Today we walked right to the back door of the Inn at the Long Trail...and we blue blazed. For those of you not well-versed in Appalachian Trail culture/lingo, let me explain. On the trail, there are those who are "purists" and those who are not. Purists preach a doctrine of following the white blazes (the official AT) at all costs--that even means walking back to complete the extra 100 feet your hitch hiking ride might have cut off by parking somewhere different than you got off (we're talking in a parking lot). They believe in carrying a full pack the entire 2185 miles and certainly not yellow blazing (skipping parts of the trail via car). To some extent, I fall into that category...let's call me a moderate purist. However, since we are not officially thru hikers, down we went to the blue blazed (short cut) path to destruction. The end result:
This famous lodge was built in 1938 and has tons of character and Irish flair. The lobby is dark and cozy and Emily and I found lots of instruments to play with (while dad berry reclined Roman style).
This afternoon, we buses and hitch hiked into Rutland, VT for groceries and plenty of yummy food.
Hiker hunger clearly affects some more than others!
Tonight, it was back to reorganizing and attempting to de-stink our clothes for another stretch of the trail.
Next stop: Hanover, NH and an Ivy League college visit (Dartmouth College).
nice to see the Tennessee three one last time. good luck on your adventure
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