our hair was windy and our lives were free

We will be updating soon on the Green Mountains of Vermont, The White Mountains of New Hampshire and 280 miles of Beautiful Maine... But we wanted to share with you our exciting day!

Today the 30th of September, 2013
We reached the Northern Terminus of the AT.





We started up the mountain in the crisp cool darkness around 5:30am. With our headlamps on we began the last 5.1 miles of our 6 1/2 month journey.

As the sun began to rise the glow in the sky set the mood for a terrific day.

As our eyes began adjusting to the light of dawn we switched off our lamps and silently hiked on. We could see the fog surround only the lakes below.





The first 3 miles were a steady climb with some bouldering but as we approached the last 2 miles it turned into a jungle gym of boulders.

The last mile flattened out and by then the sun was shining bright and we were overwhelmed with the scenery before us.





The red, yellow and orange leaves painted an autumn backdrop against the mountains and lakes of Maine.

Peace and Excitement flooded our tired bodies and minds. Was this REALLY it?!

8:45am: we saw a few other thru-hiker friends from a distance reach the summit. Yells and whistles resounded.

The weather was absolutely marvelous! Blue sky, 65 degrees with a slight breeze.

100 yds. out, we walked together hand in hand and reached our destination.




Celebration pictures were taken and music was played! We wrote our trail names on the sign and let out our sighs. We made it. Smiles all around as we reflected on our journey.





We cheered as each thru-hiker approached the sign. Some had tears of joys, others walked slowly,quietly making their way closer to the end and others proudly reached out to touch the long awaited finish line. 10 thru-hikers in total made the last of September a memorable day.





Our friend "Clinker" reaching the top.

We sat around for about 2 hours enjoying the views and then decided it was time to head back down.









When we reached the bottom it was still surreal. How long will it take for this to sink in - we asked each other. Tomorrow will we wake up ready to hike and discover a new place to call home for the evening? Or will we be happy to just rest?

We were greeted with "trail magic" a wonderful picnic put on by G-ma, another thru-hiker she had finished on Saturday and wanted to share her excitement with all of us who summited today.





What a day! What a day!

More blogs to come.

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Location:Mt. Katahdin - Baxter State Park, ME

Almost There!

2113/2186

72 miles to go!
Katahdin here we come.








Celebrating with our friend "Clinker"

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celebration!

Today we are celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary. Lovely memories of the day we started life together, surrounded by dear friends and family.




We thought we'd celebrate by taking a romantic hike together to the summit of Mt. Washington.





We've had amazing scenery with clear blue skies on the way up. Best views on the East Coast thus far!













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our tales of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

 

Happy September! Hard to believe that kids are already back in school.  Summer flew by and so did the month of August.
We are currently hiking in the White Mountains of NH. 60 miles from the border of Maine!
Still catching up: CT & MA
Connecticut! We crossed the state line late in the evening and set up our tent at a group campsite next to a wide, flowing river. After washing up in the river, we made dinner and chatted with some section hikers. Connecticut meant a new beginning, we were officially in New England! Walking with the seasons we had been anticipating the autumn leaves, since we started in Georgia and this only meant we were getting closer.

                                             
The trail was clearly marked and beautifully maintained and we were starting to get back into larger mountains. It was the end of July but a cold front had moved in and the crisp, cool air motivated us.

Shortly into the state we ended up in the small town of Falls Village named after the waterfalls right outside of town. That night we camped in the backyard of the Toymaker's Cafe. In the morning we explored the falls close up.

As we were standing on the lower ledge of the falls we could smell a strong perfume, we looked around but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. We shrugged it off and thought maybe someone had broken a bottle nearby.We headed to the top of the falls, looked back to where we were standing and realized there was a woman living underneath where we had been standing. We had smelled her out! We looked at each other, laughed and thought out loud, "Have we been in the woods too long?"

Living on the edge.

                                               

 Gregg looking back at where we were standing before 

and noticing the woman living underneath.

The next town we came to was Salisbury, another small town. Coming down off the mountain we stopped to cross the road when a woman pulled over, rolled her window down and yelled out, "Do you guys want to go swimming?" No questions whatsoever, we were on it!

We walked over to her house just down the road and followed her to the backyard.  With clothes hanging on the line, gently blowing in the wind, summer flowers in full bloom in the garden and the Connecticut/Massachusetts mountains standing proud in the background we were thrilled. She even gave us Dr. Bronners soap to wash up, and we of course had to take advantage of the diving board.

                                             

After an hour or so we left feeling clean and refreshed and headed into downtown Salisbury. We spent at least 4 hours sitting, enjoying the day with coffee, pastries and fresh fruit. Connecticut was a short hike and only a couple of days later we were heading towards Bear Mountain, not to be confused with the Bear Mountain of New York. The Bear Mountain of Connecticut is the first "big" mountain we had seen since Virginia and we caught the sunset as we climbed up to the summit. We hiked down in the dark to the other rocky side of the mountain and slept in Massachusetts!

                                                 

Reaching 1,500 miles was an exciting moment for us!

                                                 

                                                 

Massachusetts, just a bit longer of a hike than Connecticut and steadily more mountainous. The smell of the evergreen trees in the warm sun kept reminding us of familiar christmas time smells. Our first visit to the Berkshires, we stopped into the friendly town of Great Barrington. We got a quick hitch into town and headed to the library in search of a place to spend the evening. Using Couchsurfing, a website that networks travelers and helps them find places to stay with like-minded people, we found a great host. Before heading to their house we went to the local co-op and stocked up on our favorite snacks, coffee and cheese.

                                             

Ellie and Scott welcomed us into their home on such short notice, let us take showers, sleep in a cozy bed, had good conversation, made coffee in the morning and drove us back to the trail bright and early!

                                                     

Within moments of getting back on the trail the rain began pouring down. The weather had turned pretty chilly so we decided to call it a day at 12 miles and made home in an empty shelter. We dried out our things, cooked an early Ramen noodle soup dinner and went to sleep.

Rainy misty pond.

                                           

We had heard only great stories about the Upper Goose Pond Cabin and out of curiosity went to see it for ourselves. The cabin, a true cabin in the woods without running water or electricity turned out to be such a peaceful place right on the pond. We swam, hung out on the dock and later sat with fellow hikers chatting as we made dinner. We slept in the bunks upstairs and woke up early to find coffee and pancakes ready to eat as the sun was coming up. The caretakers carry on the tradition of making pancakes for all the hikers in the morning! Such a pleasant surprise!.

                                         

We ate and drank and hit the trail trying to hike 10 miles by noon to meet some friends. The day before we got a random text from our friends Leila and Sebastian from North Carolina saying they were driving through western Massachusetts and wanted to see if we were going to be in the area.We set a meeting place and enjoyed a fantastic picnic with all of our favorite fresh foods! Thanks to the Wolfrum family again for an awesome, unexpected visit with friends! After our picnic and goodbyes, we hiked another 10 miles into the city of Dalton.

                                       

Always fun to hang out with our little buddies.

                                         

My "trail name" is Sweet Pea and we passed this ice cream shop in Dalton

                                         

Camping in the backyard.

                                         

 We camped in a guy's yard who has been letting AT hikers stop by for 30 years. The next day we did a quick 10 miles into the town of Cheshire where we stayed at a local Catholic Church that runs a hostel for AT hikers, we made it just in time to beat the rain. The following day we made it up to Greylock Mountain, the tallest mountain in Mass. It was a great hike, open fields and meadows surrounded us in the beginning and as we hiked higher we were up in a dense spruce forest.

                                         

                                                   

Greylock Mountain Monument.

We rode downtown North Adams with some borrowed bikes. 

Found the local hot dog joint and rode around town.

 

Riding past MASS MOCA a contemporary art museum, 

unfortunately we rode past after they had closed. 

Keep on Keepin' on.

Hello everyone!

We are writing from the Green Mountains in the beautiful state of Vermont.



Here are our current trip stats:
This is our 12th state we are hiking through out of 14 states.
We've hiked a total of 1,650 miles of the 2,186 miles.
At the end of this week will mark 5 months on the trail!

Catching up from PA-NY:

Pennsylvania, most often referred to as "Rocksylvania" by thru-hikers was definitely true to its name. The southern section, although reminded us of Virginia's rolling pastures, we were once again hiking in and out of farmland and open meadows.







Slowly the rock scrambles became more frequent and by the end of the 230 miles we had spent in PA we became quite the rock climbers.



Every log book was filled with complaints of hurting feet, desperate cries to reach the NJ border and numerous curse words.



One of my favorite entries was from a quiet, humble thru-hiker reminding everyone, "The trail is not here for us, we came out here for the trail."





As we reflect on Pennsylvania because now it has been roughly 2 months, we recall, our excitement in finally reaching the halfway point, lots of rain and overcast days, numerous varieties of snakes, bellies full of wild berries and unique hostels.












The famous Doyle, where ONLY hikers would stay.

With just 16 miles left of PA we took a week off the trail and spent time with Gregg's Aunt & Uncle and cousins just over the NJ border. They provided us with comforts of life (warm showers, a cozy bed, chairs with backs, A/C, ice water) and a good time! Not to mention all the coffee we drank.Thank you Tate Family for such a great visit.

Photo credit: Josh Tate











We also had the opportunity to do a little more sight seeing. We explored Philadelphia and of course ate Philly Cheesesteaks.





















From Philly we took a cheap bus that goes Chinatown to Chinatown and ended up in NYC to visit with my friends. I hadn't seen them in 5 years so it was so great to catch up on life. Thank you Luiba, Serhiy and Madlen for your conversation and warm hospitality. You are a beautiful family.












At Coney Island.







Gregg couldn't resist the call of the ocean, it's in his Florida blood.
















At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we could've stayed in there an entire week.




Rooftop Garden.











Sensory overload on 5th ave.

After a full week off the trail we were quite eager to get back on. We hopped on another bus from Philadelphia and headed back to where we had gotten picked up... or so we thought.

We actually were dropped of in the neighboring town and missed the connecting bus. As the sun was setting and it began to get darker we considered our options. We tried to hitch but didn't have any luck so we walked to the Starbucks down the road and the closing barista offered us a ride. He even gave us leftover raspberry tea and donuts.

We were dropped off right where we left off and we ended up pitching our tent at a local pub that allows thru-hikers to camp behind the building.

Back on the trail we headed into New Jersey, it was a pretty simple trail alongside quite a few lakes, significantly less rocks, swamps, boardwalks, and an intense heat wave. The 60 miles went by so fast. We were grateful for the many swimming opportunities we had to cool off during the heat wave.







One of the many fire towers we've climbed.












This is me explaining how hot I am for probably the 7th time... And Gregg felt the need to document it.

One of the main highlights of NJ was the chance to camp on a beautiful piece of private farm property. The owner allows thru-hikers to set up camp and relax on the vacant land. Sitting on the property was a cabin dating back to the late 1700's and an outside shower that he had installed. It was quite a treat to clean up before bed.












Within a few days we had made it to New York, which turned out to be a tougher hike than we thought it would be. We spent our days ridge walking, making our way over boulders and going over what seemed like endless small ups and downs.

Our guide book even warned us, "Despite the unimposing profile, rocks and abrupt ups and downs make this section challenging".




Collecting drinking water.













One evening as we were approaching an intersection, we remembered that 3/10ths of a mile west was a local creamery. As the sun was setting we headed up the road unknowingly that we had stumbled upon the popular summer Sunday evening spot. The line was out the door and around the fence, the dirt parking lot was completely full and people with scoops of ice cream were everywhere. We waited in line and it was worth it!








We hiked out with a sweet taste in our mouths and headed into the dark woods. We found a spot to set up our tent next to a massive rock scramble called the Eastern Pinnacles. It was a terrific night and we sat up on the rocks as the full moon was beaming down on us.

A few days later we met a group of friendly folks that come out from the city every Tuesday to hike. After chatting a little bit and telling them about our journey they handed over a bag delicious fresh cherry tomatoes! We were thrilled.





After the continued heat wave and summer humidity we had a few days of heavy rain that cooled everything off. During one of these downpours we took refuge underneath a small roof that housed a kiosk of maps and information on local hiking and fishing spots. As we were huddled together trying to stay dry a woman pulled up and started to inquire about our trip and why in the world we were out in the rain.

We chatted for a minute and when we thought she was getting ready to leave she said would sleep better if she put us up in a room for the night! We reassured her that we would be fine and that we had made it through several storms, but she insisted.

One minute we were soaked and the next we were in a warm, dry hotel room (with an impressive continental breakfast that with out a doubt we ate until we were full.) THANKS KATHY! You are such a kind-hearted, compassionate woman!





The following day we made it up to Bear Mountain and at the base of the mountain the trail winds through a local zoo and then over the Hudson River.










We found Walt Whitman at the zoo.
















The Hudson.





That evening we camped at the Greymoor Monastery and the following morning we wandered the grounds.




The prayer grounds.