30 Jul: We extended our stay in Waltham due to rain, but the rain gave us a break in the afternoon which allowed us to walk the parking lots and to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for a salmon dinner. Ron is interested in a Jensen Huang workshop tonight while he is routing our route to Sharon, NH tomorrow. He will walk to the top of Prospect Hill Park, and get the recycling done so we can be asleep by ten thirty. Jensen Huang is very long-winded. 4.07 Miles
29 Jul: Ron raced to the Market Basket before the rain, one of the few times he has left the bed before doing his morning exercises. Rain arrived about 10 AM, so he could have done his exercises first after all. This means we will spend tomorrow night in Waltham, too. We spent most of today indoors although the rain held off for a couple of hours, and we went for a walk around the vicinity about 4:15 PM. Miles 2.14.
28 Jul: We had a marvelous lunch with Dave and Kris E., and Bob W. at Roots and Rise. Bob took us to visit Rachel in her assisted living home; we treated Bob to dinner at Ruths Chris Steakhouse. What a fabulous day. Their ice cream wasn't worth the dietary digression. 1.30 miles despite rain
27 Jul: Plan is to see Bob and Dave & Kris at 11 AM tomorrow for lunch at Roots to Rise. Cynthia and I finally did get out for our 3-mile daily walk shortly after noon. Afterwards we stopped at Roots To Rise although we didn't find anything perfect for our diet there. We will try again tomorrow with a little better preparation. Ron walked to the top of Prospect Hill again tonight, up the same steep rock steps as yesterday, embarrassingly slower than a much younger girl was walking. 3.77 miles.
26 Jul, Sunday: At two PM we were finally up, exercised, fed and ready to walk in nearby Prospect Hill Park (click here). Walk successfully completed, Ron rode to Market Basket again for raspberries, blueberries, bananas and frozen mango. As the day wore on, Ron's energy grew, so he went for a second walk to the tops of Prospect Hill Park and saw Waltham's water storage tanks, an old cold war radar tower and a great view of the Boston skyline. There are a lot of ups in that park. 4.08 miles
25 Jul: Today we hope the GPS will guide Ron over the hills and through the woods through Weston, Wayland, and Sudbury to Hudson to see Jan and Dorothy on Deer Path. We did good, and Jan and Dorothy took us to lunch and for a walk along the Assabet Rail Trail for a mile out and a mile back, a delightful trail with shade and woods and poison ivy everywhere. Fortunately the poison ivy stayed where it belonged alongside the trail and we stayed where we belonged, far away. We then enjoyed a long afternoon of conversation (Jan has lots of fun stories) before we headed "home" at diner time. Cynthia's leg or sacroiliac joint is again a problem, so we will take it easy and walk more gently for a few days. 3.05 miles
24 Jul: Ron discovered that Prospect Hill Park is practically adjacent to the hotel, and we found Dinosaur Rock Trail entrance from a nearby parking lot and walked 3.15 miles on forest trails. Cynthia's leg isn't happy with faster pace or uphill, so we have to rein in our ambitions for another few days. This evening we decided to walk a couple of blocks downhill to Ruths Chris Steak House, and it was well worth the effort, especially after the server said that Yes, they do have carrot cake, homemade. Cynthia got a huge piece as another birthday treat. She has been a very good girl. 4.5 miles
23 Jul: HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL! Our route to Waltham was the reverse of getting here from Waltham: US 4 E 5 mi to R on VT 100 S 14 mi -> VT 103 S 23 mi to R on I-91 S 6 mi to L on US 5 S 2 mi to L on VT 123 E crossing bridge into New Hampshire, R on NH 12 S 18 mi through Keene and into Massachusetts -> MA 140 S 10 mi to L on MA 2 E 39 mi to R on I-95/ 128 S 2.4 mi to exit 43A for Totten Pond Rd, crossing over interstate to immediate R on 3rd Ave two blocks to L on 4th Ave past first Extended Stay America hotel around corner to second Extended Stay America hotel at 52 4th Ave. Then we got antsy for a walk to get groceries without surveying the hills and discovered that Waltham can be very hilly. We exhausted ourselves, but we did get a few groceries. 3.80 miles.
22 Jul: We had another great night of sleep. This is our last night at the Inn for now. We will be back after a week in Waltham visiting Ron's friends Jan & Dorothy, Bob & Rachel, Dave & Kris. Which means we need to pack, but instead we went for our usual hike around Kent Pond although we opted to return early since the rocks were damp, then we rode into town to Johnny Boys for omelettes, and then to the beauty salon for Cynthia's pedicure. Then to Staples to return an Amazon purchase and to mail a box of new shoes back to Texas (so that that birthday gift will stay free from dirt for another few months). Finally we returned to the Inn and went for another short walk on the level part of the trail across the street before Ron finally started packing and organizing. But now he needs to determine a route plan to take us to the Extended Stay America hotel in Waltham. 4.06 miles.
21 Jul: Thank God we both got a long, good night of sleep. Several episodes of rain are forecast today, starting before we could get out the door for a walk across the road. We did get out the door late afternoon when the rain stopped for a walk on the level trail and a little of the uphill to the Boardwalk area. 3.14 miles
20 Jul: We were able to go for our usual walk around Kent Pond and up the hill to the BIG rock plus a bonus additional distance downhill. Both of our sets of legs get tired doing that, but we are still staying upright most of the time. We came across another couple of thru-hikers including one girl who looked exceptionally young. We rode into town to see about Cynthia's nasal inhaler prescription at Walgreens, but it cannot be refilled before the end of August. Fortunately we arrived in time to eat omelettes at Johnny Boys. Ron ate pumpkin pancakes also and is very full, but not very, very full. 4.0 miles.
19 Jul, Sunday: Late again after good night of sleep. No rain today, so our usual hike went fine. The stream crossing was no more difficult than usual despite the recent rains. We did see several through hikers and are convinced that the "bubble" has arrived. We decided to err on the side of caution and took Cynthia to Urgent Care to assess her cough for pneumonia - negative, but the nurse practitioner prescribed azithromycin to prevent it from developing. 3.31 miles
18 Jul: As usual, we arose late, exercised, ate and decided to walk only from the Inn to the start of the Sherborne Pass uphill several times in order to gradually exercise Cynthia's torn tendons. Hopefully they will respond by getting much stronger each time we go out and DON'T OVERDO IT. The rain did indeed start immediately after our last iteration, and we are very content to work on our computers while we wait for the pub to open. The rain continued all day, light at times and heavy occasionally. 2.53 miles
17 Jul: Cynthia is feeling a little better, so we took our usual hike around Kent Pond, across the stream and up the hill to the big rock. We are happy that the Inn is back open so that Wanni and Greg could serve us breakfast and we can order food this evening. Today was bonus; we met four very pleasant through-hikers within two hundred yards of each other. And now we can go to the Inn and order spinach salad. An even nicer bonus was the five young ladies we met after eating our "lunches." They are a delightful group that met each other while hiking and now get together for hikes. One of them has finished 1800 miles of the AT. Unfortunately I didn't get names or trail names, but they did find our blog and took a photo of us all which I would love to post here on the blog. HINT, hint. 4.09 miles.
16 Jul: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beloved SmoochSmooch.. And she is blissfully happy to be so beloved. 😆 Unfortunately, she also came down with a sore throat that is a bother. By the time we were up, exercised, fed, and finally ready to hike, it started raining. Oh well, with Cynthia's cold and our several good days worth of hiking behind us, it is probably a good idea to enjoy a day of rest. 1.07 miles
15 Jul: It rained buckets last night, and we were delighted to see the larger waterfall that we cross on our daily hike, although our stream crossing rocks were all under water, i.e. slick and hazardous, so we didn't attempt the crossing. Another hiker sitting outside our room has a nifty arrangement with his girlfriend that he met while both were through-hiking. They bought a car, so one starts hiking and the other drives the car to a trailhead and parks; when they meet on the trail the car key is exchanged and at the end of the day the car is driven with all of their gear to the place where the one started hiking. They both get to slack pack. We rode into town to shop for groceries and only forgot flax seed meal. 3.0 miles.
14 Jul: Today the Inn has stayed closed with the door locked, so we are sitting outdoors in a lovely breeze as the light fades, doing our computer stuffs. At noon we met a delightful through hiker, Double Check (maybe Czech - Natashia), who was amazed by our stories. She is a 64-year old youngster, hiking the trail six days a week and getting a shuttle back to her car to work for a day as a Zoom psych therapist on her seventh day. Too much fun that we recognized "Plans Too Much" when he arrived to provide her shuttle. Cynthia's new birthday gift shoes from Julie and Roxanne arrived via UPS, pretty new shoes without any dirt on them yet. We did our usual walking across the street to the start of the incline several times and our usual Kent Pond trek to the BIG boulder at the start of the unrelenting downhill. The "unrelenting" part really refers to the return trip from Thundering Falls (click here). There hasn't been much rain recently, so Thundering Falls probably isn't making much noise today. 4.27 miles.
13 Jul: We had a slow and lazy start to our day, thinking that there was no breakfast at the Inn. We eventually got out the door for a hike and got done in time to go to Sugar and Spice for a late breakfast before they close at 2 PM. Then to ALDI for provisions and Walmart for Vitamin A, which they didn't arry here. 4.08 miles.
12 Jul, Sunday: We met our first AT through hiker, named Equinox because he started his hike on March 21st. So he is making REALLY good time to be this far north already, although he says he is meandering around to enjoy the sights as he goes.
Vermont 2026 Ron and I have hiked across the state of Vermont from its Mass border to Hanover, NH. That's the best part; touring VT by motorcycle is the second best part. Here are my favorites: first, we love the Inn at Long Trail at Killington, the ski capital, with blessed shade during the summer from the Green Mountains; we can walk out the door to hike the AT, the Long Trail, and the Sherburne Pass Trail; the breakfasts are fabulous at Vermont's famous Irish pub and hiker haven. The Von Trappe Family Lodge is north of us. Nearby, Woodstock, VT is a nifty community. VT Highway 100 is the most colorful and scenic road to travel in the fall. Ben and Jerry’s Creamery was a fun place to visit, but they have skimpy tastings, a far cry from the Blue Bell Creamery in Texas. We enjoyed a great B&B Along the western river boundary, one of many, but I can't recall the name. Vermont is famous for harvesting Maple Syrup, like Sugar and Spice in Mendon, VT. Vermont boasts many farm to market restaurants. Of course, one can't miss New England’s iconic red barns and towering church steeples visible over hill and dale. 3.36 miles
11 Jul: We were delighted to see Oke again after breakfast before we embarked on our hike today. Ron is relieved to think that he may have slept well enough last night despite the pains from his fall yesterday. Neither of us fell today! 3.37 miles
10 Jul: We managed to get everything packed and out by 11 AM and scheduled our stay at the Inn for 13 days. Immediately after unloading all of our baggage into the room and getting a recommendation from Greg, we left for town to eat lunch at Johnny Boy's (click here), which cooked our omelettes beautifully. We then shopped for blueberries, raspberries and bananas at ALDI and returned to the room before riding off immediately for our daily hike around Kent Pond. After successfully rock hopping across the small stream once, Ron mistakenly stepped on the wrong rock and fell HARD, thinking that he might have broken his nose or at least caused a nose bleed. His knee and chest also took significant blows. No broken nose; no nose bleed; no broken bones apparently, but as the day progressed, his affected rib gradually became more painful. That continues. 2.94 miles
9 Jul: Tomorrow we relocate again to the Inn at Long Trail for 13 days this time, God willing. We thought the temperatures were going to cool today, but when we walked outside before noon, it was blazing hot in the direct sun. We decided to repair indoors and await more cooler evening temperatures although Ron decided to suffer the heat to buy more frozen mango at ALDI. YUM. Hi Wynn, sorry that I'm late; I am now updating our routes and travel since we left Texas dating back to March 10th including several "click here's". We hope you enjoy all this. 2.50 miles
8 Jul: Another lovely day for a late start. The temperature cooled into the 50s overnight. Dr. Dougherty received the pacemaker transmission and clarified that she wants the test done every 31 days. We spent the day indoors since the forecast high was 83 degrees and walked into town to Treviso (click here), an Italian place that served a great salad and even better Mediterranean sea bass. Afterwards, we walked about town for several extra blocks to see the sights, a fun evening. 3.92 miles
7 Jul: We forgot to update the blog because it rained this morning. Ron walked to Aldi for frozen mango, then we both walked to Walmart to get Shoe Goo for Ron's shoes and Gorilla Glue for the grey bag, which is coming apart at the seams. Cynthia had a zoom call from the spine surgeon in Florida, Dr. Cantor, who uses a sonic knife to remove excess bone from the spine, a less invasive procedure that heals more quickly. He explained Cynthia's spondylolisthesis (click here) of L4 and L5 to us and advised against any surgery as long as she can minimize her pain. We are delighted beyond words. Then we walked by the Yellow Deli which is closed for renovations until 2033, and ate salads at the Hop'N Moose Pub (click here). Just before dark Ron decided to walk again to Walmart for almonds now that his waist is a trifle smaller. Since our latest visit to Pritikin, we both focus on our pelvic tilt (click here) while we walk to keep our spines in good alignment. 5.27 miles
6 Jul: Ron had everything packed to change lodging, so we left the bags in our room while we hiked Kent Pond. Our legs were tired, so we did not cross the stream. We were delighted to discover Sugar and Spice is open for lunch. Unfortunately, the chef did not follow instruction for no cheese in the egg white omelets. Next time that happens there, we send it back. We are in Rutland for four nights, planning to return to the Inn on Friday. The new insurance at the Inn restricts stays to 13 days; otherwise it is considered long-term rental and the rates go up. Every thirteen days through August we will spend a few days in Rutland. We walked on city sidewalks to two different grocery stores for our supplies. Pacemaker test today 9 pm. 5.99 miles.
5 Jul, Sunday: Thank God for another good night of sleep. We have been much too much short of sleep. After another delicious breakfast, we hiked again around Kent Pond including rock hopping to cross a small stream and continuing uphill farther than yesterday, 3.0 miles. Ron is nervous about overdoing it on Cynthia's newly healed torn tendons, but so far we have avoided that bullet. Big news, Oke came to visit and delivered a whole new batch of sudokus for Ron. It was great to see Oke and find his speech much more understandable. The effects of his stroke are less frustrating to him. Tonight we made several round trips on the entrance of the Sherburne Pass Trail, going up is steep. Maybe by the end of August we can make the climb to the ski run again. Tomorrow we have to vacate the Inn for several days due to insurance limitations against long-term rentals, i.e. two weeks or more. We should be able to return and stay 13 days at a time provided my pacemaker continues to function well enough to keep Dr. Dougherty happy. 5.47 Miles total
4 Jul: Happy 4TH times 250! Ron is reflecting with some sadness that his best friend, Don Stalcup, and his uncle Lawrence were both born on July 4th and passed away in the last few years. Thanks be to God that they both lived good lives and influenced Ron positively. Cynthia adds that Ron influences her positively. Eighteen years ago on March 2, Ron started his Appalachian Trail Hike at Springer Mountain, GA. In July, Cynthia picked him up in Rutland and brought him here, Killington, VT. Today, we hiked on the AT! Our feet felt weird and our legs felt weak. We hiked 2.5 miles, crossing streams, and traversing boulders. It was a very successful hike; we are still able to walk. At the end of this day of walking about, Cynthia has a total of 5.11 miles, closing all the rings on her Apple Watch.
3 Jul: We "slept in" a little this morning, arising at 7 AM and getting onto the road before 9 AM when the temperature was already over 88 degrees. Ugh. After all the early morning and late nights, we are both dragging, not to mention the extreme heat. Still, the ride was comfortable and quick. 2nd Ave W to R on Winter Street to R onto I-95 a couple of exits to MA 2 W for 37 miles to exit 90B and MA 140 N for 9 miles to MA 12 -> NH 12 for 40 miles through Keene. New Hampshire tells you that a turn is coming up after you are in the wrong lane in heavy traffic. Fortunately I knew to look for several turns in Keene. At Walpole, NH we found NH 123 W to cross a bridge into Vermont and US 5 briefly, I-91 for 5 miles to US 5 again and VT 103 for 30 miles into Ludlow. I was expecting to see a place to eat near a deep gorge, but that must be a different route. (Route 4 Quechee Gorge Bridge.) We turned onto VT 100 in Ludlow and rode past the several beautiful lakes along that road until turning West on US 4 for 10 miles to the Inn At Long Trail, where Murray and Page greeted us warmly and provided our room for three nights.
2 Jul: Ron awakened at the perfect time this morning and Cynthia awakened not long afterwards, 5:15. It looks like we are on schedule to get an earlier start so that the sun light from the east will be blinding for a while. We arrived at Linden Ponds to see Maggie at 10 AM and were very pleasantly surprised to discover that 99-year-old Maggie is still vital and active and has progressed with her ability to use her arms and hands immeasureably since we last saw her two years ago. What an amazing testimonial to strength of will power. We left at 2:30 so that she could go listen to scheduled music and rode through the usual heavy Boston traffic to the Hampton Inn in Waltham, surprisingly less expensive than everywhere else near Boston. Once settled in there, Bob picked us up to visit his wife whose mind is dying because of all the radiation it took to kill her cancer. Rachel was surprisingly more alert and conversational than I had understood. Her problem is new memories and understanding, not old ones. Another huge surprise, Bob introduced us again to his daughter Aletta and husband Richard. Cynthia needs a new feduciary and Aletta is one so we talked about finances until I asked Richard about AI. Then we talked about AI for a while until it was time for Bob to take us to dinner nearby at Zhu (click here), where I had Mandarin Curry dish that was fine and fun. Consequently we didn't get to bed early enough although the day was wonderfully rewarding to see so many fine, fun people. Route MA 3 N 6 mi to I-93 S 3 mi to I-95 N 16 mi to exit 43B Totten Pond Road, R on Wyman 0.6 mi, L and L onto Winter to R on 2nd Ave 0.3 mi to Hampton Inn.
1 Jul: Ron awoke at 3:30 AM to pack up with a plan to leave very early, except we didn’t. It was raining. But, we were rolling out of the hotel parking lot before eight AM for the ride around New York City towards Boston. We made it as far as Brooklyn. Did you know there is a Brooklyn in Connecticut? I didn't. Todays ride was far less stressful than anticipated. We rode from the hotel west on Forsgate W 0.8 mile to reach US 130 N for 9 miles then merged with US 1 N for 4 more miles and took a left lane exit onto NJ 18 N for 7 miles to pass Rutgers University, cross the Raritan River and turned L onto River Road for 4 miles, whereupon we joined I-287 N for 50 miles to turn R onto I-87 and continue on I-287 around NYC and across the Tappan Zee Bridge (now renamed for Mayor Andrew Como). Then came confusion because my directions said to take exit 9A onto the Hutchinson River Parkway, but exit 9A in New York was for US route 9 and in Connecticut after I took a pass on that instruction there were a couple more 9 exits before the Hutchinson River appeared overhead. It would have been a mess of confusion if I had fallen for one of those earlier 9 exits, but I picked the correct one and we proceeded onto a very rough road for a mile until we crossed into Connecticut and the road became very smooth and well maintained, the same Merritt Parkway I was hoping to find in such good shape, CT 15. We continued thereon until reaching an exit under construction that took us onto I-91 N smoothly into Hartford and the early exit 29 to go over to I-84 E which segued into I-384 E 8 mi until we exited interstates onto old US 6 E 32 miles through the lovely Connecticut countryside and small towns. We stopped when fatigue dictated, and that was Brooklyn, CT. The hottest temperature shown on the bike temperature gauge was 101 and it read in the 90s most of the day.
26 Jul, Sunday: At two PM we were finally up, exercised, fed and ready to walk in nearby Prospect Hill Park (click here). Walk successfully completed, Ron rode to Market Basket again for raspberries, blueberries, bananas and frozen mango. As the day wore on, Ron's energy grew, so he went for a second walk to the tops of Prospect Hill Park and saw Waltham's water storage tanks, an old cold war radar tower and a great view of the Boston skyline. There are a lot of ups in that park. 4.08 miles
25 Jul: Today we hope the GPS will guide Ron over the hills and through the woods through Weston, Wayland, and Sudbury to Hudson to see Jan and Dorothy on Deer Path. We did good, and Jan and Dorothy took us to lunch and for a walk along the Assabet Rail Trail for a mile out and a mile back, a delightful trail with shade and woods and poison ivy everywhere. Fortunately the poison ivy stayed where it belonged alongside the trail and we stayed where we belonged, far away. We then enjoyed a long afternoon of conversation (Jan has lots of fun stories) before we headed "home" at diner time. Cynthia's leg or sacroiliac joint is again a problem, so we will take it easy and walk more gently for a few days. 3.05 miles
24 Jul: Ron discovered that Prospect Hill Park is practically adjacent to the hotel, and we found Dinosaur Rock Trail entrance from a nearby parking lot and walked 3.15 miles on forest trails. Cynthia's leg isn't happy with faster pace or uphill, so we have to rein in our ambitions for another few days. This evening we decided to walk a couple of blocks downhill to Ruths Chris Steak House, and it was well worth the effort, especially after the server said that Yes, they do have carrot cake, homemade. Cynthia got a huge piece as another birthday treat. She has been a very good girl. 4.5 miles
23 Jul: HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL! Our route to Waltham was the reverse of getting here from Waltham: US 4 E 5 mi to R on VT 100 S 14 mi -> VT 103 S 23 mi to R on I-91 S 6 mi to L on US 5 S 2 mi to L on VT 123 E crossing bridge into New Hampshire, R on NH 12 S 18 mi through Keene and into Massachusetts -> MA 140 S 10 mi to L on MA 2 E 39 mi to R on I-95/ 128 S 2.4 mi to exit 43A for Totten Pond Rd, crossing over interstate to immediate R on 3rd Ave two blocks to L on 4th Ave past first Extended Stay America hotel around corner to second Extended Stay America hotel at 52 4th Ave. Then we got antsy for a walk to get groceries without surveying the hills and discovered that Waltham can be very hilly. We exhausted ourselves, but we did get a few groceries. 3.80 miles.
22 Jul: We had another great night of sleep. This is our last night at the Inn for now. We will be back after a week in Waltham visiting Ron's friends Jan & Dorothy, Bob & Rachel, Dave & Kris. Which means we need to pack, but instead we went for our usual hike around Kent Pond although we opted to return early since the rocks were damp, then we rode into town to Johnny Boys for omelettes, and then to the beauty salon for Cynthia's pedicure. Then to Staples to return an Amazon purchase and to mail a box of new shoes back to Texas (so that that birthday gift will stay free from dirt for another few months). Finally we returned to the Inn and went for another short walk on the level part of the trail across the street before Ron finally started packing and organizing. But now he needs to determine a route plan to take us to the Extended Stay America hotel in Waltham. 4.06 miles.
21 Jul: Thank God we both got a long, good night of sleep. Several episodes of rain are forecast today, starting before we could get out the door for a walk across the road. We did get out the door late afternoon when the rain stopped for a walk on the level trail and a little of the uphill to the Boardwalk area. 3.14 miles
20 Jul: We were able to go for our usual walk around Kent Pond and up the hill to the BIG rock plus a bonus additional distance downhill. Both of our sets of legs get tired doing that, but we are still staying upright most of the time. We came across another couple of thru-hikers including one girl who looked exceptionally young. We rode into town to see about Cynthia's nasal inhaler prescription at Walgreens, but it cannot be refilled before the end of August. Fortunately we arrived in time to eat omelettes at Johnny Boys. Ron ate pumpkin pancakes also and is very full, but not very, very full. 4.0 miles.
19 Jul, Sunday: Late again after good night of sleep. No rain today, so our usual hike went fine. The stream crossing was no more difficult than usual despite the recent rains. We did see several through hikers and are convinced that the "bubble" has arrived. We decided to err on the side of caution and took Cynthia to Urgent Care to assess her cough for pneumonia - negative, but the nurse practitioner prescribed azithromycin to prevent it from developing. 3.31 miles
18 Jul: As usual, we arose late, exercised, ate and decided to walk only from the Inn to the start of the Sherborne Pass uphill several times in order to gradually exercise Cynthia's torn tendons. Hopefully they will respond by getting much stronger each time we go out and DON'T OVERDO IT. The rain did indeed start immediately after our last iteration, and we are very content to work on our computers while we wait for the pub to open. The rain continued all day, light at times and heavy occasionally. 2.53 miles
17 Jul: Cynthia is feeling a little better, so we took our usual hike around Kent Pond, across the stream and up the hill to the big rock. We are happy that the Inn is back open so that Wanni and Greg could serve us breakfast and we can order food this evening. Today was bonus; we met four very pleasant through-hikers within two hundred yards of each other. And now we can go to the Inn and order spinach salad. An even nicer bonus was the five young ladies we met after eating our "lunches." They are a delightful group that met each other while hiking and now get together for hikes. One of them has finished 1800 miles of the AT. Unfortunately I didn't get names or trail names, but they did find our blog and took a photo of us all which I would love to post here on the blog. HINT, hint. 4.09 miles.
16 Jul: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beloved SmoochSmooch.. And she is blissfully happy to be so beloved. 😆 Unfortunately, she also came down with a sore throat that is a bother. By the time we were up, exercised, fed, and finally ready to hike, it started raining. Oh well, with Cynthia's cold and our several good days worth of hiking behind us, it is probably a good idea to enjoy a day of rest. 1.07 miles
15 Jul: It rained buckets last night, and we were delighted to see the larger waterfall that we cross on our daily hike, although our stream crossing rocks were all under water, i.e. slick and hazardous, so we didn't attempt the crossing. Another hiker sitting outside our room has a nifty arrangement with his girlfriend that he met while both were through-hiking. They bought a car, so one starts hiking and the other drives the car to a trailhead and parks; when they meet on the trail the car key is exchanged and at the end of the day the car is driven with all of their gear to the place where the one started hiking. They both get to slack pack. We rode into town to shop for groceries and only forgot flax seed meal. 3.0 miles.
14 Jul: Today the Inn has stayed closed with the door locked, so we are sitting outdoors in a lovely breeze as the light fades, doing our computer stuffs. At noon we met a delightful through hiker, Double Check (maybe Czech - Natashia), who was amazed by our stories. She is a 64-year old youngster, hiking the trail six days a week and getting a shuttle back to her car to work for a day as a Zoom psych therapist on her seventh day. Too much fun that we recognized "Plans Too Much" when he arrived to provide her shuttle. Cynthia's new birthday gift shoes from Julie and Roxanne arrived via UPS, pretty new shoes without any dirt on them yet. We did our usual walking across the street to the start of the incline several times and our usual Kent Pond trek to the BIG boulder at the start of the unrelenting downhill. The "unrelenting" part really refers to the return trip from Thundering Falls (click here). There hasn't been much rain recently, so Thundering Falls probably isn't making much noise today. 4.27 miles.
13 Jul: We had a slow and lazy start to our day, thinking that there was no breakfast at the Inn. We eventually got out the door for a hike and got done in time to go to Sugar and Spice for a late breakfast before they close at 2 PM. Then to ALDI for provisions and Walmart for Vitamin A, which they didn't arry here. 4.08 miles.
12 Jul, Sunday: We met our first AT through hiker, named Equinox because he started his hike on March 21st. So he is making REALLY good time to be this far north already, although he says he is meandering around to enjoy the sights as he goes.
Vermont 2026 Ron and I have hiked across the state of Vermont from its Mass border to Hanover, NH. That's the best part; touring VT by motorcycle is the second best part. Here are my favorites: first, we love the Inn at Long Trail at Killington, the ski capital, with blessed shade during the summer from the Green Mountains; we can walk out the door to hike the AT, the Long Trail, and the Sherburne Pass Trail; the breakfasts are fabulous at Vermont's famous Irish pub and hiker haven. The Von Trappe Family Lodge is north of us. Nearby, Woodstock, VT is a nifty community. VT Highway 100 is the most colorful and scenic road to travel in the fall. Ben and Jerry’s Creamery was a fun place to visit, but they have skimpy tastings, a far cry from the Blue Bell Creamery in Texas. We enjoyed a great B&B Along the western river boundary, one of many, but I can't recall the name. Vermont is famous for harvesting Maple Syrup, like Sugar and Spice in Mendon, VT. Vermont boasts many farm to market restaurants. Of course, one can't miss New England’s iconic red barns and towering church steeples visible over hill and dale. 3.36 miles
11 Jul: We were delighted to see Oke again after breakfast before we embarked on our hike today. Ron is relieved to think that he may have slept well enough last night despite the pains from his fall yesterday. Neither of us fell today! 3.37 miles
10 Jul: We managed to get everything packed and out by 11 AM and scheduled our stay at the Inn for 13 days. Immediately after unloading all of our baggage into the room and getting a recommendation from Greg, we left for town to eat lunch at Johnny Boy's (click here), which cooked our omelettes beautifully. We then shopped for blueberries, raspberries and bananas at ALDI and returned to the room before riding off immediately for our daily hike around Kent Pond. After successfully rock hopping across the small stream once, Ron mistakenly stepped on the wrong rock and fell HARD, thinking that he might have broken his nose or at least caused a nose bleed. His knee and chest also took significant blows. No broken nose; no nose bleed; no broken bones apparently, but as the day progressed, his affected rib gradually became more painful. That continues. 2.94 miles
9 Jul: Tomorrow we relocate again to the Inn at Long Trail for 13 days this time, God willing. We thought the temperatures were going to cool today, but when we walked outside before noon, it was blazing hot in the direct sun. We decided to repair indoors and await more cooler evening temperatures although Ron decided to suffer the heat to buy more frozen mango at ALDI. YUM. Hi Wynn, sorry that I'm late; I am now updating our routes and travel since we left Texas dating back to March 10th including several "click here's". We hope you enjoy all this. 2.50 miles
8 Jul: Another lovely day for a late start. The temperature cooled into the 50s overnight. Dr. Dougherty received the pacemaker transmission and clarified that she wants the test done every 31 days. We spent the day indoors since the forecast high was 83 degrees and walked into town to Treviso (click here), an Italian place that served a great salad and even better Mediterranean sea bass. Afterwards, we walked about town for several extra blocks to see the sights, a fun evening. 3.92 miles
7 Jul: We forgot to update the blog because it rained this morning. Ron walked to Aldi for frozen mango, then we both walked to Walmart to get Shoe Goo for Ron's shoes and Gorilla Glue for the grey bag, which is coming apart at the seams. Cynthia had a zoom call from the spine surgeon in Florida, Dr. Cantor, who uses a sonic knife to remove excess bone from the spine, a less invasive procedure that heals more quickly. He explained Cynthia's spondylolisthesis (click here) of L4 and L5 to us and advised against any surgery as long as she can minimize her pain. We are delighted beyond words. Then we walked by the Yellow Deli which is closed for renovations until 2033, and ate salads at the Hop'N Moose Pub (click here). Just before dark Ron decided to walk again to Walmart for almonds now that his waist is a trifle smaller. Since our latest visit to Pritikin, we both focus on our pelvic tilt (click here) while we walk to keep our spines in good alignment. 5.27 miles
6 Jul: Ron had everything packed to change lodging, so we left the bags in our room while we hiked Kent Pond. Our legs were tired, so we did not cross the stream. We were delighted to discover Sugar and Spice is open for lunch. Unfortunately, the chef did not follow instruction for no cheese in the egg white omelets. Next time that happens there, we send it back. We are in Rutland for four nights, planning to return to the Inn on Friday. The new insurance at the Inn restricts stays to 13 days; otherwise it is considered long-term rental and the rates go up. Every thirteen days through August we will spend a few days in Rutland. We walked on city sidewalks to two different grocery stores for our supplies. Pacemaker test today 9 pm. 5.99 miles.
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| Ron (Shakedown Cruise) and Barefoot Oke |
4 Jul: Happy 4TH times 250! Ron is reflecting with some sadness that his best friend, Don Stalcup, and his uncle Lawrence were both born on July 4th and passed away in the last few years. Thanks be to God that they both lived good lives and influenced Ron positively. Cynthia adds that Ron influences her positively. Eighteen years ago on March 2, Ron started his Appalachian Trail Hike at Springer Mountain, GA. In July, Cynthia picked him up in Rutland and brought him here, Killington, VT. Today, we hiked on the AT! Our feet felt weird and our legs felt weak. We hiked 2.5 miles, crossing streams, and traversing boulders. It was a very successful hike; we are still able to walk. At the end of this day of walking about, Cynthia has a total of 5.11 miles, closing all the rings on her Apple Watch.
3 Jul: We "slept in" a little this morning, arising at 7 AM and getting onto the road before 9 AM when the temperature was already over 88 degrees. Ugh. After all the early morning and late nights, we are both dragging, not to mention the extreme heat. Still, the ride was comfortable and quick. 2nd Ave W to R on Winter Street to R onto I-95 a couple of exits to MA 2 W for 37 miles to exit 90B and MA 140 N for 9 miles to MA 12 -> NH 12 for 40 miles through Keene. New Hampshire tells you that a turn is coming up after you are in the wrong lane in heavy traffic. Fortunately I knew to look for several turns in Keene. At Walpole, NH we found NH 123 W to cross a bridge into Vermont and US 5 briefly, I-91 for 5 miles to US 5 again and VT 103 for 30 miles into Ludlow. I was expecting to see a place to eat near a deep gorge, but that must be a different route. (Route 4 Quechee Gorge Bridge.) We turned onto VT 100 in Ludlow and rode past the several beautiful lakes along that road until turning West on US 4 for 10 miles to the Inn At Long Trail, where Murray and Page greeted us warmly and provided our room for three nights.
2 Jul: Ron awakened at the perfect time this morning and Cynthia awakened not long afterwards, 5:15. It looks like we are on schedule to get an earlier start so that the sun light from the east will be blinding for a while. We arrived at Linden Ponds to see Maggie at 10 AM and were very pleasantly surprised to discover that 99-year-old Maggie is still vital and active and has progressed with her ability to use her arms and hands immeasureably since we last saw her two years ago. What an amazing testimonial to strength of will power. We left at 2:30 so that she could go listen to scheduled music and rode through the usual heavy Boston traffic to the Hampton Inn in Waltham, surprisingly less expensive than everywhere else near Boston. Once settled in there, Bob picked us up to visit his wife whose mind is dying because of all the radiation it took to kill her cancer. Rachel was surprisingly more alert and conversational than I had understood. Her problem is new memories and understanding, not old ones. Another huge surprise, Bob introduced us again to his daughter Aletta and husband Richard. Cynthia needs a new feduciary and Aletta is one so we talked about finances until I asked Richard about AI. Then we talked about AI for a while until it was time for Bob to take us to dinner nearby at Zhu (click here), where I had Mandarin Curry dish that was fine and fun. Consequently we didn't get to bed early enough although the day was wonderfully rewarding to see so many fine, fun people. Route MA 3 N 6 mi to I-93 S 3 mi to I-95 N 16 mi to exit 43B Totten Pond Road, R on Wyman 0.6 mi, L and L onto Winter to R on 2nd Ave 0.3 mi to Hampton Inn.
1 Jul: Ron awoke at 3:30 AM to pack up with a plan to leave very early, except we didn’t. It was raining. But, we were rolling out of the hotel parking lot before eight AM for the ride around New York City towards Boston. We made it as far as Brooklyn. Did you know there is a Brooklyn in Connecticut? I didn't. Todays ride was far less stressful than anticipated. We rode from the hotel west on Forsgate W 0.8 mile to reach US 130 N for 9 miles then merged with US 1 N for 4 more miles and took a left lane exit onto NJ 18 N for 7 miles to pass Rutgers University, cross the Raritan River and turned L onto River Road for 4 miles, whereupon we joined I-287 N for 50 miles to turn R onto I-87 and continue on I-287 around NYC and across the Tappan Zee Bridge (now renamed for Mayor Andrew Como). Then came confusion because my directions said to take exit 9A onto the Hutchinson River Parkway, but exit 9A in New York was for US route 9 and in Connecticut after I took a pass on that instruction there were a couple more 9 exits before the Hutchinson River appeared overhead. It would have been a mess of confusion if I had fallen for one of those earlier 9 exits, but I picked the correct one and we proceeded onto a very rough road for a mile until we crossed into Connecticut and the road became very smooth and well maintained, the same Merritt Parkway I was hoping to find in such good shape, CT 15. We continued thereon until reaching an exit under construction that took us onto I-91 N smoothly into Hartford and the early exit 29 to go over to I-84 E which segued into I-384 E 8 mi until we exited interstates onto old US 6 E 32 miles through the lovely Connecticut countryside and small towns. We stopped when fatigue dictated, and that was Brooklyn, CT. The hottest temperature shown on the bike temperature gauge was 101 and it read in the 90s most of the day.
