The End of the Line...For Now...

Crossing the state line into New Hampshire

   Today was our last day of hiking for this round of our AT adventure.  We hiked about 8 miles.  We had such luck today, because even though the forecast included a 70% chance of rain and thunderstorms, we only walked in a drizzle for about 20 minutes.  

Last hike on the AT for a while.

    We didn't see many people on the trail today, so it was almost like we had the wilderness to ourselves.  We only stopped once during the entire hike.  At one point, we heard a mooing sound in the distance.  A local had recently told us that this was moose country.  This is also dairy farm country.  I'm choosing to believe what we heard was a moose bidding us farewell.  A little natural Trail Magic.

Non-moose Trail Magic on our last day.  I especially like the hiking boots repurposed as planters. 

   At the very end of our hike today, as part of one of the longest road-walks on the entire AT, we crossed the state line from Vermont into New Hampshire.  I always like ending with some sort of definable milestone.  This trip to the AT is particularly special for me because we took no zero days and it's the first time we've actually made it to our original goal point.  The trail walks right through the middle of Hanover, New Hampshire, home of Dartmouth College.  We said that we would hike to the Dartmouth bookstore.  And that's exactly where we ended up.  I've always said that this experience is not about the destination, but the journey.  I truly believe that, and I am trying to live it.  It's been a year since I was last on the AT, and I have no idea when I'll be able to be on the trail again.  Now, the "real world" is calling me out of the woods.  Once again I find myself saying goodbye to this adventure for awhile, and wondering where it will take me next.  The only thing I know for sure is that this journey is far from over, and the Trail still has much to teach me.  I have been blessed beyond measure with an incredible family and amazing opportunities, both here in the wilderness and beyond.  Happy Trails, friends of Nano.  Until our wanderings bring us together again.
    

An educational ending.

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mileage Update:

Miles Hiked this trip:  196.7

Miles from Springer Mountain:  1,737.3

Miles from Katahdin:  441.1

Views of Vermont

Trail Family at 1700 miles.

    We're getting close to the end of this part of our AT journey.  Today we hiked about 15 miles.  It was one of the only days of hiking we've had during this round that contained consistently good views. It was a beautiful day, and since it's the end of July, we even got to enjoy some organic trail treats, since the blackberries are just starting to ripen here in Vermont.

Foraging for blackberries.

    We hiked up lots of small hills today, and through lots of open fields, which is a departure from the "green tunnel"of Vermont forest we've been in for the past couple of weeks.  It was so nice to have such nice views all day.

Vermont Fields. 

     We had to walk on the road through town for the last bit of our hike today.  It's always interesting to see what kind of accommodations - if any - the trail towns make for hikers.  Some towns really go all out to make hikers feel at home.  I love seeing the little bits of trail magic the towns have to offer.

Hiker friendly!

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. 

Mountains and Shelters

Fireplace in a shelter.

      Today we walked about 11 miles, 5 of them uphill and 6 of them downhill.  It was yet another beautiful day, and we passed lots of other hikers on the trail.  We spent the first 5 miles climbing a mountain, only to discover that the AT didn't go to the actual summit and there was no nice view to enjoy at the top.  I prefer my long climbs with a rewarding view at the top.  But it was cool and breezy and sunny and a great day to be in the woods.  We passed a couple of very neat old shelters, one with a fireplace built into it and one with a stone (rather than dirt) floor that must've been built decades ago.  Always something interesting to see on the AT.

View of the Day - interestingly *not* at the top of the mountain. 

Detours

View of the day

    Today took us about 13 miles further on the Vermont AT.  It was another beautiful day and we climbed a couple of big hills.  We also passed over several streams, and one in particular that was quite large and had people swimming in it and a swinging bridge over it. 

Crossing a river on a swing bridge.

      We made really good time on our hike today, until we got to the last couple of miles.  Then we realized that we had an unexpected surprise to deal with.  About 2 miles of trail in this area was closed in October 2011 due to Hurricane Irene, and it still isn't open yet.  So we had to follow a rather long detour on country roads around the closed trail.  We actually ended up passing Trail Angel on our detour and she followed and walked with us for the last bit of our hike.  Looks like you have to be ready for anything on the AT.  Even dealing with last year's hurricanes!

AT Hurricane Detour

A Good Day for Pictures

Lake with a view.

   Today we hiked about 9 miles in the most perfect of Vermont weather.  I don't have any riveting stories to tell today.  It was a beautiful, relaxing day on the AT with Amicus.  We saw a few people on the trail today and passed a very nice campsite that even had a permanent caretaker living there (his campsite was complete with a gas grill...how he got that 2 miles into the woods, I'll never know).  We finished the days hike at a decent hour and I got to have steak for dinner.  Rather than make up more stories, I'll show you some pictures of the treasures we found on the trail today.
 

World's tiniest frog

Cairn Garden...or eerie sacred hiker burial ground. 

Cliffhugger.  Best view of the day!  

Rocky Peaks and Piney Forests

Vermont sky and mountains before our hike for the day. 

    Today we hiked a little over 12 more miles of the AT here in Vermont.  We took our time this morning and enjoyed a really wonderful homemade breakfast (I am a huge fan of this sharp cheddar cheese Vermont is famous for) before setting out.  The day couldn't have been more perfect.  It was much cooler today than it has been, with barely a cloud in the sky and a nice breeze.  The hiking was relatively gentle, through thick pine forests.  I've been happy to see the pine forests here.  So many of the east coast pine forests have been destroyed by foreign beetles.  There is evidence of such destruction here.  But there is also evidence of hearty new growth, which makes me happy.  There were lots of pretty streams and bridges and boardwalks on the hike today as well.

AT waterfall and bridge.  

    Even though most of the hike was in the pines, we had a couple of opportunities for great views.  For one of them, we climbed up a sheer, rocky mountainside to get to the summit, but when we turned around to look behind us, we got a real treat.  One of the best views of this section of AT.  Followed up by some delicious ribs for dinner at a local restaurant.  Another great AT day.

Amazing view from a rocky VT summit.