Thirty-ninth day F 8/14/20

START:  Vt. Rt. 12     5 am

FINISH: Lyme-Dorchester (NH) Rd.   10:55 pm
43.7 miles     17:55   2.4 mph
1,781 total miles   45.7 mpd
Continued nice weather

The morning saw Mercury flowing through fields and hemlock forests in ‘old wealth’ eastern, central VT.
Her parents visited again bringing her a few more pairs of boots with wide toe boxes to help ease the discomfort of her toes and feet which have slowed her down for the past four weeks.
Since there were many road crossings, we were able to chase (and meet) Mercury over a dozen times during the course of the day.
Mercury left VT and entered NH during mid-day – so it is 12 states down and 2 more to go!
We got off to a half-hour late start in the morning due to Jupiter thinking he had set the alarm. Thank goodness he is an early-riser.
It was another long day. Night hiking at the end of the day will become more risky now due to the rough terrain so we will try to lessen it.
Hopefully, only 10.5 more days, but like the past thirty-nine days, it won’t be easy.
“One must know the end, to be convinced that one much win the end.”
Onward to New Hampshire’s venerable and rugged White Mountains – 100 miles of intense mental focus and physical output.

Who is Mercury?

Liz Derstine, trail name “Mercury”, is a distance runner, endurance hiker, writer, and musician residing in Boston, MA. She holds fastest known times for women on the Appalachian Trail (supported, northbound), Long Trail (self-supported), and Pinhoti Trail (self-supported).

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