While Chris hiked the 90 miles of the trail that are in Massachusetts, I drove back to the DC area and got our house ready for our new renters. And then the day arrived: the packers came and put our stuff in a moving van, and now we are homeless. After one last book club with my lady friends, I was off to join Chris in Vermont, for the last 500 miles of the trail. And when I say “join him”, I mean “drive the car around and see stuff while he hikes, and arrange food and lodging and sightseeing for the days/nights he’s not on the trail”.

I caught up to him in Rutland, VT: wow, what a green, fresh smelling state! We stealth-camped right by the trail in a beautiful setting by a brook up the side of a mountain. (Stealth camping is camping at spots along the AT that are not paid campgrounds or designated shelters. Just nice flat spots that you can pitch a tent. Free!). It got cold that night: Down in the 40’s. But luckily summer seemed to catch up with us over the next week and it was quite nice.

I followed/stalked Chris for all of Vermont and New Hampshire, sometimes hiking a mile or two in the mornings when I drop him off at the trailhead, sometimes camping with him on the trail, sometimes getting us hotels or hiker hostels, and sometimes getting myself a place to sleep alone while he overnighted in a stretch of the trail that had no road access for me to come get him. During the day I stopped at cool sites, shuttled other hiker friends around, had lunches and dinners with new trail friends, rented bikes, kayaks, etc. I loved the rolling hills and mountains of Vermont and the lovely farmlands and vistas.

New Hampshire has been brutal. They don’t call it the Granite State for nothing! It is often said that NH and Maine are the toughest states on the trail. In New Hampshire we encountered the White Mountains. Though lovely, they are a bitch to climb up and down, continually, day after day. The NoBos (northbounders, or what is left of them) are worn down, and we are just starting to see the first SoBos, starting down from Maine in early July and hoping to finish by Thanksgiving. Directly after the White Mountains were the Presidential Peaks, culminating in Mt Washington, the 2nd highest peak on the AT. It was a brutal 2 day climb, but luckily I was able to take the auto road to the top and pick up backpacks from Chris and his friends, so the could “slack pack” the descent with only a small day bag. They were much appreciative.

A shout out to our trail friends: DaVinci, Mobius, Midnight Sparkle, Naked Ninja, Rosie, Dr Zoom, Grasshopper, Trip, and Geared Up. You all are doing GREAT!! 13 states done. Next up: Maine!