Baby Racoons

 Teresa was hiking up the road with the dogs and heard "peeping" sounds coming from the woods.  She saw 3 baby raccoons scurrying up a nearby tree.

  After taking the dogs home, she immediately ran back with the camera to try and photograph the little coons, only to find them in a different tree.  They had rearranged themselves from a circle to a line.

Long Trail - section #5 (5.5 miles)

 We completed another section of trail.  It was a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze.

We had great views from the top of Bromley Mountain. We then descended back down to the Mad Tom Notch trailhead, where we'll pick up our next section, maybe next weekend.

Make Way for Goose-lings

The other morning Eric looks out the window upstairs and very calmly states, "There's a family of Canadian geese in the pasture."  Teresa looked out the window expecting to see a flock of Canadian geese, only to see, literally what Eric said...a "family."

The geese walked around the entire perimeter of the pasture fence and exited out the open gate.  They wandered back behind the barn and never reappeared out the other side.  Eric ran out to open the large gate in case they were trying to access the large puddle behind the pig barn.  They waddled back towards Teresa, who had opened the smaller side gate.  The family passed in front of her, through the gate, honking cheerily and disappeared up the hill into the woods.

Where they came from and where they were headed, we will never know.  It certainly was a fun morning surprise though.

 

Long Trail - section #4 (17.5 miles)

 We started the day hiking up Stratton Mountain and had amazing 360 degree views from the fire tower at the summit.  From there we went into the Lye Brook Wilderness area, passing past Stratton Pond.

The weather was in the high 80's, but a much improved forecast compared to last weekend's snow.

Onward...

Long Trail - section #3 (22.6 miles)

Today, we completed our third section of the Long Trail.  

The hike started off fairly normal.  We had rain, but were in high spirits and as we slowly traveled uphill, we stopped to take a few fun photos.

As the day wore on, the rain continued, making the "trail" into small streams...

 

Turning into snow and ice at higher elevations...

We quickly became soaked as water crept through our rain gear and boots  Fatigue set in, the cold made it difficult for us to use our fingers.  We began to think that perhaps attempting a 22+ mile day hike in challenging weather was not the wisest of ideas.  We moved slowly just putting one foot in front of the other.  

The highlight of the hike was a surprise "treasure" that Eric found just off the trail.  Who knows how far this purple star-shaped helium balloon had traveled before it landed in the woods to lie as trash.  On this cold, rainy day however, the bright balloon was a cheery discovery.

We finished the day with a few miles of gradual downhill slope to the trail, rounding a bunch of picturesque beaver ponds, and rare moments of the sun trying to peak through the clouds.  Overall, we were exhausted, but it was a successful trip.

Tomorrow...out to purchase new rain gear (that repels water)!

Long Trail - section #2 (11.2 miles)

 Today, we completed another section of the Long Trail. We spent 4 1/2 hours hiking and close to 5 hours driving our shuttle.

We greatly enjoyed the varied features this section of trail provided.  Along with the beautiful scenery, we also encountered an abundance of wildlife.  Look closely to see the moose!

 

The Long Trial - A Footpath in the Wilderness

This past winter, while hunkered down due to the cold weather and COVID, Eric and I binge watched all 3 nights of the Banff Mountain Film Festival (which was all online this year)!  Viewing such incredible stories and adventures only serves to motivate the soul.  

We created our own adventure goal: To hike the entire 273 miles of The Long Trail.  

This trail starts at the Vermont Massachusetts' border and ends at the northern most edge of Vermont on the Canadian border. 

It shares the Appalachian Trail for 105 miles before the two diverge.

We may be 100 years old before we complete the journey, but if we don't ever start, we will certainly never finish. Onward...!!!