WE HAVE FINISHED 2175 DONE

Hi Everyone

Just wanted to let everyone know that Patty and I have finished our hike of the Appalachian Trail.

We crossed the 100 mile Wilderness this past week and climbed up Mount Katahdin today.

The Wilderness was not as much wilderness as we thought it would be but we ended up carrying almost 8 days of food to get through it.

We climbed Katahdin today and it was quite a climb. Over 4000 vertical feet and a lot of bouldering. We both survived and are not on crutches. I have posted a few pictures from today and the past week.

We are going to Bangor tomorrow and will take some vacation time. We hope to be back in MN late next week.

Thanks to everyone for following along on our travels and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. I know it helped both of us on a couple of the climbs we made up and down the mountains.

I still plan on posting our gear list at some point when I have more time. Right now we are at the Appalachian Cafe in Millinocket Maine.

Pictures I have posted are as follows:

1. Looking at Mt Katahdin from 10 miles away as we crossed the Penobscot River. We camped here on Wed Night.
2. Patty finally getting Smores the night before we climb the big K
3. Jeff getting a beer the night before we climb the big K, more trail magic
4. Patty climbing
5. At the top. It was a little cloudy with visibility at about 20 yards

Monsen ME, 2060 done, 114 left to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Hi Everyone

We have been enjoying some fabulous weather and are starting to put some miles on even though we are both a little tired.

We left Stratten on the 24th and hiked over the Bigelows. This was one of the last big climbs in Maine. We did a little over 15 miles and tented for the nite.

On the 25th we had another great day of weather and hiked over 17 miles. We even had lunch on the beach and did a little swimming. Check out the photo. They call their lakes "Ponds" in Maine, but, it was a pretty big pond. The hiking is starting to get a little flatter, but the roots, rocks and mud is endless. I don't know how people hiked this during the wet weather we experienced in VT and NH. We have heard stories about people quitting with 50 miles to go because it was so bad.

On the 26th we did a 19 mile day and that included getting ferried across the Kennebec river and picking up a mail drop in Caratunk. Patty really pushed to make the last few miles, but, our options were somewhat limited on where we could camp. I have a picture of the vessel that was used to Ferry us across the river along with it's captain. This ferry was closed for 3 days when the water was high and our captain said the water is 4 feet higher in the afternoon because of the release from a dam up river. Supposedly there are Class 5 rapids on the upper stretch of this river. Patty declined on an offer to go whitewater rafting on the upper stretch of this river stating that she has had enough near death experiences on this trip and did not need to have any more adrenaline rushes this trip.

On the 27th we woke to temps in the 40's and climbed Max Bald. It was a great walk up a lot of nice dry slick rock. We gorged ourselves on what may be some of the last blueberries of the season and then walked all afternoon along a great piece of river. We also had a couple of river crossing thrown in just for fun. We camped along the river in a great spot and listened to the rapids all night long.

This morning we walked 9 miles into the town of Monson ME. Our last mail drop was waiting for us at Shaw's. Shaw's is where we are staying for the night and rumor has it they do a fantastic breakfast. Supper tonight will be at the Lakeshore Pub and an all you can eat Taco feed.

We hiked from Caratunk to Monson in three days instead of four and we will enter the 100 Mile Wilderness tomorrow. We have planned to do this in 6 nights and 7 days and then hope to summit Mt Katadin next Friday or Saturday. I will make sure I post our summit picture. We may stay in Maine for an additional week and do a little vacationing and then head home.

I have posted the following pictures;

1. Patty crossing a small creek.
2. Jeff crossing a small creek
3. Our vessel and guide to cross the Kennebec.
4. A nice river shot.
5. Lunch on the beach.
6. A view of Maine from 3000 feet.

If you have not taken Patty's Ice Cream Challenge yet, Please do so and let us know your favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor!!!!!!!!!!!

Red Dog and Lucky Dog.

Ice Cream Challenge Photo

Sorry I had to add the photo of Patty issuing the 2000 mile Ice Cream Challenge. If you want to particpate, just pick up your favorite Pint of Ben & Jerry's and post your favorite flavor in the comments section of the Blog.

Straten ME, 1986 done, 188 to go!!!!!!

Hi everyone

Ok Patty and I are in the homestretch now and can see the finish. It has been really tough hiking the past few weeks, but, I think the hardest of Maine is over. We have a tough climb out of Straten and then it flattens out to Caratek. Looking ahead at the profiles on the maps we only have a couple of hard climbs left and then we just have to deal with the rocks, roots and mud on the trails in the 100 mile wilderness.

I posted a site on You Tube a while back that had Patty and I doing a presentation on Thru Hiking at one of the Huts. In case you missed it, go to You Tube and type in
maryspotpourri and then click on Mary and Laura's A.T. Hike. There is about 5 minutes of our half hour presentation.

This past week has really felt like Fall. We have had some temps in the 40s and it really feels good. We also have seen some maple trees turning red.

We left Andover on the 19th and hiked over a number of peaks. We also picked a fair amount of blueberries. We camped by Bemis Stream with 3 other thru hikers and built a fire for the first time in quite a while. It really felt good in the cool temps.

We did a 16 mile day on the 20th and celebrated our 5 month anniversary on the trail. I also discovered that you cannot always trust a floating bog board, (check out the photo). I stepped on it after testing it with a pole and went up to my waist in mud. I would have been more upset, but, knew that there was a small lake a couple of miles ahead and we stopped there for lunch. We tented at the Piazza Rock Shelter and the weather is staying cool for us.

On the 21st we did a 12 mile day and hiked over Saddleback Mountain along with a couple of other peaks. We had a great lunch on the top of Little Saddleback with some hikers we had not seen in over a month and then continued on down and tented for the night.

On the 22nd we hiked another 12 mile day that was pretty hard. I slipped and broke the bottom of a pole. The pole still works but I need a new tip. We tented at the Crocer Cirque tent site at the base of Crocker Mountain.

We hiked 7 miles into Stratten this morning and are staying at the Stratten Motel. We picked up a mail drop and picked up a few things that we were short on. We are only 3 days out of Caratek and then a couple more days and we will be in Monson. After Monson we figure we have about 6 days to finish off the 100 mile wilderness and then it is up Katadin.

We are still undecided if we will spend some time in Maine or if we will come straight home. We have plenty of time to discuss this over the next two weeks.

Being with each other 24/7 can be trying at times, but, we each find ways to find our own time and our own space. Like Patty says, "sometimes we can't live with each other and we can't live without each other"

I have posted the following pictures:

1. Patty and I on our 5 month anniversary on the trail with Saddle Back Mtn in the background.

2. Bog Legs

3. Filtering some water.

4. Lunch on Saddleback

5. Patty issuing an ice cream challenge to all in honor of our hitting 2000 miles.

If you want to participate in this challenge pick up your favorite Pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, (The official ice cream of the A.T.) and after you finish it off post your favorite flavor in the comments section of the blog. We have gone through many "Pints" on the trail and have tried quite a few flavors. We hope you enjoy the Ben & Jerry's as much as we do.

Take care.

Red Dog and Lucky Dog.

Andover ME 1928 done, 246 to Go

Hi Everyone

Just a quick update on our progress.

We left Gorham on 8-14 and hiked 12 miles in "Sunshine". It was really great to have the sun on our shoulder instead of rain.

The miles are still pretty hard and it was no different when we entered Maine on the 15th. We only did 10 miles but it was all either straight up or straight down. We constantly ask ourselves if we are hiking or climbing. There are many stretches where they have placed rebar or steps to help you up the slickrock, but there are an awful lot of places where you just have to hang on to the trees and roots and hope your boots hold as you walk up rock. Of course when you add rain and mud it only complicates things. I don't think pictures will ever be able to explain how tough this hike really is. We would both rather go up than down, because going down slick rock is much harder then going up. We had a little rain the afternoon of the 15th, but it was dry when we set up the tent.

More thunderstorms on the 16th and we started early as we had to cross what they say is the toughest mile of the A.T. The Mahoosic notch is only a mile long with 1000 foot walls on both sides and huge boulders all the way through. We had our packs on and off many times as we pushed them through, over, and under openings. It took us 2.5 hours to do the mile stretch which is pretty average and then we had to go another 1500 feet straight up the Mahoosic Arm. We worked with a friend from FL as we went through this stretch and it helped both of us out. By 5pm we had both had enough fun for the day and camped just before we crossed the road and started another climb.

On the 17th we woke to a very sunny day but one that was also very windy above treeline. We crossed a mountain called Baldpate that was pretty much all rock. I was able to practice my first aid skills as a hiker named Wingit fell and dislocated her shoulder. I secured it as best I could and we split up her pack and got her down another 6 miles to the road. We were pretty spent after that and we hiked another 2 miles to a small lake and camped in the pines. We were in the tent and sleeping by 8 pm. We sleep much better in the tent than in a shelter or even in most hotels. There is just something about the wind blowing through the trees and waking to the birds singing. The area we camped in last night is home to some rare types of Wood Warblers and I think we heard them this morning.

Today we hiked 8 miles to a road crossing approximately 9 miles from Andover Maine. We had one very steep up with lots of rock, rebar, and mud and one rock slide to cross that wiped out the trail for about 50 yards. We had no problem getting a ride into town. Town is not very big, just a couple of small gas stations/grocery stores and a couple of small eateries and a Post Office where we picked up box # 15 of the 18 boxes we had prepared. Thanks Amy for the special treat!!! We are staying at the Andover Roadhouse. It is a very large house that rents out rooms and has everything we need. They will also give us a ride back to the trail tomorrow.

I have posted a couple of pictures for your viewing pleasure:

1. Patty coming through a section of the notch, I already have her pack.
2. Jeff in the notch looking at the remains of a moose who didn't make it.
3. Steep section of trail
4. Don't fall off the walking boards the bog is deep.
5. Another steep section of trail where they added a ladder for assistance.

Take care all, we are a little tired but doing fine and being cautious and safe.

Red Dog and Lucky Dog.

Photo's and U tube link

I added some photo's

1. A small stream crossing
2. Patty and I on Mt Wash.
3. Pres. Range
4. Looking up to Mt Wash.
5. Sunset at Lake of the Clouds hut

The You Tube site for our thru hike presentation is at maryspotpourri under Mary and ?? hike the Appalachian trail

Take care.

Gorham NH 1876 done and 298 left to go

Hi everyone.

It has been a while since I was last able to post and all I can say is we have just about had our fill of wet weather. This is supposed to be the wetest July and Aug in 50 years for VT and NH. We have also had some very tough hiking.

We left the Hikers Welcome hostel after a great steak dinner with a group of other hikers. We did our first big climb in the White Mtn's on Aug 2 and climbed up and over Mt Moosilauke. We actually had a pretty good view from the top and after hiking straight down a waterfall on the north side of the mountain we decided to call it a day. We set up camp and the ski opened up. We actually had to move the tent to a side hill as everything was flooding around us. On the way up the mountain we met the group of skiers we had met at Dartmouth who were doing a 24 hour run. Their support crew gave us blueberry pie. One of the crew was a pretty good skier from MN named Kati Bono.

On Aug 3 we hiked a super hard 8 miles up to a shelter and the rain started again so we decided to stay as did a number of other hikers who all thought the hiking was very hard.

Aug 4th saw us starting our hike with a bootless river crossing in Crocks. The river really came up. The highlight of the day was stopping for lunch at the first Appalachian Mountain Club hut and having soup for lunch. In the state of NH the AMC maintains the trails and has a series of huts along the trail, that I can discuss in length when I have more time.

Aug 5 saw another rainy day and was extremly disappointed after hiking up a number of very high mountains without the benefit of being able to see anything because of the clouds and fog. We stayed at the AMC Galehead Hut on a work for stay basis and our work was telling other guests about our "thru hike" experience. We were filmed by a lady who was going to post our presentation to U Tube under "mary's potpourri" or something like that. I have not found it yet.

On Aug 6 we left the nice warm and dry hut and hiked in the rain all morning. We had a stream crossing just before lunch and it was really roaring. There was a rope tied to a tree on one side and to a small bush on the other. To make a long story short, Patty just about went over a falls. If I could post a picture of this I would, but the library I am at does not allow uploads. She came out fine after getting a little wet up to here waist. After this we decided we were not having quite as much fun as we could have and decided we needed a vacation. We hiked out to Crawford Notch and stayed the next 3 nights at the Mountain House Cabins in Bartlet NH. It was a great break and we just read and watched a little TV to include the opening ceremonies of the olympics. The owner is a skier and grooms 40K of ski trails.

On Aug 9, we hiked up to Lake of the Clouds Hut just below mt Washington. We had a great sunset.

Aug 10th saw us climbing Mt Washington. We were on top by 7:30 am and had a beautiful clear view. We then hiked around the rest of the presidential range and had a very scarry afternoon while coming down off of Mt Madison in a thunder storm.

Aug 11th and more rain. We hiked down from a wet campsite to the Pinkham Notch Visitors center and decided we needed another day off or at least half a day. This area is way too tough to hike without having to be wet constantly. We just stop to wring out our socks every now and then.

Yesterday we hiked over the Wildcat mountains and today we came into Gorham to pick up our mail drop. We also met a guy who is trying to trail run the entire trail in 40 days. Check out www.whereskarl.com

I only have a half hour of computer time so I am going to sign off for now. Others waiting. If I can find another computer to get on I will add a few things and also some photo's.

Take care

Red Dog and Lucky Dog

Glencliff NH, 1775 done, 398 to go

Just a quick note from the Hikers Welcome Hostel in Glencliff NH. Patty and I are ready to head into the White Mountains where the climbs get a little higher and steeper. Actually looking at the maps they are similar to some of the elevation gains and losses we experienced when we first started. Mt. Moosilauke is at 4800 feet and we have a 4000 foot climb and then a 4000 foot down. We can see it from where we are at and it is a lot rockier then what we have been doing. It will be good to get out of the mud.

After a great breakfast at Lou's in Hanover we left the Dartmouth campus and headed out on a 17 mile hike that we did under partly cloudy skies and about 75 degrees.

The last day of July was a great example of how the entire month went for us. After 3 very long climbs and desents, the ski opened up and we were totally drenched right down to our socks. We decided to shorten our day by about 3 miles and camped at a great spot with lots of nice pine needles, (keeps everything clean). We fixed supper and crawled in for the night by 8 pm.

We hiked 10 miles into Glencliff this morning and are deciding if we want to stay at this hostel or move on to the next shelter about 2 miles away with more pending rain. We have a drop box at the post office across the street and were just going to go over and get that.

Sorry I can't post any pictures. Some of the computers just will not allow it and this is another one. It will take us about 8 or 9 days to get through the White Mountains and I will not be able to post until we are done with those. We hope to shoot some great pictures while we are in the Whites and hopefully I will be able to post some once we are done with this next stretch.

We are both hoping that August will be a much cooler and drier month for us and are looking forward to getting above treeline in the White's.

Until next time.

Red Dog and Lucky Dog.

Hanover NH 1732 done and 442 to go

Hi Everyone and goodby VerMUD

Except for the last two days we had a pretty wet and muddy week. I almost had to put VT as my second least favorite state just after PA. I am posting today live from the Dartmouth Outing Club Office, http://www.dartmouth.edu

,
After a great stay at the GreenMountain House, we were dropped off in a down pour and we were rained on all day on the 24th. You could tell which way you were going on the trail by the way that the water was flowing. If the water was flowing at you it was uphill and with you it was down hill. The flats were just mud and the trails were really rivers. We both really questioned our judgement about not staying another day in town but we hiked 15 miles and we were dry for the evening. This was the wettest we had been and the new waterproofing on our boots did little good as we were wet on both sides of the boots and we stopped a couple of times to wring out our socks.

On the 25th it was a little sunnier and we dried out some, but the trails were still pretty muddy and wet.

We did an 18 mile day on the 26th and climbed up the 2nd tallest peak in VT, Killington Peak. It is also a very large ski resort and the Gondolas were running. We had supper at a restaraunt on the top of the mountain and then hiked another 4 miles at a shelter around 7pm. We decided to stay in the shelter as we were the only ones there and it was late enough no one else was going to show. It was a good thing we did, because the sky just opened up and we must have received another 2 inches of rain. The thunder and lightening were fantastic.

On the 27th we did a resupply in Killington and stopped at a great deli for breakfast/lunch. These places seem to really draw us in. We only hiked 12 miles, on the muddy root filled trails.

We did a 22 mile day yesterday the 28th and then tented. The trail was much smooter and actually kind of nice with lots of pine needles for footing and lots of old growth pine for views. As I said the last two days really helped my opinion of VT.

We crossed the Conneticut river about an hour ago and crossed from Norwich VT into Hanover NH and Dartmouth was right on the trail. Not sure yet where we are going to stay tonight. We need to resupply and do laundry and take a shower. There seems to be a strong odor wherever I go and I can not belive it is really me. Places are hard to come by to stay in this college town, but, I am sure we will come up with something.

The computer I am on will not allow me to post any pictures. If I find a computer later today, I will post some of our past weeks wet pictures.


We will be in Gorham NH in 4 days and then into the White Mountains. We have gear that we shipped ahead waiting for us in Gorham. REI is also going to replace my hiking poles for the second time. They have been great to deal with on this and are shipping me new poles no questions asked.

Until next time.

Red Dog and Lucky Dog

Manchester Center VT, 1636 done & 538 to go

Hi everyone from Vermont or as the trail sign said when we walked in VerMUD.

Patty and I are both doing great in our treatment for Lymes. Thanks for all your comments and concerns. I am amazed at how fast the antibiotic cleared up my symptoms.

It has been a wet and muddy week on the trail this week, but we finished off Mass. and crossed into VT. We are taking a day off today as Patty needs a shopping fix and there are a number of outlet stores in town. We are staying at a hostel that is only a week old with a great owner who has been very gracious. He is a retired print shop owner from Ohio and an avid hiker, so he convinced his wife to move to VT and open the Green Mountain House. He has an entire house that sleeps 8 just for hikers and he lives next door. The hostel has everything a hiker needs; beds with pillows, shower, internet access, a washer and dryer, and a kitchen. I continue to be amazed by the generosity of people along the trail. We left Tom Levardi's house in Dalton on the 17th after he allowed me to take him out to supper at an Old Country Buffet. He had a total of 9 hikers sleeping in his house in Dalton and he was another great host. We also squeezed 9 hikers into a very small SUV to get to supper.

We left Tom's and had a great breakfast at a small family run eatery called Duff and Dells. While Patty and I continued north as we have the entire trip, a number of hikers were taken 24 miles north to hike back south without packs and stay at Tom's for another night. This is the most common type of slack packing however, Patty and I have elected to make this a complete north bound hike without slacking back south. We had a great lunch in Cheshire Mass. after a local contractor stopped and told us he would take us to a great restaurant for lunch. He came with us, had lunch and then gave us a ride back to the trail and told us we could stay with him the next night in Williamstown after we crossed Mt Greylock. After lunch and a 14 mile day we tented at a shelter and visited with a south bound hiker from South Korea.

We crossed Greylock Mtn on the 18th in hot and humid conditions. Greylock is the highest peak in Mass. and had some nice views and a monument to Mass war dead at the top. We crossed the road that went into Williamstown and North Adams around noon and had lunch at a great AYCE Asian restaurant and then did a resupply at the grocery store next door. We declined on the offer to stay with the contractor and hiked a couple more miles up to a campsite where we tented for the night. The heat sure makes it a lot tougher and it has been raining almost every evening.

The 19th was another hot and humid day, but we did cross into Vermont. The first 100miles or so of the A.T. in Vermont is also part of the "Long Trail". The Long Trail goes from the Mass. line the entire length of Vermont to the Canadian border for approx. 280 miles. We are meeting people who are hiking the long trail and also starting to meet a lot of south bound A.T. hikers coming from Maine. Most hikers who start a thru hike from Maine do so around the first of June and so they are about 6 weeks out. This area reminds me of NE MN and the Superior Nat. forest. We even have seen quite a bit of moose sign and just missed seeing a young cow moose that a day hiker had spotted just before we met him.

The 20th was another hot and humid day and at this point everything we have is a little damp. We have given up on rain gear a while back and just plan on getting wet if it rains. We always keep something dry to change into when we hit camp, but it is warm enough that it just does not pay to try to wear rain gear. We have even shipped our rain pants ahead to save a little weight. We tented at a shelter and got the tent set up just before a huge thunder storm hit. We were in the shelter making supper so stayed dry and then went back to the tent for the evening. It rained off and on all night, but we stayed dry. The REI Quarter Dome has been a great tent for us.

We woke to more rain on the 21st and hiked in the mist and rain all day. We had a 3000 foot climb over Spencer Mountain and a fire tower at the top, but with the mist you could not see anything and then tented near the Spring Creek shelter with a couple of teachers from Germany who are section hiking the A.T. It was a great evening as the sun came out long enough to dry just about everything and the two Germans had carried some beer and shared one with me.

We hiked the 3 miles into Manchester Center on the 22nd and hitched the 5 miles into town. We had breakfast and then picked up a box dad had shipped to us at an outfitter. Patty bought a new "outfit" for the trail as she said she is tired of wearing the same thing for 4 months. We picked up a few other things and some groceries and called Jeff from the Green Mountain House to pick us up.

It is pouring rain right now, but, I am going to try and post the following pictures if the signal will get through the rain. We picked a good day to take off.

1. Patty and I in front of the Green Mtn. House.
2. The way we got to the Green Mtn. House.
3. Patty's favorite lunch snack.
4. Patty entering VT.
5. Me on top of Mt Greylock, highest point in Mass.

Dalton MA, 1555 done, 620 to go

Hello everyone from Mass.

http://dalton-ma.gov/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={2896A805-FD93-4F62-A290-AF8C4E721E6D}

Since I last posted, Patty and I have finished off New York and Conn. and are just about done with Mass. I should probably update everyone on Patty's Lymes disease status. She is doing fine and hiking like mad. She is doing so well that I thought I would start on the medication also. Actually I was watching a rash on my leg that continued to spread and I had a number of the other symptoms of Lymes also, so I was able to obtain my own prescription. After 3 days I am also feeling much better. I have posted a picture of one of the posters warning of Lymes that are along the trail.

Since it has been a while since I last posted, I will use our journal to try and update everyone.

July 6, we were dropped off at the bridge on the Hudson by Art and Susan, (See Photo). We hiked 15 miles and camped with a group from a girls camp. All were Jewish and the leaders were from Isreal. They shared their supper with us and I spoke to them about hiking the A.T., (See Photo). It was a little loud, but, we enjoyed talking with both the kids and their leaders.

July 7, was a 20 mile day for us. See Patty is feeling better. Weather was in the 80's with humidity around 100%. We were both soaking wet by 10 am. We met some old friends we had not seen in almost 2 months. It is nice to be able to hike with other people now and then as it adds to the conversation.

July 8, Still hot and muggy, but a decent trail. I keep telling Patty, one of these days we are going to have an easy day of hiking, but, it just has not happened yet. The trail still has an awful lot of ups and downs. We had a great lunch where the guidebook said there was going to be a hot dog stand. The hot dog stand was gone, but a restaraunt owner who also caters was set up for the first day with his portable kitchen. He had ribs and pork sandwich's and all kinds of great food. He also had free drinks for hikers. It was great and beat the normal lunch of tortilla's and tuna or peanut butter.

July 9, Only did about 13 miles today, but, walked into Conn. It is still very hot and humid. Saw another huge rattle snake and shot some pictures. Just picture the last one only a little bigger. We arrived in Kent Conn. which is a very upscale town and resupplied and then decided to spend the night. We had a very nice room at the Fife & Drum Inn. Patty finally bought a hat, so check out the picture of her picking blueberries to see it. We received several inches of rain while in town during a huge thunderstorm. We stayed dry once again.

July 10, Finally a cooler day with lower humidity. We hiked along a larger river for about 5 miles and really enjoyed the trail. Still quite a few ups and downs, so it was not an easy day, but, we only did 15 miles.

July 11, Another 20 mile day, but the weather was still great. We are walking through some old growth spruce and it is an interesting forest. We camped at plateau campsite.

July 12, A big day for us as we hit the 1500 mile mark, (See photo). We also entered Mass and a very beautiful area with many small creeks and rivers. We hiked across Bear and Race Mtn's and also a mtn. called Everett where we picked a lot of blue berries. The low bush blue berries are really in full swing and the high bush are just starting. It has been good eating for the past few weeks. We also had an offer to go home with a guy who we thought was rather well to do. We found out later he was a commodity trader on Wall Street. The only problem was he was heading south and we would have had to go back down what we had just climbed up and then climb up it again the next day. We stayed with our rule of not hiking what we had already hiked and had to turn him down. We tented with a group of other hikers and met someone who used to swim with one of our neighbors while in college at Carlton who would be known as "Beaker" by our neighbor.

July 13, Hiked 8 miles into Great Barrington Mass and resupplied. I also picked up my prescription for taking care of the dreaded Lymes. After having breakfast, doing the resupply and having lunch, we caught a ride back to the trail and hiked another 7 miles where we camped.

July 14, It started raining after midnight and rained all night long. Everyone had a difficult time of getting out of the tents in the morning and we did not get going until 9 am. That is our latest start of the trip. We hiked 14 miles and camped on some town property that was adjacent to a small secluded swimming beach. We did not see anyone and it was a great opportunity to clean up.

July 15, We did an 18 mile day to get to the Cookie Lady and when we got there no one was home. We were disappointed, but, we camped on the edge of the property and were able to get water without haveing to filter or treat it. That is always nice.

July 16, Hiked 10 miles into Dalton and were in town in time for lunch. The guidebook said there was a man on the trail as we entered town who took in hikers. The book was right and we are staying with Tom and about 5 other hikers in his house. He does not take any money for this service and also runs people around to where they need to go. It is really amazing the generosity some people show to hikers.

We may take a day off tomorrow with him and then do another short day of about 8 miles before meeting with friend Art Stegan again who wants to hike over Mount Greylock with us. This is the highest point in Mass. at a little over 3500 feet. If Art joins us we will definitly be a lot lighter hiking the 15 miles up and over.

We continue to do fine and are already making plans on how we want to finish this hike off. We still hope to be done by the first week in Sept.

Take care

Red Dog and Lucky Dog.

Bear Mountain Bridge NY 1388 done 786 to go

I thought I would add another quick post since we are taking an extra day off. Sorry no pictures today.

As planned yesterday we were dropped off where we finished on Wed. Patty and I hiked 14 miles and over Bear mountain and came down into Bear Mountain State Park were we were met by a mass of humanity all trying to enjoy the 4th of July. We were told this state park is the most heavily used in the state of NY and there were thousands of people around the small lake and all over the picnic grounds. They also have a small zoo and the trail goes right through it. The zoo contains all the native animals from NY state and it was rather interesting listening to the comments from all the people from NY City as they walked through this zoo.

The reason we are taking today off is that Patty really had a rough day yesterday and was not feeling very well. She had all the symptoms of Lymes Disease and she had pulled a deer tick off her leg back on June 3. She never did develop the standard bulls eye rash, where the tick bit her, but she did have a rash in a different location. We went into a brand new walk in clinic this morning and with the symptoms she had and the possibility that another tick may have bit her causing the rash we all thought it was best if she went on the antibiotic just in case it is Lymes. She is doing fine, although still not feeling 100%. We will have the results of the blood test on Tues. She is still planning on hiking out tomorrow if she feels better. It sure is nice to be with friends when something like this happens. Art and Susan have been very good to us and we will have slept in the same bed for 5 nights in a row. We probably needed the break anyway.

We had a good day off on Thursday touring New Paltz, NY and going up to the Mohonk Hotel on Thursday evening, check out http://www.mohonk.com

Patty and I are both ready to get back on the trail and continue north. We still hope to finish in early September if all goes well.

I will keep you posted on Patty's condition, but she is tough as nails.

Red Dog and a sick Lucky Dog

New Paltz New York

Hi Everyone

As I sit and type this it is pouring rain outside, but, Patty and I are staying dry while visiting friend Art Stegen and his wife Susan at their home in New Paltz. We are about 40 miles north of the trail and taking a day off today. We have approximately 780 miles to get to Mt Katadin in Maine.

We left the church hostel in Vernon NJ on Tues July 1 and caught a ride two miles to the trail with a very friendly Water Works forman who was nice enough to stop and pick us up- Thanks. The church hostel was a great place to stay and many churchs along the trail have opened up their fellowship rooms or created special "hiker hostels" for A.T thru hikers. It is a great ministry and a great service to hikers. This church even had items for sale for hikers that would normally only be available from an outfitter. Socks, fuel and other supplies that hikers need were made available when a member of the congregation came down to see if we needed anything. Some of the churh hostels ask for donations and some don't. We are always glad to contribute to these great trail angels so that they continue to offer this service to hikers.

We had a tough hike on tuesday that took us over numerous rocks, but, gave us some good views of Greenwood Lake. After 20 miles we were met by friend Art. Art was my biathlon coaching mentor and we have traveled around the country and around the world together when I was coaching biathlon for the National Guard. Art's wife Susan had a great meal prepared for us and we enjoyed spending the evening catching up.

Art hiked with us yesterday after his wife Susan dropped us off where he had picked us up the night before. We hiked a 14 mile stretch after getting a little later start and Susan picked us up.
Art and Susan gave us a tour of West Point on our way home and then we had a very nice meal at a German Restaraunt owned by a former biathlete who I had not seen in 10 years.

We actually slept in this morning and then Art took us on a tour of New Paltz and then helped us run some errands that we needed to take care of. Susan has a great dinner planned and it is really nice to just live like a normal person for a few days. Art is going to drop Patty and I off tomorrow morning and we will do another 14 mile section and then we will spend one more night with him, before we take off again. The nice thing about hiking the trail with Art and hiking tomorrow is that we have taken most things out of our packs and it is almost like hiking without a pack. They call this "slack packing". You could really get used to that type of hiking and it is a nice break. It was also nice because we hiked over and through some very difficult stretches where you needed both hands and a light pack. We will take off again Saturday morning and leave all of the comforts of Art and Susan's home for life in our tent.

I have posted the following pictures:

1. A very large bear that wanted blueberries more than Patty did.
2. A hen turkey that had a huge brood of chicks. No chicks in photo
3. Patty sitting on the start of a mile long board walk that took us over a very dry cattail swamp.
4. The start of our hike with friend Art Stegen.
5. Patty and I standing at an overlook of the Hudson River at West Point.

I think it has rained almost an inch since I started typing this. Glad to be here. We will have slept 4 nights in the same bed for the first time since we left home. A day off and a couple of slack pack days have been very good for us.

Happy July 4th to everyone.

Red Dog and Lucky Dog

Vernon NJ, 1342 done, 831

Hi Everyone

Just a quick post from Vernon NJ. We are staying at a church hostel at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church tonight after a 20 mile day and a big Deli Sandwich that we had for lunch.

We left Delaware Water Gap on on Friday June 27 after listening to some great blues music at the Deer Head Inn, (see last post).

We had breakfast and only hiked 10 mile to the Mohican Outdoor Center. I had to rescue Patty a couple of times as she was grazing in the blue berry patch along with a black bear that she failed to notice. Once I told her there was a bear nearby, she caught up with me rather quickly.

NJ is very proud of their bears and they seem to have quite a few.

Since we did not have a day off in DWG and were still pretty tired from all the ROCKS in PA we rented a cabin at the Mohican Center and just lounged around after our 10 mile day that seemed to include quite a few rocks. It was a very modest cabin and tucked away in the woods. We had a deer walk by the front door and when Patty walked out the cabin door on Saturday Morning she had two very LARGE Black Bears walking by. She didn't even scream. We saw these same two bears about an hour or so later when we hiked back up the ridge to the A.T. and the biggest one was almost on the trail, (400 pound plus). We just told him to get off the trail and he did. We finished our 17 mile day of NJ rocks and camped near a shelter. We made sure to put our food in the bear box that was provided.

On Sunday we did a very tough 20 mile day with plenty of rocks and up's and downs. After passing the second Washington Monument we have seen on the trail at High Point State Park, (this one is an actual replica of the DC one) we tented near a shelter. It has been hot and muggy for the past few days and we were rained on while hiking and the sky really opened up last nite and pounded our tent. We stayed dry.

Today we planned a 20 mile hike and I think we are finally done with the rocks for a while. We had some good ups and downs of 500-1000 feet, but the rocks have diminished greatly.

We are going to try to set something up with a friend to hike and then visit with him later this week.

I am sure I will be able to post some photo's from his computer.

Happy 21st Birthday to Chris tomorrow, and Happy 54th wedding anniversary to Mom and Dad today.

Take care

Red Dog and Lucky dog

PA Rocks, Photos

Delaware Water Gap PA. 1279 done and 895 to go

Hi from DWG.

I am posting this from the Deer Head Inn www.deerheadinn.com It is just next to the church hostel that we are staying at for the night so we hope to get back and take in a little jazz later on.

We are extremely glad to be done with PA and all the rocks that came with it. Our feet feel like someone beat on them with a hammer. I am on another computer where we can not find the usb port soI will try to find one where I can post some rockin pictures.

We have had pretty good weather since we left the Doyl hotel in Duncannon. We hiked through some old mining areas and over lot of rock. The scenery has not been too much to speak of and the trail has been full of rocks, soIwould rate this as the worst state we have walked in yet.

We hiked into Port Clinton PA after a short 18mile day on the ROCKS and stayed at the Port Clinton Hotel. They hadsome great food. We hiked out after a good breakfast and hiked 15miles to shelter where we were blessed by a neighbor going on vacation who brought over all of his fresh fruit and vegetables for us.

On June 23 we did as much boldering as we did hiking and hadthe toughest 18 mile day we have done yet. If that was not bad enough I had to walk 20 minutes and about300 feet to get water.

We hiked over more rocks on the 24th and had quite the scramble out of Lehigh Gap. I will try to post some pictures of the hill and the climb. We did find the first blueberries of the season and it was hard keep from grazing as we walked. I also had over an hour round trip to get water and half of it was down hill. Water has been tough in PA. The trail is on the ridge and the water is all down at lower elevations.

Yesterdays hike was also very ROCKY, but stopped for pizza at lunch and had enough for supper. That was a day brightener. We camped near a shelter about 6 miles out from DWG and were visited by a father and son who we had met on the trail earlier in the day. They even brought treats. Thanks Guys. They have posted a comment on my last blog about a web cam at the top of Mt. Washington in NH. We should be there in towards the end of July, but if you want to see what it is like at the windiest place in the U.S. check out www.mountwashington.org/weather/cam/deck

Today we are doing "town things", laundry, shopping, clean up, posting on the blog, etc.

We have to look at the maps and are going to try and meet up with friend who lives in NY. I think NJ only has about 70 miles of trail and we should be done with that by the middle of next week and then a short stretch in NY before going through Conn. and Mass.

If I am unable to find a computer to post our pictures you will just have to believe me when I say PA ROCKS

Also please be advised that Patty and I did not partake in the National Hike Naked Day on the first day of summer, however, we are aware and aquainted with at least one hiker who did.

I also have a picture to post of a doe and a fawn that walked right up to us yesterday. We think we have been in the woods so long that we don't smell human. Patty shot some great pictures of that along with a hen and her brood of turkey chicks. Other then that all I can say is there sure are a lot of ROCKS in PA

Take care until we can post again.

Red Dog and LuckyDog.

Duncannon PA, 1133 miles done, 1041 to go

Hi Everyone

I know I just posted two days ago, but Patty and I hiked into one of the classic trail towns today when we hiked into Duncannon.

We left Boiling Springs yesterday morning after a stop at the Mid Atlantic Office of the A.T.C. We had big plans of doing 22 miles, but the heat and humidity were still turned on high and we did not start hiking until around 8 am. It was a good hike and we experienced walking through some of the farmlands of PA. We hiked 11 miles and then took a break for lunch at a Diner located off of PA 11. We had to walk about a 1/4 mile, but it was worth it. After lunch it warmed up even more and we had all we could do to hike the last 4 miles to the shelter where we camped. We did all of our chores and had supper just in time, because at 7 pm we had just crawled into the tent when we experienced the strongest winds of the trip. We heard later that they were up to 60 mph. There was a little rain after that and then it calmed down until around 11:00 pm when it hit again. I thik I slept through most of that. We woke up this morning to 55 degrees and hiked the 12 miles into town by 11:30 am.

We are staying at the legendary Doyle Hotel. I am sure this was a classic in its day when it was built by Annehauser Busch. Today it is a classic hiker hotel with rooms at $ 30.00 and shared bathrooms. I have attached a picture. Imagine the Buckman Hotel in LF. We had some great food for lunch and the beer was very cold. The rooms are not quite 5 * more like a quarter moon. Anyway, Patty and I don't plan on getting too roudy tonight with the rest of the hikers, as we want to get an early start. We are on the 4th floor and 3 floors above the bar, so we should be safe. This trip is full of experiences.

I will try to post pictures of the Doyle along with Patty at the halfway point marker, the first Washington Monument, a good picture of the Mountain Laurel with me in it (we walk through miles of this stuff), and a picture of the cabin we stayed at with me and the owner.

Until next time.

Red Dog and Lucky Dog