Day #5, Tour guide Carl and Bennington Palace--miles hiked: 4.3

Today has been a grand day! We slept in this morning and had breakfast in bed.

After that, we took a slow walk down to Bennington, VT. Natalie's knee has been hurting pretty bad, so we all walked together, told stories, and kept her company. 

Once we got down to the road, it was time for hitch hiking 101. Mr. Berry showed us the basics and then the teenage girls took over.

After a few minutes, we all piled into an old station wagon with Carl--a wonderful dude with braids and a lot of life under his belt. He took us on a personal tour of Bennington and dropped us off just in time for lunch at the local farmers market.

We then moved into Bennington Palace (aka a cheap motel) and took SHOWERS! 

After a second lunch (which is becoming a regularity), we headed to the laundromat to do some much needed washing. 

For now, we continue to wait for clean clothes and prepare for more culinary treasures. More tomorrow!

Day #4, Goodbye Massachusetts and Hello Vermont!--miles hiked: 17.1

This morning we said goodbye to our new thru hiker friends Sisu and Swayed (but caught up with them a mile down the trail). The day started off with a walk through North Adams, MA and a nice climb up to the MA/VT border.

Checking the maps before we set off...

Here's a picture of a typical AT blaze that leads (or tries to lead in our case) hikers through a town. Notice we walk right by people's houses.

After passing through someone's yard who had a hose out for sweaty hikers and climbing up a near vertical rock face (remember, switchbacks are nearly unheard of here), we rached the border!

Here, Vermont's Long Trail meets the AT and the two merge for a hundred miles before the Long Trail splits off and continues to the Canadian border.

Did I forget to mention that Vermont is also know as Vermud? It's true.

To finish off a weary 17 mile day, Mr. Berry (now known as Shabat-Hebrew for Sabbath), fixed a "taste treat sensation"....spam, mashed potatoes, and sloppy joe sauce-yum--or yuck, take your pick.

We're headed to town tomorrow, happy trails!

Day #3, Mt. Greylock--miles traveled: 16.3

Last night, we had Crystal Springs Campsite all to ourselves...and boy was it cold! We had almost all of our layers on, but we stayed pretty toasty in our sleeping bags.

But first, an update from yesterday: after I posted day #2, I saw a porcupine! He frightene me quite thoroughly, but he was also thankfully scared of me.

Oh, and we found an elderly crossing on the way out of town!

Ok, back to day #3...to start things off, I encountered a snake not even 2 miles from camp. He was right next to the trail, but I was way too ready to move past to snap a picture. 

Here are some shots from the morning walk down into Chesire, MA:

We're getting spoiled with towns--we walked through another today and grabbed an opportunity for a massive lunch and time to dry out our stuff.

After lunch, we climbed our first "big boy," Mt. Greylock. The trail passed through some beautiful farm land on the way up.

Here's the top of Greylock:

Bugs AND woodpeckers mean business around here.

Happy trails!

Day #2, Chilled Search for Trail Legs--miles hiked: 11 and counting

When we woke up this morning, the cold front had definitely taken it's place in the Berkshire Mountains. 

The walking has been wet and flat so far with lots of 2x4 bridges across the mushiest sections.

Massachusetts is a long green tunnel, but we've had several road crossings to break up the monotony. We even found a nice sign to confirm that we are heading in the right direction. 

The trail meandered its way out of the mountains, across a busy train track, and into Dalton, MA.

After Mr. Berry took a nap, we wandered through town and found a lovely, warm coffee shop called Juice en Java. We're resting here before hiking 4 more miles to camp.

Day #1, Beckett and Bugs--miles hiked:7.2

After a luxurious hotel with a pool, 4 more hours on the road, a final grocery run, and pizza lunch in Lee, MA, Will kindly dropped us off at the trail and we began following the white blazes.

The trail immediately started up the side of Beckett Mountain--literally. I suppose the people who blazed the trail here haven't heard of switch backs.

After signing the register, we hiked past a lovely lake and lots of marshy bog areas. 

Did I mention the BUGS? So far, they're unlike anything I've seen before. I think we inhaled 10 all together by dinner time. It puts the plagues in Exodus into perspective!

We decided to stop for the night at October Mountain Shelter where we entered "the bug free zones" (mesh canopies) and felt a cold front role in.

Drive until you drop and a mascot--miles traveled: 639

Today, we spent 11-12 hours in the car (the most road miles I've ever covered in a single day) and still have a few hundred to go tomorrow. We've been drving alongside the AT all day and even had lunch at a popular thru hiker hangout called The Barn (where the trail crosses I-81). 

All in all, the drive hasn't been too bad as we've taken a few frisbee breaks and had a whole lot of laughs.

Also, we have an official mascot! Meet "Kyle the Crocodile."

 He wil now be journeying with us and secretly appearing in pictures. Our new favorite question is quickly becoming, "where's Kyle?" Can you spot him?