Vermont

We said goodbye to Massachusetts, the good views, the nice people, and began our journey in Vermont. 

The Appalachian Trail joins the Long Trail for 105 miles before breaking off to the east just after Killington, VT. There are some good things and some not so good things about this. The long Trail is older than the AT and goes through the Green Mountains of Vermont. They are beautiful an it is nice to have the climbs back and the feeling of being in the mountains again. The bugs are almost non existent! There are some pestering deer flies and black flies, but the mosquitoes are just about gone and the heat streak has ended for now. 

The entire Long Trail is 273 miles and extends from the northern Massachusetts border into Canada traversing all the way through Vermont. The trail is much more busy because of the kids hiking the Long Trail and it can be confusing as to who is hiking which trail, but we are figuring it out. 

Back in the mountains means back to the huge boulders. It is cool to feel so small every once in a while. 

Lots of stream and creek crossings again. 

This was our first moose track on the trail. We are keeping our eyes and ears open hoping to see one in the wild as we continue north. 

If you look closely you can see me crossing a bridge over this rocky creek. 

A closer view. 

Time to rehydrate. Don't worry, we filtered it first. 

Puddin squeezing the water through the filter

More big rocks where the trail winds through. 

The Long Trail took a long time to construct. Part of the reason is because Vermont is so muddy and rocky. This picture shows some rock staircases made by badass volunteers. 

The fire tower on top of Mt. Glastonbury. 

The view from the top of the fire tower. We hit this on in the morning and it was one of the best views on the trail. We loved seeing the mountains in the distance and the fog down in the valleys. 

The happy couple enjoying the view. 

Looking straight down from the tower. 

Me getting out of the cool morning breeze for a minute. Being in the mountains and the weather system changing has really shaken things up. One of the other hikers told us it got down to 53 degrees the night before. It was nice that it was actually cool enough to get into our sleeping bags again, but we are down to the bear minimum as far as clothes go. We still have rain jackets, down jackets, and wind shirts, but the thermals were sent home months ago. With the white mountains just ahead in New Hampshire we are thinking we will be asking for them back soon. Shorts and a tshirt might not cut it much longer. 

An old pond we passed by. 

Stratton Mountain is where the idea for the Long Trail and the AT were both conceived. I think it is also is where the author of Moby Dick came up with the idea. We did not have any authentic ideas while we were up there, but we enjoyed the view from the top of the fire tower. You can see 5 states from the top. 

Puddin risking her life for a good picture. 

This is Stratton pond. You can see it in the distance from the fire tower pics. We were going to go swimming until we saw the dead catfish floating next to the shore. 

Time to retire these shoes. Puddin got an impressive 800 miles out of these ones. Probably too long, but its hard to switch up when you're not having problems with the shoes on your feet. Normally most hikers are lucky to get 500 miles out of their shoes. 

I just got these ones and the rocks already have taken their toll on them. Thank goodness for super glue. 

Spanky takes the cake. He still has a bit before his new shoes are delivered too. Seeing this makes me not worry so much about my shoes. 

This is the view from Prospect Rock looking down into Manchester Center, VT. We are staying here for the night and resupplying before pushing through Vermont. We are not looking forward to the rain in the upcoming forcasts, but we have enjoyed the dry weather while it has lasted. The most exciting thing in our near future, Sleeping Beauty getting back on the trail. He went home to get better and has had a healthy dose of antibiotics in case he did get Lyme disease. He will be meeting back up with us on Saturday and keep going north with us and make up the section he got off trail for later. We have not felt like a whole family since he left an Spanky is missing his snuggle buddy while we are in hotels. We can't wait for his smiling face, positive attitude, and big red beard to be a daily occurrence in our lives again.