Stormy Nights on the AT

Stormy skies on the AT.

   Last night, we did our final overnight on the Trail for this trip on the AT.  We hiked a little over 26 miles in the course of 2 days.  26 miles that ended up being very tough miles.  There were lots of short but steep climbs and descents.  

A bit of high-tech AT mountaineering. 

    The terrain was demanding, but the weather also factored in to our hike this time.  Just as we were looking for a good spot to camp for the night, it started to thunder.  As soon as we got the tent set up and had a bite to eat, the rain rolled in.  It rained for most of the night.  Heavily.  Not just rained, stormed.  At one point, Amicus and I counted 4 seconds between the lighting and accompanying thunder.  Luckily, we had gotten camp set up before the storm began, and all of our gear held up beautifully, which was wonderful.  We didn't even get anything except the tent wet.  We were well prepared, and it actually ended up being a lot of fun.
  

Traversing the AT fields.

   Today, we got to the rendezvous point in time for a yummy hamburger lunch and a little exploring.  We have an extra treat because Trail Sister is here with us now, to join us while we finish this round of our AT adventure.  Here in Vermont, they are very proud of their cheeses and other dairy products, which all come from the fine Vermont dairy farms. We got to visit one of those dairy farms today, and it was full of knowledgable people and beautiful animals.
 

Making some new friends at the the dairy.