Sprout Day 80 (Wednesday, June 15th, 2016) (NEED PICTURES)

Today was an exciting day of hiking. We made it up Mount Greylock! Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts standing at 3489 feet! It was a great hike and we had an awesome view once we made it to the top. We started our day off at the church in Cheshire.   I didn't really sleep too well last night but woke up ready for the day.  The church was an awesome place to stay.  I think I had trouble sleeping because we were in a large room and sound echoed every time anyone moved or got up to use the restroom. We hit up a much needed Dunkin’ Doughnuts right before the trail, iced coffee, yes please!

After the morning coffee we were heading over to the trail when a car pulled into the parking lot right in front of us. It was Smudgy Cheeks! He has been staying with a really nice guy in Pittsfield while his ankle recovers. It was great seeing him! We were so happy to see his smiling face! He said he's been doing good and is starting to feel a lot better. He was with Eddy.  They had just gone to a chicken farm that Eddy used to own to get eggs for a local food kitchen.   He popped the trunk and they had a trunkful of fresh eggs!  We're really happy Smudgy is with a nice caring person while he is healing.

After saying our goodbyes we got on the trail and started heading north. It was going to be a good day and we were ready for Mt Greylock!  It had such beautiful views and we had clear blue skies with not a cloud in the sky.  The trail was well maintained and marked pretty well too.  We ran into a couple of trail maintainers repainting the blazes and trimming branches.

At the top of Greylock there are benches and a lodge that sells food and drinks. Everything was pretty expensive so we just got some post cards for family and friends and a couple cans of pop. The monument was closed for construction so we couldn't walk up but the view was still amazing where we were.

The shelter was just a few miles from the summit so after resting for a little while we started off for the next shelter. When we arrived at the shelter I started a fire to cook over because our fuel is running low. We are trying to conserve as much as possible and I love having a fire.

We are staying at the shelter with Whiskers, Disco, and Chicken Foot, and two other hikers, Burn and Blow. We were all hungry and tired so we made food and chatted for a few. I think it's going to be a great night if I can sleep tonight.

Day: 80
Miles hiked: 11.7
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 727.9
Bears: 0
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Donkeys: 2
Horses: 12
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Rabbit: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Snake: 2
Squirrels: 11
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1

The Sprout Day 20 (Saturday, April 16th)

We woke up, packed everything, and were ready for the trail.  We were saying our goodbyes and it was really sad.  Maggie was bawling.  We looked at each other and decided to take our first zero!  It turns out, because Rachel, Porterhouse’s wife, was out of town he didn't want us to leave!  It turns out Porterhouse was praying that we WOULD take a zero because he wanted to hang out with us longer (he did not want to ask us to zero though). He was super excited!

Since Porterhouse stayed, we went to store to get stuff for brunch, lunch, and dinner.   On the way to the store (we had to walk .7 miles to get from camp to the AT parking lot) Porterhouse stopped again at the bridge to get cars and trucks to honk. As a matter of fact, when we went over the bridge on the way back from the store he wanted to stop AGAIN!! I said, "No way!!" Our hands were FULL with groceries!!

We had bacon, eggs, fruit, orange juice, shells and cheese, chips, Coney dogs, pork tenderloin, beverages, and a bunch of snacks.  We had so much food.  He also bought a Hobo Pie maker.  Since he was just going to throw it away he left it in the hiker box for other hikers to enjoy over their campfires.   

We stayed up late, hung out, chatted, and it was a good time all around.

Porterhouse and Bubbles (Thanks for doing my laundry Bubbles and for the t-shirts Nanny!)

Day:  20

Miles hiked:  1.4 (to and from Walmart!)

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  184.7

Bears:   0

Butterfly:  7

Chipmunk:  2

Crawfish:  1

Deer:  20

Really Big Dog:  1

Mouse:  1

Nest of bugs:  1

Skunk:  1

Snail:  1

Snake: 1

Squirrels:  11

Turkeys:  4

Turtles:  107

Woodpecker:  1