Week 11 - 2024  (After Hike)

WHAT WE LEARNED THESE PAST FEW WEEKS:

Vermont was the perfect place to rest, relax and unwind from our long section hike this year.  

*We chose a room at the ‘Inn at Long Trail’ that had a jacuzzi tub and enjoyed indoor plumbing to its full!

*Went on a few short hikes that did NOT consist of a lot of rocks or boulders!

*Took the local bus into the neighboring town to buy new shoes and clothes so I didn’t have to wear the same clothes I’ve been wearing for the last 2.5 months!

*Ate at many local deli’s and restaurants and enjoyed real food.  I did not miss the dehydrated food, no not one little bit!

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I just need to “lighten” up!  It happens every single year.  I walk the same amount of miles as FROG does and only he ends up losing weight and looking like he’s walked those 500 miles!  Can’t I have just one year where I look the same?!  Won’t be this year. How much weight did we lose you ask? FROG lost 20 pounds and I lost … “weight” for it … 3 pounds! Only 3 pounds, y’all!   I may have lost them, but it didn’t take long to find them again! Sigh 

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Don’t be caught with your pants down!  FROG for whatever reason has an aversion to wearing belts. Because he’s lost so much weight, the shorts he used to wear, pre-hike, are now pretty big on him.  I’m sure you can figure out where this is headed!   You remember when he thought he looked so good with the leg part of his pants around his ankles and was sure he was starting a new trend?  Well, that’s exactly where his shorts ended up when he stood up fast!  Right around his ankles! Shock at first followed by much laughter as he quickly pulls them up. No new trend setting this time. You’d think that would have convinced him he needed to wear a belt. Nope, he still refused.  I am just thankful he was wearing underpants!   His new name - "Captain Underpants”  (title of a book series for young kids)

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When it rains it pours.  Even though our hike was finished we still took smaller hikes throughout to enjoy the area and its beauty.  We know that being in the mountains means weather can turn on a dime so we try to be mindful of the weather report before heading out. This particular day it was partly cloudy but not expected to rain until late afternoon so we head out in the morning anticipating a dry uneventful walk up to Pico Mountain to see some beautiful views.  This is a popular trail so our first red flag would have been that there were no cars in the parking lot, no one was walking on the trail.  We look at it as we’ll have the trail to ourselves, not as a warning. Our second red flag was passing a guy running to get off the mountain. Must be a local and knew what was coming, but we think nothing of it and keep going. Our third red flag, it starts to sprinkle. But it’s just sprinkling and it’s really not supposed to do anything until this afternoon, it won’t amount to anything so let’s keep going.  The rain does stop so we think we’re in the clear and keep heading uphill.  At this point we are a good 2 miles from the parking lot and getting closer to the top and we really want to see those views.  Three strikes and you’re out!   No more subtle red flags, the skies opened up and it started pouring!!! And I mean hard pouring! Then the thunder came! Now I’m panicking because what usually follows thunder? I do not want to be out here when lightning strikes and there’s no where to hide. We didn’t pack our raincoats (of course we didn’t!) so we are drenched, our boots are soaked, but thankfully the air is still warm so we’re not freezing.  We’re hurrying as fast as we safely can through the wet rocks and the flow of water going downhill.  It seemed like an eternity but we finally made it safely down and walking on the flat part of the trail and what happens?!  It stops raining and the sun comes out. Oh yes it did! I kid you not! We looked like drowned rats as we enter the inn but are so very thankful for the hot shower that awaited us, and very thankful we weren’t living on the trail at the time and would have had to crawl into our tent with wet clothes.  It never did rain that afternoon when they predicted it would and we never returned to see the views of Pico Mountain, I’m sure they were beautiful. If ever you’re in the area and hike up there, could you please send me pictures of what we missed?

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It’s all in the cards you’re dealt.  Every night while on the trail we would play a game of cards before we fell asleep.  Once we finished the hike, we continued to play nightly, as they say, “habits are hard to break.”  As we’re sitting outside on our balcony shuffling the cards, they fall to the floor (they are waterproof cards that tend to be slippery) and one falls through the floorboards onto the balcony below. Well shoot!  Now what do we do? FROG heads down to the room below and knocks at their door - no answer. Well, that is good and bad. Relief that we don’t need to try to explain our dilemma of them having one of our cards and can we please have it back, but now we need to figure out how to retrieve our card on our own.  Heading outside and being thankful that it was on the bottom floor balcony, we both try to reach in to grab it, it’s just too far in. Next attempt:  FROG tries to hoist me up over the railing but it’s way too high and with my short legs I can’t get my leg up high enough to get over the top. I’m sure if anyone was watching us, we were pretty entertaining! If we just had something long enough to reach in and pull it towards us. My husband is brilliant - our trekking poles, our trail buddies!  They helped us on the trail (when we used them, that is!) so they should work. We got one of our poles and slowly pulled the card along the floorboards to avoid it falling through the open cracks, if that happened we’d never be able to retrieve it again. It was a very slow process but we were successful!  Yay, us!  Now every time I see that 9 of clubs I can’t help but remember what we went through to save it.  FYI: Future games were played with a towel covering the open floorboards.

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We have the best of friends! A very special thank you to our trail angels this week:

Ann & Hugh Porter - coming from upstate New York to Vermont to pick us up at our finish on the Appalachian Trail.  Thank you so much for being our chauffeur (pick up and return so we didn’t have to ride the bus!) and for opening up your home to us for several nights so we could enjoy your company, meals, clean clothes, comfy bed, many showers and beating us at cards but allowing us a win at cornhole.  It’s always so much fun when we’re together!

Thank you so much to Beth Thorp (and her granddaughter, Charlotte) for driving 3 hrs to pick us up in Albany.  For taking such good care of our vehicle when we were gone, shipping resupply to us, sending money when we ran out, and mailing our book to friends we met on the trail.  You always willingly (?? ) open up your home to us whenever we’re back in the area which means so much to us. You know I’ve got your back, and I know you have mine as well!  Thank you!!

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Our adventure on the Appalachian Trail has stopped for now, it’s time for us to dream up new adventures and we are.  Never stop dreaming and living the adventures GOD has for you!

If you dream it, don’t just talk about doing it someday, if it’s possible, make it happen now, don’t wait.  Life just goes so fast and you’re not promised tomorrow.

Thank you for following our adventures. Love all y'all!