So here’s the thing about hiking in Vermont.

You may have heard of Vermont’s reputation as “Vermud”, and if you’re there in April and May you will gain a deep, firsthand appreciation of that

-Guthook App’s explication

We’ve been hiking with this mud all through Vermont. If it’s not roots and rocks we’re navigating around it’s definitely MUD, and lots of it. Lots of hikers seem to just trudge right through it, but we do everything we can to keep our feet dry and avoid it at all cost.

Aside from that the trail has been wonderful since our last hold up in town. We’re doing great and are happy to be hiking again.

We left town May 29, after a big breakfast to fuel our journey. The trail was a straight up from town before getting back to the Appalachian Trail again. Once we got on the AT the trail settled down and was more gradual up until we got to Killington Mt. This will be our biggest peak in VT and one we’ve skied on together back when we were dating as a young couple.

It was a beautiful day. The trail was definitely better going over the mountain going south as we were. It was a tricky traverse on our downward hike, but it smoothed out and we were able to enjoy some nice areas along the way as we traveled to Governors Shelter.

The shelter had a fireplace in it, which was fantastic on a cool night. Again we were fortunate to have the shelter to ourselves.

12.5 miles that day. Going strong.

The next day we wake up to the World Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Day. And here we are out here kicking butt!

Getting on the trail that morning we had 2 water crossings to forge. Not a big river or anything, but just enough to have to take our shoes off for our crocks.

It was really nice to start the day with some gradual ups and downs for about 5.4 miles. We had a nice lunch at the next shelter and are starting to meet more people on the trail now. Unfortunately we’re also noticing that the bugs are coming out in force too.

We didn’t expect a big afternoon. The trail had some steep ups and downs to deal with but it didn’t look too bad. We were mistaken. It was a very difficult day after all, but we did have some pretty scenery in between at least.

I wish I could have taken a picture of the huge rock slide that we had to navigate down in between peaks, but I just wanted to get through it in one piece. Meadow did some incredible maneuvers to get through it. It was really a lot for her.

We did 9.8 miles that day.

That night we settled into a shelter that had a lot of comments in the log book about porcupines in the area. We could see this was an issue since the shelter support beam was covered in wire and there were chew marks all through the shelter. We put our hiking poles on the steps to discourage any porcupines from coming in and it worked. They were definitely trying to come into the shelter in the middle of the night. You could hear their feet on the bottom step, but that’s as far as they went. They were eating something on one side of the shelter and then one came down the hill talking to the others. They make the most adorable noises. It was so cute. Meadow couldn’t be bothered though. She lifted her head out of bed and then went back to sleep. We also heard a moose make a call in the wee hours of the early morning to another moose near by, but we didn’t see them. It was a really interesting night.

Meadow could not be bothered that morning. She was likely feeling some pain from the tough hike the day before. If she could roll her eyes she would have.

We decided we were going to stay at a pond shelter up ahead about 9 miles for Meadow. She lives to swim so we really wanted her to have some fun that day. Our day started rough with 2 big peaks then the trail settled down and was very pleasant in the afternoon. Meadow seemed to be happier once we got going and we couldn’t wait to surprise her with a nice swim.

We met a nice couple called the “honeymooning hikers” who were out to break a record with the wife being the first woman to complete a full thru hike 4 times. We wish them well and pray she’s able to complete her journey and break the record. We also saw 2 interesting rock gardens on the mountain we met them on. Unfortunately someone destroyed the garden and pushed the rocks over. We did our part and made a few rock cairns after lunch.

We made it to the pond and gave Meadow a swim, but as we prepared to find our place to sleep there that night we saw a large group of kids coming in to stay for the night. We don’t mind being around others at night, it’s normal to shelter with at least a few others or so, but kids are usually noisy. We push on a few more miles to see if the next shelter is free. Once we got there it too had another hiker staying and it was a small shelter. There’s several tent sites around the river just ahead so we decided to finally use the tent we’ve been caring around.

13.4 miles that day.

We slept so good with the sound of the river and the warmth of the tent. Meadow unfortunately woke up with a look on her face again though. She didn’t want to leave the tent. We want this to be fun for her so we decided to take a Nero day and only do 7.5 miles to the next shelter and relax with her there.

It was a nice day for her. She got to swim at Griffith Lake and we got some really nice views along the way.

She really enjoyed the easy day and I think we all did.

We slept in the shelter with a few other guys. They were nice to chat with. We all wanted to leave early with news of rain on its way around late morning to early afternoon.

We left at 6:30 am and had 2 peaks between us and town. We were really looking forward to a shower, doing laundry, a good meal and a bed.

Our last peak was the top of Bromley Mt. and if we wanted to stay there there’s a ski patrol hut we could have stayed in. It was a little stinky, like us, so we pushed on to town.

10.1 miles and we made it to town by 1 pm. Manchester VT is a lovely town and we clean up, re-stock our supplies and prepare to get back on the trail in the morning.

We’re learning so much about ourselves and each other along the way. We definitely realize that “those who have the least, have the most.” This is hard to grasp, but so true. And that it’s so important as a couple to constantly be able to compromise with each other and to be flexible at all times.

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May 27

We’re all set and ready to go the following morning. We go to bed well rested and with full bellies. We’re prepared for the colder weather, but we weren’t expecting this.

Ben woke up around 4:30 am feeling some symptoms of multiple sclerosis. He was feeling tingling sensations running down his right leg. Then going to and from the bathroom a couple times he was losing his balance. As he continued to try and sleep he began having numbness in his right hand and arm. His sensations went on for several hours in the morning. He had tingling on both arms and legs, but this was strongest on his right side. His right side is typically the side that he has the worst symptoms, except for the left eye blurriness that’s on going due to the optic neuritis that’s been caused by his MS.

We decided to have breakfast and think about what we should do. Given the rain and ongoing symptoms we decided to take yet another down day to recover. It’s probably safer to not be on wet slippery trails with this going on.

Meadow was excited about the decision.

Meadow is always excited to have extra playtime and couch time, but this is very disheartening for Ben. He’s crushed. This can happen at any given time unfortunately for him.

It’s been amazing for him that during all our hiking, this far, his symptoms have been reduced to nearly nothing until now. Usually it’s stress, exhaustion, or severe temperatures (mostly heat) that cause a flare up of symptoms, but he can get flare ups at anytime and does. This is why they call this disease a “ghost disease.” You can be a 100% normally functional person one minute and the next you can be brought to your knees with an unexpected flare up. It breaks my heart to see him saddened by what he cannot control.

We got our re-supply from the post office and sent on our next package as planned. Though today is anything but planned.

We relaxed in our hotel room, which is starting to feel too much like home. As the morning went on this symptom lessened and the fatigue set in. Fatigue in MS makes you not feel capable of getting off the couch. Though feeling this way he fought on and kept himself getting outside with Meadow and moving around as much as possible hoping to feel better. The fatigue lingers on, as we plan for tomorrow to be a new day and back on the trail we will go.

This man is going to concur this.

Just like he did at the Muckfest in Boston.

We take each day as they come. And this day MS may have won, but this won’t stop us. This too shall pass.

We hope to be on the trail tomorrow and still on the trail as World MS Awareness Day is May 30th. We are grateful for all the efforts of the Multiple Sclerosis Society to help those effected by this disease and their researching efforts to find a cure. This disease effects far more than we realized. As we tell people about Ben’s story with MS we’re surprised by how many people tell us of how they too suffer or how they know someone who does. It’s surprising how differently it effects everyone.

We’re glad to do what we can in our efforts to inform others of the disease and to do our own Finish MS fundraiser. We hope we can do our part to help bring about a world free from MS.

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

Unfortunately we learned our lesson the hard way. We mailed our first re-supply package to the post office when we should have mailed it to a local business. Due to not making it to the post office in time we had to extend our stay in town an extra 2 nights.

Expensive lesson.

We’ve been staying at a beautiful place that takes dogs in Killington. They are wonderful here and we’ve had a great time eating amazing Irish home cooking and getting to know the family that runs the place.

The Inn at Long Trail. Nestled in the surrounding mountains with a popular rock climbing wall in its backyard as well as being .5 miles off the Appalachian Trail. This place is quite literally built into the mountain. There’s a large amount of rock that the place is, quite literally, built onto. It even has a rock couch in the bar and the rock can be seen going outside the building by the side entrance. And rock built in along the back of the building and in the dining room.

They are all Irish here. One of the best pubs I’ve ever been to.

Don’t try calling it a Black and Tan. You’ll certainly be corrected. It’s a Half and Half.

Guinness Irish Stout with Skippy and a clover written on top.

We’re going to miss this place, but the trail is calling us back.

We look forward to going to the post office in the morning, having one more amazing complimentary a la cart breakfast and hitting the trail. This time we’re going to mail our additional items ahead to an outfitter that will hold our mail in the next town.

The only unfortunate thing to expect tomorrow is we’re going to be hiking into a thunderstorm. It’s supposed to be a good one and one of the biggest mountains in VT lays in our path. But, we’re hiking our own hike. Most hikers would just push through and put the miles in to get up and over. We’re not putting in major miles yet, so we’re going to settle into a shelter half way up the mountain and continue on the next morning. It’s going to be our coldest night so far as well. I guess tomorrow we’ll be “embracing the suck.” We really want this to be an enjoyable experience for each one of us, so taking a low miles day is better than putting in another no miles day. Plus we’d really like to take in a nice view on top of the mountain if we can.

It’s really interesting to see how each hiker does their hike. There’s plenty of hikers that have broken in their legs and put in 15-25 miles a day. Some even put in more than that. They’re usually a lot younger than us. Maybe we’ll get to that point in our hike, maybe not. We’re really enjoying each other and all the trail has to offer each day. To us that’s the most important part. We’ll go as far as we can and share it all with you. We hope his MS continues to not cause us any problems.

We take each day as they come and hopefully we’ll continue to live in the moment when our travels end. There’s something to be said about living this way. It’s very freeing.

Fundraising for MS

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

Our personal fundraising efforts to help with any medical expenses during our journey

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We are back on the trail in New Hampshire heading south into Vermont. You can see the trees blooming all around and the forest is just coming to life. It’s beautiful!

We walked through the town of Hanover and into Vermont.

We walked through town and navigate along, following the whites (trail marker for the AT) all the way and pass a beautiful waterfall before we finally reached the woods.

As we walk into the woods it looks a little bit like fall with all the leaves on the ground. Not many hikers have hiked the trail yet so the trail has lots of debris to be pushed away, as it will be, as more hikers come. We started the hike mid-day and not seeing any stealth camping spots we decided to settle into the first shelter we came to. 6.6 miles in. It’s the absolute best shelter and thoroughly speaks to our mood this day. Happy Hills Shelter was the most adorable shelter and we had it all to ourselves. We didn’t pass any other hikers that day. It’s like we have the trail to ourselves.

Meadow loves it!!

My ankle feels pretty good and my wonderful husband lets me relax as he makes a fire, filters water and makes us dinner.

We had a wonderful first night on the trail and the next morning Meadow is ready to go. She’s having a great time.

We’re planning on only going 8.8 miles to the next shelter. We want to take it easy for the first week so my ankle can handle us continuing.

It’s a beautiful day! We’re so lucky with the beautiful weather we’re having so far. Before we left in the morning we took our time having coffee and breakfast with a stunning red bird with blue or black wings that we look forward to identifying once we’re home, months from now.

We had a wonderful hike going through meadows and lots of various terrain. We have our own way of calling these differences as different “realms.” You’re walking along in a forest with lots of fur trees for a while then you go through a “realm” of white birches and willows. There’s many realms out here. Some make you feel like your in the movie “Return of the Jedi” and an Ewok should be coming to greet us.

We passed through many miles of old stone walls and broken down foundations. You can’t help but feel like you’re walking through history. Only to come upon large maple trees tapped for the Vermont Maple Syrup businesses that are vast here.

We stopped to have a snack and enjoy the view under an apple tree that’s budding and blooming. Yup, spring is in the air.

We loved the meadows in the mountains that we walked through. Even walked through a cow pasture. We’re truly enjoying the trail and all it has to offer.

We made it to the shelter and had another surprising night by ourselves.

It gets cold at night and we both take turns tucking Meadow into our sleeping bags with us at night. We’re sleeping great with the new sleeping bags we got before tackling New England this time of year. Definitely a great purchase.

Another night with a fire and Ben taking great care of us.

We stayed in a shelter that had a remarkable privy. A privy with a view. It was fabulous!

The next day we’re going to do the biggest miles so far to get to the next shelter. We traveled 12.3 miles through many more realms and stone walls.

We stopped for a nice lunch along a stream. I have to share this experience.

This was another great day, but we’re expecting rain today. We managed to hike most of the day with no rain, but had many other obstacles from blown down trees to deal with before the rain. We had to go way around several fallen trees in many sections of the trail to navigate our way and a couple times it got confusing, but we managed to make it to the shelter. We all ended up wearing our rain ponchos around 4 pm, even Meadow. I look forward to getting a picture for you all next time we have to wear them. We’re quite a silly bunch.

This shelter we again got to ourselves for the night. We’re finally meeting some hikers along the way though. We met 2 that are hiking from GA and on their way to ME and a few section hikers. This shelter though was super creepy. The rain made the most scary sounds all night. We got little sleep, but look forward to moving on to the next.

It’s nice in the morning after the rain. Salamanders are everywhere and the smell is fresh. You can tell the forest appreciates the rain more than we do.

We met a couple who were section hiking for their anniversary and they told us about the exciting things to see ahead. There was miles of trail with fresh moose scrapping all over the place. And this moose must be huge! Unfortunately he didn’t come out to say hi though.

We had a lovely day and made it to our next shelter. 9.9 miles this day. Again to ourselves. My ankle is doing okay. A little sore at the later part of each day, but manageable. So hike on we shall!

We woke knowing that we had mailed a package to Killington post office for our re-supply and it’s Saturday. We knew there’s a road that is frequented by hikers to see the largest falls in VT ahead and the driver for a local shuttle states they take dogs, so no problem! We leave early (6:30am) to make sure we can get to town in time with plenty of room to spare. We call the shuttle driver at the closest cell signal we come across and oh no! She argued about us needing her service because the post office is only a few miles ahead of the pick up we were requesting then she complained about muddy paws. I lost my cool when she started asking about how big Meadow was and what breed she was. She stated she absolutely won’t take any dog with any Pit Bull in it. Oh My!!! I told her she should probably take the “will take dogs” out of the AT Guide Book since this is such a problem for her. I lost my cool and hung up. Unfortunately she missed the opportunity to meet Meadow, who is the sweetest dog she could ever meet. And by the way if size is an issue and she’s claiming to be a shuttle driver for hikers she probably isn’t going to run across many little dogs on the trail. Oh and we know there’s several Pit mixes on the trail now that are service dogs.

Anyway the falls were very nice.

It was still a beautiful day and there’s a chance we might hike to town in time. We definitely tried our best.

We got a glimpse of Killington Mountain. Still has snow.

We tried to make it, but we were 15 minutes to late. 8.6 miles by 12:15. We checked into the hotel room so we can wash and rest and unfortunately now we have to extend our stay a few extra nights to get our package.

Meadow definitely doesn’t mind though.

We will continue on as soon as possible.

Oh and Ben is still doing fabulous. This exercise and lack of daily stress has done amazing things for him. He’s had a little bit of feeling off balance this time, but he’s not convinced it’s MS due to the terrain at the time and it went away.

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

Our personal fundraiser

https://gofundme.com/my-ms-vs-the-at

It’s been a nice break. Though driving home through the mountains we were supposed to be hiking made us a little sad. As beautiful as they were, I couldn’t bring myself to take any pictures. We will return and take pictures from the trail as we indented to in the first place.

Since coming home to recover from my injury, I saw my Doctor. She’s pretty sure I have an Achilles Tendinitis that might flare up again on the trail, but I’ve got better tools to deal with this if it does. It’s feeling better since I’ve been resting and treating my injury so I’m hopeful there’s no problems getting started on the trail again.

We were very fortunate that while we were home we had the chance to participate in the 2019 Boston Muckfest with our team, “Bennie and The Jets.” Ben ran in the race with the team and I took pictures. Everyone did a great job.

Ben, killing it on the obstacles!

We also rescheduled Ben’s infusion of his therapy medication to our home hospital. 5 more weeks and we’ll have to schedule his next treatment off the trail.

After coming home and seeing our dog, Meadow, again and how depressed she was without us, we’ve now decided to bring her with us. She’s going to have to learn to be a “hiking dog” again. This is just what she’s going to have to do to be with us like she wants to be. As spoiled as she is (lol) we’ve got her new boots for rocky terrain, a bigger rain jacket, and we’re going to carry her food instead of having her carry it all. Hopefully this will have her enjoying her hiking experience with us.

So that’s it. One last night in our own bed and it’s off to the trail tomorrow.

Sorry for the short break everyone. Hang on for some great pictures as you’re about to see all the trees and flowers start to bloom going forward from here.

Fundraising efforts to the MS Society

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

Personal fundraising efforts

https://gofundme.com/my-ms-vs-the-at

It’s amazing to see how much the Appalachian Trail has benefited my dear husband. Not only is his state of mind greatly improved, but his physical status as well. We expected the challenges of the trail to cause more flare ups of his Multiple Sclerosis not less. This is a wonderful surprise.

Before taking this journey my husband would have frequent symptoms from MS. He would get “bear hugs” the most often, which is a terrible painful sensation of a hug around his chest with a sharp digging sensation on the spine. It breaks my heart to see the look on his face when he has these moments. I notice these times from his facial expressions when often others around him can’t see it. Then in and around these moments he would get the “MS fatigue,” that would make it very difficult to get up off the couch some days, and numbness on his arms. He usually shakes out his arms when this happens, because of the tingling sensation it would cause. His eye sight has been effected and had caused optic neuritis in his left eye which will worsen when he’s over heated. Then he has moments where his cognitive function is impaired. He might forget what we’re talking about or lose track of what’s happening, but those moments fade quickly so far. He usually asks to push a cart when we go to the grocery store just so he has something to lean on. Balance can be a challenge at times so having a cart in a store or running his knuckles along the wall when he walks helps to guide him when he’s being challenged by this symptom.

Of all of these symptoms which come and go, I’m elated to see that on the trail his only symptom has been the “drop foot” or “floppy foot” as we usually call it. For about 5-30 minutes of most of the days we have been hiking he’s had this symptom and it has not effected his ability to go on hiking. His lower leg and foot, below the knee, will go numb and I can usually hear the flop of his foot as he walks.

It’s really amazing how well he’s doing. He’s wanted to take on the Appalachian Trail for some time now and having the chance to do so is really wonderful to watch. He’s a new man. Empowered by his achievements he’s unstoppable.

Unfortunately though, we’ve been under some difficulties with my worsening ankle on the trail. After hiking on with this pain for 3 days and it getting worse not better, we have to make a difficult decision. To take a temporary “pause” to go see the doctor and give it a chance to heal is the best thing to do at this time. It breaks my heart to have to do so. To ask this wonderful man to put his dreams on hold is more than I ever wanted to do. This is only just a “pause” though. We will be back on the trail in no more than a week.

We booked a rental car to get home and scheduled an appointment with my Doctor.

Why go back to NH? There are doctors in NC, right?

Well, yes. Actually, we were just across from a medical center when we pulled off the trail. We could have gone there and taken a week off the trail in Franklin, NC, but then we would have spent a lot of money for a hotel and food and we would not be sure about being able to make it to or rescheduling Ben’s infusion at the hospital in Clyde, NC. There was also the factor of terrain once we restarted the trail that could be problematic. We would be looking at 4-5 days with 6,000 ft peaks ahead of us. All these variables caused us to take the safest approach and flip on the trail earlier than expected.

People do the trail in many ways. Some go from north to south, SOBO, and south to north, NOBO, and some flip flop as we were planning to do anyways. We’re just going to have more flip flopping ahead of us is all. But, as many t-shirts say, “hike your own hike.” And that’s just what we’re going to do.

After making so many great connections with what was fast becoming our hiker family though, we had to stay and say goodbye to them for now. We hope to see them on the trail as they cross our paths in the north.

So, up I put me feet and relax with great company on our last night in NC.

This town was beautiful, nestled into the mountains all around. We will return and we will conquer these mountains as we cheer on the ones who move on from here. We will see you again. Our story will go on.

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

https://www.facebook.com/donate/395329344635495/?fundraiser_source=external_url

https://gofundme.com/my-ms-vs-the-at

After leaving this quaint little hiker town, we pressed on to get as far as we could with my troubled ankle. Walking around town it seems fine so we thought all would be good by just taking it slow that day.

Random troll off the start of the trail.

Happy to be back on the trail.

All was great that morning, going back up into the mountains, until we stopped for lunch. We found a nice rock to settle down and have a lunch of tuna wraps and when I stood back up the pain in my ankle was excruciating. Wanting to keep going, we settled into the next shelter Plumorchard gap shelter, which gave us a 4.5 mile day. The shelter was a triple decker and was rumored to have rattle snakes living in a stump behind the shelter. Luckily we didn’t see any of them while we were there. But we did meet some really cool new people.

We arrived there early in the day, giving us plenty of time to start a fire and soak my ankle in the cold spring water.

We met Grock, Pinball and Dwayne, Two Bear (he got his name from walking up on 2 bears making babies, lol), Jessica (soon to be named Maple Leaf) and 2 other hikers. Hanging out and sharing stories was a great end to the day.

I was extremely excited to find out that Grock went to school for Physical Therapy. When we walked into the shelter that day, I thought how lucky I would be if a Dr was to shelter with us that night. Well, close enough. He had a lot of knowledge of the anatomy and thinks I’m suffering from Tendonitis. Probably from over compensating for my sore knee earlier on. He gave me some great stretches to do in between icing and they felt like they were helping. Best thing he had to say was that this is likely to pass if I take care of it. Awesome!!

Heavy downpours started late that evening and were expected all weekend. It’s such a struggle to get going in the morning when you know you’re going to be soaking wet all day. At least we didn’t have a wet tent to pack. Things could be worse.

Onward we go to the North Carolina boarder and the next shelter at least.

Thunderstorms and heavy downpours went on all day as we hiked. We summited our biggest peak that day, 4708 ft Couthouse Bald Mountain, but with weather like that we didn’t get any views. We did though get a break in the weather just in time to see the iconic creepy tree on the trail that everyone takes pictures of.

We were lucky to get to Muskrat Shelter elevation 4,562 ft and be one of the first to claim our spot inside. This one only fits 6 so it filled up quickly.

Getting there was 7.3 miles with lots of rocky terrain, which didn’t help my still irritated ankle. More icing, elevating and stretching, over and over.

We did however have the best group staying in that shelter that night. We laughed, shared stories and just became the fastest of friends.

Buck, Perry, the girl taking the picture I called Matador because a bear ran at her only to cross in front of her on the trail, Big Bear and us

There was a few people that came too late to get a spot so they had to pitch tent. They were awesome too.

It’s just the most awesome feeling making such great friends and everyone here really cares about each other and their goals. We’re all trying to accomplish great things and we all want each other to succeed.

Heavy downpours again started us all off soaked and cold, but everyone here is really good at “embracing the suck.” It is a really thing you get used to out here and it makes you count your blessings as they come.

Walking on we had some moments of beauty between the rain.

When you are pushing your body to its limits and enduring weather like this you really think deeply about all you have to be grateful for. We are extremely grateful to have each other and to have an opportunity to do something that some people don’t have the ability to do. We are able bodied and capable of more than we realize. That is a blessing.

Oh yeah, and My MS kicked Georgia’s butt!!!

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

https://www.facebook.com/donate/395329344635495/?fundraiser_source=external_url

https://gofundme.com/my-ms-vs-the-at

Starting the day at Neels Gap, we were in the fog like most mornings in the mountains. Sleep was tough with the sound of traffic, an owl and persistent winds all night. As we walked on that morning I began to break emotionally. Thinking of how my other knee is now giving me trouble and swept away with thoughts of not being able to complete our goals was really crushing me. This really is a monumental challenge both physically and emotionally. Though, I couldn’t be more fortunate to have such a wonderful husband to help support me in my weakness. He as always puts my needs first. Reminding me of how we are getting stronger every day and we’re keeping up with a pack of great new hiker friends, my mind began to shift just as the sun began to rise.

It turned into a beautiful day. We completed some challenging peaks and settled into a shelter area to fill up water and pitch tent for the night.

11.5 mile day. Still doing good beating MS.

Next day.

We started back on the trail after some coffee and this morning we had more sunlight than fog. My emotional state was much better after better sleep. It’s going to be a good day!

Our first few miles were gradual, but that changed mid day and we ended up getting 2 4,000 ft peaks done before night fall. Grateful for my husband who really wanted to make it to the next shelter, but he could tell I was not going to make it that far so he left the decision of where to camp up to me. I chose a nice campsite at the peak of our last mountain which gave us a 360 degree views through the trees.

We were joined by 2 other hikers. One didn’t realize there was a campsite there until we ran into him while we were looking around to see if there was a better spot before pitching our tent.

That was a “powers that be” kind of moment because he looked desperate for a place to finally lay his head.

We found him at the view point on top of the mountain.

He went to bed early.

11.1 mile day

We stayed up and had dinner and shared stories with “Traverse” a new hiker friend. We found out that the beautiful grove like path that we hiked that day had a hidden surprise. When he hiked that section he came upon a Copperhead snake that coiled and prepared to strike. He walked back slowly and got out of sight waiting for the snake to move on before he could hike on. Glad we didn’t have that experience.

Though that night we were in for a fright. It was a perfect peaceful night until about 2:30 am when gun shots went of near by. Many shots fired from what sounded like a semi-automatic riffle. Lastly a single shot after a few moments of silence. Falling back to sleep was hard after that. I had a nightmare that the campsite ahead was shot up and the shooter was on the loose after hikers. Thankfully that was just a terrible dream and the hikers at the campsite ahead didn’t even hear the shots. Though we did run into a couple hikers that slept ahead of us all on Tray Mountain and they had some wild boars all around their campsite that same night. We saw all the rooting around the board had done near that area as we got closer to the top of the mountain. Again, thank goodness it wasn’t us.

Finished our hike that day at Deep Gap shelter. It was a bit of a hike off trail, but we were grateful to get there.

11.7 mile day.

My ankle is now a bigger problem than my knee. Thankfully the knee is getting stronger. Hiking with my ankle wrapped is helping and letting the cool water from the stream at night flow over it is great. We’re planning on getting into town the next day to re-supply and stay in a room to finally wash up and do laundry. The best part is time for a couple good meals. Yay!

We try to air our clothes in the tent every night, but it’s official, we stink!

3.6 mile hike and a prayer to find a ride into town, success. We were fortunate to get a shuttle into town and an amazing meal at a BBQ place by the Budget Inn we’re staying in tonight.

Now I need to ice my ankle and determine if we can make it back on the trail tomorrow or not. Safety first, but we’ve got miles to put in. As wonderful town is to our aching bodies we have many miles to go. We will see. A hope and a prayer and tomorrow is a new day.

I’m so grateful that Ben’s symptoms are mostly at bay as my body breaks under all this extreme pressure. He’s doing great! I feel that maybe me needing to go slow up the mountains might be keeping us from pushing him to a point where his symptoms could flare up. We’re definitely growing strong together and we’re grateful to have each other.

Hope to catch you all up at our next town crossing.

Happy Hiking!

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

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Back on the trail after a Zero day at a fabulous hostel, Barefoot Hills luxury hotel and hostel. Listening to the birds sing and missing some big thunderstorms with hail was a great idea.

We got a surprise visitor before bed, that was quite a scare. A scorpion was on the bed next to me and one was stepped on, unknowing, at the bathroom door.

Few, we’re fine, just a scary first experience.

Back on the trail. My troubled knee felt much better and we were hiking at a faster pace than days prior.

Everything is beautiful!

Plenty of ups and plenty of downs with some flats that were a blessing in between.

Turns out taking that day off was a great idea indeed. Blood Mountain was no joke. No blood, but no joke. The time we would have been crossing this mountain would have been right in the severe storm and there were parts that were incredibly hard to navigate with poor marking. Also, the shelter was struck by lightning in the storm and people that sought refuge got hurt. Luckily everyone is going to be okay. We’re still very happy that we weren’t in that.

We ended our day at Neels Gap with just 5 minutes to get in the store and re-supply.

This is the famous place where people that give up hang their shoes in the trees. Note that our shoes are still on our feet.

Big day, made it 11.5 miles with our first 4,000 foot mountain.

Ben’s still getting a little floppy foot, but balance is good and no other symptoms.

We’re beating MS!

So ends our day.

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

Our personal fundraising efforts to help with any medical expenses during our journey

https://gofundme.com/my-ms-vs-the-at

It’s been such a feet just to get here and now we can finally see what we’re made of. Will we be one of the many that go no further than the approach trail? We will see.

Off we go…..

We rode to the trail with a lovely young woman from England named Rosie, who just barely got off of her airplane hours ago and had literally no sleep in all her journey to get there. Kind of made us feel grateful for the luxury we got to enjoy before starting our journey with her.

We took the iconic pictures that everyone takes at the beginning on the approach trail. We got our tags with our start number, #2049 and #2050. Those are number of people who have attempted the Appalachian Trail this year. So on we go. Only just a half mile ahead we all find out that we were given last years tags. Turn back or hike on? Hike on we go. We can always change them when we get the next number at Harpers Ferry. 3 months away we hope.

8.8 miles to go to get to Springer Mountain, the actual start of the trail and we started our hike at noon.

Amicalola Falls was a beast! 604 steps up a stunning waterfall.

We venture on. Soon to lose our new friend Rosie. She camped early to get the sleep she’s desperate for. Hopefully we see her again on our journey.

We then come upon an older man wearing a long sleeve and denim jeans. We asked him how far he’s going, he said Maine. Unfortunately he’s on night 2 and has only gone 4 miles on the approach trail. Oh, we wish him well. Appropriate gear is so important. There’s several high peaks still to go, before we even reach Springer Mountain.

We push on and hear thunder. Far from the clear day our ride prepared us for. It pours and pours for hours. Will we have to set up tent in this on our first night? Then it lightens and the birds start to sing again. Thankfully just in time to find a camp spot. We set up tent, have a meal of Pad Thai and settled in for the night. Then the rain came again and thunder. But, our new tent stayed dry.

7.3 miles, highest peak 3,419, day one done.

Day 2

Thankful for a beautiful day. Feeling the burn on our body, legs and feet. We hiked to Springer Mountain just to start back off at mile 0. Bitter sweet.

Breakfast was our leftover dinner and lunch was a wonderful wrap of cheese and salami. Gave us all the energy we needed to see some beautiful areas. Still many peaks ahead the trail ahead.

We had a beautiful day and settled into Hawk Mountain campsite and used a bear box for the first time.

9.6 miles, highest peak 3,782, day 2 done.

We got enough service to check the weather and it’s looking like rain in the morning. 5 am 50% chance of rain and thunderstorms. We slept as best we could with our restless legs and noisy neighbors at the shelter. 4 am Ben’s up asking me if I want to get ready early and beat the rain on our now dry tent.

Yes, we got ready in a hurry, skipping breakfast and coffee to get on the trail and beat the crowd. As soon as we have our packs on the rain begins. Perfect!

We’re off in the morning, well before day light we hike on.

It’s a wet and humid day with moments of cold when the rain is pouring. Layers off, layers on.

With an early start we got to have a long brunch with coffee and scrambled eggs with bacon. Food seems to burn through us. We’re eating great. Feeling good, but hate the rain.

Ben’s Multiple Sclerosis symptoms are manageable. He’s had floppy foot each day, but it goes away after a half hour or so. Usually high heat causes his blurred vision on his left eye to get worse, but it’s staying manageable.

We talked to some sweet older ladies on a short break (which we do often as we acquire our hiking legs), they warn us of potential bad weather ahead. The next day is a very high chance of strong winds, heavy rain and possible hail throughout the day. Severe weather can cause a higher chance of flare ups, so we heed their warnings and think about shelter for the night. There are no more shelters on the trail ahead between where we were and the area that you are required to use a bear canister for your food. We don’t want to get in a pickle, so we call a local hostel that even has private rooms. We booked a room and got a beautiful room with a spectacular view of all the peaks we just crossed that day.

A nice nights rest and a down day tomorrow depending on the weather. Still we’re doing better than we thought for a couple couch potatoes, lol.

12.5 miles, highest peak 3,222, day 3 done.

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

Our personal fundraising efforts to help with any medical expenses during our journey

https://gofundme.com/my-ms-vs-the-at