From Rick:  Today was a zero mile day.  Instead, we went to Massachusetts General Hospital so that I could pick up my new temporary foot brace.  As you may recall, my foot brace broke on Friday in New Hampshire. The brace supports my left foot, and keeps it from dragging and tripping me. I want to thank Jim Krupa, Clinical Director of the MGH Orthotics/Prosthetics Dept., for getting this temporary brace shipped in so quickly. Jim, like all of his colleagues at MGH whom I have encountered, is incredibly dedicated to his patients and has done everything he can to support me. I even managed to get back on the trail this evening…

(And the story continues, with a different narrator… ) Later this afternoon, just in time to catch the best part of early rush hour out of the city, the journey back to the green hills of New Hampshire began. In Winchester, Rick re-joined Ted for the drive up I-93 and I-89 back to Hanover. Finally back to the Appalachian Trail! But it was already so late in the day, all we had time for was a short walk along the Trail where we stopped for dinner. Our dining site was 20 feet off the trail, but there were other people there willing to make our dinner for us. We had real chairs, a table with a tablecloth, linen napkins and attentive servers. Yes, we were at the posh Canoe Club restaurant on Main Street, where, even in NH, Rick continues to order Vermont’s Long Trail Ale. After a lovely main course, somehow Ted convinced us to amble a few yards farther along the Trail to return to Morano Gelato, purveyor of the best gelato in the US, where this time Rick made quick work of his milk chocolate gelato, bestowing yet another two-thumbs-up review.

I’m Batwing, named after a favorite forest in Maine about which I evidently talk too much. My civilian name is Jay, and I am pleased to have Steady (Rick) and Wombat (Ted) at my house in Hanover tonight. Our post-prandial activities are sorting our gear and pre-cooking tomorrow’s dinner as we prepare for a two-day assault on Smarts Mountain in the next town north, Lyme. Even though Smarts’s summit is under 4000 feet, it is the ninth most prominent mountain in New Hampshire, meaning that is rises far above the surrounding terrain and the AT on it involves a lot of altitude gain. Probably need even a wee bit more carbo-stacking…