a rare photo

I do wish I had the time to upload more photos from the trip, but tending to a dog and myself takes more effort than I anticipated. Until I get back home, here's a photo from our stay at the Green Mountain House in Manchester Center, Vermont. This was a great hostel, and exceptionally well run by former thru-hiker Jeff. He took this photo after he dropped us at the trailhead. Gracie actually rode in the cab of the pickup, not the bed. She looks pretty stout in this picture. It's amazing how muscular she's become. She'll be wearing her pack again for the Whites. She has lots of extra energy in the evenings, thanks to the cooler weather and being pack-free for such a long time. Manchester Center was the first time we hitched a ride into town. Gracie & I didn't have much luck. We stood at the road for 20-40 minutes. Checkpoint joined us about 15 minutes before it started to rain, and we soon had a ride into town. I'm not too fond of hitchhiking, even though it's easier/safer around trail towns than elsewhere. We'll have to hitch a few more times before this is all over, though. Headed to another hostel near Hanover, New Hampshire for the night. Tomorrow we begin our approach to the White Mountains.

My first convertible

pants, that is, and other things I never thought I'd do or wear on this trip...

• Get convertible pants. My first pair of hiking pants were great, but although my weight has stayed pretty consistent, I've got more leg muscle, as is typical for women hiking the trail, so they were getting a little snug in the legs and not comfortable for hiking. I picked up a pair of convertible hiking pants (zip off legs to convert to shorts) at my most recent town stop and love them!
• Eat as much ice cream as I have. MediumRare was right! Almost every town stop includes at least one serving of ice cream. Some hostels have pints of Ben & Jerry's on hand, and that's always a factor in choosing a place to stay. While waiting for the bus after grocery shopping in Dalton, Journey & I shared a pint of Ben & Jerry's in the parking lot. Awesome.
• Wear crocs. Fake ones, that is. The Smokies taught me that I needed a pair of camp shoes to give my feet a break from wet, soggy hiking shoes. I tried flip flops in Hot Springs, but my feet kept sliding out of them and it's hard to wear them with socks. So, in Damascus, I relented and got a pair of fake crocs. I've always thought crocs were kinda ugly, and considered them a gateway shoe to Birkenstocks and all they represent. But I am now a convert. Best $5 I've spent on the trail. My "crocs" are incredibly comfortable, awesome camp shoes, and the reality is, I am becoming more of a crunchy granola-eating, Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging hippie all the time, I might as well accept it and embrace it.
• Go this long without a haircut. I anticipated cutting my hair somewhere around the halfway point, but I haven't yet, so I might as well wait until the finish.
• Wear shorts over my long underwear. This started in the Smokies in the interest of having something warm and dry to wear in the evening around camp. Comfort and functionality trump looks.
  
• Miss family and friends as much as I have. The biggest of them all. I am so grateful for the community I am a part of, the support and love I receive, and am glad to know I have a home to return to. Not much more I can say about that.
  

There are probably more, but that's all I can think of right now. We'll be hitting New Hampshire in the next week, which means more challenging climbs and weather (as if the relentless rain has not been challenging enough), and probably less internet access at hostel/town stops. I'm getting excited about the terrain ahead, but also realizing that my initial schedule was far too ambitious. I'm officially two weeks behind that schedule, and will probably add at least 5-10 days to that over the next several weeks. And that's ok with me. Gracie is doing great and looking great. She had a good swim at Stratton Pond a few days ago. There were river otters in the pond and one swam within 50 feet of her to check her out. Thankfully Gracie was fully engaged in fetching a stick and didn't see the otter. I'm pretty tired and footsore at the end of each day, but still (mostly) motivated to hike each morning. The morning miles go by pretty fast, and the afternoon miles go slowly. The last two miles always seem to be the longest, no matter how few or many miles I've hiked each day, but some days I'm able to savor them instead of constantly wondering "are we there yet?" Until next time...

insert clever title here

Today is our four month trail-versary, and I made Journey laugh over breakfast when I said I thought it was quite fitting to spend it zero-ing in town! We hiked only three miles to get to Dalton, MA yesterday, then spent the rest of the day dealing with the bus service to get to our maildrops in Cheshire and get more food for Gracie. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I planned to get from Sheffield, MA to Manchester Center, VT in 5 days. Not gonna happen! Twenty mile days are no longer part of my vocabulary. So, yesterday's "rest day" was not so restful and we decided to stay on another day. Lots has happened since Gracie & I left New Jersey.
We stayed at Graymoor Spiritual Life center (run by a bunch of Franciscan monks), camping behind the ballfield backstop. They were having a centennial celebration/reunion weekend for their recovery program, and all the hikers were invited to share in the meals that day, which was a nice treat. Although the stop at Graymoor wasn't the peace and quiet hoped for, just being there brought a sense of calm and serenity, especially when I took Gracie for a walk through the grounds and visited to eclectic shrines and memorials.
The following day, it rained and rained, and when the thunder and lightning started, Gracie and I literally crawled under a rock for a bit to wait out the weather. After we started walking again, I spent the rest of the afternoon cursing the trail and every frustrating thing about it. Being at Graymoor helped me be aware of and feel my anger and frustration, and letting it out was really cathartic. The rain cleared up before I reached the shelter, and by the next morning, I was happy to hike again.
We camped in the backyard of a real estate office (with permission) in Kent, CT and I had a "Kent Mocha" at Kent Coffee & Chocolate before leaving town the next morning. Kent is the kind of place people go to buy things they don't need, but the people were friendly and they had some great public art. I picked out a dark chocolate ginger Buddha at the chocolate shop, and packed it out of town for a trail treat. In Salisbury, CT, we visited the nation's first public library, Journey and Blink shared their ice cream with me on the benches outside the local market, and we all cooked and ate dinner on the lawn of the town square, beneath a statue, before hiking a mile out of town to camp.
We spent a "working zero" at an organic farm near Sheffield, MA, where we spent hours weeding and mulching peppers and eggplants in exchange for a place to tent, showers, laundry, a trip to Great Barrington for shopping (they have a great co-op!), and meals that reminded me of Casa de Luz. Almost everything served was grown on the farm.
We're staying at the house of the nicest guy in Dalton. He's opened his home to hikers for 30 years! Hiking the trail is an amazing opportunity to experience firsthand the kindness and generosity of the human spirit. Trail magic is one of the things I'll remember most about this adventure.