Back in Mass!

It is always refreshing to wake up in a bed and not have to pack up a tent.  It’s also great starting our day with fresh brewed coffee and a big breakfast.  As many have mentioned to us, we talk about food a lot, which is true as it is on our minds constantly.  It’s a huge motivator, comforter and topic of conversation among thru-hikers. This morning we had a craving for pancakes.  Papa Pete’s offered giant pancakes, 14 inches which is the size of a pizza box.  A little too ambitious, we settled on eggs benedict, Vermont cheddar and apple omelette, home fries, toast, and an 8 inch blueberry pancake with of course Vermont maple syrup.  A delicious start our final day in Vermont.

Back at the trailhead, we thanked Kurt again for being a part of our adventure.  He is always happy to meet us on trail and we’re planning our next meet up.

The climb out of Bennington was surprisingly steep. We have not experienced this since the Whites.  Thankfully it was short but our clean clothes are now already dirty with sweat, oh the joys of hiking.  We were rewarded for our efforts with a nice view overlooking Bennington.  We could spot many of landmarks we had just visited.  After that the trail dipped back into the green tunnel and mellowed out.

We caught up with Skip a few miles from Massachusetts border.  We enjoyed chatting while hiking and learning more about his adventures living in Bolivia, including his high peak summits.

Shortly before 3pm we arrived back in our home state of Massachusetts.  Three states down!  We were then quickly greeted by something we haven’t felt with weeks… mosquitos!  Ahh yes, the bugs are back.  We cruised in our camp, immediately gathered wood to ward them off and enjoyed a nice fire.