Date: 2016-09-17
From: Acadia National Park

To: Rutland, Vt
Miles today: 1.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Total Trip Miles:1523.7After a long time away an update is here. The last part of our trip has gone by super fast and at the end of the day im tired. This will be a brief review of what we have been up to. On September 1 we went and picked our trail friend Hazel and Storm up for dinner. That was a super nice treat to see them and also get them dinner after they completed the Mahoosuc notch. We could have talked all night but we couldnt keep them up too super late. After the 1st we went into the wildcats. The views of the Presidential range were very clear for us. They say that bad luck normally comes in 3s and I can offically say that has come true for me. While going up on one semi wet morning I sliped and came crashing down foward onto my left knee. It hurt my ego because I had a crowd when I fell. The knee is black amd blue but still functions. So that was bad luck #1. Side note we have been super lucky to have not had any major injuries. While we were up on Mt. Mariah a lady sliped and broke her ankle. We continued our hiking further into the whites. Mt. Washington was totally foged in when we summited it. The appalachain trail skirts all of the sumits so you have to hike extra to sumit the mountains. The best views we got to see and experience was from the declines. Lots of rocks and a majority of your hiking is above tree line. Once we were out of the whites it was a smoother hike. We actually got to walk some switch backs which we havent hiked since virginia. Were now midway in Vermont. We took a day off to go and tour the Ben&Jerrys factory. Got to try a new flavor milk and cookies. We even made a stop to woodchuck cider house. Vermont is super pretty it reminds me of hiking in Virginia. For the next leg of our trip decided to change it up for a bit. We rented a car and have been slack packing. Thats where you only hike with water. Our jumbo packs stay in the car. Were able to hike a ton more miles then our normal pace. Our goal to finish second week of October. We both are still enjoying our experience but are ready to move on to bigger and better things. Who thought walking all day would eventually get a bit boring. In order to change up the pace we visit a historic park. Tons of history to see on the East coast. So back to my back luck comes in threes. #2 My sleeping pad no longer holds air. I had to sleep directly on the ground. It sucks because that means I cant sleep on my sides. A new one is in the plans next town. #3 and hopefully the final streek of bad luck. Last night I left the tent in the dark to use the restroom. I came back in but I guess I hadn't unziped the tent enough because I tripped on the door flap and launched myself into the tent landing right on my glasses. I herd the dreaded crunch. Thankfully I didnt take out Gray in the process. I used my headlamp to inspect the damage. The line that holds my lenses into my frame had broken. There is no way I could go without. If I went on the trail without glasses I probley would end up talking to a bear thinking it was a human. lol There was one other time I walked on the trail without glasses. I started talking to a guy I thought me knew but later on Gray informed me I had been talking to a random HOBO that we actually didnt know. It is now fixed with tape. Today was a long hike but we went and saw the Norman Rockwell Museum. I will try harder to keep everyone well informed!