Hello everybody!  It's been forever since we've updated this, we apologize! We've had some logistical issues with getting ahold of ample internet time, and by the time we get done with the 'business' stuff, we get kicked off.  So in the 10 minutes remaining at this library, here we go!

We made it Deet free in Maine!  Absolutely beautiful, magical, Maine.   Maine was also extremely wet, muddy, boggy, EXTREMELY full of mosquitos and black flies, but also full of Moose, Loons, and a ton of other beautiful wildlife and ponds, lakes, streams, etc.  We slept near or next to water almost every night.

New Hampshire....Oh, New Hampshire.  New Hampshire was full of Dramatic Landscapes.  Lots of Hard Climbs, mostly straight up and down Mountains, I think we saw 3 switchbacks through the entire state.  Also the White Mountains.  We had some crazy weather.  On Mt. Washington, we had 5 foot visibility, 70 MPH gusts with 40-60 mph constant winds, oh and freezing rain and sleet!  It was quite an experience to hike in that, felt like survival mode for sure, because you really could die in that type of weather.  We also had some of the most beautifully serene moments watching the sunrise over Mt. Madison, and 10 miles of exposed ridgewalking at a time.  Not quite as 'hard' as we had expected, because the terrain was a lot better than Maine, but some super challenging climbs that left us and our knees/feet begging for easier times...

Now we're in Vermont, we're in love.  Both us together, and us with the state.  We saw pasture for the first time our first day in VT.  We've also been doing our biggest mileage in VT so far.  Oh and we pretty much have unlimited access to blackberries and raspberries as long as we don't mind picking them ourselves.  We literally had to bushwhack through a Raspberry Bramble the other day where it had grown over the trail.  We stop constantly to eat berries, which is bad for our pace, but fantastic for our bellies.  The beautiful views of pastures and rolling hills are breathtaking.  We've pretty much decided to move here.  Oh and Maple Syrup, did we mention that?  We're Technically on the 'Long Trail' now, the AT and the LT share the same trail for the next 150 miles, kinda neat, we'll have done over 50% of the LT when we're done with the state.

Logistically everything is going well.  We're healthy, stronger by the day, safe all the time, and happy to be sharing this experience together.  We've had plenty of food and water, our shelter: The Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 is pretty much the best thing ever, and the communities have embraced hiking.  We've done a lot of things we thought we couldn't do, and are inspired to do more big things in the future (we met 2 sisters that biked from Washington State to Maine, we met them in NH, 4 days from their finish, that was quite fun to share similar experiences with one another).

Some people have asked how they can contact us while we're hiking,  here is the email that we just sent to our family.  Take care, we love you all, thank you for your support.

P & A

Hello All!

We got the next section of our guide in the mail (we chopped the original up into pieces to reduce weight but that kinda backfired with planning....haha oh well)  and here are the next 9 Mail Drops and the Approximate dates AS OF NOW that we think we'll be there.  As always, we LOVE letters from you all. 

Remember, anything you send us would need to get there before the dates listed, so take note of that.  We're hoping to start up our 'jet packs' and start flying through, we'll see though.  We're working on some extended (2-5 days) rest periods when we're going through NJ and when we're near DC.  Otherwise, our job is hiking, and we plan to do it well!  We hope to have to update this and tell you we're getting somewhere sooner.  If in doubt, just send it to one town ahead of where you think we'll be to make sure we get it.

Everything is going great, Vermont is a little harder than anticipated, but we're getting back into the right mindset.  We're over 20% done, and going to be crossing our 500 mile mark tomorrow.  Ones with ** are pending right now, we have to check that we actually are sending it to the right city as there are two close by, we'll let you know if those are not accurate.

As a reminder the format is as follows:

Preston & Abbey Stohs
c/o General Delivery
City, State,  Zip

*Please hold for thru-hikers, EDA _______*  (EDA--is the estimated date of our arrival, listed below)

MD9 Bennington, VA 05201
EDA - Aug 6th

MD10 Tyringham, MA 01264
EDA - Aug 11th

MD11 Salisbury, CT 06068
EDA - Aug 14th

MD12 Stormville, NY 12582
EDA - Aug 18th

***MD13 Greenwood Lake, NY 10925***
EDA - Aug 21st

MD14 Delaware Water Gap, PA 18327
EDA - Aug 26th

MD15 Port Clinton, PA 19549
EDA - Sept 1st

MD16 Boiling Springs, PA 17007
EDA - Sept 7th

***MD17 Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214***
EDA - Sept 10th

That's what we got.  Hope you are all well, happy, and healthy.  We think about you all the time.

Love,

Preston & Abbey