Once we entered into Massachusetts we were blessed with my (Ladybug) Grandparents coming to visit us at Mt. Greylock the highest peak in the state. They treated us to stay at the lodge as well as 3 yummy meals. It was difficult to leave in the morning, as it was raining and very windy. I had a make-shift rain cover as I left mine at a previous shelter but it worked pretty well. When we got to the road into North Adams we decided to walk to town and grab a Chinese Buffet and wait out the rain. It worked, we stuffed ourselves and lucky for us the shine started shining as we got back on the trail. Massachusetts also had a trail angel named 'Tom' who allows thru-hikers to tent in his yard. The day we arrived we saw a bunch of our fellow hikers including 'Turtle' 'Bud' 'Aroo' and 'Cactus.' We got some ice cream and ate at the tavern in town. We were so excited as we entered Vermont, but our first night in Vermont did not go so well. After quickly setting up in the drizzling rain near the shelter and falling asleep, we awoke to little crinkling sounds. As we looked around the tent, there was a large mouse sitting right on my bag staring back at us. We thought we shooed it out, and we stuffed the tent hole with a bandanna and got into our sleeping bags again. Another mouse then appeared through the hole, and we realized the other mouse never left. Two crazy mice running around our tent, I was trying not to scream. We decided that we needed to leave, it was 2am and we night-hiked until 6am. Finally we found a tent site and felt safe again in the light and slept until noon. One of the highlights of Vermont was my parents coming to visit us, they met us near Prospect Rock and we all camped together. They took us into Manchester Center the next day where we were able to do all our errands and spend some time with them. After they left we hiked up Bromley Mtn. which was my favorite climb in Vermont. It was steep, but on the top was a big grassy area with a Gondala as it is a popular skiing spot in the winter. The next day we encountered Griffith Lake, where we took a long break enjoying the views and secret little area we had discovered. When we got to camp later that night we got to see 'Mailman' 'Puzzle' 'Atlas' 'Shea' 'Double Dog' and 'Dare you.' It was nice to have a big fire again, as many of the states had regulations and do not allow fires. The next day we were able to hitch into Rutland, VT with 'SeaBiscuit' and we all had breakfast at the 'Yellow Deli' (part of the 12 tribes). We decided not to stay with the 12 tribes this time, as we had done some more research about them and despite their kindness thought it was in our best interest. They did give us free showers though and let us store our bags there while we roamed around town Bullseye and I decided it was time to see a real movie in the theater, we chose 'Lucy' which was a fun one. It was awesome to leave the hiking world for awhile and fill up on soda and popcorn. It was difficult to leave Rutland as it was a cool town, not to mention it was down pouring. But we got to Gifford State Park and the ranger let us clean the bathrooms in exchange for a free stay. The next climb was up Quimby Mtn where Bullseye had a rough fall on his knee. Again it was rainy and quite a miserable day after the fall, so we decided to make it a short day and have our first stay at a shelter. We met some section hikers 'Emily' and 'Mike' at the shelter with the same plan as us. Even though it was only 3:30p, 'Atlas' and 'Shea' showed up too and we all hung out in the shelter for the rest of the day. The next day my parents came, this time only for a day hike. They left some trail magic at one of the parking areas which everyone really appreciated. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so it was nice they were able to see such a pretty area of Vermont. That night we camped next to Emily and Mike and were so excited that tomorrow we would be entering NH!!
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