07-31-13 Together with the "Ice Cream Man"

A nice first day of hiking in New Hampshire. After climbing to the top of Moose Mountain, we stopped and caught up with old friend, OB (Old and Busted).

We pushed on another mile to Moose Mountain Shelter and stopped for lunch with OB, Pippen and Steady State.

We hiked down the mountain the back up to Holts Ledge for nice views. A short two mile plummet to Dorchester Road. Once across, we followed a short side trail to Bill Ackerly's house for ice cream, camping and croquet.

07-30-13 In Hanover, New Hampshire Together

Grey Beard and Short and Sweet talked highly of the town general store "Dan and Whit's" so we decided to give it a try. Yes, we were impressed. A maze of anything and everything. Food. Lawn and garden. Nuts and bolts. Clothing. And on and on.

Their motto: "If we don't have it, you don't need it."

We left the store with postcards, breakfast sandwiches, screws and free day-old wraps. A very successful visit.

We rode the bus to the Dartmouth Campus and setup HQ at the Dartmouth Outing Club building. B's mom sent us a mail drop with our winter gear and other goodies. I think we ate half the ranger cookies within thirty minutes. Thank you!

B went and saw "Wolverine" at the movie theater, and I relaxed on the front lawn of Dartmouth working on crossword puzzles.

For dinner we thought it would be a great idea to hit up the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet at "Everything But Anchovies." Fast-forward an hour later as we climbed the mile to the Velvet Rocks Shelter. Bad idea.

We're settled in now, though, with overstuffed food bags, overstuffed bellies and overheated sleeping bags. I'm not sure what this is a recipe for, but it doesn't sound pretty.

07-29-13 Sadly Leaving Vermont Together

It rained throughout the night, but stopped right as we woke up. Thanks Vermont!

Today was our last day hiking in Vermont, and out of the last twelve states, Vermont has been our favorite. The terrain. The weather. The beauty. We will miss you.

The trail first took us through West Hartford, Vermont where we picked up a mail drop from my friend, Kate. Mac and cheese, cookies, Capri-suns. Girl did good, thank you!

Back on the trail we made a late day decision to push into Hanover, New Hampshire. The thunder rumbling in the distance was good motivation too.

We rolled into the Vermont side (Norwich) a little after four and continued on across the river into New Hampshire.

We spent the night at a trail angel's house, Grey Beard and Short and Sweet. The treated us to a shower, clean clothes and dessert. Thank you so much for your hospitality and generosity.

07-28-13 Together On The Edge

A foggy morning, from an overnight rain, made for an unmotivated me. The rain held out and the terrain leveled out quite a bit allowing us to make great time without killing our feet.

With ten miles in the belt, we stopped at On The Edge Farm for a soda and a homemade, blueberry peach pie, in addition to our normal lunch.

Full, but not too full, we made a final five mile push up a small mountain (maybe just a hill? not sure how these classifications go) with a view. Storms were expected so we hiked a bit further to be protected by the trees.

The terrain made for a fast day, so we had finished early and spent the evening relaxing and resting.

07-27-13 Together at Maine Junction

A cool morning to finish our descent of Killington Mountain. Near the bottom we ran into old friends, Danno and OB.

At Maine Junction we said adios to the Long Trail after 100+ miles. From here the Long Trail continues to Canada. And we continue to Maine.

The trail led us through Gifford Woods State Park, where we stopped briefly for a shower. Not much further on, we got a ride into the ski town of Killington, Vermont.

We sat outside the deli and enjoyed a sub sandwich. Oreo and Quahog stopped through and graciously bestowed upon us a "Mom's House," a home-cooked dehydrated meal Quahog's mom makes for them. We were delighted to try one.

Back on the trail we relaxed at Kent Pond, then thundered by Thundering Falls, and a few confused tourists.

Before settling in for the night, we met Eleven, a thru-hiker that was the 11th hiker to start this year. We had met four day hikers in Virginia that had spoke about her and how she had an even colder and wetter start than we. It was exciting to finally put a face with the name.

With our soar feet up, and the tent ready for the night, we rehydrated our "Mom's House" meal: homemade chili. It was delicious--thanks Quahog's mom!

07-26-13 Somewhere 500 miles from Katahdin

Another cold night and sluggish start. We got our first view of the day down toward the Rutland Airport.

Today part of the trail had been re-routed back in October of 2011 due to Hurricane Irene. We could still see the damage, but the new trail was complete so we saw no need to take the detour. Even the car bridge that had been destroyed had been replaced with a make-shift bridge out of fallen trees.

The trail continued to an exciting milestone--only 500 miles to Katahdin!

Ate lunch with Chin Music at Governor Clement Shelter. Refueled, we began the climb up Killington Mountain. We stopped at the top at Cooper Lodge Shelter (elev. 3,928) The view was obstructed by clouds, and brrr the temperature had dropped.

We descended about 500 feet and stopped for the night at the trail junction to Pico Camp. There was a small cleared surface perfect for our tent. We ate dinner then bundled up for the night.

07-25-13 Somewhere with a lost girl (no, not K)

Brrrrr! It turned out to be a cold cold night. Once the morning rolled around it was hard to motivate ourselves to leave the warmth of our sleeping bags.

We eventually did, though and had a wonderful day of hiking. The cool weather kept the mosquitoes at bay and we didn't worry about overheating.

Hiked past Little Rock Pond and up our third Bear Mountain (we hiked ones in New York and Connecticut).

On our way back down and through Patch Hollow a girl about seventeen, approached me. After consulting my guidebook, I quickly learned she was lost. I suggested she follow me to the next shelter about a mile away. She agreed.

We called her parents and the trail group she was working with and they got her headed back in the right direction.

We filled up our bottles with crystal clear water, then decided to stay the night at the Minerva Hinchey Shelter. Set up the tent and settled in for another potentially cool night.