another update from Mom

The girls and their friends have made it to Vermont - Tuesday or Wednesday (don't remember which). It is raining, again. They are pretty bummed about that, but there seem to be a lot of places in this area that open their doors to thur hikers.
These include homes, churches, and, of course, hostels. Jennifer and Sarah are really enjoying the picturesque New England towns. Squeegie's family will hook up with them today and plans to backpack with the group for a couple of days. They are thinking they will reach Katahdin in five to six weeks. Hopefully they will be able to update this soon.

Pictures from New York Trip

Here are the pictures promised in previous post. Top to bottom: Jennifer, Squeegie, & Sarah get ready to hit the trail again; in Pawling with Samwise, Squeegie, Miss Scarlett, and Newt; Mom with Jennifer and Sarah; the Babes in Boots make a pose; Samwise, Miss Scarlett, Sunbeam, Squeegie, Newt, Halfmoon, and a trusting Mississippi.

-Mom and Barbara dropping us off at the trailhead after a "surprise" visit
-Train stop on the AT that goes into Grand Central Station
-Crossing the Hudson River, which is the lowest elevation point on the trail
-Birthday!!!
-NYC skyline in the distance, just squint your eyes...
-Right after crossing into NY state. We got caught in a lightning storm about 20 minutes after this picture
-Brooklyn Bridge
-Statue of Liberty
-Sunbeam and Miss Scarlett shopping for new handbags to carry on the AT in Macy's
-Newt in Times Square
-Meg Castner, friend from Oak Ridge, was on a roadtrip and stopped by for a visit
-Rattle on a five foot rattlesnake that was as thick as our arms (maybe thicker),that crossed the trail in front of us
-White Blaze
-Rock scramble after Lehigh Gap, PA

Update by Mom

I was lucky enough to get to visit the girls this past weekend thanks to a Continental Airlines special fare. My friend Barbara went with me. We were able to find the hikers and their friends at a road crossing near Pawling, NY. We got to have lunch with them there and then picked them up again later that afternoon near Poughag (sp?), NY. So we had two nights with them and they were still able to continue hiking during the day. When we left them yesterday they were in Connecticut, and they plan to be in Massachusetts this Thursday! As of tonight they will have about 700 miles left.

Barbara and I got to meet Sunbeam's family, and Samwise's parents. Sunbeam's family had driven in from Ohio to visit her, and Sam lives about an hour away. We all had dinner together Saturday evening. It was like a family reunion. Really nice families - of course because they have such special young adults!

Samwise got back on the trail with them yesterday and the whole group was happy about that.

Newt and Miss Scarlett both looked healthy and seemed happy. A little tired mentally maybe - all the rain, thunderstorms, and bugs can get to you after while. They are happy with their trail family though and were ready to hike on.

Barbara and I both took some photos, so once we get those together I will post a couple of them.

DETOUR!

We had a slight detour from the trail on the 4th of July. We all went into NYC! So our friend Samwise that we've been hiking with lives about an hour north of the city by train. He was home because he's taking a few weeks off from the trail so he came and picked us up from High Point State Park in New Jersey on the 3rd and let us all crash at his house. Unfortunately he has the flu right now so he couldn't go into the city. We had an awesome time though and did more walking than a normal day on the trail. Back to the trail today! Pictures will follow in the next week or so :)