We're in Vermont!

Well believe it or not, we're in Vermont! We hiked into Bennington at mile 1,603.3 yesterday and met my dad who stayed with us in town. Time is absolutely flying by, it really seems like we were just leaving Virginia. I'm ready for it to slow down again.  The last stretch has been nice. I was pleasantly surprised by New Jersey and New York.  Both states offered some great views and great hiking. Before the trail, I barely knew New Jersey even had trees let alone anything green in their state.   I couldn't have been more wrong and the state proved to be beautiful.  This was one of my favorite spots, a mile long board walk through the marsh like area.

Connecticut was steeper than I had expected, but the trail went through a beautiful part of the state.  We were psyched to be reaching Massachusetts last week and couldn't have been greeted by a more beautiful part of the state.  The first thing we came to in MA was Sage's Ravine, a beautiful spruce forest and ravine with waterfalls and pools that beckoned us for a swim.  It was a great start to MA and the next morning as we climbed  our first mountain we came upon this view:

We hit Mount Greylock a few days ago, the highest point in MA at nearly 3,500 feet. It was so nice to be back in higher elevation, Virginia was the last time we were over 3,000 feet.  We were greeted by spruce forests and wonderful views at the top.  This is the memorial tower on top from which we had great views:

Two days ago we finally reached Vermont.  We have been talking about the last three states for what seems like weeks now because we've been so excited for them.  Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are known for their beautiful forests, abundant lakes and streams and huge mountains with outstanding views.  I'm hoping time will somehow slow down for the next few weeks because it has suddenly been going by very fast and I really want to be able to enjoy what I feel will be the best part of the trail.
  We are currently sharing the AT with the Long Trail for the next 100 miles in Vermont. Near Killington, VT the AT turns east and the Long Trail continues north to Canada.

  So we're going to enjoy a little more time here in Bennington, then it's back to the trail this afternoon.
Thanks for reading and happy hiking!
-Jetpack