Buddles of hiking and butterfly kisses

After going through several small states the last six weeks, this is the first week at a time that I have not completed one of the 14 that offer land to the AT. The most important news of this week is that three incredible and important people joined me on the trip and I am taking the opportunity to reduce speed and jump to make the most of the time I have with them. I will focus this update on the southern part of Vermont that I covered with my roommate of the university and my son during his separate and consecutive visits. I decided to save the second half of Vermont for later so that my son can be part of the epic adventure that New Hampshire brings.

To the box score

• Friends people – 192/192
• Interesting wild creatures – 0
• Errors – 1
• Injury report: the left shoulder is not yet great; The big fingers are numb.

Continuing with my tendency to see evidence of interesting animals, but not of the animals themselves, I can definitely say all the peanuts that are hawp in vermont. I appreciate that the alces, like all wild animals, are not addressed for a hug, but I would not mind seeing one from a respectful distance. My snake count has fallen significantly and even the small red squirrels seem to have been scarce. I am starting to think that I am too loud in the forest with my posts that are stamped in rocks and the most recent conversations with hiking companions. I’m still attentive!

I will mention this week’s error as a reminder than a story with a horrible result. As I had two colleagues with me this week, I am discovering that it underestimates the amount of water we need during the day. On two occasions, we reached the bottom of our water transported before reaching the reliable water source that we had confirmed in Farout. It really is not a great idea because you never know what will happen in the forest, so I will give more attention to this in the future.

In addition to the left shoulder pain that I am driving with rest and stretching, I discovered that I can no longer feel my big fingers. It has not caused any equilibrium problem, which will be important as I climb the rock fragments in the coming weeks, so I am with the assumption that this is temporary. My feet remind me that they were not designed for this level of daily abuse.

Friends and family in Vermont

Almost a year ago, when I began to speak out loud (the internal voice had been chatting for years) about until doing the AT in 2025, I obtained a variety of reactions of friends and family. They were all encouraging, some seemed jealous and a few said they would love to meet me. Blue Bear continues to be a daily source of support along the path, while Beancounter is crushing all the complexity of keeping the house and businesses running at home in Virginia. In addition to that family support, my aunt who lives in Vermont was able to catch up with us for dinner recently. It was great to see her!

One of the most enthusiastic responses I got last year was from my college house in the University, Basia, who leads a life occupied in Colorado. It is surrounded by phenomenal trails at home, but chose to fly east to join me for a five -day trip through the green tunnel that is southern Vermont. She is the best type of companion: universally positive and grateful for the opportunity to get away from her normal life, turn off her cell phone and wait for the rain to pass while reading a book in her hammock cocoon.

We had had a long day of hiking when we reached an excessive refuge with an eclectic mixture of adults, children and pets. Everything was a bit too much for us, so we chose to go beyond the shelter to a rumored place next to a castor swamp. I was nervous that the place was not what we needed and that we would have to walk even more to find a place to settle for the night. My concerns, as they are usually, were unfounded and the stage was completely perfect!

There are some reasons why hikers choose to stay close to shelters: some do so for the opportunity to meet other people or save the discomfort of establishing their store, but shelters also provide a place and a place to store their food safely in the cunning and persistent creatures that love a good protein bar as much as any excursionist. I have been very lucky so far in choosing camps that have food storage; Unfortunately, the beautiful Beaver Bog site. This is where it is important to understand that 1) I have the worst hand-eo coordination of anyone who has known and 2) adequate food storage requires that you suspend your food from a limb of a tall tree and 6 feet of the main trunk of the tree. The first challenge is to find an adequate tree, followed by the uniform challenge of throwing an ultralight rope on the limb. In both tasks, Basia was an absolute champion. When we met many years ago as 18 -year -old children and our little university in Williamsburg, who knew we would be in the midst of Vermont Woods celebrating a successful PCT Bear Hang?

What champion: This girl put the food bag hanging in an adequate PCT style in an instant!

From time to time in life, the stars simply align and the unlikely can happen. So it was the conversation with my son, whom we will call more, when I talked about my crazy plan. As a result of good planning, he has been able to take summer between leaving his corporate work and starting his postgraduate school in Virginia. And from the beautiful four -month rest that has been won, he agreed to spend almost a month with his mother, walking through the most difficult section of AT through New Hampshire. You will listen much more about one more when you write on the White Mountains next time. It has been a huge gift to have its strength, humor and even temperament with me!

This Rock Scrable helped more one and I warms me for the climbs on New Hampshire.

Butterfly kisses

He had been thinking about the metaphor of butterfly kisses for a while to describe the feeling of seeing white flames along the path every day. Then, my fourth partner captured the photo of a yellow butterfly that lands in my bright colors sweatshirt and seemed the right time to write about small and sweet gestures that make a difference in the day. When my children were young, we loved the times when they let their eyelashes graze our face in a simple act of care. As they have grown, simple gestures have changed, but we still feel grateful and loved by all of them.

Despite my previous comments on Trail’s confusion in New York, most of the AT is extraordinarily well marked. Every time I feel that I need a small reminder that the crews of the paths are taking care of me, I can look and see one of the white flames that mark the road. I have never been a great admirer of uncertainty and I do not like you to lose me in the forest, so these frequent 2 × 6 inches paint spots are like butterfly kisses to create security and a feeling of being sure and on the right path. Thanks to all the people who carry paint and a brush in the forest and make sure that the road is clear.

Curiosities of the path

When we completed the contradictory task of climbing the slope of ski in Bromley Mountain, they received us with the most welcoming summit through the imaginable summit. A high and resistant metal tower gave uninterrupted views of 360 degrees from the surrounding mountains, wild flowers flourished along the side of the path, a ski patrol cabin provided electricity and a clothing dryer (!) For wet items. Maybe the best of all were these lovely Adirondack chairs. This place was such an important change of all other mountain peaks that won a place in my «curiosities» for its uniqueness. Thanks, Bromley Trail people. You are great.

Remember to look for beauty

You don’t have to look much in the beauty in Vermont!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Help me reach my goal of raising $ 25,000 for the ATC this year.

This website contains affiliate links, which means that the walk can receive a percentage of any product or service that you buy using the links in the items or ads. The buyer pays the same price that would do it differently, and his purchase helps to support the continuous objective of the walk to address his quality backpack advice and information. Thanks for your support!

For more information, visit the page about this site.