Ric and Sharon Bruce On a journey with you to Thailand 
Sharon and I wrote this journal as we walked, describing the places, people, and events we encountered. This journal is dedicated to those "Angels" willing to go out of their ways to help stinky, tired hikers. Read about our trip details here.
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York
Monday May 22nd
12 miles
First day. We climbed up a stinkin’ tall mountain with loose rocks that gave under each of our heavy steps. It was scary because of the wind conditions. Josh and Michelle left after the climb.
We continued on for about a mile and saw a rattlesnake. It scared us half to death and we backed away from it slowly and took its picture.
We only saw a few hikers, most southbound (SOBO), went through little gap and past a weather station on Blue Mountain. We walked on top of the ridge the rest of the day and camped 2 miles from Stempa Spring. It’s crazy rocky in Pennsylvania. -Ric
Tuesday May 23rd
13 miles
I was up this morning at 5:30 excited. We hit the trail at 9:30 after going back to Stempa for water. Spent the first night cold but dry. Slept well and ate wild rice soup last night, glop this morning.
We had a good day. Saw 2 snakes, and one was pretty long. Saw a porcupine too. It was huge and ugly. The spring water was great. Passed through wind gap and camped on the North side. Found a nice campsite and lit a fire. We feel really warm tonight.
Every part of Blue Mountain is different. Between Lehigh and Smith gap the terrain appeared greener than it is here. After wind gap things seem really dead. Saw a really long pipeline. –Ric
Wednesday May 24th
14 miles
Had a tough walk into Delaware Water Gap. Planned to stop at the Kirkridge Shelter (9 miles, arrived around 2:30 PM) but heard from the very scary looking man sitting there that Delaware Water Gap had a free hostel at the Presbyterian Church of the Mountain. Boy, are we glad we pushed on. –Ric
It was a really nice day. The sights are wonderful! It’s so nice to hear all the birds singing all the time! The hostel was interesting. Met a lot of thru-hikers – Scout, Rock, Spiritual Pilgrim, . The hostel was under a church. Greatetc. It was nice to shower ministry. We ate pizza on the curb. It was soooo yummy! Felt like homeless people. Fun fun. –Sharon
Thursday May 26th
14 miles
First day we haven’t seen snakes. We got a little turned around in Delaware Water Gap, but figured it out eventually. We had a good hike up Mt. Tammany. Spent the night in the hostel, tried to get to bed early like the other hikers and get up early. HA! Called Dave and Kathie tonight. –Ric
Camping in a really good spot!! Grassy but by a cliff. –Sharon
Friday May 26th
19 miles
Today was an adventure! It rained… but it felt really nice as we were walking. It made the rocks a little slippery, but not too bad. The rolling thunder was really calming. It made everything smell really fresh! There are some parts of the trail that look like a jungle. While others are huge boulders we have to scramble across and other places sort of looks like a desert! We saw a really long racer snake (about 6 feet long) we threw rocks at it to get if off the trail… but it didn’t move. I saw a long black and yellow snake too. The birds here are cool. Saw a hawk. Tons of caterpillars (I call them ‘friends’) and little ones hanging from spider webish things. They get in our faces and stuff… yuck! Getting towards dusk. My blisters on my heels hurt like crazy so Ric went ahead to find a camp site. That’s my man! He found a grassy spot on the mountain peak
We set up the tent and started cooking rice… when I looked up and saw a big black bear moving near us sniffing around! I was so surprise I said… “Ric, uh I think we need to get in the tent because there’s a bear. Ric looked and told me we must go. So we quickly packed everything up… pretty scared and shaky while watching the bear move slowly away.
We got out our headlamps and basically ran down the mountain. I think that’ s the most scared I’ve been in a while. So we hiked in the dark. Blisters hurt but I was too afraid of the bear to care. There was no place to camp so we had to make it to the shelter (6 miles away). We met Mark at the fire tower sleeping on the picnic table. Those thru-hikers are crazy. No tent… they just crash anywhere. We were startled by the eyes of a deer. They were two shiny dots in the woods. We weren’t sure what it was, we were dead tired, but we made it… praying along the way. Lock Jaw was there. Slept in the three walled log cabin (shelter) –Sharon
Saturday May 27th
7 miles
We slept in really late… 10:00 AM or so. Then rested for a while. Saw a guy named Ron who gave advice on blisters and told us about a secret shelter. While packing up Ric went to the privy and came running back because he saw a mother bear and two cubs. All the people from New Jersey seem to not be afraid of them at all. They say just make some noise and they will go away. We are starting to get that mentality too – took it a little slow… great sights
Camped near a lean-to with the boy scouts. -Sharon
Sunday, May 28th
9 miles
Still took it easy since memorial day the post office in Unionville will be closed. We hiked to the tallest mountain in New Jersey: 1803 ft. Saw the war monument. From up there you can see PA, NY, and NJ. Nice. People seemed to respect us there… met a couple who are going to the highest point in every state. They were nice. We got pop there! And lemon green tea. Such a yummy treat. The park at High Point was full of people. Then we hiked to our lean to and washed off in the freezing cold stream. Our dinner was ramen, hot chocolate, tea, spaghetti. It was soo good. Now time to sleep.
P.S. I got my first tick. Ric pulled it out. I have a rash on both legs. Fun fun. -Sharon
P.P.S. A park ranger just came up and asked how many people were staying in the shelter. We said it was just us and he walked away. The end. -Ric
Monday May 29th
7 miles
Went to “Bob’s Secret Shelter” and met some cool people. Actually the guy that owns it’s name is Jim. Got a warm shower and cold well water. Have the loft of the shelter all to ourselves and lounged around all day since like two PM.
There are two male donkeys here that bray a lot. We met an aussie named Mountain Goat and a couple named Lug and Zama from Portland. They’re really nice and we talked for a while about blisters, past experiences, and whatever. Food came up a lot for some reason. Tried Australian tea and Vegemite. This place is so nice. Has a fan, lots of plugs, electricity. Very cozy. Leaving tomorrow for Unionville to eat and pick up our packages. -Ric
Tuesday May 30th
7.5 miles
This day was crazy. Sharon’s blisters were killing her as we walked the two miles into Unionville early. Met slow leak… a really old hiker. We arrived well after the others and ate at Sarah’s Soda Shop pretty discouraged about Sharon’s feet. We knew we had to do something and were looking frantically in the phonebook for a way to get to town.
The people running the soda shop told us about a “trail angel” named Shamrock that often helped people and had left his card on the bulletin board at the shop. When I called he was in Delaware Water Gap shuttling a hiker back to his car. He simply said “I’ll be there in an hour.” We were stunned and excited that someone would drive an hour to help us out. He came and drove us two hours to the Mecca of hiking and camping supplies, Campmor. Sharon picked out a pair of trail runner, blister socks, and Dr. Scholl’s blister band-aids. We headed back to Unionville. When we arrived in time for an early dinner, we insisted we pay for a meal for Shamrock and told him over and over how much we appreciated his help. He quite literally saved our hike.
We were so excited about the new shoes and Sharon was feeling up to it so we pressed on the five miles to Pochuck Mtn Shelter. Had it all to ourselves. Called home. –Ric
Wednesday May 31st
12 Miles
Got a good start and stopped at a country store for grapes, jerky, Rockstar, bottlecaps, honey sticks, green peppers, and bananas. Got some pictures on Waywayanda Mountain.
Had our first big thousand foot climb today. Left Pochuck early and walked through beautiful open country to Wawayanda shelter in the Wawayanda State Park. Showed up at 3:00 PM with the shelter all to ourselves for a while. We just relaxed and dried our gear out and spread our stuff out in the shelter and then the hikers started showing up. Pack Mule and Blue Bird with her dog Jasmine were the first. Definitely stinky, sweaty hippies but pretty fun to talk to. Pack Mule is a glass blower and Bluebird has cool dreads. Seemed like “yellow blazers” (people who hitch rides to get further up the trail.) –Ric
We fed meat to the dog –Jasmine. Then Dreamer came. I guess he became a Christian recently… very cool. He seems pretty old. I think Slow Leak’s the oldest? Then Mountain Goat came. MG was apparently chased by a bear today. Freaked him out pretty good. Gave MG the bandana he dropped on the trail. Then Team Steve came – who ate the rest of our rice and beef and peppers creation. Then Feather and Firefly came. It was a party! Mountain Goat broke out his Canadian bottle of whiskey. Crazy. Mountain Goat stubbed his toe pretty bad. We all laughed. Oops! –Sharon
Thursday June 1
12 miles
Crossed into New York. Pretty nasty weather all day with ominous clouds overhead and fog in the morning. Got to NY 17 and stopped for homemade ice cream .1 miles from the trail. We were about 2 miles from wildcat shelter and were watching (for the first time) real TV and saw the weather. We looked out over a valley from the ice cream shop window and saw driving rain, thunder and lightning rolling toward us. We hurriedly stuffed our earthly possessions into our bags and took off running for the shelter. We didn’t stop until we arrived at Wildcat Shelter only slightly damp. As we threw our packs down on the wooden shelter floor it began to pour. It was so uplifting to be warm and dry knowing that we could have been on the trail in the nasty weather.
Mr. Mountain Goat came strolling in later and we had a good time talking with him. Fell asleep to the pitter-patter of rain on a tin roof. Nothing better than that. –Ric
Today was pretty fun. Huge rock climb… saw more little orange lizards with the red sparkly dots. Toward the last part it was starting to thunderstorm while we were at the ice cream shop. We booked it in the rain and thunder to Wildcat Shelter. Rocks were slippery. MG came too. Then a BIG thunderstorm hit. It’s cool, the water here is red… because of the minerals and the privy… tehehe. -Sharon
Friday June 2
14.5 miles
This morning Mountain Goat flew ahead when we left Wildcat and then waited for us at mid-morning. He laughed at us a bit for being slow, but there were CRAZY ups and downs. My knees really hurt. Went through the lemon squeezer. Saw Fitzgerald Falls earlier. So pretty with the moss & everything. It was a really tough day mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Stayed at Fingerboard with M.G. again. Found out he has a nine year old daughter. Rained hard again all night. When M.G. started a fire a snake came slithering out of the chimney. Collected rain water to filter and drink. -Sharon
Saturday June 3
9 Miles
We were going to have a “0” day, sort of, because of the tough day Friday and because it was raining. Then 30 Koreans showed up wanting the shelter… not really speaking English. Great. We packed all the stuff and went out in the rain with our huge yellow ponchos. So funny. We CRACKED up the day before when we put them on our packs. We looked like dorks… huge yellow turtles really. 5.3 mile hike to the William Bryan Memorial Shelter. Pretty nice and easy walk.
So MG was sleeping at the shelter, so we hung our clothes and gear up to dry and got ready for the night. MG woke up. Me and Ric were making our 2nd dinner when “Psycho Frank” came along. He was wet (rained all day) and was in street clothes like dress pants and a dress shirt. Right as he walked up singing something MG said – “Uh oh look out.” Frank was carrying a bag (not one for hikers) with a tarp slung over his shoulder. Very odd. He didn’t know what a chipmunk was that went scurrying away at his approach. “One of God’s creatures running up a tree,” he said. “Not a squirrel. A rat or something…”
“It’s a chipmunk,” MG answered dryly. He came into the shelter and thought Ric and I cooking second dinner was making drugs or something. We were making Ramen over our camp stove! Then he said when MG asked what was in the bag –“What’s in my bag?!? Well not weapons.” I was praying that he would leave and he did. Then we all quickly packed our stuff. He came back, we gave him some extra Ramen we didn’t need and then we rushed over to the West Mountain Shelter. Later… Eagle Eye stayed with him… said he was bipolar and something else. –Sharon
Sunday June 4
8 miles
We woke up in the morning and saw the New York City lights in the sky. Got pictures and went back to bed. Woke up and got out of the shelter really slow. MG left early. Went up Bear mountain to the tower and saw a ton of people including some Koreans that seemed super happy for us. Met some park guy that thought we were through-hikers and went down the mountain to the Appalachian Trail Parkside Museum and Wildlife center (the lowest point on the trail is in the park by the bear exhibit… 124 feet.) Got lost in there and finally got through it late in the afternoon. Saw a revolutionary war fort. Pretty cool…
We went down the road to M+R Grocery and met “The Moose” who gave us a ride to the Bear Mountain Motel. We wanted to see if there was a Laundromat around so we went down the road a bit further and turned around because it dead-ended at West Point. The Laundromat turned out to be too far away for us to walk back to the motel so we just went to the Motel. Felt good to sleep in a real bed, take a shower, and clean some of our clothes in the sink. -Ric
Monday, June 5
18 miles
Woke up and packed. Dried stuff out with the air conditioner last night. Went across the street to Bagel Café for (you guessed it) bagels and coffee. Picked up cheese. Oh, saw Dreamer again at the Bagle Café. Had a good conversation. He ate tons of food b/c he saw a doctor that told him he was loosing way too much weight. Hit the ground running trying to keep up with Eagle Eye’s long stride. God in a lot of miles by lunch which was really nice.
The terrain was really flat, which was nice but there also weren’t many views. Didn’t see many people either. Got water from a Clarence Fanehstock State Park spigot and saw an old house. Looked for a camping spot, but didn’t want to get off the trail so camped in the state park by the trail. Made good mac and cheese. Slept well. -Ric
Tuesday June 6
18 miles
Today felt nice. We saw bear footprints in the morning. Went up Shenandoah Mountain. There was a flag spray painted on a rock there. Ric stepped back into some bushes and I looked up because the sun was darkened. There was a massive cloud of black flies? Plague of locusts? I asked Ric, “What’ s that?”
Ric looked and yelled “RUN!” It was thousands of yellow jackets that had an underground nest. They were really mad but we ran partway back down the mountain. We were pretty scared but we didn’t even get stung. We waited a little while and slowly went back and down the other side. That made me so shaky.
We went to RPH shelter for lunch break at noon. Met a bunch of men out hiking for two days. Then for dinner 5.5 miles later we stopped at a deli. Yum! Brownies and subs. When we were heading toward the trail we saw a German Shepherd almost getting hit a couple of times on NY 52. So we grabbed its collar and called the vet. They told us the owner’s phone number and we waited on the road for 20 minutes until they came. A man cam and took him. The dog was cute.
We walked the 4.5 miles to Morgan Stewart Shelter fast because of the mosquitoes. We met a Boston man named Tananger that was pretty messed up. Liked to smoke pot down by the train tracks in Boston.
Wednesday June 7
7.5 miles
Walked in a deluge to Telephone Pioneers Shelter. Arrived near 12:30 PM soaking wet and cold. Trail was terrible. Stuffed our faces and took a nap for 2 hours. Mountain Goat and Dreamer showed up. Had a great time relaxing and convincing Dreamer and MG to stay the night. Slept well. -Ric
P.S. It was freezing cold and the trail basically became a river because there was so much rain. –Sharon
Connecticut and Massachusetts
Thursday June 8
15 miles
Arrived at 10 Mile River Shelter headed to Kent tomorrow. Didn’t rain as it was supposed to. We had breakfast with Mountain Goat and Dreamer @ Tony’s Deli. Made it to Connecticut. Took a bath in the river. Called home. Going to bed. -Ric
P.S. At the Deli –very fun – we had coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Mmmmm!!! Listened to Dreamer tell stories about his job at the jail. Ric and MG both found ticks in their wrists! Dreamer’s suction thing didn’t get them out. The trail was pretty. Parts of it were really tall grass and very narrow trail among looming green mountains. Dreamer and Ric talked of spiritual things. At one point Ric, MG and I were in a farmer’s field with a cool silo. All of a sudden a calf stood up and we took a picture. Then I looked left and A TON of cows were running toward us. We moved quicker (trotting). The calf’s mother called it over. It was a cool sight. Dreamer listens to the Beatles. At the Shelter I had a tick near my armpit. MG got it out with the point of his knife. Called home for Sarah’s graduation. Called Nikki and Shark n the field outside the shelter there was beautiful BRIGHT fireflies.
This morning at the shelter and later during the day Dreamer was saying – “It would be so nice to have a coke!” We crossed a dirt road and MG was there shouting to come over. There were 2 coolers and four chairs. Trail magic. He got his coke and we had . Dreamer says it waschocolate treats too! It was a fun little party God answering prayer. –Sharon
Friday June 9
9 miles
Those nine miles were sort of rough. The beginning was cool with the big rapids and pretty pines. But the rest was basically straight up! Some pretty sights of green mountains. Lots of slippery rocks and mud and not well marked trails. We walked into Kent, Connecticut. It’s patriotic and tourist looking. Meet MG @ the post office. (P.S. meet furious on the trail. He was nice.) Went to St. Andrews Episcopal Church and asked the pastor if there was a place we could stay. We got to pitch our tents between the graveyard and the rectory. Then we went out to eat pizza – yum! We washed up in the church Sunday School bathrooms That night it thunderstormed and we stayed dry, but MG got . –Sharonsoaked
Saturday June 10
1 mile
Sharon’s We slept in (woke up @ 9:00) to MG saying “Hey20th birthday!!! Newlyweds!” He got 2 hours of sleep because of the rain. Ric and I went to theDeli and bakery for breakfast and coffee. Talked about kayaking and all the random people in Kent. Then went to the outfitters where MG found us.
We were looking around when this guy with a beard comes up and asks us if we are the three who owned the backpacks outside. We said yes and he introduced himself as “Moosey.” He and his son “goldilocks” hiked the trail last year. He offered anything. A trail and for today. We asked about laundry. He drove us to his house where we dried our gear and clothes and did laundry. We did some emailing. His dog is really cute (bulldog). He drove us back to the outfitters where MG got me a TON of candy for my birthday!!! He also said laundry So we ate at the bakery and hiked back to the Mt.was my present. Algo lean-to. Ric surprised me with candles and donuts. All the boyscouts, their leaders, MG, and the Ridgerunner sang happy birthday to me. Very sweet!
Now we are heading to bed. Things I want to remember: The trickling of mountain springs, the fools gold sparkling on the rocks and dirt, the crystal white in the rocks, the songs of the many birds, the mountain laurels – their dark trunks and odd bright white and pink flowers, the orange salamanders, the rat snakes and eastern ribbon snakes… -Sharon
Sunday June 11
17.5 miles
Today the trail was pretty nice but a lot of ups and downs. Made my knees hurt pretty bad. St. Johns ledges were fun. Huge rock slabs with rock “stairs.” Right. Meet someone rock climbing. Meet some others. There was a pretty section by the river. Saw a big black vulture very close as we were scrambling up pointy rocks then lost the trail but Ric found We had to cross Guinea Brook. More like a river with rapids! Withit. all the rain there was high water There was a high water bypass but the directions to it were on the other side. Great! We took forever trying to cross. Trying different ways with rocks but that didn’t work because the water was fast and deep. Ric crossed on an unstable log. He almost fell (scary). He came across to help me (aw…). We found a larger log and both crossed slowly, holding hands. It was pretty high. Good bonding activity. That morning we met Seventy. He’s 74 and hiking to Maine. I hope he will be okay. He’s nice and a retired lawyer for the oil companies. Went to a nice campsite, but the water pump didn’t work. It was along day. Slept in Pine Swamp Shelter with Tank. MG tarped. –Sharon
Monday June 12
13 miles
Went to Sharon Mountain Campsite!! Hurray! @ mile six MG drove up in a car to “Mountain Side Café.” The three of us ate a ton there. We took “showers” at a building next to a hydroelectric plant. Still seeing a lot of snakes. Saw the Great Falls today. Pretty. Stayed at Limestone Springs lean-to with MG. -Sharon
Tuesday June 13
14 miles
We got out at 7:00 AM! Hurray! Hiked a nice hike in the morning. There was a beautiful sight from a field on the mountain! Went to The Roast Café in Salisbury, CT. Ate a 2nd breakfast with MG. Me – 2 bagels, coffee, juice. Ric- coffee, juice, cinnamon roll, bagel. Yum. Used the internet there. Then went to the market for oatmeal and stuff. We felt pretty overwhelmed by the huge selection. Met 3 guy hikers: Norm, No Cheese, and Night Rider. 2 were brothers and had horrible allergies. Felt bad for them but it was sort of humorous. On the way out of Salisbury we met a nice older man that told us about is bobcat sightings. We hiked up to Lion’s Head which was a beautiful view of the mountains. There were a ton of dragonflies. We also saw a couple really nice waterfalls. It’s so pretty with the green moss… The mountain rives and brooks are so clear. Tented on a platform in Massachusetts.
I agree with Dreamer, “It’s not the hike that kills you, it’s the stops.” We spent so long in that town then hiked in the heat. Went up Bear Mountain. Very pretty. There wa a huge rock pile we climbed up to mark what once was thought to be the highest point in Connecticut. Crossed into Massachusetts unexpectedly. Met Mona Lisa the Ridgerunner. Stayed at Race Brook Falls tent platform with MG and two girls. On the way there the falls were very pretty and it was cool by the river. During the night we heard owls. –Sharon
Wednesday June 14
19.5 miles
This day was tough. In the morning we did Race Mountain and Mount Everett (2602 ft.). Both were pretty steep climbs and rocky but beautiful on top. Saw very pretty flowers (pink lady’s and rosebay rhododendron and mountain laurel). The trees looked stunted and twisted at the tops of the mountains. Toward dark we climbed East Mountain. It was so annoying because forever it was ups and downs and climbing vertically over boulders. Got to the full lean-to at 8:40 (dark). MG came in a bit later. We quickly found a flat space to set up our tent – in the dark. We ate the peaches and cookies we got at the garden store (where we had sat in the gazebo and ate and drank a few hours earlier). Yum! The owner was very nice. -Sharon
Thursday June 15
21.5 miles (longest day on the trail)
Saw a beautifully built beaver dam and lodge today. It was pretty shallow and very clear but the water was covering a really wide land area. Impressive. Saw the beaver in the water playing around. Took a break @ shaker campsite. Didn’t want to leave, but went on anyway. Sped through on to Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Set up tent near dark. Care takers were nice but were surprised we got in so late. Today we also climbed up some pretty steep ledges. –Sharon
Friday June 16
18 miles
In the morning @ Upper Goose Pond the caretakers made us pancakes and coffee. SO good because we didn’t really have any breakfast left. Tank was there, the three potheads, Dreamer, and a Belgian man named Eve. We were really happy to see dreamer there. He was happy to see us too and we caught up with him while we stuffed our faces. It was so relaxing, so we got a really late start. We went up some mountains as usual. Lots of ferns. Had a long lunch at October Mountain Lean-to where Dreamer caught up to us. There was a next of 3 baby birds at the privy. They were so cute. I came out to see 3 fluffy, black-eyed birds with little yellow beaks staring at me wondering if I was food or would feed them something. Went up another mountain to the Kay Wood Lean-to. On the way we saw big bear foot prints in the mud with little ones. Suddenly Ric exclaimed that he saw a wet one on a rock. We had the sinking feeling that the bears must be just ahead of us on the trail. We went around a corner and there they were. The cubs scampered off the trail and down the hill and the mother turned its huge black head to look over its shoulder at us. It looked surprised but pretty disinterested. The three of them slowly moved away, but began walking along the side of the trail, paralleling it from a distance. It was pretty frightening. The Mom was BIG. It must have sent its cubs up a tree. 
We got to Kay Wood Lean-to near dark. Pickwick was there… we had met him at Goose Cabin. We had pictured him as an old man for some reason, but he is young and belongs in like the colonial times. Tank was there too. We had some tea and slept in the loft.
(P.S. Ric took pictures of the bear and then we raced away. None of them turned out.) –Sharon
Saturday June 17
3 miles
Hiked into Dalton with no food in our bellies. Pretty grumpy. It’s a nice, friendly town with lots of old people in it. Went to Duf and Dells Variety for breakfast…. Had the biggest breakfast you could order: blueberry pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, juice. YUM!!! The two old men talked about us a while. They talked about the dollar and gas prices… There was this crazy lady who wanted to take us tons of places, meet her family, and show us a ‘good time. She was so insistent and controlling it was sort of scary. We needed to go to the post office and get stuff done. The older lady with her told us to just say “No,” which we did. I overheard her earlier talking about her divorce and not knowing what her children were doing because they were on vacation with her husband. I hope she is or becomes a Christian.
So we went to the post office. Got our packages. The huge honey bottle in the bounce box broke and spilled everywhere so we worked on organizing and cleaning up for like 2 hours. Tank was with us. Honey got everywhere, even on the floor of the post office. Afterward we went to the full service gas station where the attendant asked us if we were looking for Rob. We were hoping to stay in the bird cage that night. He led us to the back room where there were old signs and junk piled up everywhere. The attendant called Rob and he was there in a matter of minutes. He put our packs in the back of his van and we piled in. When we arrived at his house we each had a sprite in our hands, took a warm shower, put on clean clothes, and threw our old clothes in the washer. Wow. After we showered up we could go anywhere in the house. Then Dreamer and MG showed up. Hurray! We watched old Star Trek episodes and The Last of the Mohicans. It felt so nice to be clean and sitting on a comfy couch watching a DVD. He took us to the Old Country Buffet later and we stuffed our faces. SO NICE! It felt like a fun, happy, family dinner. Cheesy I know… MG called me a rabbit. Tank had covered his steak with a frosting soaked cinnamon roll! And he went up for seconds. We were making hiker jokes like eating all of the steak in the buffet line, being able to smell the fabric softener and detergent day hikers use before you see them. We can even smell the mouthwash they use. We talked about how bad hikers smell, how we can’t remember when we last took a shower or did laundry or slept on a real bed… fun stuff. Called Michelle. Talked for a while with Mountain Squid. Slept in the amazing pull out bed… -Sharon
Sunday June 18
0 miles
Our very first official zero day since the beginning of the trail! On father’s day. Ric got breakfast with Mountain Goat and Dreamer. I guess they had to wait for food and listened to Dreamer tell stories.
Sunday morning we to the Nazarene church People were very friendly. Rob told us about it. They anointed someone and laid hands on them, read random scriptures then spoke on child raising. Good, but not much applicable scripture.
Mountain Squid took the gang (minus Dreamer) to the mall to get a camera card and went to Eastern Mountain Sports So cool. We love that store. We bought gloves, a hat for me, and light windbreaker jackets. Tank got a new backpack for really cheap because his old pack ripped.
We called my parents and Ric’s parents to wish them a happy Father’s Day. While I was talking on the phone with Rich and Rae I got stung 3 times by a wasp! It got caught in my sleeve and freaked out! Rob and Ric Fixed the sting up pretty well. Multibactcerial wipes and the pink stuff and an ice pack. Nice. My arm got big and pink but wasn’t too bad. Rob took us to the “swimming hole.” It was a beautiful pounding waterfall with a 12 foot “pool” underneath. It was way cold. MG and ric went in. There was a rope above the pool that Ric majestically swung off into the water. I was a little nervous, bur it looked cool. I wanted to try it too, but I didn’t have swimming clothes. But it was fun. Rob took us to the Deli where we ordered food! Yum! I got a slushi and waited outside with Rob while he smoked. I found out that he was a Christian. He used to do a traveling band with his girlfriend singing hymns and stuff. He went and helped build the Nazarene church we went to. He doesn’t go now because he said there’s really nothing for him there. The message is directed to the families. I asked him about salvation and he was right on. The 18 year old guy that took our order has a 16 year old pregnant girlfriend. We went to the house and I ate my chicken fingers and Ric ate his chicken wings. The guys stayed up late watching baseball and basketball. I went to sleep out on the porch and Ric carried me to bed. -Sharon
Monday June 19
9 miles
Woke up late. MG and Ric got breakfast. When they get back MG points his finger at me and says, “You make me sick.” Hmph. Ric and I cleaned Rob’s bathroom, living room, and kitchen. It was very dirty. His decorations were Indian (since he is Mohawk and Cherokee) but most of his décor was there since his mother lived there. MG cleaned the microwave… my “orders.” Afterward Ric and I were about to leave when we were asking Rob about his faith. He said the pastor told him he has to go to church more. So he stopped. He was a police officer for 9 years then quit because he hated all the rules, so maybe that’s just his personality. He took care of his mother until she died and is now doing the hostel thing and running a Shell gas station in the area. He believes this is his calling, what God wants him to do right now. He mentioned how naturally he wouldn’t love the hundreds of people his hostel cares for but it is Christ working through him. He comments about morals, “If it doesn’t hurt you or others, try it out!” Ric prayed for Rob and his ministry with the hostel. It was cool to get to talk to him like that.
We slowly moved on in the heat of the day to Cheshire, Mass. We were caught in a frightening storm on Crystal so we booked it to the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church. The storm on the Mountain was LOUD and pink lightning flashed all around us. On hit the ground close by with a loud CRACK! Made me scream… The church was so nice after that. Three was a hiker room where we hung our wet clothes and there were donuts for the hikers! YUM! Ric also read aloud hilarious stories by Patrick McManus from “A Fine and Pleasant Misery.” Went to bed. It was so nice to be in a warm, dry building! -Sharon
Tuesday June 20
11 miles
We hiked up Mount Greylock (3491 ft.), the highest point in Massachusetts! It was a nice climb. Not as bad as people said it was. Saw Cedar Moe on the way up. He had given us the names “Truth” and “Mercy” the day before. He said the Lord had given the names to him while he was reading Psalms (He’s a strong Christian). The top was nice. A cool tower which we went up. Could see NY, MA, CT, and VT in clear weather. The view was nice and the little lodge up there was cool. Met Mr. Rogers and Tree Girl who are dating we think. People seemed very impressed with the distance hikers… and we aren’t even through hikers. Had a pretty easy hike to Wilbur Clearing Lean-to. MG was at this shelter and 2 groups training to be leaders of high school hiking trips. Set up tent. Thunderstormed. Bed. -Sharon
Vermont
Wednesday June 21
10.5 miles
After 3 miles went .3 off on MA2 to Super Stop and Shop. Saw MG, Treegirl and Mr. Rogers. Talked to a couple who were leading a bike trip across the country in 6 weeks. Ric bought fruit (YUM!) and Lipton Sides. So MG caught a bus into Williamstown to see an art museum while Ric and I pigged out on apples, cheese, and crackers!! YUM!! It was really hot hiking this afternoon. We bordered a clear and cool stream that had pockets like natural bathtubs. We wanted to go in but that would wash off all our bug repellent… There was a pretty tough climb and then we crossed into Vermont! We each ate a king sized Milky Way to celebrate. Stayed in the Seth Warner Shelter. There was a nice group of people there. The guys make dinner for them and had the stove upside-down. Pretty sad but funny. The Ranger on Greylock said that porcupines are out in abundance and they screw a metal piece to the font of the shelter floor to keep the porcupines from chewing on the wood for salt. -Sharon
Thursday June 22
16 miles
Got a good start! 6:30 AM. Went by a very impressive beaver dam. Went up Harmon Hill (very pretty – fern covered!) There were two groups of High School students doing trail maintenance. We saw a windmill farm! We met three people doing the long trail. Camped at Porcupine Lookout (probably illegal…).
The only incident we had today was that our food bag fell down a cliff while Ric was hanging it in a tree. We got everything back a little smashed and we have a new dent in our pot set now. -Sharon
Friday June 23
15 miles
It rained in the morning when eating breakfast, so we had to pack up quickly. Went up mountains… It was very pretty with the large pines, spruces, and red pine needles covering the ground with white quarts rocks jutting out from the bed of needles. Mountains on every side. Saw a bunch of Moose foot prints. Climbed Glastonbury Mountain and went up the very tall observation tower. The view above the trees was breathtaking. Mountains on every side. No bugs up there , but very windy. We ate a big lunch and cuddled and took a short nap on the wood floor. Passed a “Big” rock. Went to Caughnawgee Shelter for a bathroom break. Moved on to Story Spring Shelter. Saw another big ol’ beaver dam. Gnats and biting flies are everywhere here in Vermont. Smashed a ton on myself. Tented with a ton of Long trail hikers. YUMMY dinner. Bed. -Sharon
Satruday June 24
10 miles
Started the day late at Story Spring because of the rain and lack of motivation. Met Gorp Goat, Pub Crawler, Chris, and some Long Trailers (Hikers that use part of the AT to hike Vermont top to bottom. Saw Lug and Zama early in the morning with Two Shoes. Quite a party.
We were faced with a bit of a dilemma today. This was our last day to get to Manchester Center to get our package (21 miles away) Decided to take two easy days and arrive in town Monday morning.
We finally got on the road and I broke my stick when I got it lodged between two logs. We fixed it in the parking lot before Stratton Mountain (3900 ft). Easy climb up Stratton and met Jean (Green Mountain Club <GMC> caretaker) and her husband Hugh. We climbed the fire tower and saw a great view of big white clouds. When we arrived at Stratton Pond Shelter Mr. Rogers, Treegirl and their cousin were already there with some of the LTers who had taken an easier trail around the mountain. When we went down to Stratton Pond there were some GMC nature freaks who were there to collect money and enforce the rules. Didn’t swim and finished reading Matthew that night. -Ric
Sunday June 25
10 miles
Slept in late and talked to the Philadelphia couple about countries we had been to. Moved on from Stratton through the Lye Brook Wilderness. Talked to Chris and Early Bird on Prospect Rock. We decided to pass by Story Springs Shelter and camped .2 from US11/30 so we could get to Friendly’s earlier on Monday. –Ric
Monday June 26
2 miles
Woke up a 5:30 AM and went to US11/30 to hitch a long ride into Manchester Center. Sharon hated it (and so did I, but we got used to it.) Walked down the road for a bit and eventually got a ride from Bob. Very nice guy… he’s a chimney sweep. His wife and son had done the trail at separate times and Bob had done some construction of the shelters and maintenance of the trail. Got to Friendly’s and MG showed up. Firefly came soon after and it was a party. We gave MG his birthday present (a map of the AT… pretty neat.) I ate: 1 Western Omlette, home fries, bagel, toast and five cups of coffee. Sharon Ate 3 pancakes 2 eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee.
Headed to the Laundromat. Sharon did laundry and I picked up the package and bounced our box on. On the way back I stopped at Yankee Candle to buy some Potpourri to make our packs smell nice. It sorta worked… Hard to reverse the effects of nature. When we did our resupply from the box we found some really random stuff. I guess that figures since we packed our boxes at 4:00 AM the day before we left.
We met a gay gardener with a map of the surrounding country who tried to convince us to take a side trail in the hopes of finding rare rocks in caves. Rocks? Who wants to carry rocks in their pack? We thanked him and moved on to the grocery store. Got some bagels, bread, bug spray, etc. Consumed a quart of Chocolate milk. Headed to the Book store and checked our mountains of emails. We saw Cedar Moe and had supper with him at the Bagel Works Café with MG. Left there and hitched in the rain. Two painters gave us a ride after refusing to give an old dude ten bucks for a ride “up the mountain.” The painters were pretty rough looking but seemed nice enough. They had a lot of questions about trail life newly married.
Bromley Mountain Shelter is full tonight. Uno Mas and Suds are from Baltimore doing the LT, 3 are from Boston, MG, Cedar, and Firefly. MG gave me a soda can stove that uses ethyl alcohol and Cedar gave me a chocolate moose cake for my birthday. Sharon is talking in her sleep. -Ric
Tuesday June 27
14.5 miles
It’s Ric’s birthday!!! Hurray!!! The big two one…Today was a beautiful day. No rain, but very muddy. As Cedar Moe always says, “It’s a muddy green tunnel.” The views today were great! Crystal clear. Bromley Mountain was sweet. We could see all the surrounding mountains because we were going up a ski slope (grassy, flower-filled pathways…). The top was so windy but great. The observation tower on top was neat too. -Sharon
We went down Bromley to Peru peak (Styles peak before that.) We got some water at Peru Peak Shelter and talked to a guy that hikes in scrubs… weird. We went up to a wilderness and a crazy peak past the others at Lost Pond Shelter. Passed a GMC guy doing mud puddle inventory with a GPS… more weirdness. Arrived at a brook and crossed over on the one-man suspension bridge and camped a little south on the river where lots of other people have camped. Very tired today but had an Amazing spaghetti, bread, crackers with butter dinner. Birthday chocolate moose cake for desert. –Ric
P.S. Washed up in the brook next to us. Felt so good.
Wednesday June 28
18 miles
We woke up pretty slowly and were packing up when Ric looked up and said, “I think we should pack up the tent because it’s going to rain.” It was pouring before he got ‘rain’ out of his mouth. We hurriedly packed up the wet tent and bags in a downpour. Ric had to fix my camelback because it got a leak. He used superglue and duck tape. Seemed to work pretty well so we hiked on in the rain and mud. We saw Una Mas and Suds while they were crossing the suspension bridge (seven person limit). We went past Big Branch Shelter (Where Firefly stayed). We passed Little Rock Pond where we met two guy day hikers who expressed their sympathies for all the rain we had encountered in their state. They gave us 2 cokes to make up for it, one of which we gave to MG when we got to the shelter and the other to Una Mas at lunch. They wanted to give us four, but who wants to hike with 2 let alone 4?
We kept walking and saw the 3 LT hikers while going up White Rocks Mountain. We also saw a crew of 9 younger girls and their leaders with huge ponchos down past their knees. They weren’t complaining about the rain… so that’s good. It was sort of fun going in the rain. We go to the point where we weren’t trying to step on rocks to miss the mud. We just walked straight through the mud, puddles, and streams. On top of the mountain someone made a TON of small stacks of rocks… must have taken days. It was like the on we saw in Pennsylvania but much bigger and very cool.
We stopped at Greenwall Shelter to dry out and eat lunch. We found 2 MSR Hubbas (one man tents) set up inside with Red Dane and Dodger inside one of them… ultimate grossness. Red Dane is a Danish girl maybe thirty and Dodger must be in his late fifties. Apparently they’re together. There was a younger guy (Jason?) in his sleeping bag on the other side of the shelter smirking about something. They were all nice. Ric quickly made tea and tuna sandwiches while I shivered. Red Dane was pretty impressed with our Mountain Hardware wind jackets. It was cool to meet her because she started in GA in January and she came a long way to do it. The three LTers came up and looked pretty upset that the shelter was basically taken up by two tents. The oldest guy started shouting many profanities about the rain between angry bites of his Cliff Bar. Sort of humorous. They moved on down the trail soon after. Una Mas and Suds came as we were leaving. Red Dane and Dodger seemed thrilled to see them. I was frozen solid so we had to get going but Ric offered them a soda. They politely said “no” but Ric could tell Una Mas wanted it so he gave it to her and she immediately opened it and chugged it. Everyone seemed surprised. We got under way again (as the 9 girls arrived) and passed Minerva Shelter soon. 
It stopped raining so we dried out a bit and went .5 miles off the trail to the Whistle Stop Restaurant for supper. YUM! We ate BLT’s and hot dogs and ice cream and apple pie. We climbed steep rock stairs to the shelter on a full stomach (great). At Claredon Shelter MG, Cedar, Firefly, and a southbounder greeted us. Cedar moved his stuff so we could get the bottom bunk, which was nice. It was really fun and relaxing just sitting and listening to them telling stories about a hiker named Cronie (stories about him are “The Chronicles”). Everyone had at least one really bad story about him. I guess he’s really competitive, girl crazy, but has a girlfriend, and defecates wherever he wants instead of in the privies. Hm… good hiker though supposedly. There was also a group of girls camping out in the woods… typical. -Sharon
Thursday June 29
16.5 miles
Last to leave Claredon Shelter. The girl scouts were still there. Felt pretty tired this morning, but were trying for ~18 miles to 12 Tribes Shelter… never happened.
Went up Beacon Hill, saw an aviation beacon (ooh) and had a pig-out at a road around 9:30 AM. Left around 10-:30 and found 2 trail magic spots with cokes and crackers. Walked along a very pretty ridge. Climbed Killington (3,870 ft.) We went to the lodge and discovered it opened the very next day… bummer. Saw Mr. Rodgers, Tree Girl, and the three LTers. They all took the Sherburne Pass cutoff, but we stuck to the good ol’ AT and stayed at Churchill Scott Shelter alone. -Ric
Friday June 30
12 miles
Started at noon, went past Maine Junction. We went to Gifford Woods State Park and looked around. Thought about camping but decided against it and went over Quimby Mountain (saw Cedar Moe camped there.) We spent the night in Stony Brook Shelter with a guy named Christian from Connecticut. He was pretty nice… talked about his Grandma in Maine and the hotel she owns. Freezing cold tonight. -Ric
We hope to finish this in a later post.
