We officially walked to Maine! It was very exciting to see this sign! The book said that the state line was this yellow paint spot but I wasn’t expecting to see a sign since the majority of our previous state lines didn’t have anything. There is a sticker that I see frequently at outfitters, one I will have to get, that says “Yes, I walked here from Georgia”. Yes, folks, I walked here from Georgia. Can you believe that? That saying comes because when you run into someone, usually a person who isn’t familiar with the trail, they are always incredulous that you’ve walked that far. Sometimes I think it…

The Whites -noun 1)a mountain range in N New Hampshire, part of the Appalachian Mountains. Highest peak, Mt. Washington, 6293 ft. (1918 m). 2)Ass kicker 3)Vermont + Pennsylvania combined. Mud + rocks. 4)Mileage reducer 5)Beautiful 6)Exhausting 7)Crowded Ahhhh….we’re done with the Whites!!! THANK YOU GOD! Ok…so I’m a touch dramatic, but wow, what a wipe out, tiring experience. After doing Moosilauke (which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be) and getting slowed down on the north side of Kinsman Notch we had to re-think our mental game in terms of mileage. Goodbye 15+ mile days. We couldn’t even think it. When you look at the book it seems…

the White Mountains are kicking their butts. Its cold and windy and they got some rain last night. Doing about 12-14 mile days.

My birthday dinner in West Hartford, VT. The General Store is right on the trail so stop in and have a sandwich, ice cream and pizza! Rock cairns. Clarendon Gorge. Worth stopping to swim! The climb out is a pain though! Little Pond See ya later Long Trail! (though I kinda want to go back and finish it!) Getting off the bus from Rutland and back onto the trail. Some southbounders, Birthday Suit, Ceviche and White Blaze. Yes, that is a pit bull!!

Some kind of purple fringe orchid near Griffith Pond on Vermont. Another orchid. Another? Maple syrup tubes! Ok, this doesn’t smell like wildflowers, but it was a really cool privy at Thistle Hill shelter. Finally, a privy that isn’t a dungeon! The ones in the south are usually open at the top so you can actually breathe!

We’re sitting at the very hoity-toity campus of Dartmouth at the moment. I certainly feel out of place, especially when we went to a college where flip-flops, shorts and pj bottoms were the haute-couture of the day and spending time between classes at the beach were the norm. Yes, my friends, we have made it to New Hampshire. We made a pit stop in the town of Norwich, VT, just on the other side of the Connecticut River to get some day old and free sandwiches from Dan & Whit’s General Store. Mmmm! We also benefited from two trail magic’s during our road walk from the trail head! Yes, my…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISTI. From, Your bro, sis-in-law, and your favorite niece.

So, we’re getting a cool front tonight/tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to it—well, sorta. The cooling off part I can handle, I can’t handle the rain that is coming with it. I hate rain. Or rather, I hate rain that I have to walk in. Being wet in clothes isn’t too bad, but I hate, despise, and sneer at having wet feet. It makes me really grumpy. Last year apparently there were 30 straight days of rain. I would have bailed after the first few days. Not to mention I’m getting all antsy about the Whites and am not going to be happy to have rain and bad weather going…

Another on the ground video. Pennsylvania.

At a shelter in New York. Chris watched this ‘fella/gal’ go into its nest for awhile and decided to set the camera down and see what happened next! Feel free to skip ahead to about 25 seconds.