Mensches, mitzvahs, and Mishaps

So, we've made it to New Hampshire. A longer blog post is imminent which will adequately cover our adventures over the last month (whoops! We're bado at blogging), but in the meantime, we'd thought we'd share a couple trials, tribulations, and tasty treats that we've enjoyed recently. It's just to let all of you non-hikers out there on the many faces of trail life. 

Lots of funny things have happened as we've bopped from group to group through New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, and we've encountered many obstacles as well. But overall, the mishaps and misadventures balance out with the mitzvahs and trail magic of which we've been the lucky recipients. 

For example, Chuckles stepped in dog poo while trying to capture Bones' attempt to "filter right from the source," but the result was super delicious drinking water. 

(Okay, bad example....)

It's also been a tough 1700 miles; we've been physically beat up (to be expected), which means constantly dealing with foot and shoe issues, especially Giggles' left foot, among other injuries. It's just a fact of trail life. 

Giggles is on shoe pair #5, and Chuckles is almost to #4. And that's not counting the hundreds of miles our Chacos have accumulated...

There are other obstacles we sometimes encounter on trail. The most common obstacle, misogyny, is less easy to capture on camera. Our quick wits, sassy comebacks, excellent willpower, and diligence have helped us combat this, however, and the only thing really sassing us petite women back in return are the trees blocking the trail. 

Also bug bites, bee stings, and spider attacks. Those are a thing. We call it preparation for black fly season as we head further north. 

Thankfully, these upsets have not affected our ability to laugh it all off, helped along by some excellent people.

We reunited with our friend Iron Chef in New York, after not seeing him since Tennessee! The mensch even brought us bagels, schmear, and OJ. A breakfast mitzvah! 

He also played with this goose:

Additionally, Chef offered his EMT advice and surgical skills to take a look at and attempt to help drain Giggles' scary spider bite (don't worry Mom/Uncle Keith). It was super professional. 

Obviously pink gloves aid in making any situation more professional. 

We've also recieved some excellent trail magic, such as this cooler full of s'mores, PB&J sandwiches, and snacks! 

Other surprises have been the surplus of wild mulberries, blueberries, and raspberries that we've feasted upon trail side (some trace!, yikes).

The point is that we've learned to roll with the punches the AT swings our way by taking advantages of nature's tasty treats, resting when we need to, laughing with friends, and enjoying our time. The countdown begins to August 15th, our targeted Katahdin summit day! 

More to come,

Giggles n Chuckles