Day 54, Off The Trail

September 6

600 miles down, 0 to go

Where are we? On an Amtrak train headed to Michigan. Off the trail.

I woke up this morning, freezing and numb from the cold. I packed my bag and ate a Pop-tart, crying in between bites.

In my mind, I've been done with the trail the last few days but haven't wanted to admit it, feeling like we'd done so much to get where we are. And nearly 600 miles in, over a quarter of the way. Since it started getting bitter cold, I realized that we didn't beat the cold, even though we were heading south. Fall and its change in weather was already upon us. With needing to buy winter gear very soon and gear being expensive, we wouldn't be able to finish the trail with the money we have. As much as I want to get to Springer Mountain in Georgia, I realize that we wouldn't be there for another 1,500 miles, or three months, enduring a lot of the miserable cold. As much as I want to finish, I don't want to put myself through misery just to get a picture on a mountain, or the feeling that "we did it." 

As the terrain passes outside, and we get further and further from the trail, I can't help but feel like I let Ethan down. He wanted so bad to continue on the trail and finish, but he would not accept being without me to be on the trail. I love him for that, but can't help but feel a little bummed. 

I am bummed, I admit. But I know that God will open the right doors for us and continue to provide in ways unimaginable! 

We have had some amazing times, unimaginable views and met wonderful people along the way. What we've learned in a few weeks is what some learn over the course of years. This experience has definitely drawn us closer, and has been the experience of a lifetime.

Right now, we are on a train to Toledo, with a connecting bus that will arrive in Detroit at 7 am. We met a wonderful trail friend from Michigan, in Rutland at the Yellow Deli Hostel, and again at Green Mountain, who had to get off the trail due to a kidney infection. She graciously offered us a ride to Ethan's parents house in Lake Ann.

We will probably spend some time in Michigan before heading back to Seattle to return to the hustle and bustle of school and work. We'd like to visit some friends in Chicago and in the south, enjoy our adventure. We've got Ethan's birthday in a few days and our first anniversary on the 15th.

If you would've told me a year ago, days before I was to marry my best friend, that within a years time I would quit my "dream" job, start hiking a 2,000+ mile long trail with a tiny savings account, only to quit six weeks in, I wouldn't believe you. Because who I was is not who I am.

Who's to say we won't finish the trail in the future, with the hardest part under our belt? God works in mysterious ways. We are so excited to see what doors He opens next, on our little adventure.

In Gorham, we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts when we felt like quitting. At the time, it worked!

The train

Scenery passing by, goodbye trail!

Day 53, Massachusetts

September 5

596ish down, 1589ish to go

Oh, September. Is it ever starting to feel like fall! Brrrr. Even when it is sunny, the air is still chilly, nights touching jnto the thirties. Leaves are starting to fall and are turning from a luscious green to a humbling shade of yellow. Has summer bid its adieu? Guess so...

We might need our winter clothes soon. Today has been a great hike, leaving Vermud, and crossing the state line into Massachusetts. Out fourth state! I had to pause at the border. Where we got service, and order NotYets birthday present. I'm not telling!

We pressed on, enjoying what Massachusetts has to offer. We picked a camp site right outside of North Adams, just feet from the river we'd followed down the trail. We could hear the train in the middle of the night. Beautiful. 

Our fourth state

Massachusetts border

Adjusting his shoes

Day 52, New Shoes and Frightening Near Death Experience at Taco Bell

September 4

578.2 down, 1607.7 to go

We got a later start today, but still made great time. We decided to book it in the afternoon to Bennington to buy new shoes for me. They had gotten to the point where the toe of the shoe was no longer attached to the sole and sticks would hitchhike with me for a few steps. We pitched our tent near a river and beautiful bridge right near the highway outside of Bennington and put out thumbs out for a ride on the side of the road. After 30 minutes with no luck, I was starting to get cold so I asked NotYet to go grab my pants from the camp. Who gave us a ride? The first car to pass by when he was out of sight...whatever works, I guess!

We got into Bennington, got me some new shoes, and booked it to Taco Bell. Let me pause for a second to ask you, have you ever eaten a Cheesy Gordita Crunch and swallowed to soon and the crispy tortilla was caught going down your throat in a piece too big? You paused, looking at the person across from you, your life flashing before or eyes...Was this it, am I really going to die in a Taco Bell in small town America? Had that ever happened to you? That's what happened to me. I took a swig of some water and somehow survived. My throat was really sore though.

We paid for a taxi and got a ride back to our cozy tent with enough time to read about the adventures of John Muir and Dan Brown. A great day in hiker town. 

Bridge near campsite 

My shoes on their last leg, pun intended. He he... Not pictured: the massive hole near the pinkie toe on the left shoe!

Day 51, Biggest Day

September 3

559.2 down, 1626.7

Woo! Our biggest day yet, 21.1 miles. Jeff at the hostel was awesome, the kitchen was equipped with all the fixens for a make your own breakfast. We left full and happy!

We left Green Mountain House early and were on the trail by 7:15. It was a great flat day with no big climbs until Stratton Mountain. Stratton was the summit where Benton MacKaye conceived the idea of the AT. It looked like it would rain, but it never did! A dry hiker is a happy hiker. 

When we got to Story Spring shelter, exhausted, we realized there were a ton of section and Long Trail hikers and that the shelter was full. We pitched our tent, hoping for a rain free night. 

I picked up a John Muir book at the hostel to read. He is so inspiring! The man lived in nature. And, go figure, NotYet picked up another Dan Brown novel to read. Back to the back burner I go. Haha.

Day 50, Green Mountain House

September 2
Zero Day

We are enjoying a much needed zero day at the Green Mountain House. We can finish the trail in Mid-November if we want to do twenties and mid-twenties everyday. But if we get to the shelter every night and are stressed out and not enjoying our experience on the trail, what's the point? Now that we know we will be able to finish in time and still enjoy a few days in town, we feel a lot better.
Bob made us breakfast this morning and we got on our way. It took a while to hitch a ride back into Manchester, but we finally got here. We enjoyed a couple hours at a local cafe. The coffee was as thick as mud...mmm!
Jeff from the Green Mountain House picked us up around noon. Can't wait to break into some ice cream and watch a movie!

Paradise...

The Green Mountain House, the perfect place to zero! So clean and cozy 

Day 49, Manchester

September 1
538.1 down, 1647.8 to go

We made the quick ten or so miles into Manchester by 1:00, giving us plenty of time to resupply and get Ben & Jerry's. The best hostel on the AT is supposedly the Green Mountain House, which is known for it's very clean atmosphere and what else in Vermont... a pint of Ben & Jerry's! After doing a lot of miles in the past week, we were feeling like a day off.

We didn't want to stay two nights at the hostel and spend a ton of money, so we found a couple on a list at EMS, who hosted hikers at their home for free, Bob and Marge. Bob was very kind, he gave us directions to their home and told us he'd probably be gone when we got there, but to make ourselves at home. He also warned us about their chocolate lab, Bromley, who would lick us to death. Sure enough, their home was open and unlocked. Bromley came around and welcomed us with a licking. We showered and did laundry and sat down in their living room. We learned that Marge used to be president of the Green Mountain Club, the club in charge of maintaining the part of the trail we were on -- cool! It felt like Goldilocks and the Three Bears! We hoped it was the right house! It was.

Ah, that's what we forgot to pack...

NotYet at a well

Nom...

We walked up on some hikers trying to get a ride. His tactic was showing some leg

Bromley, the aggressive licker

Day 48, Cairn City

August 31

528.0 down, 1657.9 to go

Woo hoo! Today was our biggest mileage day yet...almost 20...19.6. We stopped 3.6 miles into our day to do a quick resupply in Wallingford. A man stopped for us after we'd been waiting for a while. 

We went to the Country Store and picked up some stuff. We were just about to wait for a ride again, when the man came back from dropping his trash off and walking his dog and asked if we wanted a ride back...Um, yes!

We passed by a giant cairn field. Cairns are man made rocks piled on top of each other to mark the trail, often on summits or where there aren't a lot of trees that can be marked with blazes. We remembered Unitic talking a while ago about a place in Vermont that looked like gnomes had stacked a ton of rocks. It was a cool site.

The leaves are starting to slowly change colors...fall will be here soon!
Even with our hour and a half stop, we did the mileage we intended and made it to Peru Peak Shelter by 6:30. Getting an earlier start in the day really makes a difference. Our goal is to be out and back on the trail every morning by 7....Sometimes we're great about it. Other days, we're lucky if we're out by 8:30. We're getting better though! We figure we should start getting up earlier, because the days will be getting shorter soon.

Getting my dog fix while hitching a ride. 

Hiding in the cairns

NotYet building a cairn

The leaves are changing colors

Hiker legs 

A view - rare in Vermont!