Massachusetts

After less than a week in Connecticuit, we crossed the border into our eleventh state and passed the 1500 mile mark. The Berkshires are amazingly beautiful, and we are glad to be surrounded by real mountains again. Tonight we dipped off the trail into the town of Great Berrington for a shower, thai food, and several of the Berkshire Brewing Companies finest. The trail is rocky and steep, and when compounded by the lack of tread on my third pair of boots, makes for a slippery day. After tumbling head over hills into the last valley, I'll be visiting the outfitter tomorrow for some shoe shopping. Between the two of us, we usually have mediocre morale, and as long as we don't both share a bad day, we'll be done by the end of August. New York was an excellent excursion, but it made for a difficult return to trail life. The last few nights have been noticably cooler, and subtle variations in the flora and fauna remind us that we are slowly inching towards our destination. As much as hiking every day, all day gets under my skin sometimes, I have to admit that I will miss being utterly free...especially in a year from now when my boss waddles up to my desk on Friday afternoon and asks if I can come in on Saturday. We hope all is well on the home front, and we love and miss you all.