Date: 2013-08-04
From: Green Mt House, Manchester Center, VT

To: Nowhere: Sitting in Broken Tent in Pouring Rain
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: broken clouds

It hailed on us as we pitched a tent on the side of the trail. We hoped to sit out the rain and then move on. The cold rain never stopped. Luckily we kept our boots dry. We are sick of putting on wet boots and wet clothes. It's like a Florida winter here, colder when we get wet. We are at our lowest point but will be okay, I'm sure. The girls are doing better than me. They rub my back and give me hugs as I have a little weepy meltdown. A main aluminum pole on the roof of our tent broke and then the hail pelted down. All 3 of our packs have shattered back supports. Cub's walking stick broke. Badonkadonk needed a warmer bag and ankle boots. Expensive VT town and no other option set us back $450 for that. We did great mileage yesterday only to lose it today with the rains. We usually walk in the storms but we were just too cold. We have no water left and the next source is 2 miles. We will be okay but it is uncomfortable. Badonkadonk is so awesome, she said that at least we aren't broken, even if our gear is. We are healthy with no real body issues. That is much more important than gear. Out here we see a lot of injuries and health issues that stop the journey. Okay sorry about the whining. Just had to dump that negative stuff. It's not all fun and games out here. We will pull it together and march onward, even more so if we get some sun. VT is beautiful, lush and very green. Sometimes the woods look like fairy tale woods to us. We laugh about a talking wolf popping out. There is a cool looking plant that has broad green leaves like a tulip at its base. A single, long green stem grows up out of the base. Stunning sapphire blue berry-like balls top the stem. They have a luster like a dark blue pearl. Maybe Blueberry can post one of our photos of it. Their name is something like Clintonia. I never tire of looking at the wild flowers. Cub likes the lava patterns she sees in the rocks. She also talks about plate tectonics that she learned about. She is fascinated that these high peaks were once ocean floors. She wants to find a fossil or shell imprint on a rock. Badonkadonk likes all the glittery quartz in the rock. It's sparkly silver in VT.   We all love he daily fresh berries. Okay. I feel better. ByeSince it is raining and early the girls said they will do a gear and advice review:1-get a good pocket knife. We ordered ours online and got our names engraved. Hey are bright yellow therefore easy to find. They also glow in the dark. The scissors and fingernail cleaner are the most used part2-take baby wipes to wipe off sweat (salt)every night3-crocs!!!! You have to give your feet a rest as often as you can. 4- if roots and bumps bother you get a small thermarest mattress, the lightest weight you can find. It doesn't have to be any longer than from the top o your head to the bottom of your buttocks. 5-Tyvek. It's the best. We cut pieces that easily fold and fit into our outside pockets. We sit on these whenever its too dirty or wet. We put our stuff on it when we pack. We lay it inside out tent before we put out our sleeping bags in case the tent leaks or water runs between the tent footprint and the tent. We use these Tyvek squares everyday. 6-cub likes her bamboo socks, using just this one layer. Badonkadonk likes Injinji toe socks with the PhD merino wool over it. I use the Injinji compression socks with the wool over it. I pull the socks up when bushes hit and shove them down when hot7-cub likes her zip off long beige Columbia pants. They keep Mosquitos off and protect her legs. Badonkadonk lives in her compression shorts. 8-NO cotton. All dry wick, athletic clothing. 9-though I got them hats and sunglasses they never use them and sent them back10-best raingear advice. Get a lightweight rain jacket and pants. Only wear the pants in the rain. Save the jacket for when you stop so you can stay warm. The jackets are so hot you get them wet from sweat. That way when we set up a tent we can stay drier and warm. The rain pants have aggravated the girls to no end. The Marmot pants have waist pull strings that are too short. The pants keep falling down. As you sweat your bending knees pull the pants down. The string is sewn in so we can't restring it. We now run cub's belt (a must since we all have lost weight on the trail) through the backside label and tie the front to the belt buckle. Still a work in progress. Will keep you informed. Rain covers for backpacks a must. Make sure they are big enough to cover hanging crocs and mat and all the stuff kids hang on their packs11-poles!!! Badonkadonk calls her Leki poles her "best friends". They've saved her from many a fall. Cub uses the cheapest poles from Walmart. They are called "Alpine Kids" and they've lasted 2 1/2 months. 12- we like the huge XXL Ziploc bags we line our backpack with and load our stuff in. We've never had a wet sleeping bag or wet extra clothes. 13-JetBoil- we've tried all the stoves, rocket pockets, etc. the jet boil works best for all our needs. We cook pasta, couscous, soups right in it. We use lots of quick reconstituted foodsLike instant oatmeal14-backpack update. We loved our Granite Gear Blaze AT 60 but just today we discovered that the main back support in all of our is shattered. It's a definite design flaw. We will let you know if and how granite gear remedies this. It's a mess and We are worried about our backs, especially Cub since she is growing. 15-today, an aluminum pole on our tent, which holds all three of us, snapped. It makes us wonder if the hard wearing of the trail hits at around 3 months. All our gear seems to be breaking. We try to be careful and protective of our gear but its starting to fail. The tent is a Big Agnes, Fly Creek UL3. We call her Harriet in honor of Harriet Tubman's perseverance and strength and courage. Hopefully Big Agnes stands behind their product. Will let you know. We are getting cold and are going to get in our warm, fluffy and comfortable Mont Bell sleeping bags. Any questions let us know.