WOW, sorry that we haven't updated in awhile. Internet access is becoming more sparse, and we believe it will continue to be less accessible. Everything is well with us. We are currently in Pittsfield, MA, having a wonderful zero day with Moonshine's mom and step-dad, Gail and Dave. We have been welcomed into Dave's business partner's house on a beautiful lake! Thus far, we have walked 1,582 miles...hard to believe!! It is our last day in MA. We will be crossing the border into Vermont tomorrow and stepping up the difficulty of terrain as well. The last time we updated we were in New York. Nobody ever talks about the state being difficult, but we found it to be so. They don't have high peaks elevation wise, but the trail maintaners love to take the trail up nearly vertical rock scrambles every chance they get. The scenery was excellent though, and we got to see the NYC skyline from multiple lookouts. When we first spotted it we were in disbelief because that was our best visual indicator of how far we had actually walked. It was very strange to say the least. We were able to spend the 4th of July at a former thru hikers house that was hosting a party for this years hikers. They supplied food, beverages, and beds for anyone who came. We had a great time and thank you Bill and Amy if you are reading this.
After NY we crossed the border into CT. The only thing we knew about the state trail wise was that the re-supply was ungodly expensive. We found the prices to be consistent with the rest of the prices in the north, but the state had some more challenges for us. On July 5th when we crossed the border the temperature hit 101. I don't think the humidity could have been any less than 100 percent either. We were sweating so bad that my (moonshine) hands actually pruned up like I had been in a bath tub. Night time didn't bring any relief since the temperature stayed in the mid 80's and the mosquitoes were out in larger numbers than ever. That night I layed awake for about two hours with nothing but my shorts on sweating for about two hours. Not being able to go to sleep because of the heat has been one of the hardest things mentally I have encountered on the trail. The next day we hiked into Kent, CT to try to get some AC and watch the world cup game at the bar. We ended up hanging out at the bar for about four hours and went to do our re-supply afterwards. Robin was having a very difficult day due to her numerous bites and the heat and sweating and chafing that resulted from it and had a full trail meltdown. There was really no consolation that I could offer since my morale and nerves were shot as well. Getting back on the trail that evening was very difficult. We decided to do a night hike that night to make up for some mileage lost during the day. It was seven miles to the shelter , but we didn't realize the terrain had some nearly vertical descents causing another mental breakdown for Robin. After hiking until 11:30PM we figured we must have passed the shelter and even if we hadn't we were getting eaten by mosquitoes so bad that we pitched the tent on the side of the trail. We didn't bother with dinner that night and hoped for better temperatures and terrain the next day. When we got up the next day we found out that we had at least gone past the shelter we were shooting for because the sign was on the ground making it very hard to see at night. It didn't get any cooler though and we had another very low mileage day. Our morale was up though and we had a much better day. On our final day in CT we had the most tolerable weather and managed to actually get some decent miles done. We also had one of out best views in the state from the Lion's Head and enjoyed a local brew that we carried up from Great Barrington brewery.
The next day we crossed the MA state line. Unfortunately the minute we left camp it began to pour. Unlike other summer thunderstorms it continued for the first four hours of our hike making the already difficult terrain very slick. It beat the heat but I took a hard fall after slipping on a rock and slammed my knee into a boulder. It was extremely painful, but was nothing serious and we continued to hike. I think I bruised the bone pretty good though because it is still hurting over 100 mi later. It also made us realize how quickly our trip could be cut short if we were not careful. We made it into MA and were excited to be in a state where we had some family. The weather had cleared up but unfortunately the rocks were still wet and I took an even bigger fall that morning. Going down some rocks both of my feet slipped out from under me driving my elbow into a rock and causing me to roll down the face. I popped up quickly but my arm was in extreme pain and swole imediately on the impacted area. I had some more bruises and scrapes on my legs but fortunately escaped once again with nothing seriously wrong. We hiked the rest of the way to Great Barrington MA where our next resupply was. Once again there was another World Cup game to watch (the final!) and we found a local restaurant/bar that was showing it. We had some good burgers and beers and even had a round bought for us. In the bar, we had 2 different offers for a free place to stay that night and we took one of them up on it. We took one of the offers, and ended up going to a great guy Jon's house with his buddy Brian. They took us back for a cookout and gave us a bed. Their generosity to total strangers blew our minds as it does every time we recieve these random acts of kindness. Our faith in humanity has totally been renewed on the trail and we have been totally shocked that so many people are willing to open their homes to us and make us feel so comfortable. Jon had us back to the trail at about 8 and we were back on our way. We had another cool stop at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin which is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club. There is a caretaker there who cooks pancakes and coffee for the hikers in the morning. The place was full that night with over 20 people. We got to see some good friends that we hadn't run into since Shenandoah so it was nice to catch up with each other. The next day was full of lots of rain so we decided to hike all the way to Dalton MA. There is two hostels in local residents homes there and we made it in around seven that night. We stayed at "the Birdcage", run by Rob Bird, a wonderful and very generous man! A lot of our friends were there and we had a good time playing and singing music until late hours of the night. We decided to take Rob Bird up on a slack pack (hiking with only items that you need for the day, such as food and water...makes it much easier due to much less pack weight). We hiked south 23.3 miles beginning at the base of Mt Greylock, the highest peak in MA, and ending up back in Dalton to stay at the "Birdcage" again. Mt Greylock was the most difficult ascent we have had in a very long time, with an elevation of about 3,500 feet it was also the highest peak we have climbed since Shenandoah National Park in VA. At the top of the mountain stands a tall observation tower serving as a memorial to the state's veterans. It was a really tough day but we did the miles in record time for us. This morning we were picked up and have had a very relaxing day by the lake. Life is good and we are soaking up every minute of it. As always, we are thinking of you all and hope that everything is well. Take care!
After NY we crossed the border into CT. The only thing we knew about the state trail wise was that the re-supply was ungodly expensive. We found the prices to be consistent with the rest of the prices in the north, but the state had some more challenges for us. On July 5th when we crossed the border the temperature hit 101. I don't think the humidity could have been any less than 100 percent either. We were sweating so bad that my (moonshine) hands actually pruned up like I had been in a bath tub. Night time didn't bring any relief since the temperature stayed in the mid 80's and the mosquitoes were out in larger numbers than ever. That night I layed awake for about two hours with nothing but my shorts on sweating for about two hours. Not being able to go to sleep because of the heat has been one of the hardest things mentally I have encountered on the trail. The next day we hiked into Kent, CT to try to get some AC and watch the world cup game at the bar. We ended up hanging out at the bar for about four hours and went to do our re-supply afterwards. Robin was having a very difficult day due to her numerous bites and the heat and sweating and chafing that resulted from it and had a full trail meltdown. There was really no consolation that I could offer since my morale and nerves were shot as well. Getting back on the trail that evening was very difficult. We decided to do a night hike that night to make up for some mileage lost during the day. It was seven miles to the shelter , but we didn't realize the terrain had some nearly vertical descents causing another mental breakdown for Robin. After hiking until 11:30PM we figured we must have passed the shelter and even if we hadn't we were getting eaten by mosquitoes so bad that we pitched the tent on the side of the trail. We didn't bother with dinner that night and hoped for better temperatures and terrain the next day. When we got up the next day we found out that we had at least gone past the shelter we were shooting for because the sign was on the ground making it very hard to see at night. It didn't get any cooler though and we had another very low mileage day. Our morale was up though and we had a much better day. On our final day in CT we had the most tolerable weather and managed to actually get some decent miles done. We also had one of out best views in the state from the Lion's Head and enjoyed a local brew that we carried up from Great Barrington brewery.
The next day we crossed the MA state line. Unfortunately the minute we left camp it began to pour. Unlike other summer thunderstorms it continued for the first four hours of our hike making the already difficult terrain very slick. It beat the heat but I took a hard fall after slipping on a rock and slammed my knee into a boulder. It was extremely painful, but was nothing serious and we continued to hike. I think I bruised the bone pretty good though because it is still hurting over 100 mi later. It also made us realize how quickly our trip could be cut short if we were not careful. We made it into MA and were excited to be in a state where we had some family. The weather had cleared up but unfortunately the rocks were still wet and I took an even bigger fall that morning. Going down some rocks both of my feet slipped out from under me driving my elbow into a rock and causing me to roll down the face. I popped up quickly but my arm was in extreme pain and swole imediately on the impacted area. I had some more bruises and scrapes on my legs but fortunately escaped once again with nothing seriously wrong. We hiked the rest of the way to Great Barrington MA where our next resupply was. Once again there was another World Cup game to watch (the final!) and we found a local restaurant/bar that was showing it. We had some good burgers and beers and even had a round bought for us. In the bar, we had 2 different offers for a free place to stay that night and we took one of them up on it. We took one of the offers, and ended up going to a great guy Jon's house with his buddy Brian. They took us back for a cookout and gave us a bed. Their generosity to total strangers blew our minds as it does every time we recieve these random acts of kindness. Our faith in humanity has totally been renewed on the trail and we have been totally shocked that so many people are willing to open their homes to us and make us feel so comfortable. Jon had us back to the trail at about 8 and we were back on our way. We had another cool stop at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin which is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club. There is a caretaker there who cooks pancakes and coffee for the hikers in the morning. The place was full that night with over 20 people. We got to see some good friends that we hadn't run into since Shenandoah so it was nice to catch up with each other. The next day was full of lots of rain so we decided to hike all the way to Dalton MA. There is two hostels in local residents homes there and we made it in around seven that night. We stayed at "the Birdcage", run by Rob Bird, a wonderful and very generous man! A lot of our friends were there and we had a good time playing and singing music until late hours of the night. We decided to take Rob Bird up on a slack pack (hiking with only items that you need for the day, such as food and water...makes it much easier due to much less pack weight). We hiked south 23.3 miles beginning at the base of Mt Greylock, the highest peak in MA, and ending up back in Dalton to stay at the "Birdcage" again. Mt Greylock was the most difficult ascent we have had in a very long time, with an elevation of about 3,500 feet it was also the highest peak we have climbed since Shenandoah National Park in VA. At the top of the mountain stands a tall observation tower serving as a memorial to the state's veterans. It was a really tough day but we did the miles in record time for us. This morning we were picked up and have had a very relaxing day by the lake. Life is good and we are soaking up every minute of it. As always, we are thinking of you all and hope that everything is well. Take care!
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