So Close, Yet So Far

We left our make shift campsite the next morning on our way to meet Skippers dad at a road for lunch. On the way I came upon Cookie Monster who was holding a small kangaroo mouse. The mouse had clearly been attacked and it's back legs were broken. On the verge of death, Cookie didn't want the mouse to sit and get eaten alive by ants so he carried it for a few miles before it passed and he left it under a fern. We met Skippers dad for some amazing BLT's before heading up to the top of Stratton Mountain. We went up the fire tower and saw the most amazing 360 degree view of Vermont.  Later we passed a gorgeous lake and sat silently, taking it all in. The next day we got in and out of a town for resupply and headed up to a Ski patrol warming hut that they leave open in the summer for hikers.  The summit of Bromley was covered in a cloud and we waited till the morning to catch the view. The next day we ran into town to meet my friend, Lemon, who had to get off trail for a foot injury but came out to do some magic. We got to camp together that night and then the next day we slack packed over the top of Mt. Killington. Not before seeing a bear that morning that I miraculously missed. We got lunch before begrudgingly saying goodbye to Lemon. We hiked out of town after a couple zero days and my antibiotics were really effecting me. I was sick to my stomach and throwing up along trail every mile or so. We got to another gorgeous pond with a dock and decided to jump in. I immediately felt better as the cold water washed away the heat of the day. We ran into a ton of South bounders and got to meet some new people later that night at a shelter. We got up and hiked the next day and were praying the weather would hold up. Around mid afternoon a crack of thunder was heard in the distance and I new we were in for something bad. On top of a ridge, there was nothing we could do but keep walking when the sky opened up and poured on us. Usually the storms pass quickly but this one would not quit. It didn't even let up a bit. Then the wind came and we started to get cold. Traveling downhill, we knew things were going to get dangerous if we couldn't warm up soon. The nail in the coffin was when I realized my sleeping bag had gotten wet, rendering it useless. We looked for a place to set up the tent but the ground was flooding everywhere. We got to a road and decided the safest thing to do was to hitch a ride into town to dry out. The rain was still coming down hard and we were wet and muddy but a car came through and said we could get in the back with the dog. So thankful,  he got us to a restaurant where we dried out and filled up on calories. We got back to the trail but were thoroughly soaked again the next morning when another storm hit. It was short lived and the sun came out to help dry us off. We also entered our thirteenth state, New Hampshire! We walked into the town of Hanover and onto the campus of Dartmouth. They were having a farmers market which we enjoyed until a friend's uncle, who lives in town, came to pick us up and bought us pizza. That night a trail angel in town offered us a free room so we went and soaked in their hot tub before drifting off to sleep. The next day, not wanting to leave our amazing trail angels, we decided to slack pack out of Hanover and hitch back to their house that night. We made dinner for them and watched a movie before heading back out to the trail the next day. Mile 1751!

Getting Back is Hard

During my trailcation I got to see some amazing friends get married and I got to celebrate my cousins engagement, I also spent some quality time with my cat. Unfortunately I also dropped my phone in a pool, had a parked car run into the side of mine, and pulled a tick out from under my skin and was subsequently diagnosed with lyme disease.  I flew back into Boston where I met up with my PCT friend, Juneau,  and we walked the freedom trail for the fourth of July.  The freedom trail is two and a half miles long through downtown boston, stopping at 16 historical sites.  We like to say we thru hiked it. He took us back to the trail and we started back on our hike. On my first day out I pulled 19 miles in new shoes, with lyme disease, after being off trail for 20 days. I was pretty happy with myself until I woke up the next morning. I was terribly sore and exhausted. We slept in and got going later in the day. I was having a rough time and had been in a bit of a funk since getting back on trail. Suddenly the rain began to come down and no matter what you did, you were completely soaked to the bone in seconds. I began to laugh. I couldn't help it. Skipper caught my laughter and as we tramped through the mud in the pouring down rain, I realized why I was out here. The worst thing in the world wasn't standing there muddy and soaking wet, in fact it was enjoyable.  I was having a good time and it just felt comfortable to be exactly where I was at that moment. It rained on us off and on all day till we got to the cookie lady's house. She offered us fresh baked cookies and said we could crash in the garage to try to stay dry. After stripping off our wet clothes and getting comfortable again, we got a call from our good friend and amazing trail angel, Rob Bird. He picks us up, buys us pizza and takes us back to a hotel for showers and a bed. The next day he bought us breakfast and then took us back to the trail and slack packed us back to the hotel for a second night. He's around town for a while and will be helping us and many other hikers along the trail out for the next month. The next few days we got to slack pack all the way into Vermont and got the tour of all the best restaurants in town from Rob. We even treated ourselves to a zero day before hitting the trail again. That night there was no room at the shelter or tent area so we had to push on to another spot. We have been blessed with really great weather for Vermont and have managed to stay out of the mud. At the moment we are trying to outrun a thunderstorm that has been threatening us for the past couple days. Only a few more days until we hit New Hampshire and the dreaded whites! Mile 1651, 538 left to go!

The Best of Trail Angels

Before leaving Boiling Springs, my friend Skipper and I decided to grab some lunch at the local pub before heading out of town. There we met Russ, a very friendly guy who flips houses for a living after retiring from flying helicopters. He even took us for a ride in his 1920 Model A. After talking for a bit, he invites us to camp in his large backyard instead of the campsite for hikers that's ten feet from the railroad tracks. We thanked him and piled back into his car to head over. As we arrived our eyes bugged out of our heads as we pulled up to a mansion. One of the biggest houses I had seen in a while. He's shows us around and says we can sleep in the basement if we wanted to so we went and checked it out. The only thing that describes it is a total man cave complete with pool table, DJ set up, beer pong table, and disco lights. We said it would work. Russ called over some friends and told them to grab some brews so we called some hiker friends, the rest of team vortex. Russ let us drive his truck to go pick up out friends and the six of us headed back to the mansion. Beer pong was already set up outside and the night began. By the next morning we had played countless games of pool and pong, danced under the lights, and burned a Christmas tree. The next day we headed back to the trail after stopping at the art fair and stocking up on three massive bags of kettle corn (all purchased, carried, and mostly eaten by the women in the group). We hiked eight miles to a dunkin donuts which was extremely unnecessary. Which made us have to night hike into the shelter where a couple friends of Mile Markers friends were coming to. We got there safe and sound and had a nice fire as we heard embarrassing old stories about MM. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to them the next day and we headed into our next town, Duncannon Pa. We got some food and visited the very interesting Doyle hotel (an extremely old and dilapidated hotel in which the top three floors will never lose the stench of dirty hikers). We decided to move on when we saw a sign in front of someone's lawn that said "Hikers welcome to camp in backyard. Cooler by the door and you cam use the grill". When we got there we met Mr. and Mrs. 219, two Penn state alumni and super fans.  They offered us beer and said to set up anywhere. We talked all night with them about how they started this and how our hikes were going. Unfortunately this will be their last year on trail. The next morning they made us lots of coffee and let us heat up our pop tarts (a real treat) before we begrudgingly started to pack up our bags. To prolong our stay we played a couple rounds of cards. While playing, Mrs. 219 came out and told us about a huge storm and tornado warning for the afternoon and evening. She said it was probably better to just stay the night in their garage. We debated but as we saw the massive dark clouds roll in and the wind start to pick up, we decided she was right. Mrs. 219 then told us she was fixing us dinner and not to argue because she had already started making it.  We enjoyed a nice family dinner at 219 that night. Later that evening the 219s treated us to a scotch tasting of all of his favorites,  needless to say we stayed very warm that night. The next day we had to go and left duncannon and Mr. and Mrs. 219 behind. We hiked a few rocky and muddy days before getting to a road and trying to hitch in for a resupply.  If took a while to get a hitch and we were thinking about giving up until a car finally pulled up and let Skipper, Mile Marker,  and I pile into their car. They were Abby and Pastor Bob, a couple in their early 20 who were just discussing picking up hitch hikers when they came upon us. They had recently gotten married and Bob had gotten the job in town as the pastor while Abby led the church choir and band. During the car ride they asked if we would like showers, being the only girl in the group, I jumped at the offer. They took us to their perfect little house and gave us the softest towels and nicest shampoos I had seen on trail. As we were taking turns showering,  Abby offered to do our laundry while we went to lunch. I warned her not to touch anything but I was incredibly thankful to have clean socks. We went and grabbed lunch and headed back to their house, where the pastor offered us a beer and we had a deep conversation about life and how we all ended up where we are. Also our laundry had been folded and she had tried to separate it for us. Stunned by their hospitality we made a plan to get back to the trail. It began to rain outside so Bob said we should stay the night in their family room. Before we could answer, he was setting up the TV for a movie. He then made us coffee and tea before bed. We woke up the next morning and they asked if they could take us to breakfast. They had already done so much for us already but they insisted.  After a huge breakfast he brought us back to the trail and we started off again. Soon after we ran into Scooby-Doo and Murphys Law and hiked with them for the next few days into Port Clinton. We were pulled into the barber shop where we got the low down on you town, had a little jam session, and stocked up on cookies and coffee. There we were told about a members only bar that would allow hikers to come in on occasion.  We found the secret door and rang the bell. A loud clock unlocked the door and we walked into a tiny bar with darts and a pool table. We watched women's soccer and chatted with the locals all evening.  The next day we got to go to the biggest Cabellas in the work, filled with probably 500 taxidermy animals and an aquarium.  When I woke up the next morning, I felt terrible. I could barely lift my head up and I felt like throwing up. Instead of getting back on trail, we decided to visit a nudist resort. I started to feel better and we got to soak our sore muscles in a hot tub before taking in the nudist experience.  It's weird. We got back on trail the next day and had some really difficult days. The rocks were everywhere and thunderstorms were hitting us off and on. Nobody could keep their feet dry which caused terrible raw skin all over their feet.  Luckily my friend Banjo from the PCT came out to see us and bring us soda and pizza on a very wet day. We finally made it to Deleware water gap and out of Pennsylvania.  They had a free hostel in the basement of a church that hikers were able to stay at for a day or two. The next day I had a to fly back to California for a few weddings and a bit of a trailcation. I hopped a bunch of busses and got to the airport were I sat for the longest amount of time I had in the past three months. Mile 1293