Editor’s Note:  This was written last night (6/28) but didn’t come through until this morning.

Today was our first ten miler! It took us almost two weeks to work through the logistics of how to make that happen but today was the day we set the bar at ten miles and got it done. We woke at 5am and made it to Winturri Shelter just before 5pm. Go Rick Go!

To give you some context for Rick’s accomplishment today:  the average American takes around 5,300 steps per day; depending on stride length call that 2-3 miles. Those steps include walking around the bedroom in bunny slippers and the Stop & Shop ice cream aisle (am I telling you too much about myself?) Anyway they are not the same steps as lugging a 30-pound pack up a 1,000+ foot hill when you’ve just put in a full day’s hike. Rick fell a few times but got right back up, giving us his signature two thumbs up and broad smile.

We are all looking forward to tomorrow when we meet the “pie lady” four miles down the trail. The pie lady is a bit of a legend on this part of the trail. She operates a small shop on VT Route 12 where she sells blueberry and apple pies 200 feet off the A-T. The last time I passed her shop a few years ago there were half a dozen hikers sitting in her parking lot cross-legged. Each had bought a pie, borrowed a fork and were making sure they were not missing even a little bit of that pie.

We are also meeting my wife Carol in Pomfret VT who will feed us a wonderful and far more balanced meal. Thank you to all who support us and make this effort possible. We love you and are most thankful for all that you do.

Wombat 6/28/2017