Miles: 16.3; Elevation gained: 2,500 ft; Mile reached: 163.7

A payback section for me personally, as when Cliff and I traversed the Lincoln to App Gap ridge, which passes over both Sugarbush and Mad River Glen ski areas, it was raining and completely socked in. Moreover, as it turns out Cliff was developing trench foot here of all things. Today wasn’t a perfect day, but visibility was pretty good into the nearby valleys, base lodges and whatnot, though there was a low ceiling exacerbated by forest fire haze doing a continental drift over from the left coast. Crazy.

At App Gap, which is above the town of Waitsfield to the east, we were met by Chris M’s better half, Kate, who plied us with v&t’s out of a cooler, complete with fresh lime no less. We took a needed zero day at the Hyde Away Inn, the very spot where Cliff, despite convalescing from his hideous flesh eating disorder, still managed to clobber me in several giant Jinga puzzle sessions in a row.

Enough yapping- the scenery and terrain really tell the story in this part of VT.