The Boys Are Back In Town...

Well, almost back in town that is.

Serious days of hiking have been going on as they get close to home. I think Porter is looking forward to sleeping in his own bed and visiting family and friends. They will be in Bennington, VT on Thursday and they will take the vehicle I left for them to drive home. If anyone is interested, Pace and Porter will be at Brown's Brewing Co. in Troy at 6PM on Thursday, June 30 so feel free to stop in and say "hello" if you want.

Here is a little of what has been happening. Thank you Aleks for meeting the guys for some serious trail magic. Here is what Aleks wrote about his meet-up with Pace and Porter.

June 20, 2011

"The bear photo is from the zoo.

The pool picture was taken right on the AT as we entered the zoo.

We met up around 10 AM  they told me they had gotten up at 5 AM and hiked in 9 miles going over Bear Mountain to reach the drop location. I have never seen a dozen doughnuts disappear so fast between three people. For the first half hour their concentration was on food, coffee and OJ.

We had a great time at the zoo and afterwards I drove them to a hotel near by. They where able to get a room and we had lunch that I brought mostly sandwiches and chips. I also brought along some treats, candy and snacks for the trail along with a resupply of zip lock bags and hopefully enough leftovers for lunch the next day.

Funny on how almost everything on the trail revolves around food."

-Aleks  a/k/a "Fix"

Deva, Porter, Pace relax with donuts and coffee with Aleks.

They passed through New York State into Connecticut on June 23.

New York - Connecticut border sign. Mile 1452.5 - 1250 ft. elevation

Lions Head Mountain, CT mile 1492 - 1738 ft. elevation

 On June 26th, they started early and crossed into Massachusetts. They had some beautiful views off the mountain where they were higher than the clouds.

Early morning view in MA.

On Sunday Dreamer played trail angel again and met with Porter, Pace, & Deva in Great Barrington, MA. While I was waiting, there were two thru-hikers that were waiting for a third to meet them. They had to cross a highway so I offered them homemade triple chocolate chip cookies. They seemed to appreciate them. Once the three hikers were together, I drove them to a deli that was a mile or so down the road. They seemed pretty happy to have trail magic.

It was good to see our hikers again and after some Gatorade and cookies we drove to a local hotel were I had reserved rooms for the night.

A few of Porter's work friends came for a visit and we all had lunch and hung out at the Barrington Brewery and Restaurant. Thanks Mike for lunch. The food was fantastic and the craft beer was tasty.

Dreamer, Doug, Porter, Pace, Mike, and Gerry

The last two days Pace, Porter and Deva have been hiking 30-mile days. Porter told me "I want to get home to Dreamer". That's something...90 miles in three days. They are strong determined hikers that's for sure.

• 6/27 Great Barrington, MA to Upper Goose Pond Cabin, elevation 1483. 30 miles
• 6/28 They hiked 30 miles to Cheshire, MA and are staying at St. Mary of the Assumption Church. They had to check in with the priest. (Talk about trail angels!)There are two hiker rooms, restrooms and an outside cooking area. There isn't any laundry or showers, but they have a good place to stay tonight. The doors are locked by 9:30 p.m. so it is an early night for all.

Pace has a new backpack from Hyperlite Mountain Gear, custom made for him. It came just in time as his last pack has given up the ghost and was causing some major blisters and rubbing problems on his shoulders. Pace is testing out a new pack and it has specially made straps that are wider and thicker than the packs Deva and Porter are using. Mike at Hyperlite took into consideration Pace's pacemaker. The pack looks like it fits him great.

Deva, Pace, & Porter back on the AT - Great Barrington, MA 6/27

 

Deva, Pace, and Porter show off their Hyperlite Mountain Gear backpacks. Keeping it light is how they can hike 30 miles in a day.

Deva is an official tester for Hyperlite, check out the blog.

I am looking forward to having my husband home for a couple of nights. Maybe he will mow the lawn and weed whack while he is here? Now that's a nice dream for Dreamer.

SPOT the GPS was on strike for a few days but seems to have decided to get back to work and is now sending messages again. Porter thinks SPOT was just getting tired of the trail life and didn't care if it had new batteries. SPOT was just tired this week. Don't forget, you can click on the title at the top for a larger map.

Porter and Pace Appalachian Trail 6/28/11

Share your Adventures with SpotAdventures

Until next time, happy trails!

Ground Control a/k/a Dreamer