Date: 2014-06-28
From: Mt. Greylock, MA

To: Manchester Center, VT
Miles today: 64.5

Day 108: Saturday, 28 June 2014 Manchester Center, VT (Mile 1646.1)¢I¢m in Manchester Center, Vermont! Jenna sent a care package here, with a copy of her book. I wasn¢t going to make it to the outfitters in time to pick it up so ShyBear got it for me! I was surprised he was able to pick it up for me.Jenna also sent some brownies but told me to be careful since she made them way ahead of time and it was almost a week before I got here! They¢re still good, though. Thanks, Jenna!So, Mom, I had an idea¢¦¢¢Yes, son?¢¢Would you want to go on the 50-miler? It¢s ONLY 50 miles and you have the gear now.¢¢I¢ve let my registration lapse, so I don¢t know if I CAN go.¢¢You can re-register!¢¢That MIGHT be a possibility. I¢ll consider it. It probably depends on where they¢re planning to go.¢FAHthur chimed in, ¢I think it may be something in the Cascades, but I don¢t think Dave (the Scoutmaster) has anything planned out yet. We could come up with suggestions. Maybe something on or along the PCT.¢¢It might be fun to do a north to south hike on the PCT and maybe run into some thru-hikers along the way!¢¢I¢ll think about it. Dad and I can look at the map and talk to Dave about it. We¢ve got some time yet.¢¢If you check my account and see a debit from Eastern Mountain Sports, I bought yet another pair of sunglasses and a head net. I¢ll be more careful with these sunglasses, and I¢ll probably be wearing them more through the Whites, where there¢s little shade.I¢m doing much better, although I must be finding crappy campsites because the foam pad just doesn¢t cut it anymore. I may have you send my NeoAir in the next box. [If you saw his sleeping pad, you¢d wonder why he even bothers to carry it! A few leaves on the ground would work just as good, if not better!]¢Hey, Michael, I hate to cut you off, but we¢re about to head out of the house to rendezvous with Mango and his wife downtown!¢¢They¢re coming through today? That is way cool! Tell them I said ¢Hi!¢¢¢We will. Love you, son!¢So we hung up the phone and shot out the door. They sent a text about a half hour ago, saying they¢d be in Olympia in about an hour and it takes us about half an hour to get into town! We planned to meet in the parking lot of the Farmers Market, since it would be closed, and go to Batdorf & Bronson¢s Dancing Goats Espresso Caf© across the street. While we waited and watched, FAHthur tried to keep a raccoon from going into the street, except that it then went into the garden near the market. A woman, who was still packing or cleaning up, kept yelling at it to go away! In the meantime, I watched for their car.Twenty minutes past when we thought they¢d be there, and I almost sent a text when we saw their car come through the round-about. For you Olympians, their map app took them from I-5 southbound to HWY 101 to Mud Bay, then up Mud Bay Road and down Harrison into town! Mango asked if he should have just gotten off at the Capitol exit!Dancing Goats was closing in 10 minutes, but long enough to get some drinks and a bite to eat. We sat outside ¢ cloudy but didn¢t rain. Jane, ¢Mrs. Mango¢, commented when she got out of the car that it was chilly, having just come from 90° temperatures in Tennessee!It was so great to meet Mango and his wife. He and Buffalo met in 2012, when Buffalo, then ¢Aster¢, and Connor, then ¢Frankenspoon¢ hiked the Oregon section of the PCT. Mango mentioned about meeting Scones and Doodles with Buffalo last year when the three were going south-bound in Oregon. Then this year, Buffalo and GOAT gave Mango a call from the AT. Mango and Jane took them to dinner and grocery shopping.They are planning a trip around the Olympic Peninsula, taking the boat up Lake Chelan to Stehekin, the train in Canada, then back down to Glacier National Park, where Mango will start section-hiking the Continental Divide Trail! Doesn¢t THAT sound like an adventure!We didn¢t have much time since they still had about a 3-hour drive to Port Townsend. We hailed a passerby to take our picture then Mango asked about getting back on the highway. After some thought, we said, ¢Follow us! We have to head home that way so we¢ll get you to HWY 101 and through the split with HWY 8. Soon after the split, we¢ll exit onto our road, but you keep on 101.¢It was a fun little visit, another PCT-AT Thru-Hiking connection come full circle. FAHthur and I like to travel and we like to meet travelers. Our Buffalo and these long-distance trails have opened up a whole new venue for us, seeking out-of-the-way places to do Trail Magic, being a part of the hikers¢ stories and them a part of ours! The ¢Magic¢ is in the Community, meeting others, helping others, doing good for others. Hmmmm. There may be something here! Thanks for reading.The Mum and¢¦..