Massachusetts and Vermont are history...Part 1

Part 1: 

Porter and Pace were anxious to get closer to home and were excited when they entered Massachusetts. Many of you have probably seen the footbridge that goes over the turnpike in MA.

Pace & Porter on the footbridge over the turnpike.

 

June 28, 2011

After leaving Dreamer in Great Barrington on June 27, Porter, Pace, and Deva hiked 28 miles to the Upper Goose Pond Shelter (Mile 1538.2 at 1,480 ft.) The trio had a mission - to get to Bennington VT to pick up Porter's SUV and drive to his home about a half-hour away. They were ready to push some big miles.

With dreams of a soft bed, good friends, BBQ, and tubing down the Battenkill river, they turned in for the night. (Beats sugar plums dancing through their heads hands down.)

6/28/11 turned into a 30-mile day. They stopped in Dalton, MA for luch and then stayed a night in a church in Cheshire where there is a hiker hostel. Little did Deva know that she went past Lee, MA where there is awesome outlet shopping.

6/29/11 they hiked another 29 miles. A highlight was hiking Mt. Greylock where they had a two-hour break with lunch and enjoyed the view and the War Memorial Tower.

Mt. Greylock, the highest peak in MA 1,480 ft - mile 1538.2

Porter, Pace, & Deva - Mt. Greylock, MA

6/30/11 Pace, Porter, and Deva entered the state of Vermont.

They hiked down the famous rock staircase that is five miles outside of Bennington where they picked up Porter's SUV. The trio made a side-trip to Manchester to pick up fellow thru-hiker Crop Duster and then headed to Porter's house.

Rock stairs. 6/30/11

That evening the crew went to the Troy Brew Pub and met with friends and family. The guys were thrilled to be home for a couple of nights.

7/1/11 was a zero day (non-hiking day). For fun we decided to tube down the Battenkill River in VT. It was a cool and cloudy day and the water was frigid. Welcome to the great northeast Crop! (Crop is from TN.)

Pace, Deva, Porter, Dreamer, Crop Duster, & Fix (Alex)

We were all smiles before we hit the water although Dreamer knew it was going to be cold! Dreamer was right and the water was cold but it was a fun trip down the swift river...for about 15 minutes. Of all the people to flip their tube, it was our southern boy Crop Duster, who found himself spitting water from his mouth as he surfaced. He did save his beverage, but his camera was lost at the bottom of the river.

Deva, Fix, the beverage and snack bar, Pace & Porter.

This was really bad news for Crop because all of his AT pictures from the beginning of the trail is on that camera. Brave Crop decided he would dive in where he tipped over and search for his camera. With eyes wide open under the water he dove a few times. On his last trip, just before he surfaced, he saw a silver glint, grabbed it and up he came with his camera! Seriously luck that guy has. The camera, being waterproof, was in excellent condition. Crop on the other hand being a southern boy didn't fair too well in the cold water. No anti-freeze in his veins like us Yankees.

Here is a sample of Crop Duster's AT pictures - now safely backed up on Dreamer's computer. (Hope you don't mind Crop.)

Crop Duster

Crop Duster at the 1,000 mile mark

Crop Duster was freezing and shivering something fierce but he made it to shore where Dreamer was waiting. The wilderness first-aid course Dreamer took came in handy when it looked like Crop was heading into hypothermia. The good news is that we warmed him up safely, the bad news was that we all decided to bail on the tubing trip and head back home. With a call to the outfitter, a van came and picked us up and we headed back home. It was short trip down the river but "all for one and one for all" was our motto of the day.

No worse for the wear, we celebrated by having smoked ribs by Porter and hung out with more friends and family. Both Pace and Porter's parents were able to visit with their sons. Burps was also there getting ready to hike some high peaks in the Adirondacks the next day. What a great day they all had.

7/2/11 it was back on the trail for all of the AT thru-hikers. Porter, Pace, & Deva were dropped off at their trail head in Bennington, and Crop Duster was dropped off in Manchester. Off they went, happy to be back on the trail.

As the week went on our hikers tackled Vermont with their normal steady pace. Their muscles are like steel by now and they are stronger than ever. There is more to this post, but since it is already long, I'm making it a two-part posting. More to come soon where we will see what they did in VT and NH.

Porter and Pace Appalachian Trail 7/14/11

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Ground Control a/k/a Dreamer