Week 7 - 2024

Kent, CT to Great Barrington, MA - 55 miles

MILESTONES THIS WEEK:

*We’ve walked 400 miles, a total of 1500 miles on the Appalachian Trail.  700 miles until we reach Mt Katahdin, Maine!

*Crossed the state line - Connecticut to Massachusetts! We are in our 5th state!

WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK:

We’re not always taken seriously.  I think because we don’t fit the mold of a typical long distance hiker, we are seen as just a weekend or short distance hiker. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being one of those, but because we’ve been out here for so long, smell as bad as the next, it’d be nice to be considered one of them.  (And it can be so much worse if we’re only wearing a day pack, then we might just be ignored entirely.) It all changes the moment we mention how far we’ve backpacked all ready (1500 miles) and how far we plan to go this time - that is when we’re taken seriously and are able to talk “trail” with them.  A perfect example of not judging a book by its cover.  May this be a lesson for us as well when we encounter those on the trail that we don’t judge unfairly.

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FROG’s a’stylin’. Or rather, thinks he is. His latest choice of attire while on the trail is to unzip his pant legs (his pants become shorts) and just let the pant legs stay around his ankles. Some wear gaiters around their ankles so he thinks he looks like he has gaiters on.  To me, it looks like his pants are down and he forgot to pull them up. He told me to tell y’all, if you wish to borrow his idea, go right ahead - he thinks it’s going to become a bit hit and eventually replace the gaiters. So delusional! Check out the picture and tell me what you think.

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You’re the view, have you seen it? I know I’ve mentioned this in past hikes, but it’s worth mentioning again. So often when we’re high on the mountaintops we can see homes down below. We can’t help but wonder if the owners of those homes have stood on the mountaintops and seen their home from that perspective? How many just look up, but have never looked down? So much beauty both ways, I sure hope they have enjoyed both views!

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State of confusion. We had just crossed into Connecticut the day before, and during our hike the next day we came upon a sign that said we were walking in NY and just entered Connecticut again. We had no idea we were back in NY.  I guess the trail weaves in and out between the two states. So we didn’t know if we were coming or going, so confusing! It’s good to be in Massachusetts now, or are we?!

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Tuck and roll. When you have a shuttle driver that is on a time crunch and you need to make your exit fast — It’s a good idea to make sure before you tuck and roll that you have your phone in your hand and you do not leave it on the seat in the car. Especially if it’s the phone that has the shuttle drivers contact info on it for pickup and the app that has all the trail information on it.  Big mistake on our part, but it ended up working out. 

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There are two sides to every story.

FROG’s side of the story  ~  What a start!  It was June 8. The weather was clear. Les and Judy had just dropped us off at the road to begin our 10-11 mile slackpack.  It was all downhill to begin our hike and downhill usually means water and a stream.

Two younger hikers had passed us on the way down the hill. I had no idea how beneficial this would be!

We got down to the bottom and the two hikers were on the other side filtering water. We were staring at the stream, Guinea Brook, and wondering how we were going to get to the other side. There were a lot of rocks and the water was running fast.

I started rock hopping, carefully, and finally made it to the other side. It was not an easy crossing! I looked back at Faith and I could see the panic in her face. It didn’t help that she had an audience to watch.

It all happened so fast! I went back to help her and down I went; I was wet. The first thing I noticed was I had no glasses on. I’m soaked from the waist down but what about my glasses?

My hiking poles are caught in a current and I got hold of them. I’m thinking that if my glasses are caught in a current, they are gone. I look up above me and there in the water are my glasses. My glasses were undamaged so I got them back on. I can see clearly now. My phone is in my left pants pocket and I fell on my right side. My phone is not wet. My right ankle hurts but that seems to be the worst, other than my pride.

The two guys that were on the other side of the stream and filtering water, came over to help. I remember one guy helping me get up from all fours. I safely make it back to the other side.

Now we have the same problem as before, Faith is on one side of the stream and me the other. Plus she is now even more apprehensive about crossing this stream.

Before I knew it Faith was gone! She started to walk down stream to find an easier place to cross the water. Was she okay or was there panic? I will soon find out.

So I started to walk down stream on my side of the water. I soon spotted her and I instantly knew she was panicking. I got her to stop and we found a place where I thought we could cross. There seemed to be enough rocks to hop and the water was reasonable.

I am already wet so I find the “best” place to cross and go over to help her get across. We start to walk on as many rocks as possible but we have to start walking in water. Hand in hand, wet and nervous, we finally reach the other side. We are spent, exhausted and we now have a slight bit of doubt.

We walked from that stream, wet and exhausted, BUT we walked from that stream! We continued our 10 mile hike. Everything dried out but our hiking boots. Our pride was hurt, my ankle and side were hurt but we finished what we started. What a lesson to learn!

Faith’s side of the story  ~  It was a beautiful morning, our last slackpack day while staying with Judy and Les. We were all smiles as they snapped pictures of us taking off on our adventure of the day. Who knew that in less than 5 minutes those smiles would turn to frowns. 

We didn’t do our research (surprise, surprise!) to know that the upcoming brook was going to be difficult to cross and that there were warnings that you would more than likely get wet.

When we approached, we watched two young guys as though it was nothing leaping from rock to rock never coming close to getting wet.  I waited on the other side for them to continue on with their journey so that we could now attempt to rock hop as effectively as they did.  Nope. Wasn’t happening. They set their things down to filter water.  My anxiety started to pick up knowing they were there and could potentially be watching the old goats trying to cross.  FROG said he’d go first and was successfully making each step to the other side - then he looked at me - frozen on the first rock not able to lift my foot off that rock onto the next.  He backtracked to help me but in the process his trekking pole got stuck between rocks and he fell on his right side into the water between me and the rock I was paralyzed on. I got myself to a sitting position on the rock and tried to help him get up - this is where I am so thankful that the guys were still there to help because there was no way I was going to be able to be of any assistance.

He was more concerned where his glasses were than he was if he had hurt himself physically.  Finding his glasses in the stream by his side filled him with much relief, especially since they were intact and not broken.

He managed, with the assistance of one of the guys, to make his way across the brook again. Not me. I was more scared than I was when we first started. I got myself up and back safely to the opposite side FROG was on and decided I was going to try to find an easier way to cross.

One of the guys pointed out what he thought would be easier for me as I made my way in the direction he pointed.  I was glad that he had left by the time I got there, I needed to figure it out by myself.

Meanwhile, I am all alone. Panicking. Every direction I look is deep water and it’s flowing quite fast.  I knew if I had my crocs, I would have just put those on and tried to walk through but I didn’t have them because we were slackpacking, and I didn’t want to get my boots wet.  At one point I took them off and was going to walk barefoot through but then I heard my feet rebel and say “no, that would hurt too much” so I put the boots back on. 

I am deep in panic, I have no idea where FROG is and how I’m going to get across! It seemed like a long time but I finally hear FROG calling to me from the other side. I look up at him with tears in my eyes and tell him “I can’t do this!”  He sees the panic in my eyes and knows I am completely frustrated with my situation.  He calls out, “Yes, you can, I am coming down to help you, we will do this together.” 

I am still not seeing a solution but FROG is determined as he walks through the water, why not, his socks, boots, and pant legs are already drenched.  He tells me to stop worrying about my boots and just walk through the water. We try to find an area that is shallow enough to wade through and hand-in-hand, water almost up to our knees, we walk to the other side. My hero! I couldn’t have done it without him. I was a mess and completely traumatized by the whole event. What should have only taken a short amount of time ended up being over an hour. 

Once we reached the other side, I grabbed the sides of his face and asked him if he was okay. I knew he had taken a hard fall trying to help me and I was so concerned. His ankle and side hurt but he felt he was okay enough to continue on, and he did.

The upsides: it could have been so much worse, there were no major injuries, cell phones did not get wet, and glasses didn’t go downstream or break.  Thank you, God.

The downside: there was a bypass trail posted to avoid this. Why oh why don’t we take the posted bypass trails?!  I guess if we had, we wouldn’t have had a story to share with y’all.

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Connecticut went out with a bang, followed by a mighty welcome to Massachusetts!  Hikers love to talk about the trail.  All week I've heard about how difficult the ascents and descents were on the final mountains of CT (Lion’s Head, Bear Mountain) and the beginning mountains of MA (Mt Race, Mt Everett & Mt Bushnell) to the point of tread and fear; it was so bad I was looking for an easy way out to avoid them all together.

Wait, let me just back up a minute, then I’ll go back to that … We knew going into this hike this year that it was going to be more difficult and challenging than what we’ve experienced in the past. We had only heard about Pennsylvania (sorry but I think I’ll seriously need therapy after that state) and how rocky it was; we were hopeful that the rocks and rough terrain would end there until we got to New Hampshire/Maine.  But it hasn’t stopped and you know what?  That’s okay. We signed up for this, it’s hard, but that’s how life can be.  

I found this quote but not sure who said it:  “The easy won’t bring you to the top. Neither will shortcuts. You have to be willing to undertake the entire journey if you want to reach the destination you dream of.”

So back to my dread and fear of our upcoming climbs … I finally sat myself down and made myself listen as I said, “Self … you can’t change it, it is what it is! You get what you get and you don’t get upset!  Pull up your big girl panties and just do it!  Suck it up, buttercup!” Then I extended myself grace for being human and listened to the voice of reason which said, “You are FROG and Faith, it is your dream to hike and finish the AT, you can do this. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.”   Yes, I can and I did.

It started with Lion’s Head (in CT) which was the only peak that offered a bypass. You know us, we didn’t take the bypass, and I am so glad we didn’t this time! The view was amazing!  Followed closely by Bear Mountain (in CT), then Mt Race, Mt Everett, and Mt Bushnell (all in MA).  The views of each were absolutely breathtaking (except Mt Everett, it was a PUD, which means pointless ups and downs, no view).  I am so glad that I didn’t miss out on seeing what God made for us to enjoy.  Was it hard and challenging?  At times, yes, but nothing even close to the fear and dread that had consumed me.   In all honesty, since I had that “attitude adjustment” it was right up there as one of our best weeks of hiking so far.

We will do this and we will finish strong!

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Trail Magic yet again!  Robin (aka Mrs. B) had a cooler of drinks, a bunch of snacks to choose from, and a supply of fresh water so we didn’t need to filter. What a treat it was to run into her! Her husband, “Mr Bojangles” is a hiker and while he’s hiking she supplies trail magic for hikers and waits for his return.  What a great dropper offer and picker upper she is!  Hopefully next year, we will have a dropper offer, and picker upper as well!!

Trail Angels from afar, Tracy and Walt.  So many great goodies you sent to us. You’ve gone and spoiled us once again! Thank you so very much! We will think of you when we’re snacking. Love y’all so very much!

Trail Angels, Judy and Les. We had never met them until this week. Judy is the sister of Robin who was our trail angel a couple weeks ago in New Jersey.  Yep, kindness runs in the family, Judy (and Les) took excellent care of us. Thank you so much for picking us up and dropping us off at trailheads, fixing us delicious meals, giving us a comfy bed to use, letting us take many showers, to wash our stinky clothes, taking us to the post office, showing us your town/lake, bringing us water, tea, and food (and our packs) after a hard days hike so we didn’t have to filter or cook a meal on the trail, and for all the great conversations.  We enjoyed watching the doe and her fawn from your house and so wished the mama bear and her cubs would have made an appearance as well. Again, thank you so much for everything!

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What a great week!  Stay tuned as we continue our journey through Massachusetts …