Ultra Light Hike Update

Here is a note from the five week Ultra-Light hike.
"The drive in the mini-bus with our driver Patrick passed quickly on our way to the North Adams, MA area to begin our hike. After dividing up our food and really packing our new packs to capacity with 9 days of food, our hike began. It was soon apparent that our group was incredibly well-matched in terms of hiking abilities, and that has allowed us to cover some considerable terrain (about 85-90 miles as of this Saturday) with nothing but the short list of standard hikers’ issues like blisters and the occasional bump and scrape. We’ve seen quite a few other people, both day hikers and Appalachian Trail or Long Trail thru-hikers, but never had to worry about crowded campsites. The terrain has included lots of hardwood forest with open understory, some meadows, ponds, and short segments on logging roads. Our first night gave everyone the opportunity to see one of Vermont’s true wildlife beauties as a small black bear made an appearance at our campsite – everyone was very excited to see it! We’ve also seen a ruffed grouse with babies, another small baby bird (probably a white-throated sparrow) sitting in the middle of the trail, garter snakes, and red efts. Some mountaintops have fire towers and even those with a little fear of heights have been braving at least a couple flights of stairs to get above the treetops and enjoy the 360-degree views. Weather has varied from bursts of sunshine to heavy rain. We’ve only had to perform one lightning drill while on the trail since we’ve been getting early starts to get over summits before the afternoon thunderstorms roll by. We roasted marshmallows over a stove on July 4th and everyone got a pair of red, white, and blue glowstick glasses as part of the celebration. Seth had a birthday on the 6th and received a Rubic’s cube after an inspirational birthday reading, so we’ll see if our combined efforts can solve it before we complete the trail. Spirits are high all around and days are spent engaged in silly conversations, playing “The Celebrity Game”, busting out into random songs, and even enjoying some occasional silence. Mornings start with a guitar wake-up and days often end with some group singing after evening chores are done. The group was empowered to self-organize a system for getting all group chores (campsite setup, water, cooking, cleaning) done and have done a great job. Food bags get lighter as every day passes and we’re gradually getting into some more rugged terrain as our bodies are toughening up. Todd had the A-Team theme song blaring as he pulled up for our resupply and the transition was very smooth. 10 days down and 20 to go…Canada or bust!!!"