Crossing into Vermont has been magical. For example, on August 28th we started the day by saying goodbye to trail angels Short-n-Sweet and Greybeard who hosted nearly a dozen hikers at their home the previous evening in Norwich, sharing with us the story of their son’s thru hike which inspired them to reach out and help hikers. We left their home before sunrise in order to hit our 20+ mile goal for the day. Our first break that morning was the home of the amazing Hart family, who have already provided support to 950 hikers this year alone. As we walked\u00a0by they rang the bell on their porch and motioned us in for a huge homemade breakfast. The roadway immediately in front of their home runs about 30 feet above a whitewater river. Among hikers there is a tradition to dare each other to jump off the bridge. Egged on by my younger cohorts, I took the leap in my underwear, on a belly full of the Hart breakfast (see video below)! The jump was a gas and the water refreshingly cool. The video was filmed by one of my very good friends from the trail- Hero (from Mississippi)- who then jumped himself.<\/p>\n