MS Sucks!! To be quite blunt, it just sucks. Being a person who lives with the love of my life, who’s afflicted with MS, I fall short every day.

It’s not a visual affliction. It lays buried beneath the layers of a man. On the surface is the man we all know and love, but beneath what is seen are several, “I just have to deal with it’s.” Those are the things we can not understand, because we don’t have to live with them in our lives. How often do you have conversations and repeat what you’ve said, not realizing you just said it or go to turn around and our knees become weak when just a second ago they were strong? Things you know can seem confusing. A normal walk in the grocery store can seem daunting when you’re having moments of weakness. And no one around you can see these moments. Not even the woman you are standing next to, who’s with you every day. Instead we all just look at you funny like you’re just being weird. It’s a lonely world to live in.

This is what has become a new normal. It’s not something that you feel open to talk to people about. You try and let co workers and friends know that you are having some MS symptoms, but the little bit they see, just causes a funny look to come back at you. Soon you just stop trying to discuss it. You become the invisible man. Why bother?

When a flower loses light to feed it, it dies, and the dying flower grows blooms of depression.

There’s things we all don’t talk about. We all have a dying flower somewhere in our lives growing blooms of depression that we struggle with. We cover it all by sharing all the pretty parts of our lives on social media, our pretty flowers. That’s the world we live in now. How sad for today’s generation to not see that people struggle. We look away from the homeless in our neighborhoods and struggling mothers. We only want to look at the pretty flowers. Shame on us.

Stop judging! Stop it! We’re all guilty of this. We don’t want to be judged, but we judge others freely. We have to stop the cycle.

Talk to the people you love about the dying flowers in their lives. Help the invisible man come out to be seen. You’re probably not going to fix what’s broken in them, but being seen might be all they need.

The only one who can fix our dying flowers are ourselves. We alone hold the keys to fix our lives. We chose how we allow ourselves to feel and act several times a day. Yes, people can “make” us feel a certain way, but it’s still a choice we have to make to feel it. Choose wisely.

I struggle to see my invisible man. I love him so much, but yet I’m so blind. He’s a proud man who has a huge heart and always thinks of others. He never puts himself first, so now that’s my job. I must make an effort to help him be seen, heard and loved by those around him. I need to understand what it is that’s nurturing in his life and offer him more of that. Guess I see lots more walks in the woods in my future.

MS will not likely be cured tomorrow, so we have to deal with it today. I ask and pray that we all do a better job of seeing the invisible man standing next to us, at the grocery store, the laundry mat or whatever we are. Cause he’s right there waiting to be seen.

When the “powers that be” in your life set you on a journey that completely transforms your life into what you’re meant for, you must embrace it. Let go of the old and embrace the new. Flourish in all your blessings. You deserve it!

Letting go of the old in your life doesn’t mean you don’t remember the good times you had or the wonderful people that were with you. It’s just that you let go of “who” you were in that time. You weren’t meant to be as stressed as you were back then. The lack of nature trails to soothe your soul at that time, depriving you of the peace your soul desperately needed. The chaos of everyday living was such static in your mind that you didn’t even know how much you needed the bounty that nature offers.

Letting go is really just a change that happens within you. A freedom you can give yourself as you embrace the new you.

Would we change a thing in “our” story? No! The hard times, being diagnosed with MS, the stress of losing a job he worked so hard for, these difficult times are a part of the journey just as much as the bounty we now flourish in.

We wouldn’t appreciate what we have now if it wasn’t for all that. We’re done being angry and stressed over all those difficulties and now we’re grateful for them. They gave us some wrinkles and stories to share. Now we can sit around a fire at the home we thought we’d only dream about and share these stories.

We are truly blessed.

Is MS still a challenge for us? Yes absolutely!

Our walks in the woods might not be as long as they once were, but we’re still out there. The beauty we’re surrounded by and the bounty of trails we have to enjoy are limitless in our new surroundings. At times we need to pinch ourselves just to remember that we’re here.

The changes we had to make to get here were so very small when you really think about it. It really is the little things in life that makes the most difference.

Only when you let the chaos of the everyday life cloud your thoughts and focus, it’s easy to allow the mundane to become the normal. Everyday stress becomes your everyday life and that’s just the normal you grow accustomed to. You’re normal can cause you to lash out at times you wish you wouldn’t. You put stress on relationships that mean a lot to you. You find yourself complaining all the time. And why, why am I so stressed? I have a roof over my head, food on the table, people I love. I should have nothing to complain about.

When we took the leap and got on the Appalachian Trail, it was the biggest risk we’ve ever taken. We let go of the mundane and set out to walk miles upon miles everyday. We didn’t realize just how much it was going to change us. The peace and quiet on the trail gave us a chance that we were never going to have living in our personal chaos in NH. We had trails living there, but they were filled with other hikers and were the same trails we would take over and over. On the AT we had something far different from what we were used to.

Hiking 8-17 miles a day, coming across people that were also on a life shaking journey and having hours upon hours of silence really woke us up. We had time to think about the little things in life, the things that matters to us, and the way we feel about it all. When it all boils down it’s really all about perspective. The way we feel about situations, obstacles, people, is the first choice we make. After we choose how we feel we then choose what action to take. This will often cause irrational decisions that will lead to less than desirable outcomes.

How can we stop this?

Well, maybe we could make a better choice when we decide how we’re going to feel first.

Easier said than done. Right?

Yes, it’s going to take years of practice. After each time we triumph over our emotions we become more powerful over our lives. Our perspective slowly changes and our stressors slowly disappear. They are not gone from our lives, but the controls they had are. Life is becoming happier as the new “us” is developing in our life and the old “us” is fading away.

We’re experiencing the feeling of “Everything is Zen.”

We are at one with nature.

We knew, full well, that this was going to be a difficult hike. We knew that the terrain would be grueling and the cliffs would be steep. The weather would be ever fluctuating as each day presented itself. We’ve been there before. It’s breathtaking, but extreme. We didn’t know that it would end like this.

On Day One, Ben set off on his own, eager to take on the 100 Miles that lie ahead. His spirits were high and the wilderness beaconed him. He drank threw his first liter of water and prepared to filter water from a stream near the trail, then realizing that he was missing a crucial piece of his filter. Should he turn around should he continue? A decision had to be made.

He opted to continue and drink from only moving water sources. He used a handkerchief to filter the water he collected and he contacted me to have a filter left for him up ahead on the trail. He would reach it in one or two days. Unfortunately that wasn’t going to help.

He made it 10 miles on day one and settled into a shelter with several another hikers and campers near by. It’s never easy to get a good night sleep when the shelter is full. Someone is bound to be a snorer and keep you awake. Waking up the next morning he was hopeful to put in many miles over the Barren Mountain Range that lay ahead.

The heat of the day brought humidity and the terrain was steep with roots and rocks plaguing every challenging step. He drank every chance he could, but began to feel sick. He settled into a shelter very early in the day hoping to rest it off. As much as he wanted to he just felt too sick to eat. He was starting to really worry about his condition.

He woke early and packed up and left the shelter. Still feeling sick he knew it was most important to drink and maybe eventually he could eat. Unfortunately he was not able to gain an appetite.

He walked along breathtaking ridge tops. And beautiful ponds.

His sickness worsened and vomiting and dry heaving ensued. He was on the most challenging ridge lines of the trail, along drop offs where he may never be found. His body was stressed. His MS was apparent. Wobbling and numbness and tingling ensued. His cognitive function, as well as bad trail markings, caused him to get off trail, but he was able to figure it out and kept going. Fear began to creep in, but he knew I was waiting just a few miles ahead.

He took one last photo on the last ridge line and knew he just had to get down the trail a little further.

He made it! He walked to me and collapsed with more dry heaving. My sister, Stacia, who is an ER nurse, was with me and able to assess him. He was severely dehydrated so to the ER we were headed.

The lab work showed acute renal failure caused by rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown releasing a protein into the blood that damaged the kidneys), anemia and the doctor told him if he was on the trail a couple more days he would not have made it.

Wow! That was a scare to hear.

This stoic man who’s always been so strong is facing some scary news.

Reflecting back, we think of the steps taken and what could have been done differently.

Should he have turned back when he realized that piece was missing from his water filter? Most likely so.

Is his MS more progressed than last year? They do believe the anemia may be tied to that. A meeting with his neurologist is scheduled.

Will he ever hike alone again? Likely not. We do everything together and going forward that’s the way things shall remain.

Lessons are hard to learn, because they humble us.

Maybe there will be different ways we help to raise awareness and support for the MS Society in the future. Nothing is worth risking losing your life over. Life with the ones you love is the most precious gift we have on earth.

Here’s a link to the fundraiser we set up for this challenge. Regardless of how his hike ends, this is a great cause. 100% of funds raised go to support those effected and provide research to find a cure.

https://secure.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/FinishMS/HOMFinishMSEvents/1342715719;jsessionid=00000000.app311c?NONCE_TOKEN=62A1EA4AF76C0A9A0F567CAC94B072CC&px=16424006&pg=personal&fr_id=31195

The weather is great, 77 degrees, and the sun is shining down through the clouds. Mixed emotions of excitement and nervousness are abundant. We arrive at the start of the 100 Mile Wilderness in Monson, Maine, as ready for this as ever. There’s just one thing that’s different. This time, he’s setting off alone for the first time. He’s putting his MS up against the trail and all the challenges it has to offer. All in the name of a great cause. To raise awareness and money for the Multiple Sclerosis association, in an effort to fund the science that is desperately trying to come up with a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

Here’s the link to Ben’s personal fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis.

https://secure.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/FinishMS/HOMFinishMSEvents/1342715719;jsessionid=00000000.app311c?NONCE_TOKEN=62A1EA4AF76C0A9A0F567CAC94B072CC&px=16424006&pg=personal&fr_id=31195

This amazing organization has offered a lot of help and support for my incredible husband, Ben, when he was being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis just a few years ago. We are grateful to be a part of giving back to the efforts they are making and the strides they are taking for all those who face such a diagnosis.

Please help us by sharing this with others and please donate if you can.

I will be meeting him halfway into his journey to resupply his food and essential needs for this trip. In thoughts and prayers, I will be with him every step of the way. I, like you, will be filled with worry as I wait to see him walking down that trail. He’s a strong man. No MS will keep him down.

God love him, protect him, and be with him through this journey that lies before him.

There is power in LOVE.

May that power be with each and every one of you.

Love you all.

An adventure is on the horizon. 100 miles lies in the way of a good cause for all who suffer. MS is a road block for many, but not this man.

As you all know the many obstacles he’s overcome now he’s preparing for a challenge he seeks. He seeks to show those who suffer themselves and those who do not that MS will not keep you down.

All the while, he hopes to show the journey of the struggles that will soon be endured. His efforts are all for a cause. To raise money for the MS Foundation that seeks to end MS. May his efforts not be in vain.

Now this I ask of you, our wonderful supportive readers, if you can spare a dime or two please do. For those who cannot please share this with others who may.

We love you all!

https://secure.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/FinishMS/HOMFinishMSEvents/1342715719?px=16424006&pg=personal&fr_id=31195

As I sit here this beautiful morning, listening to the birds chirp as I sip my coffee, I reflect on where we were this time last year. I walked around our yard pondering all the things that have led us to our new home in Maine. Though there were many times we thought all the difficulties we faced were going to swallow us whole, we managed to find our way. It was exactly the moment I think this very thought, I looked down and low and behold a four leaf clover is right at my feet.

It was an accumulation of many things that lead us to this point in our lives, mostly we started listening to the whispers. A wise woman once told me, “if you don’t listen to the whispers, the world will start shouting.” No truer words have ever been spoken.

There were so many times after Ben was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis that we just went with the flow of our normal lives ignoring how stressful we were. We tried making everything “normal” again like repeating our daily lives was just going to make everything okay. We were in a firm denial of the whispers.

Then the world started shouting. The meds he was on was causing problems that we ignored. Our home lives and work lives were suffering. We seemed to be in a pattern of mundane repetitive behaviors that were of no value to our life. Life itself was like a time bomb waiting to go off, until it did.

Little did we know that when that happened it would reset our life and get us to jump outside our comfort zone. Our life was starting to be seen through new eyes as we made our way through the struggles. Our normal pattern of stressing over the pressure became a thing of our past. We were taking life just day by day until we made the giant leap of faith to go on the Appalachian Trail.

The trail got us back to nature. Our stress melted away as his MS symptoms did also. On the trail you learn quickly to live in the moment as the struggles of each day lead to amazing rewards. Even though we were not capable of finishing the trail, due to my 2 injuries, we reset ourselves.

This time last year, we were broken hearted not being on the trail and trying to figure out life off the trail. Not wanting to repeat the life we had we decided to move to Maine.We have always enjoyed it in Maine. It seems at times that you’re on the edge of civilization up here. It’s a quieter slower pace of living and that’s just what we need.

We found jobs and worked out a living situation with loved ones as we tackled buying the house of our dreams. Everything fell into place as if it was meant to be. We were listening to the whispers.

Staying true to all we learned on the trail we have been emerging ourselves in nature every chance we get. Enjoying walks in the woods in all seasons finding treasures along the way.

(Marbles are a close connection Ben has with his deceased father like four leaf clovers are with me and my deceased mother)

We kayak when we don’t feel like walking. We see wildlife everywhere and enjoy some amazing sunsets, sunrises and great company everyday. This truly is “God’s Country.”

The struggles in our life really aren’t so bad when we realize that each struggle has a reward waiting for us, just like on the trail. Tomorrow is tomorrow’s business. Today is all we have to deal with. Listen to the whispers as you go through your day and it will lead you to the tomorrow that tomorrow’s meant to be.

There will be more hiking, more sunsets maybe even another MS Fundraiser in our future. Our article in the Momentum magazine made us so happy that I’m sure we’ll continue to do all we can to continue to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis.

(Our article can be found in the 2020 summer addition starting on page 64 of the Momentum Magazine)

Until tomorrow………..

Unfortunately, we write this with heavy hearts. We hoped my ankle issue would pass, but were not so fortunate. We were prepared to press on when we stopped in Dalton MA, after giving it a day or two to heal, but it didn’t get any better. Again we drove home with thoughts of sadness on our minds.

We were getting stronger every day. Our bodies were turning into the machines we hoped they would from all the challenges on the AT that we overcame. We were looking forward to some of the shelters and places we were going to be seeing in MA.

Unfortunately, all that will have to wait until next year.

It wasn’t expected to go this way. We were given the opportunity of a lifetime and we expected we would succeed. It was expected that the Multiple Sclerosis would be, if anything, what would cause us to stop our journey. This though, is one of the most valuable lessons that the trail taught us. Expect all you want. Things will happen as they’re going to no matter how much you try and put your own agenda to it. When we would plan each day in the morning, we would have 2 locations as destinations for our campsite each night. If we made it to the first place and were feeling good and wanted to push on we would end up at the second destination. Then sometimes neither would be were we ended up. We started realizing that planning our day wasn’t actually necessary. Just having the drive to walk the trail each day led our path to where we were supposed to be no matter what. We were learning to “fly by the seat of our pants,” one might say. This was the most valuable lesson on the trail and sadly it was what we had to lean on when we made the ultimate decision to come home.

This doesn’t mean you are not responsible for what happens in your life. No, not at all. Things aren’t just going to happen for you. You still have to “walk” your path. As you walk on each day, and are open to what might come along, that is when you find the places in life where you’re meant to be. We all have goals and aspirations. Those are like flashlights for our path. They help shine light onto our path, but the path is not going to change. If were meant to be at point “A” our path is not going to take us to point “B,” no matter how hard we try and force it.

So, back to work and life we will go. As our sadness fades, we reflect on our journey and we are filled with all that makes us grateful. This WAS as opportunity of a lifetime and nothing about that is worth our sadness. We gained life changing moments that we’ll always take with us. We walked in Georgia, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, taking us over 300 miles. We showed Multiple Sclerosis that it’s NOT the boss. We talked to many people about Multiple Sclerosis and how beneficial it was to be on the trail with this disease.

So, though we may be stopping, this is only temporary. Our thru hike of the AT might have turned into a section hike is all. Many do. We have the Appalachian Trail here in New Hampshire and we plan to continue our hiking as soon as possible. And as we hike on we will continue to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis and we will continue our fundraising efforts until there is a cure. With nearly one million people living in the United States with Multiple Sclerosis, we will push on for them. No one should fight this fight alone.

We hope that following our journey you have seen our triumph over this disease. Ben went from having a multitude of symptoms to nearly none. He had muscle spasms, numbness, balance problems and lack of coordination, difficulties moving his arms and legs, unsteady gait and walking, weakness and tremors in arms and legs, vision problems, overall weakness and fatigue, dizziness, depression, cognitive impairment, and a terribly painful MS hug, all would come and go at various times as the days and weeks of life go on. On the trail, with the daily fresh air and exercise, and relaxing sounds of nature, these symptoms we minimized. Only a few moments of numbness of his lower right leg happened just a handful of times. The symptom would leave shortly after it would arrive, which is unlike the way it would present at home. At home this symptom would often last for hours. Also there was only 2 moments of balance issues while walking on the trail. They too went as fast as they came. Then there was one day we stayed off the trail, because he woke with numbness and tingling in his legs and arms, leading to a day of fatigue. All in all, these symptoms were very mild on the trail when compared to what he deals with at home. Stress is likely the biggest contributor to all the symptoms he deals with when at home. We learned a lot about what helps him and we’re going to be hiking as much as possible from now on.

I would give anything to give my ankle issues over to him and take away this disease. My doctor thinks I might have a stress fracture, but diagnosis is not complete. Though having this I shall recover. My wonderful husband will still have MS. I will still continue to watch him battle this every day. I pray for more days like we’ve had on the trail in his future. And we will reflect on the wonderful moments we shared and the people we met on the trail as we wait to hike on.

Hike on, we shall.

To where our path will lead, we shall see.

To Be Continued…………

Every dollar raised directly supports people living with MS in our community, funding important programs and services and fueling research. You are helping to create a bigger impact than you may realize.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/mymsvstheat

Okay, now where were we?

Oh yes, we just hiked into Massachusetts.

There are signs as we cross the boarder that tell us we’re going to be seeing some of the largest varieties of endangered plants along the Appalachian Trail. It was really interesting to see new plants right off after crossing into MA. The mud definitely began to lessen, which was a sigh of relief. It was very interesting seeing the changes as we hiked on.

The forest seems to be more open with less old oaks and maples trees. We did however notice a lot more rocks to navigate though. We’re close to the campsite we intend to stay at for the night and have a challenging decent down a steep hill with a rock slide.

We’re grateful to arrive at the tent site with a nice wooden platform to call our own for the night. The weather is dry so we gather sticks to have a fire.

We make dinner and relax to the fire.

This is what makes all the hard work worth it.

As we sit there and stare into the fire we look over from our campsite and watch a doe walk down the hill near us. She sees us and isn’t bothered. We feel at one with nature.

We haven’t really seen anything for animals with Meadow with us. They can smell her and don’t come near. I don’t mind that helping us with the bear encounters though. We seemed to be downwind from the direction she was coming from, so we got lucky. It was a great night and we slept really good!

The next morning we had coffee and breakfast and headed on our way down and into the outskirts of North Adams. I always like starting the morning hiking down and not straight up.

As we pass the town and head back into the woods we have a long upward journey to get us back up into the mountains. As lunchtime nears we reach our first peak of Prospect Mountain. We stopped to enjoy our lunch with a hard earned view of the town below.

After lunch we have 3 peaks to go before we can make our decent to the shelter we want to stay at. The next is Mt William, then the peak of thunderbolt trail and then the biggest peak of MA. Mt Greylock, 3,491. There’s a lot of mountains in MA that have the big white windmills on them, so some views are definitely better than others.

Between the peaks though we were running low on our water supply and it’s a warm day so we got lucky to find a side trail that led us down .3 of a mile where we could resupply. We hate doing extra miles, but you don’t want to chance not having water in the mountains. Down the side trail we came upon a huge chimney with a fireplace in the middle of nowhere. I wonder what this may have looked like when the home it supplied was here.

The top of Mt Greylock was stupendous. The views were very nice and there was a war memorial at the top built to resemble a lighthouse, though we thought it looked more like a chess pawn.

There was even a lodge which made lunch and dinner and had a hiker hostel, but wasn’t in full time hours of operation yet so we moved on.

We got to our shelter with time to spare before the rain came. We ended up getting another couple of gentlemen who joined us for the night and in the wee hours of the night a younger man came in and slept on the floor. It was quite a surprise to find a new person there in the morning and for Meadow to have slept through the whole thing. Great guard dog.

In the morning we hiked down the rest of the mountain and were excited to pass through the next town and be on our way to smoother trails.

Cheshire was an adorable town.

We stopped in at this little ice cream shop before getting back into the mountains and have a few hot dogs. The woman that runs the shop was such a sweetheart.

Back into the woods we shall go.

We are going back up in elevation, but are thankful we don’t have to go up as much as we did after leaving the last town. Still we got a nice view at the top of the entire mountain range we had just hiked the day before.

The rest of the day was filled with smaller ups and downs as we reached our campsite for the night. As always a welcome end to the day.

As always we write in the log book there. We write in every log book we can at every shelter we stop at and we also like to read what others have written. It’s a good idea to write in these because if anything ever happened, like going off trail and getting lost or something else, this could be helpful.

Unfortunately though that night was a rough one for me. We relaxed and had supper. Then we laid there in the tent and watched the sun leave the trees as the sun set. All seemed lovely at the time, but then my belly started to gurgle. I don’t know what it was that caused me to feel so awful, but I do know that being in the middle of the woods and feeling this terrible is the worst. Having nothing but an outhouse to sit in as the gurgling passes makes for a long and miserable night. The tummy issues did pass though and I was fortunate enough to get some sleep. I hope I don’t have to deal with that again, whatever it was.

Next morning, coffee and breakfast as usual. Then we pack up and head back onto the trail. We’re starting to feel the toll of the more rocky terrain on our legs and feet. As we hiked on this became more apparent as I now develop an issue with my other ankle. Thankfully the terrain was easy going before town though.

We get into town and we’re impressed with the trail marking on the sidewalks and along the way.

We’re in need of a warm shower and load of laundry so we make our way to the Shamrock Village Inn and call it a day. My ankle has now hobbled me to a constant limp, so we prepare to treat it and see how it is in the morning. The Inn owner is so kind that she goes to buy me some epsom salt and I treat it with epsom salt, ice, elevate and repeat. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

We’ll see what tomorrow may bring.

Every dollar raised directly supports people living with MS in our community, funding important programs and services and fueling research. You are helping to create a bigger impact than you may realize.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/mymsvstheat

We left the town of Manchester, VT to hit the trail around 11 am, Monday morning. We got a bit of advice from other hikers which inspired us to bring a Subway sandwich for lunch. One great idea which led to another. We had lovely miles that morning, but it was a windy morning. It was the kind of wind that was rather cold, but if it was between wind blows the sun made us feel a little hot. One of those should I wear a long sleeve or not kind of days. Well for Ben he had some balance issues in the moments between the wind blows. Being over heated usually causes symptoms to flare up. He had to take off the long sleeve and deal with the chill to get his balance under control. Which he did. We stopped at this lovely shelter for lunch after taking some pictures at the power lines of the town we just left.

The shelter was more of a cozy cabin than a shelter. It had a wood stove and bunks that would sleep 12-16. We ate our lunch and we both had this longing feeling to stay for the night. A little early to call it for the day, but with this night supposed to be the coldest of the week, we couldn’t pass this up. So we decided to stay and it was one of the greatest nights.

This place reminded me so much of the many nights I had growing up in Maine. My family had a camp that was without running water and luxury like this, but I loved it. We would sit around and talk and play cards just like we ended up doing here. We ended up getting another hiker and his dog that afternoon who decided to join us for the night. He was from Iceland and his trail name was “Son of Thor.” They were a great time to have with us. He taught us a new card game which we played several times and we talked the night away. That night we were all glad to have the fire and stay warm.

The next morning we all got packed and went on our way.

We got another good view of town before we went further into the wilderness.

We had only one big mountain ahead after a 7.8 mile hike that morning. We got to the shelter for lunch at 11:45 am. Great time and miles! There’s a big decision to be made. The next shelter from there was 10.5 miles away. The weather was calling for rain the next day and we’d hate to have to climb it in the rain. So do we continue and put in the largest miles so far or do we stay?

A lot of people out here are putting in huge miles to get the trail done. We typically only do about 8-13 miles per day and we feel good about it. We like to stop and smell the roses, you might say.

Well, due to the weather on the horizon we decided to push on. I re-bandaged Meadow’s toe (she got a cut I’m treating) and on we go.

The bandage is holding up well and we’re feeling good. The mountain was Stratton Mt and we met a trail maintenance person on our way up. He just opened up a small view point before the summit and we’re the first ones to enjoy it.

The only view at the top was from a fire tower and gives you a view of MA, NY and VT.

Still many miles to go and with a storm coming in we’re hoping the next shelter has room for us too.

The last 2 or so miles were a blur. Poor Ben struggled a little to keep up, which is not the norm. I’m usually the slow one, but I kept my focus on the “powers that be” to give me what I needed to get there before the rain came. We did it, we made it and no rain! But unfortunately the shelter was full.

We set up tent, ate dinner, hung our food bag and went to sleep. After an 18.3 mile day we’re going to sleep good!

The next morning we woke up and the wind came in at night which dried out our tent. We let everyone leave the shelter then we took all our things there for our coffee and breakfast. We got a late start, but we’re not going to push ourselves this day.

We had a lovely lunch at a Shelter with a view and met a lot more hikers.

The day was uneventful, just mud and miles and ups and downs as always. We reached the last peak before the next shelter. There’s a fire tower, but too hazy to get a view. The bugs there were intense. We all got swarmed with black flies and could barely see which trail to take. We took the trail we thought was correct, but after a little while we could tell we were wrong. This trail seems to be a snowmobile trail, but luckily we have the Guthook app and could see with the GPS that we’re running alongside the trail we’re supposed to be on so we just cut over and made it to the shelter.

Again the shelter was full and rain was coming. We found a nice place to set up tent and settled in for the night.

It rained all night long. We ended up finding out that the area we were in got the largest amount of rain in all of New England. Go figure, that’s our luck. 2.06 inches of rain overnight. Thank goodness, cause the trail could really use more mud. Not, hahaha.

We got into the shelter again after everyone left to dry out our tent, have breakfast and pack up. Heading out on the trail it was like we were hiking down a stream.

We kept hearing from everyone we crossed paths with all day about this water crossing we’d have to forge. Most people said we’re likely going to have to carry Meadow. I was a little nervous because Ben was having more balance issues today and lifting his feet and legs up was more challenging for him. He cut his shin on one log he struggled to lift over, but he’s determined to get us all across when we get there. He’s really incredible!

We get there and we take our time to determine the best place to cross. The water is raging.

At this point our shoes are so wet that we don’t even bother with our water shoes. Ben picked the spot and set out to get himself and his pack across then to come back and help get Meadow across.

Here’s his view of the crossing and my view of him doing it. I was nervous.

He did it! Yay!

It’s really intense how hard the water is pushing on you. He even came back and helped Meadow cross before I went.

After that we’re really close to town and our bodies are aching for a town day to rest.

We ran across some snakes that were enjoying the sun and we didn’t want to disturb them.

We got one last view before getting a call out for a ride into town.

Bennington VT, we’re looking forward to staying here. Hopefully Ben’s symptoms will get a chance to subside here.

We have soaking wet feet and the trail is being washed away. We’ll dry out in town.

We pass through the iconic “split rock” and are minutes from our ride to town.

A little down time to rest and recharge is in order. Then back to the trail we shall go.

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