Hello from New Hampshire! I walked over the Connecticut river this afternoon and officially said my goodbyes to Vermont. As I sit here and write from Hanover, NH from inside a Dartmouth College building, we have officially walked 1,734.3 miles and we have 441.9 miles to go. But, hey who's counting?
Next week we will be in the infamous White Mountains and the Presidential Range in Northern New Hampshire. We will summit Mt. Washington (6,288 ft) on September 16th, so send us good vibes and good weather thoughts our way. If you didn't know, Mt. Washington is the home of some pretty extreme weather and where the highest winds ever were recorded (the gauge actually broke). Check it out. (http://www.mountwashington.org/). We will be above tree line for the first time this week on Mt. Moosilauke (4,802 ft) and will remain pretty much exposed once we enter the Whites. We have been looking forward to this section of the trail for a long time and all of our hard work will surely pay off as we tackle these last two challenging, beautiful states.
The wedding in Asheville was a huge success. Kelly planned an amazing fall wedding and everyone had a blast. Unlimited THANKS THANKS THANKS to all the Jones family (Grandpa, Grandma and Dad and Sandy) and Ryan for all their hard work and driving miles to help me get off the trail and back to society to be there for the wedding. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thanks for EVERYTHING. I love you guys!
And, Dad, the 12 Tribes Cult you dropped me off at after the airport in Rutland, VT wasn't all that bad. Nice hostel with comfy beds and a hot shower. Hippies serving tea and organic food and none of them tried to convert us...
While in Asheville, Kelly got me a massage for my birthday while she and all the bridesmaids got manicures and pedicures for the big day. I opted to skip the pedicure since I currently am missing 1 and 1/2 toenails and have worked WAY too hard on building these calluses to have them taken away now. I got a kick out of filling out the form before the massage. Name, age etc. were pretty standard. I filled in occupation as: hiker and address: my tent. Then, the best question, do you exercise? and if so, how often? I casually wrote yes. 10-12+ hours a day. everyday. ha!
Back on the trail, Kris helped me celebrate my 27th birthday in true AT style. She surprised me with tortillas, fresh avocado, rice, a jar (yes a jar) of salsa, fresh cheese and all the fixings for burritos. She also baked cupcakes and we packed out frosting for my birthday desert. We only hiked 5 miles that afternoon and spent the evening camping at a lookout and watching a beautiful sunset. Goodbye 26....it's been fun.
Sorry for the longest email ever...it might be a while before I'm a computer again, so if this takes you a week to read we should be good. Miss and love all of you. We're practically in the home stretch, so keep us in your thoughts from your warm, four-walled houses.
PS IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:) Ryan and I are moving to Park City, UT for the winter. Ryan got a job at Deer Valley Ski Resort (one of the best in the United States). I am really excited to ski some big powder and convert to Mormonism. Ok, maybe not the last part. But, I am very very excited to live in the same zip code as my best friend. Anyone want to come out and play?
Madison County View
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