Our Appalachian Trail Hike: Shoes, rain, and a new state

So as mentioned in the last post, Reboot has Rebooted. Now I was a little bummed about having to trade in shoes so early in the hike. True I got 350 miles on them, but I've heard from other hikers using trail runners that 500-600 is par. I called La Sportiva to see what they had to say about them blowing out this earlier, and their response was not as helpful as I had hoped. Now thru-hikers generally get well treated by gear companies. We're gear junkies. All we talk about is gear and we do it for 2000 miles. If your gear performs, we're their best salesmen. When it doesn't, we remind everyone we see. My story will fall under the second category.

I love my La Sportiva rock climbing shoes, and decided to go with the brand for my first pair of trail runners. When I called their customer service number, it took me a while to reach a representative and when I told her my situation, her response was that there wasn't much they would probably do about it. She said she was "surprised" and "amazed" that they had in fact lasted as long as they did, despite their competitors making shoes that last 500 to 600 miles. This would be like a car company telling you that they are amazed your sedan lasted 75,000 miles even when most cars can last well beyond 100 k. It is my professional opinion as a full time walker, that La Sportiva does not make trail runners that can last as long and are therefore not worth buying. Other brands make shoes that last longer for the same price, so that's who will get my business. After my $20 shoes blow out.
This week was a rainy one, and I have again kept up my streak of always entering a new state while it's raining. I was still able to make fairly big miles this week, but it resulted in me having to do a little night hiking via headlamp. That is a harder task when it's raining. I lost the trail on my longest day yet (a marathon distance) and had to setup my tent after it had been raining all day long. Fortunately the weather ahead should be better this week. I'm still glad to be in VT and hope to be in northern MA in a week. So far, VT doesn't appear to be closed, although there have been some hard hit towns. There is a ton of damage in lower areas, and they still need help and your prayers.
I hiked with a cool couple, Cook and Splash. They and their dog Henry were great company for the day I hiked with them. I'm hoping they will be able to catch up, but their dog is still getting his trail legs so right now, they aren't doing big miles. We all ran into a day hiker with a beautiful German shepherd, husky mix. After hiking most of a day with a dog, it reminded me of how I would like a dog and two of the breeds I've thought about are an Alaskan malamute, and a Belgium shepherd, both similar breeds to the ones in the dog we saw. It would be nice to have the companion, but I'm not sure if now is the best time to get a dog, especially if my mileage is cranking up. Oh well, something to think about on the trail. IN Hanover, NH, I was able to stay with a nice lady, Ruby Slippers, who puts up thru hikers in her art studio. She even made me dinner! The town was also very cool, and seems like a nice place. I didn't explore it too much the day I came through, but ohMEGA and I went there for the afternoon on Saturday when we met up this weekend. Taking a break this weekend was much needed after the rain, and fortunately ohMEGA is a wonderful trail angel for saving me just in time. I'm not sure how I would stay sane and do this hike without her support. Until next time, happy trails!