Sherman Brook Campsite

Went 19 miles today in 9 hours and made it to Massachusetts, motivated by thoughts of crossing state line! Goodbye Vermont Maple Syrup and the Long Trail.
PS. Ever wonder how syrup is made?!?
Large-scale maple syrup producers use vacuum tubing to maximize the collection of sap from the tree while saving time. It begins with a tap in each sugar maple tree. The tubing flows to the lateral line and then to the main line which is divided into a wet and dry line. The dry line takes in the air and the wet line brings the sap down to the sap house. The vacuum pump is located at the sap house and is best installed in a way that uses gravity to its advantage, but it can work uphill when necessary.

FLOW DOWN SUGAR SUGAR

Hot, sweaty, and hiking mostly uphill; something new and different :)

We had the campsite all to ourselves and enjoyed a campfire because it kept the bugs away. Keith and I really enjoyed each others company today and talked all about our future plans. We are excited to see what God has in store for us next! 

Thinking of my co-workers and students as today was the first day of school! DEAR MIDDLE SCHOOL...DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Day 62 Williamstown, MA
NERO DAY!

We woke up to rain and a forecast of 100% chance of rain all day so had to change plans. Instead of hiking up the highest peak in MA we took a taxi into Williamstown (a quaint college town) and enjoyed showers, laundry, and food.

Day 63 Crystal Mountain Campsite 

We took a campus bus to trail head and hiked 18.8 miles 8.5 hours. Our day included hiking 5.3 miles up to highest peak in MA at 3,491 feet called Mt. Greylock. The view of the area below was of the countryside. There was a memorial and a lodge at the summit. We then hiked 8.4 miles to get to Cheshire Post Office and pick up our resupply. We kept moving to a campsite about 5 miles uphill in hopes of having a spectacular view of Perseus Meteor Shower. We walked by a cool marble outcrop and noticed a more sandy terrain-EARTH SCIENCE ROCKS!

 The Veterans War Memorial Tower takes the form of a perpetually lighted beacon to honor the state's dead from World War I (and subsequent conflicts). The light was at the time the strongest beacon in Massachusetts, with a nighttime visible range of up to 70 miles.

Bascom Lodge was built between 1932-1938 using native materials of Greylock schist and red spruce

Big Cheshire Cheese weighing 1255 pounds!!!

Day 64 October Mountain Shelter

Went from mile 615.9 to 631.9 = 16 miles. We started the morning walking into and out of a town called Dalton, MA. Lots of road walking and white blaze searching.
The blazes in the North are painted up high so that hikers can spot them even if it snows several feet! We know if we see a double blaze the trail turns hard or switches back.
The best part of the day was meeting a trail maintainer painting white blazes-we caught him white handed!

Then we met the Cookie Lady and Mr. Cookie Lady right off the road crossing. They live on a working blueberry farm and provide thru-hikers with water and shelter and...cookies! Thanks trail angels! 

Had better view of the sky tonight so we woke up at midnight and lit the campfire, made some coffee, set up the camera to record the Perseids, and star-gazed for hours. SEE PHOTO BELOW! We used an app called Night Cap Pro. 

Time Lapse photo capture of Perseus Meteor Shower!

Day 65 Upper Goose Pond Cabin

We went 9 miles in 4 hours to get to the most talked about shelter so far, called Upper Goose Pond Cabin. We arrived to find a caretaker and her dogs on the front porch of a bright red log cabin. There was potable water, wash stations, swimming holes, and even canoeing! Keith, Corinne, and I took the boat out for the afternoon and it was hilarious/terrifying watching the dog learn about Newton's 3rd Law of Motion. I got some great GoPro footage of us exploring and "jumping" off the dock into the refreshing water. SEE VIDEO BELOW! When we got back to the cabin we played a game of Yahtzee and went to sleep right before the rainstorm. We were delighted to wake up to pancakes and coffee compliments of the caretaker, but were ready to keep on keepin on!

Day 66 Beartown State Forest

Today was by far the most hot and humid day we have had on the trail...as in wring-the-sweat-from-our-shirts-hot. Our spirits were low because the Los Sobos had a friend in the area and were able to slack pack-they flew past us even though we were walking as fast as we could. We prayed for God to light the fire in our weary souls and make our spirits whole. It worked because we went 18.2 miles in 8 hours, taking a lot of water breaks, to arrive at a sweet campsite near Benedict Pond. There was even a sandy beach for swimming! We loved cooling down in the water and had the rest of the afternoon to relax, which is what we needed because we were still sore. Southbound is certainly not all downhill!

Day 67

We hiked 18 miles but it took us 10 hours since we had to take extra long breaks-it was extra hot! The good thing about drinking so much water is that when the bottles are empty our packs our much lighter.
FUN FACT: One Liter of water weighs 1 Kg or about 2.25 pounds
NOT SO FUN FUN FACT: We carry 4 to 6 Liters of water at a time; at least 9 pounds!
Thankfully we came across gallon jugs of water left for thru-hikers by the road crossing. God bless trail angels! We had spectacular views from the high peaks today and we really got to enjoy them since we had to take such long breaks to cool down. I had good cell service in the tent for the first time and enjoyed catching up with family and friends. SHOUTOUT to our peeps!
Goodbye MA and Hello CT!

Day 68, Salisbury, CT

We woke up at 4:30 to beat the heat. However, we discovered that it is possible to sweat to death before the sun rises. We summited Mt. Everett and were blessed with views of the sunrise above and undercast below. Walked 0.6 miles along ridge line admiring the heavenly view. SEE VIDEO BELOW! As we descended down the ravine to cross the state line the most intense 10 seconds of my life happened; Corinne got quilled by a porcupine! She went to sniff this strange new creature and ended up with a handful of quills in her snout! Our adrenaline was pumping as soon as we realized what happened, but Keith calmly started to pulled them out with his fingers. The last quill was slick and too deep in her mouth that he couldn't yank it out...he had to use his teeth to grasp it and finally the barb came out. Crazy! We gave her a Benadryl just in case of swelling, but hopefully she learned her lesson.
Once we crossed into CT, we had to climb Bear Mountain and Lion's Head...Lions, Porcupines, and Bears OH MY! We made it 14 miles to the town of Salisbury and Venessa Brenton's house. She was the best host ever!

Porcupine Barb

Day 69 Salisbury CT

ZERO DAY! Too hot!

Did our chores and re-fuled. 

Day 70 Caesar Campsite

We hiked 18 miles today in 9.5 hours. It was still hot but most flat terrain yet! We had a long road walk and detour because the bridge was out. Super bugged because it was super buggy! Well, at least they are my favorite species-Gnats (get it?!?).
Corinne discovered how to cool off laying in streams...if it gets any more humid I may have to join her!
Blessing in disguise: When we went on blue blaze to designated water source there was not any water; dried brook! We will never take water for granted again ever and will certainly be more conservative when we return home!

Day 71 Schaghticoke Mountain Campsite

We hiked 17.9 miles today but stopped in Kent, CT at mile 14 and resupplied. We got a ride to the Post Office and picked up our mail drop. We met a trail angel that was doing a senior photography project about trail life so we got our picture made a few times. Thanks for the ride and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup! Luckily the grocery store was right next to the P.O. so it was easy to repack our bags and keep going. It was the first time we didn't stay in a town we visited; gotta get up to get down! We stopped at outfitters/Annie Banannies on way out to pick up a fuel canister and met Annie Banannie herself. She gave us a shuttle back to the trail head later that afternoon and we pushed it uphill with full packs. We discovered that it is also possible to sweat to death after the sun sets. No potable water at campsite so we are thrilled that we refilled in town, but still had to ration for Corinne. It is still buggy but we are thankful for Gma's bug bracelets that came in the mail today!

Art Work outside Annie Banannies

Day 72 Telephone Pioneers Shelter

It rained hard this AM until 9:30 so we left later than usual. We hiked 17 miles, into New York, and arrived at the shelter around 6:30 PM. The craziest part of the day was lifting Corinne over a 4 foot tall electric fence 3 times. Teamwork makes the dreamwork! We walked through a lot of overgrown thorn bushes with their limbs hanging over the trail so we are really scratched up...but it didn't matter because we had awesome trail magic-slices of cold watermelon! 0.1 miles later we passed a plant nursery that was hiker friendly and got some ice-cream, filled our water bottles, and took a break in the shade near the AT Railroad. We are enjoying being in a New York state of mind! We passed the largest oak tree on the trail; 20 feet 4 inches in diameter, estimated to be over 300 years old!

10 Mile River

Wooden Water Tower

This Big!

Little Library

Day 73 Ralph's Peak Hiker Shelter

Today was the easiest hiking day so far! We did 13 miles before 1 PM! The majority of the trail was flat without rocks or roots but still some steep rocky climbs. The weather was the coolest its been in a while so we had to stop for water once...but NOT from Nuclear Lake! When we got to RPH in the early afternoon and ordered a cheese pizza with a 2 L Pepsi, which we drank from the bottle! We spent the rest of the day chilling at the shelter and doing chores.

911 Memorial Painting 

Day 74 Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

We did 12 before 12 to do 18.8 before 4 PM. We blue blazed to the SLC and were allowed to pitch our tent on the baseball field! We took cold showers and charged our phones. I fell asleep listening to church bells chime. God is good. 

Day 75 Bear Mountain, NY