Ten Feet of Crazy

TRAIL + 1

2009-03-30T10:30:00.003-04:00

A few months back, I met with Matthewski, a veteran AT hiker I spent time with in Virginia. He warned me that the year anniversary would be a heady one. Well, here it is. Hard to believe it was a whole year ago since I walked onto the Approach Trail, headed up Springer Mountain. Even harder to believe that it took the better part of this past year to then walk to Mount Katahdin. I finally visited the AT a month or so ago, when Elizabeth and I met up with Zen at a cabin in Maryland that the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club rents out. We climbed up the ridge behind the cabin on a blue blaze trail, with me following behind Zen, staring at his pack and boots as I had done for so many months. At the top we saw the first white blaze any of us had seen since last October. Lots of emotions, but I think the dominant one was happiness that the AT is still there. That's the most amazing thing about it really: that it actually does exist, this little footpath that runs through our collective backyard, available for anyone who needs an escape. A month ago I received an email from a friend of a friend of Elizabeth's, who was planning his own thru-hike starting in March. Very glad to know the cycle continues. Lots has passed since leaving the trail. I rebuilt my kitchen (almost done!) and planted a small garden out back. Elizabeth and I have been preparing for our wedding in May. I returned to work in November, but was laid off two weeks ago, and am now trying my hand at freelance work. But I still think about last year's adventure at least once a day. In celebration of today's anniversary, I'm taking the train to Harrisburg. I will cab to the spot I skipped last July, when I came home to Philly early and surprised Elizabeth for Independence Day. It will be nice to see my other home once again.

TRAIL SUMMARY VIDEO

2009-01-29T16:23:00.003-05:00

I took over 5000 photos while on the trail - thats over 2 pics per mile. Took me over three and a half months to go through them, sort them into folders, and then pick my 80 favorites for this 5-minute video. But it shows some of the majesty out there. Hope you enjoy...

THREE MONTHS

2009-01-08T18:41:00.004-05:00

Hi all. Three months since summitting, a pretty odd feeling to go from counting the time past summit in days, then weeks, and now months. Talked to a buddy, Matthewski, a few weeks ago who warned, "wait until its been as long as the time you spent on the Trail." That will be weird, but perhaps not as scary as the anniversary of my start date on March 30. Also got to see Snack, who with her friend Snap, are a great pair of great trail buddies. Orion and I only spent a week with them, in central VA, but it was memorable, and seeing her again last week was fun.

I am also finally turning in my 2000-Miler Application, the form the ATC uses to record thru-hikes. I will be official! The form asks the usual questions of dates, ages, etc., but also asks for a trail summary. Some hikers were able to complete theirs soon after summitting, but I could not, preferring to let the experience sit around for a while. But its done now, and I thought you might appreciate what I wrote:

MY TRAIL SUMMARY

For six and a half months I hiked the Appalachian Trail, from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine. The details of my experience are now fading, but what I am left with is how fully human the Trail allowed me to be.

The scale of the Trail and the time needed to thru-hike it perfectly interrupts the normal egotism of civilized life. I climbed the bare bones of ancient continents that humans never walked on. I felt tiny and timeless under the same moon and stars as our ancestors once stared at. I lived every day surrounded by the uninterested cycle of life, watching sprouts inch out of the humus, grow full and green, and slowly drain away in the cold leaving a final show of color. I woke to songbirds, walked with woodpeckers, slept with owls at night. I huddled through storms and slacked through heat and bent into winds and shivered in cold. Almost daily, I was reminded of my powerlessness and unimportance.

Through walking, I was given a perspective that is uniquely pedestrian, and therefore human. I know what a mile, a yard, a foot is. I know how they relate to my body. And consider my body – after the first month or two, I realized the Trail started doing more than exercising my body. It was bringing out the ancient homo sapiens frame buried deep within, the body given to us through two million years of walking and surviving and mating, the body that exists for most people as a memory buried under softened muscles and accumulated fat, a mere prop for hands and eyes. I used it as it was meant to be used, upright in motion, horizontal when resting, with the ability and need to consume all the fats and protein I could get my hands on.

I experienced a social humanity I was once certain did not exist. We moved from individuals and couples to become small tribes, as our ancestors once lived, banding together as support groups, unified by our common purpose. Get through the tough physicalities of the South, mental trial of Virginia, distractions of the mid-Atlantic, and cold emptiness of Maine. And I’ll never forget that magical milk of humanity: the so many friends, family, and strangers who ported us, fed us, housed us, and cheered us on. The innocence that surrounds such unrequited kindness is beautiful.

For six and a half months I enjoyed freedom of thought; what could be more human? Most uninitiated people are afraid of that idea, equating it with intimidating boredom. But without media distractions, without jobs that impose on your thoughts, without the material goals of life to concentrate on, minds will widen. We spent every day as gods, sitting atop mountains, observing society thousands of feet below us.

With a campfire to rest our eyes on, our minds and ears were free to converse, and not simply talk at each other. We shared stories, that most ancient and human way of conveying information. What’s more, people had the patience to participate as listeners. Our conversations grew wider and more intimate as the Trail wound on. Fears, joys, deaths, loves, nothing was too sacred. I grew as close to fellow hikers, people I might have known for two days, as I have with anyone, ever.

There is no meaning in hiking the Trail, despite all the searching for one that some people, myself included, do. It simply exists, and amazingly so. It is a conveyance, a catalyst, a tool for any of us to explore our own humanity, our instincts, our raw abilities. It’s a human construct, intertwined through nature, in whose service we may connect intimately to something as large as life itself.

SUMMIT

2009-01-08T18:36:00.004-05:00

Lookie what I has - summit photos!

The last stretch to the top

Celebration!

Not quite lonely at the top

SUMMIT PHOTOS !!

2009-01-08T18:16:00.004-05:00

67 Thru-Hikers!

My NH Buds: Me, Zen, The Thinker

The Rap Pose

Ouchie

The Naturalist

SUMMIT PHOTOS !!!

2009-01-08T18:04:00.010-05:00

My 100MileWild Crew (cw from top left): ZeroZero, me, NoAmp, Zen, Spidey, CookieMonster

The Flamboyant

The Standard - a fave

Say goodbye No longer a thru-hiker

2 MONTHS OUT

2008-12-12T17:01:00.004-05:00

WAY TOO LONG BETWEEN POSTS. My apologees, but been busy with the holidays and work, etc. Excuses, excuses. At any rate, its been 2 months since summitting Katahdin, and its interesting to note what aspects of the trip linger on. I have finally lost the "old man" walk when getting up after a long time seated or laying - though my knees and ankles did feel stiff well into late November. My weight has increased only slightly, but I can feel the muscles I had so wonderfully gained starting to atrophy into fat. Yum. The holidays are here indeed. The biggest physical remnant of the trail are the calluses on the sides of my toes and balls of my feet. Still large and knarly as of mid-December. Mentally, its been tougher. I expected to have a time rejoining this world, but I had no idea it would be this tough. I've forgotten so much, especially things at work - my account number for the carshare, how to use such-and-such a program, where these files exist on the network, how to fill out the TPS reports. Its very telling the things trail life completely eradicated or suppressed. I also find that I'm very easily stressed out - had to use a new program under deadline yesterday at work and could feel my heart pounding and breath shortening under the stress. Eight months ago, this was not a problem at all. My theory is that six months in the woods so completely destresses a person, that afterwards, anything slightly stressful becomes a major obstacle. Destressed life is amazing really. Simple pleasentries like good conversation and time with family are real joys. Fun things like cooking can be truly amazing. Of course there are some things in life like bills and grocery shopping that are torturous but simply unavoidable. But there are whole categories of things in life that seem so unnecessary, so painfully wastes of time. These I simply PREFER NOT TO DO. Not sure I've ever understood Bartleby the Scrivener as well as I do now.

BACK TO WORK

2008-11-19T11:50:00.002-05:00

Well, the savings account is finally running out and so it is finally time to head back to work. I started at my former job last week, but am only doing 3-4 days a week there, since our billable workload is not all that great right now. (While I was in the woods all summer, it seems the world economy has collapsed...) Part-time is really fine with me - gives me a little more time to finish the kitchen project and can better concentrate on my teaching gig at Penn too. Plus, I’ve become convinced (it wasn’t hard) that we Americans work way too much. Compared to the rest of the developed world, we get the least amount of vacation time and work the longest hours. As a result, we suffer the worst amounts of stress and sickness. I’m not against hard work – I’m all for it actually – but I want to have a life between bouts of intense work. My real complaint is that work takes up way too much time. Not just the 8-10 hours at the job every day, but the hour or two getting ready, and the hour or two afterwards it takes to unwind. And lets be realistic – its hardly necessary. Those of us in office jobs are lucky to get 4 or 5 productive hours each day, with the rest of the time spent distracted by the internet, phone and email interruptions, snack breaks, and conversations amongst the cubes. We even decorate our cubes as a result, trying to bring our lives into the space where we spend most of it. All this time spent at work hasn’t really earned us much either. Thirty years ago, when working-aged women often stayed home, a single salary could buy a house, one or two cars, three or four kids, and a vacation. You are fortunate if you can do that with both parents working today. And technology doesn’t help – despite all that has been invented to make our jobs more productive, the “curse of work” remains unrelieved, despite the promises of its inventers. If anything, new technology just promotes work-creep, as people are spend nights and weekends emailing and laptoping work. A friend of mine once worked for a huge accounting firm that favored this kind of over-work, promoting only those employees who fully gave their lives over to the company. How sad. The worst is that this overwork then ruins your “free” time too. You get home each night, you’re exhausted, and you zombie out in front of the TV. The weekend (all two days and one night) is spent mostly on ignored chores, and if there is time, squeezing in the sleeping, family time, exercise, cooking, dating, sunbathing, learning, drinking, sex, hiking, reading, volunteering, hobbies, worshiping, thinking, doing nothing, and everything else that makes life wonderful. Family time is minimal, and time with extended family is squeezed into the whirlwind holiday tours which are often more stressful than pleasurable. Once or twice a year (when you can fit it in to your work schedule), you squeeze in a vacation, and often these are spent doing some hyper-active travel, sightseeing, and sped-up relaxation. What goes missing is Play. Play is the anti-Work. Play isn’t video games or movies or sitting on your butt. Play can be hard work, but play is never Work. I consider myself an expert on Play, having spent the better part of 7 months at Play this year. I will write more about Play next.

THE IMPORTANCE OF NARRATIVES

2008-11-19T10:39:00.005-05:00

Story-telling is a lost art. Out on the Trail, with no distractions around and only a campfire to stare at (we called it “Hippy TV”), hikers depended on stories and good conversation for entertainment. The best thing about story-telling is that it really requires two people – the person telling the story is important of course – but the listener is just as important. It’s in the listener’s head, fueled by imagination, that any story comes alive. The storyteller can supply just the thinnest of details, but within the listener’s head, the faces of characters and look of the settings become realized. It’s too bad that in regular life, people are too often content to simply be talked at for entertainment. Television especially ruins the story experience – you sit down on the couch and are talked to and shown all the action and there is rarely any participation required from the viewer. Just sit and absorb the simplistic tales, clichéd characters, and of course 30% advertising. How often will you sit and watch two hours of TV and then not remember anything of what you just watched? In trail life, even mundane tales and bad story-telling become memorable. This is important too – because stories are how we learn about the world, pass on our traditions, and explore ourselves. Everyone can remember the short tales of our youth and the lessons that were either obvious. (I once spent a whole evening with other hikers recalling Aesop’s Fables and their little summary lessons for fun.) But it works for adults too. Since humans started using language millions of years ago, we told stories to each other: about the animals we followed for food, the constellations that mark the seasons, the examples of famous heroes and heroines, and even stories about the world’s creation. Stories are still meaningful today, despite (and perhaps due to) the distractions of modern life. One of the reasons Obama was such a compelling candidate and McCain was not, was because Obama consistently portrayed his would-be presidency as continuing the story of America. That story – our founding break from tyrrany and our ever-upward motion towards equality and freedom and opportunity, a country that always has the power to reinvent itself in the name of progress – is a very compelling narrative. It is baked into every American’s sense of self, and that view of our history has always had appeal across the globe. As a result, Obama’s election was very emotional for so many people. It was an amazing experience to ride across North Philly after watching the returns at a friend’s house and see hundreds of people pouring into the streets to celebrate. The next day, it was like another Phillies victory - the whole city felt proud to be re-born Americans. (As my friend Frank pointed out, I got back in time for Red October and Blue November – too bad for us Iggles fans it’s not looking like a Green December.) Pretty electrifying, but since narratives are so memorable, it sets up some pretty high expectations for the new President.

A TIME FOR CHANGE

2008-11-03T10:04:00.002-05:00

One of the joys of the Appalachian Trail was spending six months living on mountain tops. Being that high up, for that length of time, allows hikers to escape the flatland and exist in a raised dimension. We enjoyed a perspective usually reserved for gods, and were able to experience and process and think about the world in a scale beyond what daily life affords. Getting into that philosophical mindset wasn't immediate - we had to learn to think about space and time from such a scale. It took several months to get the daily routine and physical requirements of hiking to a comfortable background state, and several more to fully cleanse the mind of long-held belief systems, influences of mass media, taught educations, and the daily distractions of normal life. I was lucky enough to share that vantage point with several other hikers who were open to thinking about our world and interested in its future. As we went along, it became clear to us that the problems now facing humanity are of a level never experienced before. I don't intend to spend time here lecturing about how we are disrupting the earth's natural systems to an extent that endangers life itself, or losing the resources that future humans will depend upon, or how so many of us are living lives without meaning while polluting our bodies and minds out of distraction or desperation. There's plenty of other places to learn about the bad news. Most of the time, we hikers didn't like to dwell on the bad things either. It should suffice to say that life as we live it, especially here in America, is simply unsustainable. The time for change is coming, but whether it will be a catastrophic change brought upon us, or a renaissance of thought and action that we create ourselves is our choice. What we hikers discovered this summer is the possibility for this renaissance. Americans have often led the way when it comes to revolutionary thinking - the AT itself is but one example of our capacity. It was fantastic to meet so many others this summer, who are already involved in this renaissance - people from every walk of life looking at improving life for others, for themselves, for the future. People who long for real community, for simplicity in living, for places and activities that support good lives, for a holistic approach to problem-solving and solutions that don't create more problems than they solve. It's a very encouraging sign that so many people like this exist, and were taking a summer to spend time thinking and discovering. Obviously, this post is timed with tomorrow's election in mind - it is one of the few times we Americans can directly influence events at a large scale. I'm not going to plug any of the candidates, but instead urge my readers to go into the booth tomorrow with wide minds, thinking about the world from the vantage of mountaintops, concerned with the global scale instead of the personal, looking for candidates who will put our future ahead of any selfish present, choosing leaders who will help us move towards a more sustainable world.

PHILLY IS GOING CRAZY

2008-10-31T10:26:00.005-04:00

Maybe it really was the Curse of Billy Penn. The city's founder was apparently not happy about losing his statue's "tallest thing in town" status to some skyscrapers in the late 80s, and cursed Philadelphia to never win a championship in any major sport, despite our perennially great teams. (Last year, a miniature statuette of Penn was added to the latest and highest scraper as a CYA). But maybe it really required me not being here to see any games this summer. (I'm not being ego-centric, ALL phans here blame themselves for the teams' record). Either way, I can't tell you what a pleasure it's been to come home and watch the Phils make their way through the playoffs and win the World Series here at home. For a city that lives and dies via its sports, the mood here has been ecstatic this past week and the town is red with old and new baseball fans. I'm very lucky to have left the trail for a place like Philadelphia, and I'm constantly reminded why I love living here. It really is a rare place - a big city with all the entertainment and activity that entails - but also one with individual neighborhoods like Fishtown, where if I don't ever leave its boundaries (or leave the house in 3 weeks) I can pretend I live in a small town of 25,000. I feel for the folks who left the trail and went to live with parents or are stuck in cars in the suburban traffic lifestyle - believe it or not, that would be a harder transition than coming back to this metropolis was. To be sure, there's been a lot of change over the six months in town and some of it is disconcerting, like the best wig shop on Chestnut becoming another upscale coffee house. But the essential Philly-ness remains: less than 2 hours after winning Game 5, a guy came down my street pushing a shopping cart full of "official" World Championship merchandise for sale. So with civic pride, I'm heading downtown after this post to check out the big parade for the team, which will easily be the biggest gathering of people I've seen since walking through the July 4th festival when I stopped home this summer. At that point, I was halfway through the Trail and was wonderfully surprised by a cop who gave me an extra hoagie he had. (See above photo). Hopefully I can score a trail-magic pretzel today, but I fear I don't look so desparate without the beard. Why did I cut it off so soon?!

PS, finally got a look at my photos. I took a lot. And by "a lot" I mean an insane amount. More to come.

SHAVED MY BEARD

2008-10-29T13:08:00.004-04:00

Risked losing my magical trail-given powers by shaving off the majority of my beard to its pre-trail conditions. Very weird to look in the mirror afterwards, even weirder to feel my chin with my hands. Hadn't realized how much weight I lost until that point, and I regretted doing it immediately afterwards. The shaving came out of boredom. I caught a throat cold a few days ago and it's pretty nasty. I think during my time away from civilization, I lost my immunity to your European diseases. The cold has meant no working on the kitchen, since I'm at the point of putting up insulation and it's probably not a good idea to be breathing fiberglass with this throat. So instead, I'm forced to do what I've tried to avoid - lay on the couch and watch endless TV and movies and video games. Add to it the cold rainy weather and the delayed Phils win, and its a very frustrating and somewhat depressing experience. Since we have on-and-off internet at the house, I've ventured out to the local hipster coffee shop at the end of the block to use their wireless connection. I can at least write on the blog, which I've avoided doing since I don't have any photos for you readers to see quite yet. (The photos are on Elizabeth's work computer - I hope to get some up tomorrow.) Novel things still surprise me. As I write this, I got a cell phone call. I feel so connected, perhaps too connected. One of the joys of the trail is communication done on a simpler, slower scale. Friendhips are made after brief conversations, and maintained by sporadic and unplanned run-ins. You'd hike with someone for a day and be great buddies from then on, even if you didn't see them for weeks. Here in the real world, phone calls and scheduled visits are necessary to maintain relationships of any kind. Its not a bad thing, it just means more work and more thought involved.

LIFE AT HOME

2008-10-21T11:19:00.000-04:00

I’ve been home a week. It’s been almost two weeks since summiting, but my body is still very much in trail mode. I still have quite an appetite, though it’s nothing like it was during the day-to-day trail life. I will have to start watching what I eat, which is an odd sensation after eating whatever I wanted for six months – one of the biggest joys of the trail, really. My legs and feet are still recovering – I’ve gotten terrible cramps in my calves at night, and walking out of bed in the mornings is humorously old man-ish. Stairs are nearly impossible first thing in the morning. But once I’m up, I have newfound strength. I’m doing a major project in the kitchen which requires standing for long periods of time and holding arms overhead repeatedly – things I had trouble with before the trek, but aren’t a problem now. The kitchen project, which involves tearing down a wall, and installing new ceilings and wallboard, is a terrific way to adjust to homelife. As it progresses, my mood remains upbeat and the daily work keeps me from becoming melancholic about not being outdoors all the time. I did take an afternoon off yesterday to bike through town – I’ve forgotten how big a city Philadelphia is, and how quickly it can change in six months. Its also funny how my mental map of the city – where 3rd and Fairmount is, where such-and-such a store is – has been weakened. Ostensibly, I was looking for lighting stores to get ideas for the kitchen, but the ones I remembered are gone or now only sell high-end designer products. It seems the big box retailers have stolen all the business when it comes to normal consumer goods. I talked to Zen the other night, who has returned home to North Carolina and is in a little shock as he negotiates his return to work. He said it feels so static to remain in one place all the time. I understand what he means, but so far I haven’t felt it, despite (and perhaps because) my hiding out in the kitchen every day. The only truly irksome thing I’ve noticed is I get a lot less sleep here. On the trail, especially in the last month or so as the daytime shrunk, we slept for 10-12 hours every night, mostly in a satisfying and well-earned deep sleep. Here, the TV has you up til 11:30pm and the alarm has you up at 7am. No jumping out of bed in the mornings, excited for the day. So far, I’ve only had one trail dream that I remember – it was winter and I was with some trailmates and we had to cross a frozen lake, but couldn’t determine where the trail picked up on the other side. One final thought – before leaving the AT, we talked about what things back home would give us trail déjà vu. I finally emptied out my food bag yesterday and I can now say that seeing and eating slim jims and poptarts give me major trail déjà vu. Probably because I never ate these foul things before, but downed them regularly then.

THANK YOUS!!!

2008-10-21T11:12:00.000-04:00

This is long overdue, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who helped out on this grand adventure. It’s really too long a list to name everyone individually, but you know who you are: family members and friends who sent food, money, and words of support, folks who visited me on the trail and provided magic for me and other hikers, my employer for offering work when I return and generously providing postage while away, and anyone who helped support Elizabeth and Camille while I was away. I also want to thank my mom and dad specifically for introducing me to the outdoors at an early age and always encouraging my adventures, and my grandparents for helping install virtues like self-reliance and a love of discovery and travel. And of course, I want to thank Elizabeth for allowing me to go and supporting me without hesitation the entire way – without her this trek would still be an idle dream. I also want to thank anyone who followed this blog and cheered me along. No matter how tough it got, quitting was not possible while so many people were behind me.

View From The Top

2008-10-17T17:36:00.005-04:00

Shawn came into the office tonight, pre-happy hour, and we were able to download his trail photos, from about Virginia through to the end. Needless to say, it was a nervous moment when we plugged the camera card into the computer, hoping it wouldn't have somehow gotten erased!! So here are some photos from the summit of Mt Katahdin...

HOME AT LAST

2008-10-16T17:18:00.002-04:00

Finally made it home two nights ago. We had aimed for the Gaspe, but nearly to the Canadian border, we learned some of the parks we hoped to visit and mountains we hoped to hike would be closed. Plus, it was getting downright cold, and a trip that far north would've needed a few more days to make the long drives worthwhile. So, another time. Instead, Zen, Elizabeth and I hopped down the Maine coast, visiting Bangor, Acadia National Park, and Portland. The trip was probably the best way to meet re-entry, giving us another adventure and taking our minds off the loss of trail life. The tough thing about leaving the woods is that the hikers who made it that far not only were surviving the experience, they were thriving. Zen and I and the others had really carved out a life on the trail, and it felt every bit as real as life back home. This may be why Elizabeth and I were so nervous upon meeting each other at Katahdin. Its tough on a relatively young relationship to sustain six months apart, and though we knew the end would come and we’d be back together here in Philadelphia, I think both of us had begun adapting to life without each other. The Maine trip gave us a chance to get to know each other again on neutral grounds, and I proved a good idea. In the meantime, the trail is slowly washing off. Everytime a “first” happens – the first time driving, wearing jeans, cooking with multiple burners, riding my bike, etc – its an odd experience, both exciting for the novelty and slightly sad since it means the trip really has ended. Zen and I both found ourselves talking less and less about the trail, and withdrawing away from it to focus on new tasks. Here at home, I’ve begun tearing down a wall in the kitchen and dealing with my overgrown garden. The first day back, I washed and put away my equipment, and made notes about what my final gear list looked like (which I will share later). The oddest thing has to do with seeing old friends and neighbors. I’ve been hiding in the house since getting home, but have seen some neighbors, and each of them has innocently asked, “So, how was it?” as their first question. It’s impossible to answer this question with the succinct answer that people expect in passing conversation. It was six months away from this life, six months without responsibility for work or other people, six months of new adventures every day, six months of exercising my body and mind, six months of trees and birdsongs and stars. “It was great” doesn’t seem a fair answer.

Just a couple of photos

2008-10-15T14:28:00.008-04:00

Here are just a couple of the photos from our trip/reunion this past week. This was my first view of Katahdin, taken while driving into Baxter State Park on Wednesday morning... Here's where Keychain signed in for his final hike... (down in the yellow smudge) This is what Katahdin looked like from the closest campground, where I waited with several other families for our thru-hikers to come down. Creeper's dad had binoculars, and we could actually see the a little of the festivities on the top of the mountain. And here was my first view of him coming down off the mountain with some of the 60-something hikers that summited that afternoon... More to come... stay tuned!

KATAHDIN SUMMIT

2008-10-10T09:12:00.002-04:00

Hi all, heres a continuation from yesterday's post: Katahdin had indeed been closed to hikers for 4 days in a row. We heard reports of 50+ people waiting around Millinocket for days, the mood growing melancholy as some people had to leave without summiting. Fortunately for us, Tuesday was a beautifully sunny day with temps in the 50s and no clouds. We figured the snow and ice on top would melt and the mountain would be open for us the next day. (Most of the climb is on exposed boulders that were apparently covered with an inch or so of ice.) And to be frank, Zen and I were determined to make a summit effort on Wednesday regardless of the official rules. We had walked this far under our own effort and had no problem turning back if we reached a point where we felt unsafe. So, we entered the park and what an entrance! The trail at first follows an old road, enabling us to walk two abreast, with triumphal arches of birches lining either side. We passed a small pond with an incredible view of Katahdin, and then followed a calm wide river for a stretch. I couldn’t help but be reflective about all the amazing places I’d walked through, and all the amazing people who I shared those places with. We next ascended a series of waterfalls along Katahdin Stream and ended with beautiful ponds and views of the lesser peaks that surround Katahdin. Walking into the campground, a view of Katahdin’s shoulder let us know the snow was indeed mostly gone and the ranger there said he was sure it would be open tomorrow. We gathered around a fire for one last time, with some hiker friends who hitched out from town, telling our favorite trail stories and savoring our last night in the woods. No one slept well that night – too many Christmas Eve jitters. Upon waking, I could hear the sounds of vans dropping off hikers. The trails to the top were indeed open, and the flood of hikers began. The climb was pleasant until treeline, where it becomes a steep boulder scramble up and up and up. I could look up the ridge and see dozens of hikers ahead, all happy faces and shouting hellos to each other as the festive atmosphere overtook the moutain. I climbed over the false summit onto the flat tableland on top, and could see Baxter Peak and the famous sign about a mile ahead, with a huge crowd at the top. With the temps holding steady in the mid-50s and the wind all but dead, the sun was warm and no one was leaving. It really was the best way to summit – if we were going to have a bunch of people, we might as well have everybody. And what a party it was. The volunteer guide at the top counted 67 thru-hikers as we gathered around the sign, breaking out champagne bottles, passing around toasts and beaming with accomplishment. I knew most of the crowd, but it really wouldn’t be the AT if I wasn’t still meeting new hikers that morning. Everyone gathered for a group photograph, and a toast went up for all those fellow hikers who, for whatever the reason, couldn’t finish the trail. We each took turns getting our individual and small group photos with the “Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail” sign. We looked across all of Maine, shining lakes and smaller peaks below us, the gnarly Knife’s Edge trail curving away from us, and the kind blue sky above us. The trip down was fast, and everyone grew silent and lost themselves in thought, no longer thru-hikers. Elizabeth was waiting for me at the campground, all smile, and happy to be starting a new type of trail. We hung around for a while enjoying a beer and then drove into Millinocket to continue the party there. After 9 days, I was ready for a shower. I was the 432nd northbound hiker to register at the trailhead. If the estimates I’d heard earlier of 1300 hikers starting at Springer are correct, this is indeed a year for the record books. Over a third of those who intended to do the whole trail completed it – a huge increase in the completion rate, but still indicative of a tough trail to finish. The trail is a trial of physical and mental endurance, but everyone who sets out expects that. But no one expected it to be as much fun as it was. This will be the lasting character of the experience in my mind, and to repeat a quote I first heard months ago, the AT truly is the most fun I’ve ever had, interrupted by long walks.

THRU AND THROUGH!

2008-10-09T13:40:00.002-04:00

Lots of stuff to post about, but first let me tell everyone that this is one thru-er who is D-U-N, done. I summitted Katahdin just before noon yesterday, October 8, one hundred ninety-two days and 2,176.2 miles after starting up the approach trail to Springer Mountain in Georgia back on March 31. The 100-Mile Wilderness was a great stretch of trail that took us through the beautiful and endless north woods of Maine, but hardly a “wilderness.” More like a 100-Mile No Resupply. It is definitely a remote place, but there is a good amount of day trippers who come in via maintained dirt roads and since most of the area is owned by logging and paper companies, there is always the threat of development as these companies divest themselves of used land. In fact, a proposal now seeking approval from the state would bring a large resort and thousands of houses into the Wilderness area. Happily for those who would like to see this area conserved – it is really the last large undeveloped area in the east - organizations like the Nature Conservancy and the Appalachian Mountain Club (the group that manages the huts and trails in the White Mountains) are also pushing for intelligent land management. (AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative is detailed here: http://www.outdoors.org/conservation/wherewework/maine/index.cfm) For me, the difficulty of the Wilderness was centered on the time we spent without rest from the weather. It rained hard for three of the first four days, and then it was cold both day and night. Every day featured at least one large ford, which, with the rain, meant continuously wet shoes and socks. The treeline is fairly low, so even small mountains had us exposed to the mist, rains, and winds. My fellow hikers and I – Zen, Cookie Monster, No Amp, and Spidey – all prefer tenting, but spent most nights in shelters to share warmth and avoid putting up the tents in the mud. Related to the weather was the difficulty with food. I carried 8 days of food, with portion sizes that would have been perfect for an 8-day carry back in the South. But by this time in the hike, without body fat for insulation or backup energy, I start feeling decidedly weaker after three days of hiking and camp food. The temperature in the Wilderness didn’t break 50 degrees, and the lows were in the 20s and low 30s each night. Someone has told me you will spend an additional 1000 calories just keeping warm in weather like that – on top of the 5000 or so we spend doing the hike. By the fifth night, I was lying in my bag 2 hours after dinner, as hungry as ever and shivering. Very tough not to pig out on the rest of the food bag! To remedy the situation – I did want to actually enjoy my final week – I hit up Whitehouse Landing, a wilderness camp that caters to backwoods fishermen, hunters, snowmobilers, and of course hikers this time of year. Getting there requires leaving the AT and following a mile-long bushwhacked trail to a small dock on a vast lake in the middle of nowhere, sounding an airhorn, and waiting for a boat to show up to ferry you to the camp. There I had the famous one-pound burger and was able to purchase some more snacks and such. However bad the weather was during the Wilderness, it did set up a dramatic ending to this adventure. As we went over Whitecap, a 3600ft peak halfway through the Wilderness, we walked into hail, then sleet, then snow. The wind was strong and windchill was somewhere in the single digits – boy was I missing the gloves in that lost Caratunk maildrop! We began speculating – what would Katahdin be like, at 1600 feet higher? Did it receive snow too? Zen had the answer for us – he had run ahead to spend the night at Whitehouse Landing and took a floatplane ride from there. He got to see Katahdin from the air, covered in snow above treeline. After hearing this, we began mentally preparing for a cold winter climb at the end. However, it was tough to see Katahdin for myself and confirm the snow cover as we made our way towards the mountain. The weather started improving, but still Katahdin hid herself – the top half beneath clouds on Sunday, a little more revealed on Monday, and only the top peak covered on Tuesday. She was being coy! Zen and I camped on Rainbow Ledges Tuesday night – one of the last views of Katahdin – and that night she finally let down her guard and threw off the last clouds after the sun had set, showing us her sexy silhouette. The next morning, she was completely naked and welcoming, and we made our way into Baxter State Park. It was then we learned the trail to the top was closed, for the fourth day in a row. I will stop here and continue later – the check has arrived here at the AT Café in Millinocket, and Zen, Elizabeth, and I have “big miles” to do today as we drive north…

I-95 is lovely this time of year.

2008-10-07T18:00:00.005-04:00

Hello from my hotel here in Portland, about 4.5 hours from the trail, and from our favorite hiker. I got a call from Shawn this morning as I was preparing to leave, who reported that the trail to the summit was still closed ... so now there are even more hikers backed up in Abol Bridge waiting to finish! Hopefully tomorrow morning will be an all-clear and he and Zen (and many others) can hike on up. Either way, I'll be at Baxter State Park around 1 or 2 tomorrow, to either wait for him to come down off the mountain, or hang out with him in Millinocket until he can go up it. Hopefully the former, so we can go to Canada! The drive up from Philly was nice and uneventful - excellent leaf peeping along the way, and I was able to get a Connecticut and Massachusetts keychain to complete Shawn's set, courtesy of I-95 and I-90 rest stops along the way. I'll let everyone know tomorrow if the mountain is open or not, so stay tuned ... and keep your fingers crossed!!!! I know they all are anxious to finish. PS... on a total aside, after I picked up the car last night, I stopped by the Old Navy in South Philly, and saw Jay from season 1 of Project Runway. Random.

Text from the Trail

2008-10-06T09:46:00.003-04:00

I received this text message this morning, from Keychain:

"@L.namahkanta. snow on k. closed for past 2 days says rumor!"

Translated, this means “I am at Lake Namahkanta. There is snow on Katahdin, and supposedly the mountain has been closed for the past 2 days.”

I sent him a message back to see when he thought he’d summit given the weather. Luckily, I got a call back! Apparently Zen got some kind of floatplane ride (?!) and saw a lot of snow on the mountain, and rumors from ahead of them indicate that people were stacking up at the park, waiting to summit. It did snow on them a few nights ago, but today is a gorgeous day in Maine, and they figure the folks that have been waiting to hike up will likely go today, leaving less of a crowd for them, and they still plan to summit on Wednesday.

So, the plan to leave Philly tomorrow is still intact, and I’ll hopefully be with Shawn on Wednesday!

You Know He's Almost Done When...

2008-10-03T10:12:00.005-04:00

…the kitchen table has been reclaimed, and all the extra food your hiker didn’t need fits in one small bag. I haven't seen the top of this table in 6 months, and its quite exciting!

Just to keep everyone up to date, the "Getting Shawn from the Trail Plan" is to leave from Philadelphia on Tuesday, make the long drive up, and meet him sometime Wednesday when he is back from the Summit. I spoke with Shawn in Monson at the beginning of the week, and probably won’t hear from him again until I see him at the base of Katahdin since he’s going through the 100 mile wilderness as we speak. We picked out a meeting place at the base of the mountain, and if all goes according to plan, I’ll see him there! We will make calls to families as soon as we can, and I’m sure he’ll want to post about his summit here as well.

After the big reunion, Keychain and I (and Zen, too) are planning a short trip further north to see where the Appalachian Mountains end in Canada. We’ll be in touch with plans for a welcome home gathering (or two) with photos from his Thru-Hike once Shawn settles back into “real” life. Be glad I’m donating the extra food, or else the entire menu could consist of dried milk, tuna, and ramen noodles…

OFF TO THE WILDERNESS

2008-09-30T08:54:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update - still here in Monson. My mail drop still hasn't arrived after a week (and Priority Mail sending) so I am assuming its lost and moving on. Luckily, there is a decent market in town - enough to do a resupply for the next eight days. Very frustrating since this is the fouth time a mail drop did not arrive, despite ample time and 2-day "priority" sending. (Atkins VA, Kent CT, Caratunk ME, Monson ME). Each time, it means wasted effort and money for both Elizabeth and me. At this point, I'd recommend to anyone planning a thru-hike to avoid using the Postal Service as much as possible! As soon as I buy food, my hiker friends and I will head out. We are still aiming for reaching the summit next Wednesday, but I will try and blog as soon as I finish. The weather looks good today and the rivers we must ford should be back down towards normal levels. Plus, we've given enough time for the large group of hikers who left yesterday to get well ahead of us. No sense in crowding in for the last section. Farewell, final town stop!

LAST DROP, LAST TOWN, LAST 100 MILES

2008-09-29T08:16:00.006-04:00

Hi from Monson, Maine a tiny hamlet in the middle of the northern Maine forest, mile 2060-ish. This is the end! I got in yesterday with friends and found a full circus of hikers in town, all stacking up while the rainy remnants of a tropical storm move through. Us hardier types were happy to brave the weather for the last few days - the trail up here is insanely beautiful now that we've hiked into the peak foliage and no rain can disturb that. If anything, the leaves are even more intense without sunshine to compete with. At times, its like walking under a huge stained glass ceiling, with the light streaming down in yellow or orange. Plus, the rain makes for adventurous river crossings - we've forded big streams each of the last two days, with water above my knees both times. The good thing about fording is that once the shoes are wet from that experience, there's no problem walking through other puddles and mud pits anymore. When we arrived yesterday, there was no space left in either of the hostels here, and I was a little salty with some of the hikers who I know yellow-blazed up to Monson to avoid the rain. But, luckily, space was found at the Lakeshore House, which also houses the only bar in town - how convenient! You can image the scene last night was pretty raucous - two dozen or more hikers enjoying their final town stop before completing this long adventure. There's lots of friends here whom I haven't seen since Central Virginia, and even thruers I've never met before. Amazing to think I'm still meeting new people that started within a week of me back in Georgia. We are hoping everyone moves on early today now that the weather has broken. Unfortunately, Elizabeth's final mail drop hasn't arrived in time, and so I will have to decide whether I leave later today or early tomorrow. I did receive notes from other family members - thank you all so much. Monson is the start of the famous 100-Mile Wilderness, a stretch of Maine woodlands without any serious roads until Abol Bridge, near Mt. Katahdin. Once you enter, its very difficult to get out since there is no cell reception and the one or two logging roads in there carry no traffic. It means a huge carry of food, and the trail through this part is known for being boggy and host to waist-deep river crossings. It should be a grand way to approach Katahdin, which will loom over us towards the end. The forest should be spectacularly colorful throughout the wilderness, and its possible we may even get some snow at the higher elevations. Oh boy! At the end of the Wilderness is Abol Bridge, a tiny convenience store. Hopefully they have champagne there, because its only a brief hike from there into Baxter State Park to the base of Katahdin. Baxter is a neat place - a former governor of Maine bought the land and donated it for preservation as a wilderness park. This is the park's primary mission, and human needs are secondary to resource protection. There are only one or two campgrounds, and they are kept small and remote. Climbing Katahdin can be tricky - we climb more than 4000 feet to its 5200-foot summit, making it the largest single climb on the AT. Save the best for last! The peak is well above treeline, which is around 2500 feet here, and the summit can be blasted by winds. If Baxter's rangers feel its unsafe weather to climb, they will close the trails until the situation improves - all northbounders have had in the back of their heads October 15th, the date when the park closes its gates because historically the weather is too bad for climbing past then. I have attempted to climb Katahdin once before, in July of 2004, and was forced to turn around. I reached Pamola Peak, one of the three summits, and was about to head out onto the Knife Edge, a thin, rocky slice with thousands of feet of drop on either side, that connects Pamola with the true summit, Baxter Peak. A storm was supposed to arrive hours later in the day, but as I started out, the wind picked up suddenly, rain began to fall, and the temperature dropped into the low 40s. Being an inexperienced day-hiker, I only had a thin coat as protection, but I knew enough to get down as quickly as possible. Hopefully, Katahdin will accept my 2176 miles of penance and grant me a summit this time. If all goes well, the weather will hold and I will summit next Wednesday and Elizabeth will meet me when I come down the mountain. At that point, we will head to nearby Millinocket to rest and catch the others who summitted. From there I will try calling parents and such. Afterwards, Zen and Elizabeth and I plan to drive north, following the route of the International Appalachian Trail to its end at the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec. This is where the Appalachians drop off into the Atlantic, a fitting end to a half year's walk. Obviously, the end is on everyone's mind these days, despite the partying going on in town last night. Most hikers are feeling ready to be done, especially with the recent wet weather. Myself, I'm ready to do something different too - six months is a long time to spend walking around the mountains. I don't think I would want to do this or any other long-distance thru-hike again. (Elizabeth says I'm not allowed to anyway.) At the same time, it is such a beautiful life out here and I'm not ready to leave the simplicity and freedom that exists on the trail. Re-entry into the normal world is going to be tough. I talked to a friend named Banjo, who summitted last week. She says it was very scary coming down from Katahdin, no longer a thru-hiker. Friends she knew deeply for months were suddenly whisked away by relatives, and within 24 hours, she was back in her home, overwhelmed by the stimulation and not sure what to do without a white blaze pointing the way. I can already feel the emotions welling up, and expect to be a blubbery mess on that final day. The road trip to Gaspe is intended to ease the transition, and I plan to take a few weeks at home to work on some overdue house projects as a way to move on from the trail. But there will be plenty of time to post about how the aftermath goes. For now, there is still 115 miles left that require my attention. Into the Wilderness and beyond!

CARATUNK IS (SLIGHTLY) MORE THAN A POST OFFICE

2008-09-25T18:44:00.003-04:00

Greetings from Caratunk, Maine. I am staying at a deep-Maine resort that is between seasons and is offering hikers rooms for $10 a piece - the cheapest on the trail! Plus they brew their own beer and have a hot tub. This is the second-to-last town stop - only Monson lies between me and Katahdin. I crossed the 2000 mile mark two days ago, and at this point only 150 miles of Maine and the Trail remain. The Bigelows were an amazing range to end with, and we spent a very cold night at a campground in a small col between the two tall peaks to celebrate our last true mountain range. Since then, we've dropped lower and have passed by four huge lakes. Camped at one, which had a large sand beach - so I can now claim I did get to lie on the beach this summer; it just took me until late September. The days are getting shorter - even on the relatively low and easy terrain, its hard to make more than 13-14 miles each day. Plus, there is the timing of the ferry service across the Kennebec River. I hit the ferry this morning, which consists of a guy with a canoe. You'd have to be joking if you thought I might try to cross the river. I spent the summer hiking, not swimming. The river is as wide as the Schuylkill, six or seven feet at its deepest, but flowing faster than someone can walk. The ferryman told me only eight people attempted to ford the river so far this year - half came back and took the canoe, and the other half regretted it. Maine continues to amaze, though now that I'm back down below 2000 feet, its like I've stepped back three weeks or so in time. The trees are mostly green and its much warmer at night. There hasn't been rain for more than a week, but the ground still has plenty of water and is still muddy, though it tends toward tacky rather than soupy. We hiked part of the path taken by Benedict Arnold and 1200 other soldiers who in 1775 marched through Maine to invade Canada, hoping the French Canadians would rise up against the British too. Instead, they bogged down in the mud of Maine and showed up with half the men to Quebec City, a fortress atop cliffs with an uncaring population. Didn't work out so well. We have a few big hills and some more flatland before Monson and the 100-mile Wilderness. The end is near. A week or so ago, other hikers and I were ready and willing to talk about the end: what we'd miss (sunsets, the solitude of a tent); what we can't wait to get back to (eating fresh fruit and veggies, running water); and what would cause us trail de ja vu (tuna packets, hanging out with more than one bearded guy at a time). Now, the end is too close to talk about. Instead, we are having more and more quiet moments staring at the campfire, spending more time looking at the stars, and hiking in silence to better hear the forest. Trying to enjoy what we have taken for granted for so long.

STRATTON, MAINE

2008-09-21T13:56:00.003-04:00

Stopped into Stratton, Maine for a night while Zen and I wait for Monday so we can retrieve packages from the post office. The town has cheap lodgings and is a nice place to rest from a tough week of hiking. We went over beautiful Saddleback Mountain in a strong wind, well above treeline, making for a cold cold experience. The thought around camp that night is that at 100 miles further north, 2 weeks further in the year, and 1000ft higher, Katahdin is almost guaranteed to be freezing cold when we summit. We did spent the next night on Maine's second highest peak, Sugarloaf, which was also windy and cold at the top - but we stayed in the ski resort's open summit house with its wood-burning stove. From the summit, Katahdin is clearly visible, though still far away. We could also see that the next range of mountains, the Bigelows, will be our last large range. After that, the trail drops and stays fairly low, with an occasional lone peak to climb over. Between this town and my next stop in Caratunk, we must ford several rivers. One of these is the largest un-bridged river crossing on the AT, the Kennebec River. A canoe ride is offered to hikers crossing this river, as unpredictable dam releases upstream make is a very dangerous ford - a hiker died while crossing it in the 80s. Some hikers still attempt to ford it, with swift currents and water up to the chest. The weather has given us picture perfect blue skies for the last few days, and the forecast shows it continuing into this week. In good weather, Maine is a real treat. The birches are bright yellow, and the lower maple forests are changing more rapidly now that there's been a few frosty nights. Should be a good show by the time we get to the 100-mile wilderness. My body has recovered from the beating it took in the Whites and southern Maine. Feels nice to not hurt every time I stand up!

RANGELEY, ME

2008-09-17T14:04:00.004-04:00

Hi all from Rangely, an attractive small town here in the wilds of Maine, where I'm stopping in for resupply. Its only the third day since resupply in Andover, but that town only offered snack food. One of the joys of thru-hiking is eating like a ten year-old, but two days of sugar is enough. We had a few days of rain as the remnants of Ike came by, but yesterday and today have seen gorgeous weather and the rest of the week looks beautiful. This state is tough when the weather is bad, but when the sun is out and the views are open, Maine is quite a place. We've been hiking past many lakes recently and its nice to see them left undeveloped with only a cabin or two on each. This area of the state is close enough to attract the crowds from southern New England, so its nice to know not everything is being built upon. I don't think we will spend the night, despite the strong temptation of karoake at the local watering hole. The weather is too nice to stay around town, and we're trying to take advantage of the woods while they last. Supposedly, on really clear days, the next mountain we go across - Saddleback - has views of Katahdin. So, literally, the end will be in sight. Lots of mud with the recent rain, though nothing like we experienced in Vermont. And the Maine ATC, which maintains the trail in the state, definitely likes their reputation as a wilderness. The few log crossings over wet areas are often broken and rock and root hopping is the norm. We've been lucky in that the rivers we've had to ford so far are all low, allowing us to hop rocks across. But soon, we will have to ford some more serious rivers, so I will have wet boot days to look forward to. My gear is starting to fall apart with the wear from 5 1/2 months. I've had to replace a second rod in my pack, my water filter, a broken pole tip, and repair some torn clothing in the last few weeks. I thought my second pair of shoes would make it, but they've become a liability with the wet walking, so I've asked Elizabeth to send up my old heavy boots. Hopefully, everything else will manage the next few weeks. The Maine forest has been a delight. The leaves are still slowly changing, but the forecast calls for a few nights of below-freezing lows, which should snap them into color. Really looking forward to that. Moose tracks and scat are everywhere now they are in rutting season, and we heard some coyotes barking at each other last night. No signs of bear yet, but they may be down in the lower areas, filling up on berries right now. Hope all is well, I'll write again from Stratton in a few days...

MAINE AT LAST

2008-09-14T19:53:00.007-04:00

Maine. For many months, its been a far-off destination - the answer to the question "where are you hiking to?" that other dayhikers and tourists always ask. And now I'm here at last, and have to answer the question differently, with "Katahdin". I crossed the NH/ME border a few days ago, passing a small sign posted to a tree in the middle of nowhere: Welcome to Maine, the Way Life Should Be. And by that, they must mean life should be exhausting. The transition into Maine from the Whites isn't "seamless" as someone suggested - in fact, it becomes harder. The mountains may not be as grandiose as the Whites, but they are more rugged and the trails are rougher and more unkempt. And as we get further north, the treeline drops and the temps become colder. No more camping on mountain tops! Two days ago, we went through Mahoosic Notch, often billed as the "toughest mile on the AT." For a full mile, the trail goes along the bottom of a big canyon, with steep cliffs on either side, and the bottom is filled with boulders ranging in size from tires to full tractor trailers. There's no real "trail" there, its more of a scramble over, around, and even under the boulders. Lots of scrambling up tilted rocks, jumping from rock edge to rock edge, climbing with hands instead of poles, sliding down rock faces, and even squeezing through holes under large slabs. Last year, a moose died in the notch, having broken his leg in a fall. Supposedly someone shot him before he slowly starved to death. My path took me next to his skeleton right at the beginning, which made for a "oh, what am I getting into?" moment. But I made it through, which is more than the moose can say. It took just about 3 hours to do the mile - a little slower than a more typical average of 2 miles per hour. Obviously its quite a challenge to do the notch with 40+ pounds on your back, but thru-hikers up the anty by challenging each other to NOT remove their packs at any point. Proud to say I kept mine on the whole time, despite having to go backwards through one really tight squeeze. Its only been a few days, but "wild" is exactly how I would describe Maine. The views from the peaks look out on a vast forest, disturbed only by logging roads. Its a rare treat to have such an amount of undeveloped land in the eastern US. Someone once described Alaska as Maine on steroids, but I would describe Maine as more like Alaska's grandfather. Old granite mountains only recently uncovered by ice, mature forests with huge birches and spruces, moss covering everything, and moose scat is everywhere (though I haven't seen one since NH). I am staying at a hostel tonight in Andover (mile 1,930ish), which has maybe nine other buildings - an old logging town with a definite frontier feel. The hostel is a great old wooden building with lots of different rooms upstairs, and when I asked the owner if it was always a hotel, he says he's looked at old pictures and there's always a few ladies in dresses hanging out on the upstairs porch. So yes, always a hotel of sorts. It rained most of the day today, which made for a muddy trail, and I earned a nice bruise on the knee after taking a spill. Nothing serious, but took a nice photo of blood running down my leg with the rainwater. The body is definitely feeling tired - the Whites and Maine are like a totally different trail than the rest of the AT. But nothing will stop me or any other hiker now with less than 300 miles (and perhaps only 3 weeks) left. Still a large stretch of tough going to get through, and then the famous 100-mile Wilderness at the end, but I'm coming for you Katahdin!

I'm tired just looking at the map...

2008-09-09T17:18:00.005-04:00

Let's go back to the beginning, when we started with our ten feet of crazy map that gave its name to this blog. For some more perspective on just how far Shawn has come, take a look at this... and then read on to see what he's been up to lately!! His estimated end date (as of this morning, pre-rainy-day off in Gorham) is October 4th.

GOIN NOWHERE IN GORHAM

2008-09-09T13:15:00.005-04:00

So, here we sit in Gorham. It is raining all day today and over breakfast Zen, Thinker and I made the executive decision to spend another night here in town. Later tonight and tomorrow will be clearing and we'll push hard this week to make up the miles. Rest is needed too. The rocky and steep trails of the Whites have beaten my body up. I've had no knee problems this whole trip until the Whites and my feet are meaty stumps at this point. It won't stop me, but it is kinda fun to watch them swell up overnight. The next bit of trail looks difficult too - someone asked a southbounder how the transition into Maine will go, and she replied "seamless."

It does feel great to be entering the final state of the AT. Autumn has already started in the boreal forest of the higher elevations - birches are turning yellow and dropping their leaves across the trail. Down the mountains a bit, in the mixed hardwood forest and some of the early maples are already turning red-orange. Of course way down in valleys like the one Gorham sits in, its still summery green. But the cold nights are giving us the signal that autumn is arriving even here, and pretty soon we'll be pushed out of the woods whether we are done the hike or not. Baxter State Park closes its trails to hikers on October 15th, but we should be done by the first week in October.

So, some chores and errands, but a mostly lazy day of sitting around and watching television. Its hiker Saturday!

THE WHITES ARE OVER

2008-09-08T17:43:00.006-04:00

Hello from Gorham, NH, mile 1880ish - under 300 miles are left. Most of these will be in Maine which I will enter in 2 or 3 days. For now, rest. Traversing the Whites was the toughest part of the AT and easily some of the toughest hiking I've ever done. The trails are steep and often require climbing sharply sloped rock faces, which can be slow-going - especially in rain. There are few flat areas, and climany ascents and descents along the ridges. Five major gaps, called notches here, mean huge drops and climbs of several thousand feet in short distances. We tended to average 1.5 miles per hour, about 10 miles per day. Here is a little more detail about the past week:

The weather started out iffy as we went over Moosilauke and the Kinsmans, which may be the toughest climb on the trail. We spent a night doing work-for-stay at the Lonesome Lake Hut and slept in their dining room. Then we spent a half-day and night resting in Lincoln, NH at a house whose owner invites hikers to stay. Chet is a former hiker who suffered massive burns in a cookstove accident and after a recovery that took years of surgeries and drugs (and millions of dollars), he now hosts hikers at his home. Very cool guy. My cousin Robert paid a visit and acted as trail angel for us thruers - thank you for the fun time and we'll get together for a hike at some point.

The weather cleared and was beautiful as we climbed Franconia Ridge, which peaks at the 5,200 ft Lafayette. The sun was great for warmth, but the wind was gusting up to 50mph along the exposed ridge. This was our first distance run above treeline and the views were outstanding. Lots of dayhikers were out on this Labor Day, and as tourist attractions, we got to answer many questions about our trips. The trail turns right onto Garfield Ridge, and after watering up, we spent the night on the lee side of Mt. Garfield's summit. Cowboy camped and watched the sunset and then the sunrise with an amazing array of stars between them.

The next two days continued the good weather and at the end of the second day we climbed onto the exposed Presidential Ridge. This is an alpine zone that is essentially tundra - you'd have to go a thousand miles north to find similar environments. We camped on Mt. Eisenhower, enjoying the sunset and the purple glow of Mt Washington, just 2 miles ahead of us. At this point the clear weather ended and clouds came in and dropped overnight, first covering Washington and the highest peaks and then lowering to our peak next. When we woke in the morning, we were in a dense fog and the wind had picked up to 25-30mph. No one wanted to leave their bags but they were getting soaked, as we had cowboyed sans tent here too. So, up and march through the clouds with 50ft visibility, looking for the manmade rockpiles called cairns ahead, since there are no trees to blaze and the path on bare rocks is easy to lose. Warmed at Lakes of the Clouds Hut and lunched at the cafeteria atop Mt Washington after the last grueling climb. On the way along the next ridge, the trail crosses the cog railway which takes tourists to the top. As per tradition, the shorts came down, and the full moon came early for some of the passengers.

The rest of the Presidential Range is exposed as well, making for over 12 miles above treeline that we covered that day. We spent the night at a very very crowded Madison Springs Hut and the next morning we decended back into the trees on a very windy and exposed ridgline that was above the clouds. Rested at M&M's house and then tackled another 3 days of big peaks, rain, and cold evenings.

TRAIL MAGIC IS THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

2008-09-05T14:20:00.011-04:00

Hi everyone - The Thinker, Zen, and I are resting here in North Conway, New Hampshire at the vacation home of a former thru-hiker named M&M. I met M&M and her boyfriend Pootz in Georgia on March 31, my very first day, while going up the approach trail to Springer Mountain. They had thru-hiked the AT last year (in fact they met on the trail) and were back to do the approach trail and provide some trail magic. I spent most of the hike talking to them, asking them questions, and was the first to benefit from their trail magic - two beers to end my first day with! M&M had mentioned a place I could stay once I got to the Whites, but of course I had forgotten all about it until she emailed me last week. So, here we are enjoying delicious home-cooked beef stew, beers, and ice cream and watching movies. Trail magic is a fabulous gift and I can't wait to pass on my good fortune to next year's hikers.

So this afternoon is a perfect time-off from hiking the Whites. The Whites are tough. Easily the most challenging terrain of the AT thus far, possibly of the entire trail. But the most rewarding too. We just spent 5 days going over Franconia Ridge and the Presidential Range, doing about 10-13 miles per day - the lowest mileage since the beginning. We were fortunate to have some incredible weather for most of those five days - the weather was so benign that we actually spent nights on Garfield and Eisenhower peaks, above treeline. I should warn any kids out there that it is not only technically illegal to camp above treeline, but its very dangerous given the changeable weather the Whites are famous for. Best to leave it to the professionals like us. I can't describe the incredible sunset and sunrise from Garfield but I can say that we received some comeuppance while on Eisenhower - the night started warm and clear with a fantastic view of Mount Washington, but we woke up deep in a cloud with 30mph winds. The mountains were clearly angry about our presence at night, because the bad weather continued all day, socking us in for our climb up Mount Washington (which is really rather typical - its cloudy there 80% of the time.) The weather broke this last night and this morning's climb over Madison had some stunning views once again.

The AMC, which runs the huts and campsites and maintains the trails in the Whites, does an excellent job with everything. Its amazing the Whites aren't a national park, given their beauty and history and natural importance. But the non-profit AMC and the Forest Service run the area as effectively as the National Park Service, and so it provides an interesting alternative in the world of recreation management. My only complaint is that the Appalachian Trail, admitedly a newcomer to the AMC and other entities in the Whites, is clearly of secondary importance. The trail is barely blazed and uses existing trails (and keeps their names), and there are few free campsites or shelters for thruhikers, who are unused to paying for nights in the woods. A few more facilities for us would've been helpful. We've stayed at two AMC huts - Lonesome Lake and Madison Springs - doing work-for-stay at both, which requires minor duties in return for sleeping on the floor. Both huts were very relaxed, albeit crowded, places. The "croos" who operate the huts and carry up supplies via trails are amazing to watch - they really are great teams and reminded me of the crews I've seen work on tall ships.

So, we will enjoy a rest here today and get back on-trail tomorrow morning to complete the Whites. Just a few more days left in New Hampshire and then the wilderness of Maine!

How much is left?

2008-09-05T11:20:00.008-04:00

We have a map on the wall here at the office that I've been marking each time I talk to Shawn, or get an update on his location. From the picture here you can see the green thumbtack I marked on Monday, after I talked to Shawn over the weekend- they are almost through the White Mountains, and you can see very clearly how little of the trail he has left. Its only about 300 miles from where he is now, to the end.

Today's update: They are near Pinkham's Notch (a bit north of the green thumbtack), and got to spend two of the last 5 nights on top of mountains! A trail friend he met at the very beginning of his journey has offered he and his buddies a place to stay (and shower) tonight, and then its maybe 2 more days or less into Gorham, NH. And, he’s still right on schedule!!

Trail Update

2008-09-03T17:13:00.004-04:00

Hello from Philadelphia - From what I hear, things are going well on the trail. The weather has improved, and with it, so are spirits. Shawn is somewhere between Lincoln and Gorham, NH, which leaves him with only about 4 weeks left. I spoke with him this weekend; he had the opportunity to have dinner with his cousin Rob on Saturday night, and they had a great time.

A BIG thanks to everyone for the continued letters and treats … as Shawn has been receiving them, he mails them home to me for safe keeping (the letters, not the treats unfortunately), and its been wonderful to read all the words of encouragement he's been receiving. So thanks, from the trail manager, for your help in keeping him on track!

These days Keychain is very close to his original schedule... putting him at the end of the trail on Mt. Katahdin on or near the 4th of October. So, if you're thinking of sending a last package or card to his mail drop in Monson, Maine, I'd make sure it was there by the 21st or so of September.

GLENCLIFF, NEW HAMPSHIRE

2008-08-28T17:21:00.005-04:00

Hi all from the hamlet of Glencliff, mile 1,778. Less than 400 miles left! How small is Glencliff? There's four houses and one of them is the post office. I've received the last of my winter gear here and boy is my pack heavy. No more lightweight backpacking! In order to fit everything in, I've got to get rid of the accumulations of summer, so no more patchouli oil or town clothes. Zen and Thinker and I have had great weather since our 3-day stay in Hanover. We've been able to camp on top of mountains both nights out, with amazing skies overhead. Few things in this world beat watching the sunset on one side of your tent, seeing the Milky Way and an amazing amount of stars during the night and then viewing the sunrise from the other side of the tent. On one peak, we could see from Stratton Mtn back in Vermont to Mt. Lafayette ahead in New Hampshire - almost 185 miles of the trail! Tonight we are staying in Glencliff - one of the houses here lets hikers camp in the lawn and shower and gives rides to town. Tomorrow, we will climb Mt. Moosilauke, the first of the Whites and at 3,600ft, its the biggest climb of the trail so far. Immediately following the peak is one of the steepest downhills on the trail to Kinsman Notch, and then right up again. This is the pattern of the Whites - tall peaks and deep notches between ridglines. Within a few days I should pass by Lonesome Lake Hut, one of the first of AMC's huts and the one my cousin Amy worked at for a summer once upon a time. Health is good, though everyone has beat up bodies. My feet, particularly my right, is hurting. After 3 days off in Hanover, it was angrier than it was hiking day after day. It will last though and I'm not concerned about it. My spirits are doing fine too after the low point in Vermont. The weather is a big part of that and it looks good for the week ahead. Passing the 400 mi mark also helps get it in my head that the end is near. Thanks for all your well-wishes and all the other cheer and comfort that family and friends have provided. It means a lot to me to know everyone is watching, hoping for me to complete this thing. Slowly but surely, I'm getting there! P.S. Saw my first moose on the drive to the store tonight - a young male, huge, wandering around in the road. Hopefully I get to see one on foot...

THEN THERE WERE TWO

2008-08-24T15:00:00.002-04:00

I've made it to Hanover, just across the Connecticut River into New Hampshire. What a pretty town too, with lots of restaurants and outdoor seating and Dartmouth's beautiful campus right in the center. Its no wonder there's 50 or more hikers here right now, taking time off, resting up, collecting themselves before heading into the toughest sections of the trail. Collecting winter gear too. Almost everyone receives some additional gear in Hanover or nearby. And the new weight can be frustrating to bodies grown used to the low-weight summer packs. I've doubled the amount of clothes, and with the full food bag, I may very well be back up to 42lbs. And I haven't added my winter sleeping bag yet either. Yay! I am taking at least one full zero here for rest, fun, and to see my Grandpa and Aunt Sharon who graciously drove 2 hours just to take me out to lunch. And just like the other times I've met up with family and friends, I was reminded of how freakish my facial hair has become. I really am sporting one of the more impressively large beards out here! I am here with The Thinker and Zen, who are lounging at a cabin in Vermont right now before I join them this afternoon. We are probably leaving tomorrow at some point - don't want to stay too long and get too stuck in the town vortex, as some hikers find themselves. But we also want to let most of this group get out in front of us - it will be no fun to fight for spaces in the huts of the Whites later this week. Hopefully we can also slow down enough to let Labor Day crowds have their time on the big peaks before we come through. The White Mountains aren't a National Park, but they get more visitors than almost every true National Park. The Appalachian Mountain Club, an organization that's been around far longer than the AT has maintained trails and campsites in the White Mountains for over a century. They are probably most famous for running the series of "huts" in the high peaks - eight or so lodges that offer bunk accomodations and meals for guests. The only problem with thru-hikers is the price, which are somewhere around $90/night - way too high for a thruer's budget. So, most either skip the huts (hard to do in some sections) or try and do work-for-stay at them. AMC also charges for backcountry camping spots and shelters in some locations, another bone of contention with thruers who generally stay for free where ever we can. All the charges and rules and such are aimed at protecting the natural resources, but have the effect of "gentrifying" the trail as it goes through the Whites. The southbounders I've met said we will definitely feel like second class citizens. So, should be an interesting experience. The weather report looks great, and hopefully remains that way!

A SUNNY DAY IN VERMONT

2008-08-21T18:41:00.002-04:00

Hello from the village of South Pomfret, VT - mile 1700ish. Zen and I stopped in to see about snacks at the local store here and found a cute library with dial up. The weather thankfully has turned and today was our best yet - 82 degrees and completely blue skies. But I got to tell you for a while there it has not been pretty. Temps in the 60s and rain for 12 out of 14 days at one point. Tons of mud on the trail, and unhappy stories from southbounders who have experienced New England's wettest summer on record. Vermont has ended a number of thruhikes this year - in fact my buddy Vachon has decided to go home after feeling like he's got what he wanted from the trail experience. A number of others skipped good portions of the muddy trail and waited out the bad weather in towns. I know my own low point came in the last few days, when a huge series of thunderstorms re-wetted the mud that had dried up a bit and I caught some odd cold that has given me a fever and chills. Plus I miss home, miss Elizabeth, miss Camille and all the normal things. Yesterday, I began planning how I could get a train to Philadelphia from Hanover. But it's amazing what good weather and improving health will do for spirits. The last week or so hasn't been all bad either - some fun sites and experiences despite the weather. My first reaction to the mud was to push hard. I did a 22 mile day, my largest since Maryland, and my third largest ever. It was all to get to Stratton Mountain, which I did, and slept in a firetower that night under one of the few clear nights we've had. Pretty cool experience. Climbing Killington, the highest peak on the AT in Vermont was a huge operation, but had an amazing 360-degree view as a reward, with the Adirondacks to the west and Whites to the northeast. We pushed hard to get off the mountain as the temps were falling (it was 43 degrees in the valley that night - would've been in the 30s up top) and ended up staying at the wonderful Inn at Long Trail. Great pub there and a swell hiker discount for rooms that included a yummy breakfast. We have now left the Long Trail and are headed east to Hanover, New Hampshire. Cutting across the ridges means more pointless-ups-and-downs (PUDs), but brings us closer to the farms and towns of the real Vermont. Today included a stop at a farm stand for a delicious pie and ice cream, and now this village. But the days are growing shorter, and everyone like myself who was once carefree and wanted to take the trail slowly is now switching gears and getting ready for the final few states. Hope all is well with everyone. Thanks for all the well wishes -- its nice to know you guys are watching closely. Makes me feel much better, or at least like I'm not doing this alone.

75% done with the AT!

2008-08-20T10:41:00.003-04:00

Another quick update from the trail - Keychain, Zen, and the Thinker spent last night just past Killington, VT, and will hike on today. The best news is that they passed the 75% mark the other day, followed shortly by the 500 miles to go mark. Shawn plans to be in Hanover, NH, this weekend... and once they cross into New Hampshire, its only two states to go!!!

More mud...

2008-08-15T16:39:00.002-04:00

Keychain has reached Manchester Center, Vermont! I just had a very brief chat with him, and he's currently trying to find his way around town around to see if he can get to a library to blog. In the meantime, I'll update you with this tidbit: in the last 11 days, its rained for 9 of them. I get the feeling that morale on the trail is a little low.... I think I speak for all our faithful readers (hi families!) when I say, "Go Keychain!" "You can do it!!" and, of course, "Mud, shmud."

WELCOME TO VERMUD

2008-08-13T16:09:00.003-04:00

Hi all from an unplanned stop in Bennington, Vermont. 11 states down, only three left - of course these are three of the hardest states. Vermont isn't normally regarded as an ultra tough state, but this year it is. One word: MUD.

It rained every day I was in Massachusetts, but the trail there is newer and better made, so only small mud puddles exist. However, as soon as you cross the border into Vermont, the AT joins the Long Trail - the world's first long-distance hiking trail. The Long Trail runs from the Massachusetts line to Canada's border, and is a decade or so older than the AT. The AT shares 97 miles of it through southern Vermont before turning east to New Hampshire. As an older trail, the Long Trail doesn't have modern techniques to drain water from the trail and often times the trail itself becomes the drainage path for heavy rains. The trail is now a giant string of mud puddles in flat areas, and you walk through cascades of water on the inclines.

And rain there is. I saw on TV that Vermont usually gets 1.3 inches of rain in the first half of August, but has received 5.8 inches so far. Funny, I've heard there's a drought now affecting Virginia.

The hiking takes on a totally different aspect in these conditions, and the 17 miles I did yesterday were spent doing a continuous rock-hop and slog through ankle-deep mud and water. Its truly exhausting, and more than a little treacherous. At one point, the trail walks across a boardwalk on the side of a marsh, but the water is so high, the boardwalk was submerged under 8 inches of water. I took my boots off and did that part barefoot, but any effort to keep dry was truly pointless. Within a half-mile of starting, my boots and socks were soaked and by the end of the day, my feet were shriveled prunes. And you can imagine the smell this might produce.

None of us expected these conditions and all of a sudden, the normally skip-able town of Bennington has become filled with northbounders who are a bit shocked. Thankfully, this is one of the few towns in New England with reasonably-priced motels, and a group of friends and I split a room last night. Today was thankfully sunny and there were tents and bags and clothes and socks and boots drying all over the lawn of the motel today. Hopefully the trail has dried out a bit today - no one is in a big hurry to get back out there.

Its funny. For the last few weeks, most of us have noticed that the southbounders we come across are pretty dour people - very serious and quiet and not very joyful and social like the NOBOs tend to be. We just figured the SOBOs are a more independent type, but now we understand why - they've been walking in this rain and mud for 600 miles. One guy told me that in Maine they walked through knee-deep muck for four miles at one point, with no possible way around.

Already, a few NOBOs have called it quits. I know I've had thoughts of doing the same if the weather keeps up like this. For four months, I've been really looking forward to Vermont and northern New England, but this is not how I wished to see this part of the trail. But its a challenge to rise to, and I keep hope that conditions will improve soon.

Come on sunshine!

Mud, Mud, and More Mud

2008-08-13T12:25:00.003-04:00

Word from the trail is that Vermont (where Shawn is now) has experienced almost double its usual rain fall in the past month ... which apparently is making for some muddy hiking, wet shoes, and pruney feet! The hikers (Keychain, Thinker, Brama, and some others) made it to Bennington, VT, last night. It was an unplanned stop for Shawn, but he decided to stay over last night as a treat after a few days of walking in the at-times calf deep mud and water. I say good call! They're heading out today, and on towards Manchester Center, VT.

THERE ARE 5 BARS IN DALTON, MASSACHUSETTS

2008-08-09T12:00:00.007-04:00

Hi all. The drive due north continues as I am now in the former mill town of Dalton, MA - mile 1560ish. (Don't have my guidebook on me right now). I am staying at the house of a gentleman named Tom Levardi here in town. His house sits right on the trail as it passes through Dalton and for more than 30 years, he has been kind enough to let hikers tent in his yard and sleep in his basement, take showers, and use bicycles to get around town. Trail magic!

I entered Massachusetts five days ago, and the trail has become increasingly mountainous as we go through the Berkshires, with muddy and rooty pathways typical of northern New England. In many respects, its been a nice change from the low elevations of the mid-Atlantic, and our legs are being reminded what real mountains feel like. We are also slowly getting away from the gentrified area of western Connecticut, with its cute but expensive towns. Places like Salisbury didn't have a grocery or a pharmacy, they had an epicure and an apothocary. Though I admit it was kinda fun to walk around with my giant beard and suntanned skin, filling my water bottle from a public fountain while Wall Street wives drive by in porsches.

But the biggest change is the weather - no more heat and humidity, and the highs have dropped into the low 70s, upper 60s. I'm sure we'll experience hot weather again before the summer really says goodbye, but its a welcome change. Still, the skin is not used to the cooler weather, and without any body fat to insulate me, it can be pretty chilly at times. In fact, everyone is now wondering just how cold it may get in northern Maine in late September.

The other big change is the mosquitos, the latest pest to accompany us. They were hinted at in Connecticut, but are in full force here in Massachusetts, with its many bogs and marshes. You can read my arms in Braille. We try to get a fire going each night to smoke them away, but sometimes the wood is too wet and you have to cook dinner inside the tent.

There's been several highlights from the past week or so: Before leaving Connecticut, I had the best burger of my life at Toymaker's Cafe in Falls Village, and spent the night stealth camping on a high meadow with a view straight from a Hudson River School painting. Climbed out of Connecticut on Bear Mountain, the state's highest peak, and camped that night in Massachusetts in gorgeous Sages Ravine, a deep cleft with a beautiful creek and lots of swimming holes. Up and over Everett Mountain the next day, with views of the Catskills to the west and Mt. Greylock far to the north. After that, the trail crossed a marshy low-lying area where mosquitos attacked with no mercy. I slept in a greenhouse at the Corn Crib farmstand near Great Barrington, where another trail angel allows us hikers to stay for free. Further on across more mountains, we stayed at a pre-war cabin on Upper Goose Pond, given to the Park Service by its owners and operated by the AMC and ATC free for hikers. It reminded me very much of the my grandparents' camp on Pleasant Lake in New Hampshire, and was even painted in the same dull red color. A storm came over that night, and there's nothing like a fire in a big stone fireplace while it pours rain outside. Yesterday, we stopped by a great pick-your-own blueberry farm and grabbed two 20oz bottles' worth of delicious blueberries.

One other interesting thing: Connecticut and Massachusetts is where we encounter lots of the southbound thru-hikers. Most of these hikers started at Katahdin between mid-June and mid-July - late enough to avoid the worst of the muddy thaw and black flies in Maine. Its a hard way to start though, and there are far fewer SOBOs, as they're called, than us NOBOs, which makes for a more independent and possibly lonely thru-hike. They start off in the hardest area of the trail, and the success rate amongst them is lower than ours - some say only 10% of SOBOs will complete the whole AT. Those who make it will probably reach Springer Mountain, Georgia in early December.

Physically, everything feels fine now that the weather has calmed down. My leg rash has healed, with the help of a diaper rash cream. The legs muscles are gearing up once again, and the tougher hikes have sparked my appetite. The feet are tired though, and I'm taking a "near-o" here in town to rest them, having done only 3 miles into town this morning. I haven't had a full zero-miles day since Duncannon, PA, and I'm feeling it.

Sensing the end of the trail is somewhere now on the horizon, many of the hikers are pushing hard for to get north and finish. For my last month and half on the AT, I've decided to slow my pace down and really soak in as much of the trail as possible. Its caused me to loose track of some of my faster hiker buddies, especially those from New Hampshire and Maine who are gunning for home. But I know tons of people behind me as well, and meet new people almost every day - its always amazing to finally meet someone who started 2 days after you. Plus, there is a large crowd of thru-ers ahead of me right now, heading for the Long Trail Festival in Vermont. While it was fun in the begginning, I'm not into the crowds anymore. Besides, for practical reasons, its not a good idea to go through the Whites in large numbers since places to stay are few and far between - so its a good idea to start spacing out now.

And by slowing down, I get to have some really interesting conversations. I've spent most of the last week with an guy named Vashon, who is a dairy farmer from the Shenandoah Valley - his trail name is French for "tender of cows". He tells me all about organic farming practices and the need to "buy local" while I tell him about best practices in urban planning. We've been doing a moderate pace of about 14 miles a day, but this will probably slow as we go over Massachusett's highest peak (Mt. Greylock) and into Vermont's bigger mountains. I'm looking forward to Vermont in particular, as it's supposed to be one of the most beautiful sections of the trail, with great towns to rest in.

The library is full this Saturday, so I must move on. I will try to write more in a few days, since we pass through a few more towns before leaving Massachusetts....

Guest Blog!!

2008-08-08T15:33:00.015-04:00

Our guest blogger today is Kim, Shawn’s sister. She (along with her husband Daryl and sons Gavin and Carson) hosted Keychain, Zen, and Donnie, as well as the whole Keychain family, when the hikers came through the Delaware Water Gap in July! (p.s. if the photos look blurry on your screen, click on them, and you can see them in a little higher resolution!)

Hi everyone! … I'll share with you all that we had a great time when Shawn passed through our area on his journey hiking the Appalachian Trail...he looks great and seems strong and healthy (in body and mind). We met him in the Delaware Water Gap on Thursday around noon...actually spotted him and a bunch of other thru-hikers sitting outside a local bakery...what a reunion! Gavin and Carson had made some poster board signs for him saying 'Welcome Uncle Shawn'...let me just say before going any further, that the anticipation of waiting for Shawn to reach the DWG had been mounting for months, so for Gavin especially he was so excited the whole time Shawn visited...and it took Carson a good couple of hours before he felt confident that the guy with the beard (and body odor) was really his Uncle Shawn...

Anyway, we took him and two other thru-hikers (trail names, Donnie and Zen) back to the house for food and shower and we washed their clothes twice over...sat and had some beers (well some people had beer) and talked and talked about the trail...Shawn and the others shared so much interesting stuff about their experience and on a personal note I'm a little envious...just a little...it was great just to sit and listen...we had an awesome dinner that night, steak, chicken and fish (caught by Daryl) along with salad, pasta salad and fruit and ohhh ice cream and pie and brownies for desert...the hikers did not leave a crumb...like mom said, it was like feeding growing teenage boys...after dinner we went for a quad ride where Daryl hooked up the trailer to the back of the quad and we had five kids and six adults on the back...as you can see from one of the pictures Daryl let Dad drive the first part of the trip, it was a little bumpy going and coming back home was even more bumpy...we came home in the dark...it was awesome to just let go and have a great time with everyone...Daryl and the boys and I camped out that night (all four of us in the tent was a first time experience)...poor Carson didn't make it to the tent before he fell asleep on the dining room floor......

The next morning we all found food and the got ready to go swimming down at the Kittatiny visitors center on the NJ side of the DWG...we packed lunches, took a blow-up tube and had an awesome time...although we did hike from the PA side to the NJ side, therefore we had to cross over the river using the Rt 80 bridge...ummm...a little long, a little scary and it was extremely hot and humid...but it's all part of the trail experience! The river felt so good though....

So, then after sometime, we said good-bye to Shawn, Zen and Donnie...as they left for Sunfish Pond up the NJ side, where they were planning on camping that night...and we hiked back over and went home (they boys fell asleep before my car even left the DWG). It was such a great feeling to be able to host Shawn and his friends and our family...and then to be able to accommodate sleeping arrangements for seven people inside our home was awesome, something Daryl and I had never done before....During that week before Shawn came on Thursday I had prayed...and my prayer was kinda simple just asking God to bless the time that we had with our family and with Shawn (knowing it was going to be short) and to make it something that would leave a great memory for everyone...of course then I prayed for the safety of the hikers and Shawn as I'm still doing today...enjoy the pictures...

Quick update with more to come tomorrow....

2008-08-07T17:23:00.003-04:00

Hi all - First… a long overdue update!! I spoke with Shawn both Tuesday night and this afternoon. He has crossed into Massachusetts, and will be in Dalton late Friday or early Saturday. For those keeping track, this puts him about 2 days ahead of his original schedule. I’ll update the whole list when he gets there so everyone is on the same trail-page.

Second, tomorrow’s blog update will feature both a surprise guest blog entry, and photos from our trip to NYC….

Stay tuned!

GOODBYE NY, HELLO NEW ENGLAND

2008-08-01T16:54:00.007-04:00

HI all from the very cute and very posh town of Kent, Connecticut. I have only a half hour left of library time and lots to cover, so here goes...

Since I last wrote at Delaware Water Gap, we entered the "deli-to-deli" portion of the hike which was nice in that almost every day there were stops for ice cream or fresh produce or thick sandwiches, but it also meant not bothering to stop in towns - therefore no internet. Strange too, since this is the most urbanized portion of the trail - basically circling the New York City suburbs. New Jersey, as Elizabeth mentioned, was indeed nice. The rocks petered out as we went north to High Point, where the AT takes a right hand turn and follows the NJ/NY boundary. This is a very pretty area of New Jersey, climbing small ridges and passing over many flat marsh areas on boardwalks. Many perceptions of the Garden State were changed. lizabeth's parents also discovered the beauty of the area when they visited me and a hiking buddy named Zen at Vernon, NJ. We had holed up at a motel for a day, watching copious amounts of bad TV (a redundant phrase really) and taking a needed rest from the heat and humidity. The Burlings were nice enough to take us both to dinner and drive us to a supermarket and several other places as I looked for a NJ keychain. No success in that endeavor, but a few days later, another hiker found a frog keychain left behind by some Jersey schoolkids that I have written "NJ" on, so it counts.

Then we hit New York and life changed. The location of the New York portion of the trail is an oddity, in that its far from any traditional definition of "wilderness footpath". When the AT was first conceived, they used older trails already in existance like those in the White Mtns of New Hampshire, or the Long Trail in Vermont. The first section purposely built to be part of this new Appalachian Trail was built in the brand new Bear Mtn State Park, offered up as a location by the New York City Hiking Club in the 1920s. Naturally, the AT organizers at that time were happy to accept that location to get the ball rolling on their dream trail. Thus, New York hosts the oldest (purposely built) section of the AT, and 90 years later this section runs thru suburban NYC. The mountains are mountains in name only really, more like foothills, and we cross endless ridges to reach Bear Mtn, and then "course correct" across more ridges to get to the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Not many impressive views, and lots of interaction with suburbia and NYC residents, which leaves hikers sometimes wondering what exactly we are doing. Furthermore, sometimes it seems the local trail clubs purposely route the trail over punishing rock climbs just to make it tougher. Some of us geography buffs wonder if relocating it further north thru the more impressive Catskills wouldn't be a better choice.

But the AT is what it is, and I follow it faithfully. The weather has been nice with little rain, but the classic mid-Atlantic heat and humidity day after day can wear one down. Everyone was ready for Connecticut and the mental progress into New England it brings. We are now heading almost due north, with only 50 miles of Conn. and 90 miles of Mass. before crossing into the bigger mountains of Vermont. Hopefully as we move, the humidity will drop. After 50ft of climbing, I'm totally soaked, and over the last 3 days a mean hurting rash has developed on my inner thighs from rubbing with my, ahem, bits and pieces.

So, a welcome break here in Kent, the first true town since Del. Water Gap, even if its a bit posh for hikers. (Our fine colonial inn starts at $175 a night...) From here, the AT follows the Hoosatonic River north, which is a welcome flat section after so many ridge climbs.

I should mention that NY wasn't all bad. Bear Mtn. Park is absolutely beautiful, an asset which NYC is very fortunate to have. And there is direct train service from there and a few other places to the City. I took advantage of this to meet Elizabeth for one last rendevous before heading north for the final 2 months. We stayed overnight in Manhattan, and I can't describe the headtrip of moving from the woods to New York. Its almost so completely opposite the trail. No one looked twice at me, and when I mentioned to a few people that I had been hiking for 4 months they never reacted like it was anything odd. Seen it all, I guess. More and more, our interactions with the real world are strange - TV and shopping and cars and the waste and boredom in regular life all seem so unneccessary. A fellow hiker named Burrass once wondered if we're the only sane people out there. More on this later - Kent Library is closing!

New Jersey and Hikers. .. Perfect Together.

2008-07-23T10:48:00.007-04:00

A morning update from our intrepid hiker... I find it hard to believe, but today will be their last day in NJ! Apparently NJ has been a big hit with the hiking crowd, especially after the rocks of Pennsylvania. According to Shawn, "PA is the old and busted, and NJ is the new hotness." Of course, as a former Jersey girl, I could have told him that.... His NJ adventures included a send-off from his family at the Delaware Water Gap (photos to come), a call to me from the top of the trail near my favorite camp, Fairview Lake (my LTC folks will appreciate that), and dinner and a grocery store run last night with my parents in Vernon, NJ. Yesterday, during the hottest part of the day, Shawn and Zen sat in an air-conditioned hotel room watching very dated movies, and making a couple calls to me to search IMDB for casting information... Today, he and Zen will hike 10 miles and be in NY, and one state closer to Maine!

DELAWARE WATER GAP, PA

2008-07-18T09:58:00.003-04:00

Hi all from PA's last stand. I'm writing from my sister Kim and her husband Daryl's house a few miles from the trail, enjoying the first home cooking I've had in months. Lots of food to fatten up with and a little rest period while another heat wave rolls through - temps are supposed to get into the mid-90s today, with high humidity. Not the best weather for hiking, so Zen and Donny (two fellow thru-ers with me) are saying the word for today is "swimming." As in swimming in the Delaware River. The river flows parallel to the trail through the picturesque Delaware Water Gap National Rec. Area, the last of the Natl Park Service units we will travel thru on our way north. The federal government bought up the lands along the river in the 50s and 60s in anticipation of putting a large dam at the Water Gap, but 30 years of sustained opposition to the project finally caused it to be killed in 1992. As a result, the Delaware remains one of the largest undammed rivers in the US, and it is a pleasure to tube or canoe. Also interesting to know that I could just stay in a tube and eventually float to the riverfront parcel in my Philadelphia neighborhood of Fishtown, where various forces have been trying to put a giant slots casino before encountering similar public opposition. Hopefully it won't take 30 years to kill that bad idea. But I digress. Speaking of pleasures, its nice to have completed PA, one of the longer sections of the trail. I feel like I may have given it a bad rap in my previous post, but 140 miles of rocks can really get your anger up. I can say that the Superfund climb out of Palmerton was really "super-fun," with exposed rock climbs and views all around. Maybe they should allow zinc smelting along other parts of the trail to open it up a bit. So after swimming, we will continue across the river and into New Jersey, hoping to stay near Sunfish Pond tonight. This pond is the southernmost glacial pond on the trail, visibly marking where the trail enters the area once covered by an ice-sheet. From here on out, many ponds and lakes and marshes (and mosquitos) will greet us, and instead of cobbles and loose rock that the freeze-thaw cycle gives PA, sheets of rock to walk on and exposed roots to trip over. But most thru-hikers are looking forward to another milestone New Jersey represents: the deli-to-deli hike that occurs in New Jersey and New York, where lots of delis and other eateries exist near the trail. So, bring on the reubens!

PAMLERTON, PA

2008-07-15T10:59:00.006-04:00

Hi to all from Palmerton, PA, mile 1,245, and where the trail crosses the Lehigh River, for those of you Pennsy dwellers. The town is a delight, with lots of cheap restaurants, two grocers, laundromats, etc. And the borough's government is nice enough to let hikers stay and shower for free in the basement of Borough Hall (the former jail). Sitting here in the library right now, housed in a beautiful old bank building. All of the PA towns have been good stops, which is important for morale since the trail here has turned into a nightmare. After Duncannon, the AT climbs up the blue ridge, here called Blue Mountain, and stays on it for the rest of PA. And that's where the trouble starts. One word: rocks. Everyone knew PA would be rocky, but I don't think anyone guessed just how rocky it would be. Most of each day is spent walking, stumbling, hopping, and falling across endless piles of rocks of varying looseness and size. At its worse it's pure bouldering, walking on top rock ledges slanted 45 degrees for a mile or more. At best, the trail follows old forest roads that still have some minimum amount of loose rocks, usually with the pointy end facing up. My boots, new since Duncannon are already beat up. Add in the heat and humidity of July in southeast PA. Sprinkle with thousands and thousands of gypsy moths flitting around in your face. Then subtract the water, since the rocky soil drains so easily and the area is under-supplied by rain this year. Most decent water sources require walking a half-mile steeply down off the ridge, then carrying it all back up. The real high, or low, point will be the climb out of Palmerton - the toughest part of the trail until New Hampshire. It is straight up a rocky ledge, one thousand feet in a half-mile, without any shade. No plants grow there because of heavy-metals contamination by a former zinc smelting operation - its actually an EPA-administered Superfund site. All part of PA's industrial past, which is not a new thing on the trail. Last week, we walked through a ghost mining town, right past a few culm piles and mine entrances seeping out orange acid mine-drainage into the water system. The rocks and envrionmental problems aren't just the only thing intimidating about PA. The southerners amongst us are discovering that brusque curtness that Yankees are known for, and there's more garbage and grafitti along the trail than we've seen elsewhere. And then there's the gunfire - everyone is astounded by the amount we've heard since entering PA. There's been gunshots every day, both day and night, much more than heard in any part of the South. Its especially disconcerting given that the hunting season hasn't started yet. Some of the hikers took a side trip to Cabella's giant flagship store near Hamburg, PA and were amazed at this 250,000 square foot retail "experience", complete with an enormous gun selection and hundreds of stuffed versions of the animals we aren't seeing on the trail. No doubt about it, PA loves guns. Fortunately for the state's reputation, the views over farmland are truly beautiful and PA's town stops have been pleasant and quirky. Allen and Jeff, two friends from high school/college, joined me for 30 miles of hiking. After 14 miles of rocks and heat the first day, we stopped at little Port Clinton and its collection of lawn ornaments. Had the biggest cheesesteak I've ever seen at the Port Clinton Hotel. The next night we climbed and camped at the Pinnacle, which may just be the best viewpoint along the AT in PA. Had great fun watching a small town's fireworks display from 1000 feet above the town. After Jeff and Allen took off, I've been traveling with Zen, The Thinker, and Vashon, thru-ers who have never been thru PA except on foot. We stopped for beers and live music at a restaurant where the trail crosses Rt. 309, and landed here in Palmerton last night for more good food. So, from here its just 37 miles to Delaware Water Gap and the end of PA. I will be visiting with my immediate family there, eagerly anticipating home cooking and a place to rest before pushing on. Like everyone else, I know I'm excited about entering New Jersey. For me it means the start of walking away from home, but I'm looking forward to seeing places I haven't before and getting up into the bigger mountains of New England.

DUNCANNON, PA

2008-07-07T20:09:00.004-04:00

Hi again. I've returned to the trail after my few days off in Philadelphia and am enjoying a beer and the free internet access at the Doyle Hotel and Bar in Duncannon, PA. This is a great town for hikers, a real town with laundromat and cheap hotel and a real bar. The Southern towns never had much in the way of bars. The first decent looking bar appeared in Boiling Springs, PA, but it was pretty upscale with lots of brass and country club furnishings - not exactly hiker digs. It was like being in that movie Caddyshack, and I'm Rodney Dangerfield. So, the Doyle is a great find. I took the train from Philly to Harrisburg and cabbed it to Duncannon. I will stay at a campground tonight on the edge of town and hike out tomorrow morning. The weather looks terrible for hiking - hazy hot and humid with plenty of thunderstorms all this week. Hopefully there will at least be a breeze on the ridgetops. Supposedly, the famous (or infamous) rocks of Pennsylvania begin after Duncannon. I've switched to my second pair of shoes and am feeling confident the new shoes will help the dulling pain in my soles that arose last week after my long mileage days. I know it may seem to some readers of this blog that all I'm doing out here is partying, but try and remember that its usually a week or more of solid hiking in between posts and when I get to a computer I tend to write about what I'm doing in town that day, which is often partying. Some folks from work asked me where is the introspection? Where is this alone-in-the-wilderness period? Well, I can honestly say it hasn't been that introspective yet. I'm discovering the Trail has several phases to it. The first part, the race to Damascus for the Trail Days festival was a physical challenge - 500 miles to toughen the body up. The second phase was the 500 miles of Virginia and this part was the mental challenge. Everyone is physically fit for Virginia, but the heat, less-than-spectacular scenery, never-ending forest, and lack of milestones was a trial for the mind to get through. I feel we've entered a third phase since Harpers Ferry, and I've yet to define it. It may be an introspective phase, it may not. Stay tuned. I can say that one challenge for me personally during this phase is visiting home. It was great to see Elizabeth and friends and my house and sweet kitteh Camille, and it was even fun to experience the disorientation of suddenly being in a huge city after being in the woods for so long. (We went out to a crowded restaurant for breakfast and all I could do was stare at all the other people.) And its such a nice feeling being at home and being able to relax and spend time with Elizabeth in a domestic environment - I could easily imagine saying I've had a great experience, hanging up my pack and calling it quits. But I want to finish this trail badly. Psychologically it will get tough. I've been walking towards home until now, but now that changes. I'll have to change my focus - instead of home on the horizon, it will be New England, and eventually Mt. Katahdin itself will rise larger and larger in the mind.

YOU NOW HAVE A FRIEND IN PA

2008-07-06T16:25:00.004-04:00

Hello all. I'm sitting in an internet cafe off the trail - waaay off the trail. I'm back in Philadelphia, spending a few days at home. I'd say its rest time, but we're walking around a ton and the distractions of the city are many to someone who has grown used to the quiet of the woods. But it is nice to spend time with Elizabeth at home, as we (well mostly me) eat our way across town today. I left Harpers Ferry fairly quickly - while it certainly is a very beautiful and historic place, it is not a very hiker-friendly town. No groceries, no drug store, no laundromat, no hostel, no central meeting place. The Appalachian Trail Conference has its headquarters there with a small lounge, but most hikers spend a half-day at best in town because there's no place to stay. Pushing on did give me the opportunity to race to Duncannon, PA and take a train from nearby Harrisburg to Philadelphia on July 4th, surprising Elizabeth, who didn't plan on seeing me until the 5th. She was quite surprised when I called her, described how I missed her, said I wished I could be there, then knocked on the door. Despite moving fast, I was able to celebrate a few milestones and traditions. I didn't do the 40-mile 3-state challenge by getting through all of Maryland's 40 miles in one day. But I did do my longest day yet, going 30.8 miles through most of Maryland, making it across the Mason-Dixon line into Pennsylvania, and stopping 8 miles later at 10:30PM. Very exciting that I've hiked back to my home state, very exciting to be out of the South, very exciting to cross roads I know (Route 30, PA Turnpike, etc), and VERY exciting to find decent cheesesteaks and hoagies. The next day was a lighter 15 miles, and I got to spend a few hours relaxing by a pool at Caledonia State Park. Also met a couple of young guys who are skateboarding from Chicago to New York - their link is shredamericafilm.com. The next day we crossed the physical halfway point, at mile 1088.1, which was pretty emotional. Everything is now closer to Katahdin than Springer Mtn, and its a reminder that this adventure will end at some point. Traditionally, hikers celebrate the halfway point by downing a half-gallon of ice cream at Pine Grove Furnace State Park in PA. I doomed my attempt early on when I ate a hot dog right before the ice cream, and also chose Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough as my flavor which is not a smart choice. But I did manage to eat half of it (2 pints worth), followed by a cheeseburger, while watching the others groaning as they finished off the last soupy spoonful. The trail went through Boiling Springs, PA the following day, and I would've hit the internet, but the town has no library that I could tell. It did have a public pool with twisty slides though, which was welcome on a hot day. This was the beginning of the Cumberland Valley, where the trail crosses 14 miles of flat farmland before climbing onto PA's Blue Ridge. The rest of PA will be on this ridge - those of you who travel the PA Turnpike NE Extension (I-476) might know the Blue Ridge as the mountain the highway tunnels under right north of Allentown. I left the trail in the middle of the valley to hitch into Harrisburg, and will begin again there on Monday afternoon, probably arriving in Duncannon on Tuesday. Elizabeth and I drove out to Duncannon where there was a big hiker feed on the 5th, and got to enjoy the atmosphere at the Doyle Hotel and Bar, probably the friendliest hiker bar on the AT. Lots of fellow hikers sped up or slowed down to hit the feed, and its nice to see faces I haven't seen in a while. However, its definitely clear that there are nowhere near the numbers of people on the trail as there were only a month ago. The miles and time are taking their toll. Still, the folks left are strong and I'm with a solid group of swell friends who will be fun to hike with, once I catch back up with them. One other thing for any friends and family who want to do a nifty day hike - I am suggesting meeting up at the Delaware Water Gap and hiking up the NJ side of the gap where there are amazing views from the Kittatiny Ridge. Probably about 7 miles round trip, with a 1200 foot climb, so plan a half day. I will post later about time and date, once its clearer to me....

As of today...

2008-06-30T18:19:00.004-04:00

Shawn is in Pennsylvania! I spoke with him around 4, and he said he was about 10 miles from the PA border. That being said, he's running about 5 days ahead of his original planned schedule. Since I'm having a little trouble updating the excel spreadsheet with his dates on it, I'll post the update here for your mail-drop fun ... this is subject to change as he hikes along, but for now, here's the updated schedule from here on out. I don't think he'll be at the top of Katahdin on September 27th, as I know that he will be slowing down as he gets closer to Maine, but this should give you an idea of where he will be for the coming months (Any of the stops with ** have a planned mail drop - addresses are the same as the original list.).

7/5	1,135.3	Duncannon, PA **
7/10	1,205.3	Port Clinton, PA
7/15	1,281.6	Delaware Water Gap, PA **
7/19	1,344.9	Vernon, NJ
7/22	1,390.5	Ft. Montgomery, NY
7/27	1,453.7	Kent, CT
7/29	1,486.4	Salisbury, CT
8/3	1,556.6	Dalton, MA **
8/5	1,579.9	North Adams, MA
8/9	1,638.4	Manchester Center, VT
8/16	1,734.3	Hanover, NH
8/20	1,777.7	Glencliff, NH **
8/23	1,803.5	Franconia Notch / Lincoln, NH
8/30	1,878.3	Gorham, NH **
9/3	1,919.7	Andover, ME
9/10	1,988.4	Stratton, ME
9/13	2,025.0	Caratunk, ME
9/16	2,061.7	Monson, ME **
9/25	2,161.1	Abol Bridge, ME
9/27	2,176.5	Katahdin, Baxter Peak

BIG WRITE UP PART 2 - NORTHERN VIRGINIA

2008-06-28T11:58:00.005-04:00

Back for a second post. So, naked hiking day completed, we had a nice stayover in Luray, VA with Elizabeth, Johnny Thunder and his girlfriend Theresa. The next day, I got my Virginia keychain, said goodbye to the ladies at Skyland Lodge. As Johnny and I entered the woods to get back on the trail, we came across Orion, and then the skies opened up. Luckily, Skyland's tap room was not far and we had a place to wait out a huge thunderstorm with marble-sized hail - while enjoying a few beers! By the way, those of you who are sick of Yeungling might find it curious that it's sold all over the South as a premium domestic beer. Finally got back on the trail and ended up stealth camping near a troop of boy scouts at a picnic pavilion. The next few days were more of the same, with easy trails, afternoon storms, and Skyline Drive becoming more and more annoying. Most of the thruhikers by this point were over Shenandoah NP - it is amazingly crowded on weekends, and having Skyline Drive so close to the trail really ruins any attempt at a quiet wilderness experience. In fact, the original creator of the trail severed his relationship with the Appalachian Trail Conference when they agreed in the 1930s to move the trail to make room for Skyline Drive (yes, the AT is older). He felt having a big tourist road right next to the trail would ruin the AT, while the ATC leadership felt it would give more people access to the trail. Both were right. If you are really interested in what happens when roads are brought through are National Parks, I suggest reading Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire" which is about his time in Arches NP in Utah in the 60's when a road was brought thru, completely changing how visitors experience the park. Anyway, most of us were glad to be out of the park simply because it means only 40 miles until West Virginia. As a buddy Wavepool says, "she's a moody lady, Virginia, tough to get along with. And despite trying a long term relationship with her, I'm ready for a brief fling with her sister." And what a last 40 miles. Very boring trail, lots of rocks, no views, completely overgrown and seemingly forgotten in parts, no good swimming holes. And to top it off, the "rollercoaster" - a 13 mile section where the trail climbs up and down over 13 viewless and rocky ridges. I had gotten only 10 miles into it and was in a foul mood when I came across Orion, sitting with a big smile on his face and playing his mandolin. "Keychain, so glad to see you - get ready to change your journey." Orion had been to Linden, VA to pick up a mail drop, and there he met a party of guys celebrating a friend's release from jail. A guy named Tom called Orion over, and in short time offered him the use of his canoe to paddle down 15 miles of the Shenandoah River. He just wanted gas money to come pick it up. So Orion went looking for me, and several hitches later, we had beer and a camping spot on the river where Tom would drop the canoe the next morning. True to his word, at 7:30am the next day there was Tom and his canoe, and there we were, "aqua-blazing" past the Roller Coaster, skipping over rapids, getting tan, drinking beers, and enjoying the fun the river provided. And the river kept on providing. Two hours into the journey, we found a dented aluminum canoe, abandoned on a mud island. It floated well, with only a slow leak, and so we commandeered her and gave her the trail name "Proud Mary." We caught up with Tom at the end of the 15 miles, returned him his canoe, and told him we were heading on towards Harpers Ferry in our own. So, Orion and I set off in Proud Mary for another 15 miles, stopping overnight at a hidden riverside camping spot that had a picnic table and clean-running stream for water and cleaning up. The only hitch was that our map showed five "falls" on the river below where we gave Tom his canoe back, and no one we talked to could tell us anything about those falls. So on the second day, we strapped everything tightly to the Proud Mary, and headed into the unknown. Luckily, the "falls" turned out to be minor Class 2 rapids, but they caused excitement and were fun to run. We ened up at Route 9 in West Virginia, unable to get around a power plant dam. One call to Tom, and he came to return us to the trail, taking the Proud Mary as payment. What a guy! What a way to leave Virginia! What an addition to this journey! So Orion and I did end up walking the last 6 miles into Harpers Ferry, West Virginia - our 5th state, our 1,000th mile, our halfway point in time, our near-halfway point in mileage. When we arrived this morning, we promptly got our photos taken at the Appalachian Trail Conference's headquarters for their record books. We are the 460th and 461st thru-hiker to pass through this year, out of an estimated 1,200 that started in Georgia. A proud moment indeed! I plan on staying overnight, but accomodations are tight since the major hiker hotel is closed for renovations. There is talk of doing all of Maryland's 40 miles in one day tomorrow, but I'm not sure I want to push that hard - plus I need to find a town in Maryland that sells keychains. We shall see. However, I can say that the next time I am able to blog, I will be in my homestate of Pennsylvania!

BIG WRITE UP PART 1 - SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK

2008-06-28T11:27:00.007-04:00

Hello to all the faithful readers! I am sitting in the public library here in Harper's Ferry, WV - the halfway point (at least psychologically if not physically) of the AT! Since I didn't make any stops since seeing Elizabeth, I haven't had a chance to blog, and have a lot to tell you all. So I will try to write a couple entries - this one will concern Shenandoah National Park. After I last wrote, I left Waynesboro and my buddy Orion and I entered the Shennies, which I will describe as a thru-hiker's vacationland. The trails in the Park are nicely maintained and not very steeply graded - a decent hike for any weekender, but a breeze for anyone who's already walked 900 miles. Additionally, there are 4 waysides along the route that serve food and delicious blackberry milkshakes, as well as a few campgrounds and other places to get water and food and showers. Not very backcountry at all - I didn't have to filter my water at all. Not to mention, Skyline Drive is parallel and close to the AT at all times, so whenever you feel like blue-blazing around some pointless climb, you may. Orion and I were able to punch out a 27.3 mile day the first day, and I followed it with an 18 mile day in an effort to meet Elizabeth on time. Orion would've come with me, but fell in with a couple Germans who flew to DC and bought a cheap van and are traveling across the country, with Shen. NP as their first stop. They were feeding and drinking Orion up pretty well, so he was slow for day 2. I admit, I did blue-blaze on Skyline Drive a few times for these days, but only for a total of 9 miles. The road is simply too boring, and as the weekend drew near, the amount of traffic grew to be too much to want to walk beside. However, good things happen on the road - we hit two instances of trail magic when a thruhiker's mom gave us chicken strips and soda, and a fellow thruhiker named Bojangles, who is leaving the trail, picked us up in his pickup truck for an impromptu party at an overlook. It was this last trail magic event that Elizabeth found me at, and it was a sweet reunion indeed. Other hikers who weren't there said they heard about the lovey lovey going on. Unfortunately, the party reunion caused me to skip a 17 mile section of the trail that I didn't go back and do. This is a break of one of the three cardinal rules I have for myself - always walk in a continuous manner (no skipping), always walk north, and always carry my pack. Elizabeth's visit was a worthwhile break of the rules though, and as another hiker Burrass tells me, "at the end of the day we'll get a patch that says "2,000 miler" but since the trail is 2,176 miles, I figure we got a hundred seventy-six miles to play with." I broke my second rule with Elizabeth as we walked 8 miles south from Skyland Lodge to Big Meadows Lodge on Saturday. I should also explain that this day was the Summer Solstice - the longest daylight of the year and otherwise known as NAKED HIKING DAY. Well, I'm not one to break from trail tradition, even if it's on a Saturday in the most crowded section of Shenandoah National Park. Let's just say my entry in the trail register at the lunch shelter read something like, "Keychain is in ur woods, observing the solstice. Lady E saw a bare."

A Trip to the Trail

2008-06-24T14:17:00.006-04:00

I am back in Philadelphia after a wonderful weekend in Shenandoah National Park with Shawn. Teresa and I drove down on Friday afternoon, and as their location changed from hour to hour (“we’ll see you in Elkton,” became “there’s nothing in Elkton… meet us in the park,” became “we’re at mile marker 65 having a party on the side of the road with some other hikers.” Yep, that’s how they roll on the trail…) Just before we pulled onto Skyline Drive, a small black bear ran in front of us … this means I saw a bear on the trail before Shawn, which he finds incredible unfair.

We pulled into the wayside off Skyline Drive, and words can’t describe how wonderful it was to see him across the parking lot. I almost forgot to put the car in park! It was just amazing. We got to meet a bunch of hikers, and finally can put some names with the photos I’ve seen and stories I’ve been hearing.

It turns out that shortly after Shawn wrote the previous post at 6:45 am, he hiked 27 miles (!), his personal best day, and then 18 miles the next day, in order to make it up to where we were meeting them in time.

We stayed at Big Meadows Lodge in the park on Friday night and listened to some live music at the Tap Room that night. We hiked an 8-mile stretch of the trail on Saturday afternoon – I had a full AT experience (except for the 30 pound pack) as it started to rain on us as we were nearing the end of the trip. We were able to get a ride with a park ranger back to Skylands to meet Teresa and Johnny Thunder, and then we all headed down into Luray, VA, for dinner and an overnight in town and off trail.

Sunday we spent some time hunting down a VA keychain for Shawn’s pack and some chicken sandwiches for Johnny Thunder. It was impressive and maybe a little gross to see the two of them polish off 5 KFC snacker sandwiches. Each.

Overall, a great, great trip. The last 2 ½ months have been rough, but this weekend made it all worth it. Luckily it won’t be that long again – believe it or not, they should be entering Pennsylvania in the next few weeks!!!

LEAVING NOW

2008-06-19T06:45:00.003-04:00

I'm out the door - it's like real-time AT blogging!

WAYNESBORO EXTRA

2008-06-18T22:02:00.003-04:00

Still here. Pizza Hut didn't have the all-you-can-eat deal we expected so we ate a couple of Little Ceasars pizzas in a parking lot. Which allowed us to see the huge clouds rolling in, and rain pouring down on the ridge a few miles away. Orion and I made the executive decision to stay another night rather than hike 7 miles in the dark AND rain. So here we are at the Lutheran Church, which nicely offers cots in their basement for hikers. There's a shower and even internet. I plan on getting up at the crack of dawn (we have to be out by 9am anyway) and getting out to the AT as soon as possible. My 46 miles in three days will now have to be done in two days. It will be hard, but I am ready.

WAYNESBORO! WAYNESBORO! PARTY TIME! EXCELLENT!

2008-06-18T18:56:00.006-04:00

lHi y'all. Here in Waynesboro, Virginia - mile 850 and probably the largest town we've stopped in yet. The place is one of the friendliest of trail towns too, with a YMCA that graciously allows us to use their facilities and camp nearby. Yesterday, I managed to do the last 14 miles into town by 1:30 yesterday, hitch a ride, get a caloric injection at Arby's, catch a EuroCup match at a local restaurant, set up camp, and go for a swim at the Y. Also got to hang out with college pal Spencer Payne last night, who lives in nearby Charlottesville, and get dinner at Applebees. Those who know me well can see that I've had to completely drop my ban on chain restaurants and stores for this trip. A couple of other hikers - Snap, Snack, and Orion - had adventures on transit today as we took a bus to a mall to catch the Indiana Jones movie then use the bus to get to an outfitters for fuel. It was nice to sit in air conditioning and forget all about the trail for a few hours, though I can't really recommend the movie. We are stopping by the library and Pizza Hut on the way out of town tonight, hoping to do a few miles of night hiking. What's really exciting about Waynesboro is that we are 3/4 done with Virginia, and are entering Shenandoah National Park right after town. Throughout the earlier states, every hiker gleefully passed around rumors about how "easy" Virginia is and how fast we'd be going. I can tell you now that Virginia is NOT easy or fast, and the last week has seen some big 2000 and 3000 foot climbs almost daily. The biggest of these was 3 days ago, when I climbed Bald Mtn into a thunderstorm, with rain pouring down my back and into my shoes, making them nice little bathtubs. However, after looking at the maps, it seems that Shenandoah NP really is less challenging, and will kick-off a faster paced hike through the Mid-Atlantic. Can't wait. Let's hope so, because Elizabeth is meeting me on Friday afternoon, 46 miles from here in Elkton, VA, and I will have to pound out the miles to get there in time. We'll be staying in Elkton the first night and at the Big Meadows Lodge in the Park on Saturday, where I will take her for an 8-mile hike to give her a taste of the AT. At least I can say the heat has abated and the temps are back in the high 70s up on the ridge - perfect for walking. There's been lots of great swimming places lately too, including the James and Tye Rivers, and a 30' waterfall on a steep blue-blaze trail. These places aren't just fun, they're necessary since this part of the world is low on rain - Waynesboro's received 10 or 11 inches as of today and are usually at 22 inches by this time in the year. Water sources are low and sometimes not flowing at all, meaning we have to carry extra and walk further with it. The real excitement is that we are nearing the end of Virginia after more than a month here. Harper's Ferry, WV is a week and a half or so away and is the mental halfway point of the entire trail. Harpers Ferry is one of those places that seemed impossible to reach not so long ago, and its proximity is amazing. Everyone is excited after a long time out here watching the miles, and some of our fellow hikers, disappear. One other thing I should mention: with the heat has come the smells. Sweating into my pack, my sleeping pad and bag, and my clothes has made them stink like all hell. Even my tent stinks. I've taken to using incense for the tent, and am now dabbing myself and my sleeping pad with patchouli oil. I'm finally a hippy!

Ahead of Schedule... and in Glasgow, VA

2008-06-13T11:04:00.006-04:00

I got a call from Glasgow, VA, this morning (pretty much in the center of this map - if you click on it, it should get bigger), where Shawn was supposed to arrive tomorrow. Our fast-moving thru-hiker is now officially quite a bit ahead of his original schedule, even despite the heat. He should even pass the 800-mile mark in the next few days!!! He now anticipates arriving in Waynesboro, VA, on Wednesday (where he was supposed to be next Friday or Saturday).... I’d estimate that Shawn is about 2 days ahead of where he thought he would be. I will try to update the mail drop list, and repost it, but in the meantime, if you are mailing packages, be sure to send them early!

I was lucky enough to get a flower delivery from the trail at the office this morning just before he called! And I got to have dinner last night with Teresa, whose boyfriend Johnny Thunder is also on the trail with Shawn. It was so great to chat with someone who completely understands what its like to have him away, and to hear stories from her trip to the trail over Memorial Day weekend. So, overall, a good couple of days here in Philly!

I’m headed down to visit next weekend, originally to Waynesboro and now to somewhere around Big Meadows Lodge in the Shenandoah. Can’t wait!!!

More from the trail...

2008-06-10T12:01:00.005-04:00

Just got a nice call from the trail (or, more precisely, a town near the trail)... our hiker seems in good spirits despite the heat. Luckily, the town they have stopped in has an Outfitter whose property backs up to the James River. So, guess where Shawn will be spending this hot afternoon? That's right - in the water. Must be nice! He said they’d likely head out this afternoon when the sun starts to go down.

They are making pretty good time, and he expects to be in Waynesboro, VA, by a week from Thursday or so. We’re making plans to see each other then -– the first time we’ll see each other in almost 2 ½ months, and I can’t wait!!

Here’s one of the most recent photos I’ve gotten of Shawn (check out the long beard!!). I’ll be posting more photos to our Flickr account soon so you, too, can see the beautiful trail scenery, and Shawn in a dress during the Damascus Trail Days Hiker parade.

SIDE TRIP TO BUCHANAN, VA

2008-06-10T10:27:00.004-04:00

Hi all. I'm in the small town of Buchanan, on a side trip during our "siesta" period. Its been very hot for the past week, and while I was happy staying at the motel enjoying the pool and Euro Cup soccer games for the two 100-degree days, I had to keep moving. The heat has made us alter the hiking schedule, so that we're up with the sun at 5:45, and doing 10 miles or so before taking the early afternoons off. Once it cools off enough to walk again, we'll go until sunset at 9pm. We hammered out a 15 mile day out of town yesterday, stopping once or twice to bathe in creeks. We're on track to do even more today, with help from the Blue Ridge Parkway this morning. The Parkway now runs right along the trail, so a few of us opted to walk the road instead, making 9 miles in three hours. Got a ride from a section hiker down to town for lunch and an air conditioned hideout in the library. Its a nice pickup too, since I accidentally left my candy bars and big block of cheese at the motel. We're having a colorie injection and then will sleep in the shade and swim in the James River today. Probably head back up to the trail sometime after 2 or 3 and try to get another 6 miles in to another creek for camping. Bath-to-bath hiking today. Boy I need it to - you should smell me!

STEAMY IN DALEVILLE

2008-06-07T09:40:00.003-04:00

Hello all - if you've been watching the weather lately, you may have noticed the record heat wave hitting this area of Virginia. Its 100 degree high today, perfect for my first full zero day since Damascus. Yesterday was 97 degrees (94 on my pack thermometer up on the ridge) and ridiculously humid. I got up at 6am to start out and avoid the heat as I climbed McAfee Knob, advertised as the best view in Virginia. A bit steamy, but definitely nice. Funny how bad weather days make for great miles - my previous record was during an all-day rain, and I'm proud to say I bested it in the heat of yesterday, doing 20.8 miles over very uneven terrain to make it to town. I've never been so sweaty and gross in all my life. The days of heat have led my clothes and pack to smell - somewhere between gym socks and dead animal. I had to shower with a garden hose before a group of us hit up the Homeplace Restaurant in Catawba, VA on Thursday night, which might be the best all-you-can-eat on the trail. I had the skeletal remains of at least 1.6 fried chickens on my plate at the end. Nothing like the site of a dozen hikers laying on the grass lawn of the restaurant holding their disgustingly full bellies while local families are taking pictures with their recent grads. Its been a trying week with the weather, and realizing the haze, heat, and humidity of mid-Atlantic summer has just begun and probably won't abate until sometime after the Hudson River. There was a giant thunderstorm late afternoon on Tuesday, the same storm that brought a tornado to Roanoake, only 16 miles away. I was luckily setting my tent up at camp when it hit, but a friend named Dirty Jerse was on the exposed ridgewalk a few miles before and looked a little shaken when he got into camp. Some folks have decided they've done enough - 3 or 4 solid hikers dropped out this past week, and the rest of us are trying not to grumble too loudly. The scenery has been enjoyable, but the trail itself has turned very rocky in sections, and there's been many climbs up and over ridges as we make our way from the West Virginia line northeast to the Blue Ridge. Most of the climbs are on old sections of trails, which tend to go straight up the steep slopes instead of switchbacking gently across the slopes. Added to the weather and tough climbs are the bugs that are out in full force now. Mostly flies and gnats and those little sweat-bees that hover around and collecting on my sweaty arms. The flies can be a real pain, and are way too much to handle around the privies. I've taken to going in the woods mostly, where you have about 30 seconds before the flies find out what you're doing and tell their friends. We also spent two days walking through forest that was absolutely overrun with gypsy moth caterpillars. They drop out of the sky like in some Mission Impossible scene, on little spider webs that you walk through constantly, landing on your pack and hitching rides. You can hear the rain of leaf pieces and caterpillar poops as you walk through, and forget about enjoying lunch when you are down in valleys where they are thickest. But not all is bad. McAffee Knob and the other views are quite nice and its cool looking at the long ridges now that we're in the Ridge-and-Valley province that extends up into PA. There's been several nice creeks to swim in, and I spent the night dry camping twice on top of prominent knobs that had excellent sunset and sunrise views. Even did a little rock climbing up a steep rock pinnacle called Dragons Tooth at night to catch the stars (new moons are great star times!). I think the toughest thing about this section is its length, coupled with the lack of landmarks to measure progress by. That, and its been 9 weeks, and I'm missing home - particularly Elizabeth. Hopefully, she and I will be getting together soon, either in an upcoming town stop or for a short hike in the Shenendoahs. I think it will do wonders for morale and everyone here is dying to meet her. But in the meantime, I can do nothing but laugh as I walked out of the hotel room this morning into a wall of heat and humidity and cheered because today I'm zeroing and hanging by the pool here at the Howard Johnsons Motel and not hiking at all!

HOT HUMID PEARISBURG, VA

2008-05-31T12:22:00.005-04:00

Hello from Pearisburg, where its 87 degrees today - a perfect day to not hike, and instead hang out by the pool at my hotel, and use the internet at the cute Courthouse Cafe. Virginia has been very kind to us so far, with relatively easy topography, some nice views, beautiful forests and farm fields, and lots of creeks and waterfalls to wade in. Highlights from this last section include the 544 mile mark - which means 25% of the AT is behind me now. A few of us wrote out "25%" on the trail with sticks, which people behind me have reported seeing. A few days later, we passed the 600 mile mark, which is not only important in its own right, but meant we were 25% done with Virginia. Also hit Partnership Shelter a week ago, where there is a phone and pizza delivery menus. A nice treat to have pizza and beer delivered to the woods! Last Saturday was spent at the SW Virginia Settlers Museum, a turn of the century farm and house museum, where a small festival with live bluegrass and amazing food cooked on a turn-of-the-century cast iron stove. Can't beat fresh blackberry cobbler! The next day, I blueblazed a half mile to a winery tasting room, and ended up packing in a bottle of white wine. Couple days after that I got a delicious breakfast from a local church group, and then crossed I-77 in the pouring rain. It rained all day, which can be difficult, but is good weather for doing long miles. Put the mp3 player on, head down, and did my longest day yet - 18.4 miles. I will be leaving Pearisburg either later today or tomorrow morning, depending on the weather. This upcoming stretch takes us on a ridge along the border with West Virginia for 20 miles before we return across the Shenandoah Valley to the blue ridge proper. Once there, we'll be crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway occasionally. I'm excited because I'll get to see friends at the end of the section in Waynesboro, and then Elizabeth in Shenendoah N.P. Everyone is in good spirits, and even C-Bass, who went home last weekend because he was bored with the trail is coming back today. Guess he was more bored at home. Franklin, who I had hiked with back in the Smokies before he had to quit because of shin splints, is also back. One weird aspect of the Trail is the number of stray dogs that seem to be living on the AT, following hikers around. The real oddity is that they are all purebreeds, not the mutts you might expect. I've met a sheepdog, a black lab, a beagle, a rat terrier, and even a chihuahua. Some of the hikers have adopted dogs - one guy took on the sheep dog who had earned the the trail name "Shit Dread" because of the clump of nappy hair hanging off his back end, got him shaved and found 30+ ticks living on him. If he had followed me another mile, I might have grabbed the rat terrier who is really cute. Luckily a pair of hikers picked her up, had her checked out, and christened her "Ginnie" for her home state. The body is feeling great, running strong. I'm definitely more fit than I've ever been, and nothing is bothering me any more than expected. Some foot soreness by the end of the day is about all, and occasionally something random like my quad muscles or big toe or even elbow will hurt for a half hour for no reason. It helps that the pack is nice and light without the winter clothes and bag, though I think I've made up for the lost weight with more of Elizabeth's delicious food. Definitely have the hiker hunger going on - nothing like hitting up Dairy Queen for two double cheeseburgers, fries, soda, and two blizzards. A nice 3000 calorie meal. By the way, I'm getting a day or two ahead of my itinerary schedule, so if you plan on sending anything, try to do it at least a week ahead of time so I don't miss it. Spence - I'll give you a call in a few days when I get to Daleville or Catawba about getting together in Waynesboro.

Mail Drop Inventory

2008-05-30T18:03:00.006-04:00

I've uploaded the mail drop inventory (see link to the right) so inquiring minds can see what our hiker has been eating on the trail, and what I've been mailing out to him.... Thankfully, our firm offered to let me post his mail drops from the office, which means its no cost to us - as a "you're going away, but promise you're coming back" present. So, thanks, KSK!!

Many of the recipes I’ve made, and food ideas I’ve gotten, have been from the “Appalachian Trail Food Planner” by Lou Adsmond. It’s maybe the best trail-related purchase I made, and I highly suggest it if you’re inspired by Shawn’s trip and want to tackle the trail yourself ... It also has a detailed itinerary which Shawn used as a sample, in combination with several others, to plan out his trip and mail drop locations.

Shawn should be in Pearisburg, VA, tonight or tomorrow, and I’ll let everyone know when I’ve heard from him…. I can’t wait! Hope all are well, and have a great weekend!

(please note the farmer’s tan….)

Update from Virginia

2008-05-29T09:34:00.003-04:00

Hi all - I apologize for not updating this sooner with Shawn's tales from Atkins, VA, but work has been a little busy! He made it to Atkins last Friday, and spent the evening in a hostel with a few other hikers. The next morning, as he was waiting for my mail drop to arrive, he hiked out to a local historical society festival and got himself a good southern breakfast! Then, mail drop safely in hand, he headed back to the trail.... only to be sidetracked by a small local winery he passed along the way. After a short tasting session, our hiker was back out on foot. I got a "bonus call" two nights ago from Bland, VA, where a group of hikers decided to go into town and have dinner. Shawn got himself two double cheeseburgers (yes, two) and a blizzard from the local Dairy Queen and then they all settled into a hostel in town for the night.... until they all walked back to the Dairy Queen for another blizzard. He asked me to be sure and tell Chris L. that he crossed Route 77 twice ... ah, city planners. I plan to post his mail drop list in the next few days (its all typed up, I just need to find time to upload it!), and I also received about 500 new photos yesterday. Lucky for me, the camera card was in a box with two smelly shirts and a cool weather sleeping bag that should definitely be aired out. I'll post a selection of the photos soon as well... if anyone is interested in seeing all 500, stop on by!

TROUTDALE FINE DINING

2008-05-21T18:55:00.003-04:00

Quick hello to you all after 16 miles of up and down from a little dining room where I'm enjoying the "best burger in Troutdale," by which they mean the "only" burger in Troutdale. Its a 3 building town: store/restaurant, church/hostel, and post office. Funny, there's internet but no cell reception. Great bacon double cheeseburger with fries and vanilla milkshake though. Spence, thanks for the offer - I'm definitely up for staying with you and will give you a ring as I get closer. As it is, I won't be in Waynesboro until a month from now - bout 6/21. Fun times going over the Grayson Highlands, which includes Virginia's tallest peak Mt. Rogers (5700ft). There are feral ponies everywhere on top of the mountains where its bald, and they love hikers because hikers bring snacks. Lots of foals about too. Been interesting cuz Trail Days allowed people behind us to catch up, so lots of new faces. Tomorrow I will be at Partnership Shelter, which is rumored to have both a shower and a phone from where you can order pizza. Should be fun. Then its only 12 more miles the next day to Atkins, VA for my next mail drop!

TRAIL DAYS BIRTHDAY

2008-05-18T13:45:00.005-04:00

Still here in Damascus, finally found a computer I can use, though it will have to be brief. Having a fun time here in town, with the festival and unofficial parties over the last two days. A great way to celebrate turning 33 years old. Friends here got me a surprise cake and everything - a really nice touch. And thank you very much to everyone at home who sent cards, etc! The main event of the festival has to be the hiker parade, where Trail alumni and current hikers line up by class, and townspeople bring waterguns and waterballons to throw at us. Our '08 Class anticipated this and was armed with ballons of our own, chanting the soccer-style chant "Ohhh Eight, oh-eight, oh-eight, oh-eight"... definitely a good time. I overheard former hikers saying that they'd never seen a tighter group of people than the current class. I plan on leaving late this afternoon - C-Bass and I are going to walk ten miles of the Virginia Creeper Trail, skipping a 13 mile section of the AT. This is my first large "blue-blaze" or side route that cuts out part of the official trail. We're doing it after hearing reports that the Creeper Trail (an old railroad bed, now a bike trail) goes through a scenic canyon and the AT crosses one or two more pointless climbs without views. AT purists will frown on our blue-blazing, but in my mind, its a "hike your own trail" experience that counts. It will be interesting to see who doesn't make it out of Damascus. For weeks this town has been the focus of the hikers, and in the last week or so, discipline has broken down and people have been blue-blazing or even yellow-blazing (hitching a ride past a trail segment) more and more often. Lots of people are "slack-packing" too, where they pay someone to drive them to a road crossing and they day-hike back to the hostel or whereever without carrying a full pack. Myself, I am purist as far as wanting to move in a continuous direction, and carry my full pack the whole time. I don't have a big problem blue-blazing, as long as I don't miss anything worthwhile. Still, here is where we enter the "green tunnel" that kills many a hiker's ambitions. The leaves are out, the mountains are lower and have less views, there's no more trail festivals or towns where everyone gathers, and the partying stops. The true sense of how long the trail is and how much time is needed to do the whole thing is becoming obvious. We are at mile 460, and at 6 weeks, slightly less than a quarter done in time. Damascus is the last stop for many hikers, for whom hiking becomes a boring job, not unlike what they left at home. But I feel good, physically and mentally, and am ready for Virginia's 500+ miles! I will hopefully get to a computer in another 6 days, when I reache Atkins, VA. Talk to you then...

VIRGINIA IS FOR HIKERS

2008-05-16T13:57:00.004-04:00

Hello from Damascus, Virginia - mile 460 on the AT and the psychological end to the hard South mountains. Got in yesterday afternoon for the start of Trail Days, or Trail Daze as I've seen it called sometimes. Trail Days is an annual 3-day gathering of former and current AT thru-hikers that overtakes Damascus every year, giving it the reputation as the friendliest Trail Town on the AT. Most hikers are staying at the Tent City, a nearly-free campsite a quarter mile out of town, but your favorite hiker has been lucky enough to score rooms from a few residents who are renting out space in their houses. Last night I was at the Hiker Hotel, and tonight I'm at the Dancing Bear. Beats sleeping in the rain, surrounded by the noise of thousands of partying hikers.

Sorry I haven't written anything for a while - there was no internet access between Erwin and here. Since Erwin, the trip has been pleasant with great weather, somewhat easier terrain, and lots of socialization. I've dubbed this section the "Salad Days". I had to slow down a bit too, to prevent myself from getting here too early, which made for lots of easy low-mileage days. Had some great meals at a few hostels along the way, and quite a raucous party broke out at Overmountain Shelter in the Roan Mtn Highlands. The shelter is an old barn near a road and a trail crew made of Appalachian State University students brought up a keg, some moonshine, and lots of hamburgers and hot dogs. Unfortunately, the weather turned foul as the party went on and by 11pm, a full 40mph wind and driving rain was blowing everyone around. My tent blew over, even with all my gear inside, and if it weren't for the heoric actions of Johnny Thunder - he pegged it down with my hiking poles - it might of been lost. Unfortunately, the head of the ASU students lost his tent completely. It blew away never to be seen again. Hiked out the next morning in the same weather, over miles of treeless balds - quite an experience.

Damascus has been on everyone's mind for weeks now. Trail Days is fun, lots of cool stuff going on - talks, slide shows, retailers, free food, drinking, etc.

Oops, my time is up - will finish this later.

Heading out of Tennessee... for good!

2008-05-12T10:24:00.006-04:00

Shawn is heading out of the Kincora Hiking Hostel in Hampton, TN, this morning, and on his way to Damascus, Virginia, for Trail Days. He arrived at the hostel Saturday afternoon, caught a ride into town for dinner, then settled in for a Sunday off. Yesterday was spent resting, chatting, and playing Risk (which I can't believe he'd never played before this). He is right on track with the schedule he set out for himself - he'll actually have to hike at a pretty slow pace in order to not make it into Damascus too early! The hikers have figured out that they passed the 410 mile mark this last week, and by the time we talk again, he'll be done with three states - GA, NC, and TN. I'll let you all know when he gets to Virginia!

Photos Added!

2008-05-07T12:27:00.002-04:00

I have created a flickr page for Shawn's photos from the trail... to access the page, click on the link on the right side, below our photo. I have been informed that the photos are largely from North Carolina, with a sprinking of Georgia and Tennessee. And, for some reason, they ended up backwards in the upload, so if you want to experience the trail the "right" way, start at the end and work backwards.... Enjoy!

ZERO DAY?

2008-05-04T11:59:00.005-04:00

Still resting here in Erwin, so I have a moment to write some more. I will either leave late this afternoon to get to a shelter 4 miles from here or tent it overnight here and take off in the morning. The latter is looking more likely, since the crew I've been hanging with is spending the night and a whole bunch of others left today meaning it will be crowded ahead. Plus, I don't want to be too early to Damascus, VA - 120 mi from here - for Trail Days, which starts on the 16th. But feeling really good and ready to hike.

I try to do a strenuous day within each section, just to push the envelope. This past section's strenuous day was the 15.5 miles I did before 3pm to get a lousy hamburger and catch some friends who were a half day ahead. Can't tell you how exhausted I was that day, since it was hot and sunny all day and I didn't stop for a proper break or real meal - ate candy bars and quick snacks instead. But its amazing how the endorphines kick in and that night I was feeling great without any pains.

During the section before Hot Springs, our group rose at 4am and tried to make it 6 miles to the top of a big bald called Max Patch for sunrise. We were waylaid in a small gap when we found a van parked there and an orange University of Tennessee tent set up. The guy sleeping inside the van (it was maybe 6am) woke up and rubbed his eyes and told us to wait a half hour and he'd cook us breakfast. Seven of us had three dozen eggs between us. The cook's name is Ox, he thru-hiked a few years back, and says it changed his life. He comes every year to that gap to cook for the hikers coming through. That's the beauty of trail magic. Can't wait til I can run up to some shelter in Pennsylvania some day with a pizza and sixpack.

This upcoming section will see trail magic at an old barn that's been made into a shelter. Some Appalachian State students came by the hostel this morning with a flyer saying they'd be there with beer and food on Thursday, after their exams are over. That shelter is only 3 days away, so its another reason to lounge here today. Should be a good time.

A large group of us has been bunched up since the Smokies because of the festivals and pre-announced trail magic. This will probably stay that way until Damascus for the biggest festival, Trail Days, which supposedly attracts thousands of hikers. Supposedly, Damascus is the last stop for many hikers, who never make it past. Damascus starts the 500 mile trek through the long green tunnel. Personally, I'm looking forward to it, since its getting a little crowded and the hostels are becoming a bit of a party scene.

IN ERWIN, TENNESSEE

2008-05-03T15:13:00.008-04:00

Hi gang, I've made it to Erwin, TN, mile 339. Funny story about Erwin - three weeks before starting the Trail, i found trailjournals.com where hikers keep online diaries, and followed the progress of this one kid Dynamite (looks like Napolean Dynamite) who had started in early March. When Elizabeth and I drove down here over a month ago, we stopped in Erwin for gas and to check the town out. Drove by where the Trail comes out of the woods and who should pop out of the woods just at that moment but Dynamite! So I yelled out the car window at him "Dynamite! I know you, been following you on the internet!" He was a little freaked out, and declined my offer of a ride to town...

So, 33 days later, here I am. Am staying in the bunkhouse at a neat hostel called Uncle Johnny's. Perfect day to be here too, since it just started raining about an hour before I arrived. Should be clear when I leave tomorrow or the next day. I may try river rafting here tomorrow if the weather is nice and the prices are decent. As soon as I arrived, I caught Johnny's ride to town to the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, which proved to be nice timing. Also got a Tennessee keychain for the pack as this is my only town stop in the state.

Had great weather this past section - the two days I spent in Hot Springs allowed me to miss the freezing rain last Monday night, and its been warm since. Some of my hiker buddies were out here that night and said there was sheet ice inside and outside their tents. C-Bass and I tried to catch up to our buddies, and I managed to do it on the third day, but it meant pulling long miles. Had my personal record of 17.4 miles on Thursday - 15.5 of those miles were done before 3pm so I could make it to a gap where a group of locals were cooking hamburgers until that time. Caught Slo-Goin and Franklin that day too, so added bonus.

The trail went over a series of balds in this section, and i got to cowboy camp (sans tent) on top of one - nothing like waking up in the middle of the night to see stars from bed. Also hung out on top of Big Bald for 4 hours yesterday afternoon to catch some sun and enjoy lunch. Amazing views of the upcoming Roan Mtn Highlands which I will hit this next week. Today, on the 12 mile trek to the hostel, I walked through a small forest fire!

As for my feet, I've come to think its a reinjuring of a sprain I had in high school. I've kept the ankle wrapped in ace bandages and its been slowly healing - still some soreness, but definitely better than last weekend. Its one of those things where I'm going to keep going and it will either get better or worse, we shall see. But I anticipate no problems leaving here on time.

BTW - Mom, you can keep sending cookies - they are easy to finish off at stops so I don't carry them. When I was saying send food to Elizabeth for parceling, I was referring more to folks who want to send trail mix or dried fruit and such. But thank you all, its been really delicious!

Ok, will write more later...

Photos from the Trail!

2008-05-01T14:36:00.014-04:00

I received a package from Shawn today, with his old sleeping bag, a shirt, and a few other things he didn't need anymore... but most importantly, there was a camera card as well! Here are a few photos from the trail, so you can see our thru-hiker in action and see some of what he's seeing - at least the portion between Georgia and Tennessee! The first photo is of him at the southern terminus of the AT, at the top of Springer Mountain. I have more, and as soon as I can upload them to flickr, you can see them all...

Off to Tennessee

2008-04-29T14:19:00.004-04:00

Shawn headed back out onto the trail this morning, with a fellow hiker "C-Bass." He should be in Erwin, TN, by next weekend. In case he gets lost along the way, his nephew, Gavin, drew this map of the trail for his Uncle Shawn... I'd vote he follows this map, since the route seems much shorter than the 10 feet of crazy we have hanging in our office conference room... =) (special thanks to Gavin and his mom, Kim, for letting us post this on the site!)

ANOTHER ZERO

2008-04-28T17:09:00.006-04:00

Hello all - still in Hot Springs, NC. I woke this morning and the skies were dark and rain was coming down, and my right foot was still hurting, so I decided better to take a second day of rest now to hopefully avoid a full week of recovery later. I have soreness in the tendons of my right foot, and its definitely better than it was two days ago, but it still hurts when standing on it. However, by this afternoon the weather cleared and three of my little group of five hiker friends headed on their way, leaving me and a young buck named C-Bass here. (Just found out how his name is spelled, and I'm dissappointed that its not "Seabass" like I thought. Apparently he's named after a character in Dumb and Dumber, but don't know who.) C-Bass also has a hurting foot.

So, we've been lounging at our fun haunted mansion hotel, watching movies and running errands, and plan on leaving first thing in the morning regardless of how our feet feel. Its a small town, and getting smaller by the minute. We'll try and do some big days and hopefully catch up with everyone else by the next town. Since they're ahead, we'll be able to track them through registers at the shelters, but they won't know about us. The AT is tricky like that, because if you leave towns even a few hours after someone else, you may not see them for weeks. Just now, a girl who I met the first day of my hike just showed up, despite persistant rumors that she had quit.

Since I have the time, I'm at the town library right now, where along with internet access, they have early voting - NC's primary isn't til later this week I think. Amazing how politics still finds us, despite being away from the news for long periods. Had heard about the PA primary as soon as the results were announced, though seems there was some confusion for a while. The hotel we're staying at right now is a lone outpost of blue in this red state - the owner is a former thru-hiker, and you know his lefty politics right as you walk in the door - bumperstickers and pins all over the place. I think he may even scan potential clients over to make sure they aren't Republicans.

As you may have guessed, most people on the Trail are definitely on the liberal side of the spectrum, given their youth and love of the natural environment, plus the plain hippiness of staying in the woods for this long. Obama is the clear favorite, enough so that the Dem race is not really discussed much. In fact, politics in general is seldom brought up. It could be because everyone is on the relative same page, but its probably because most people just want to get away from that stuff while out here. The one gentleman who insists on bringing up politics is a middle-aged Bush-lover who hiked the trail years ago and is simply bumming along from town to town to hang out. He's finding fewer friends each day.

OK, enough idle chatter. Will head back to the house and ready my stuff for an early start. Then on to dinner for yet another hamburger. You'd think I'd love eating bad pub food everyday while in town, but it gets old. I have gained back a halfpound though.

Thank you all so much for the care packages and cards. They are really helpful and keep me in good spirits. However, just a quick note about sending food (and thank you Elizabeth for writing the post below). Please directly send me all the cards and postcards and quickly-edible food that you would like to - but if you want to send anything like trail mix or other carry-out food, please send it to Elizabeth for her to pass along. She'll make sure there is no duplicate foods and that portions are sized for the distance I'm doing. Since leaving a town usually involves a long, slow uphill, every once counts, and I am trying to be very careful how much food I take with me. But thank you all for everything!!!

Treats!

2008-04-28T11:31:00.003-04:00

Hello all! I got to talk to Shawn a few times this weekend, as he took a "zero day" in Hot Springs … as always, it was so good to talk to him!

He asked me to pass along one request regarding packages sent to him on the trail: letters, postcards, and treats that can be consumed in one sitting, by him plus a few hiking friends (i.e. cookies, rice crispy treats, etc), are always appreciated, and have been welcome encouragement during the past month of hiking. But he asked that if anyone is thinking of sending more substantial food items, that they be sent to me in Philly first so I can incorporate them into his existing set of mail drops.... this is just to cut down on the overall weight he has to carry. (I promise to give full credit to any food providers!)

Usually his mail drop packages have been weighing in between 7-10 pounds, depending on how many days have been included, and whether maps or other necessities are also in the box. This is on the edge of how much food weight he would like to carry, so if you’re interested in sending Shawn some treats, please get in touch and I can let you know whether to send them on yourself, or if its best to send them to me….

As an FYI, his scheduled mail drops are mailed out from our office (thanks, KSK!!) about a week before they need to be there, and include individually portioned breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, as well as snacks like trail mixes, cookies, and granola bars. Apparently these meals has been a hit on the trail, with fellow hikers asking what Keychain is having for dinner. Our officemates have been excellent at helping me "taste test" some treats I've baked from recipes found in hiker cookbooks and online. I'll be posting a list of what I've included in his mail drops so far later this week.

Again, THANK YOU to everyone that has been supporting his trek so far – we both appreciate it so very much!!!

HOT SPRINGS, NC

2008-04-27T14:06:00.004-04:00

Hi all - sitting in downtown Hot Springs (mile 271) - the one block of downtown Hot Springs that is. Been here since yesterday afternoon and will take a full zero day today. Pouring rain today (great day to be in town) and I'm sitting at the outfitter shop here with their fast internet connection. I've purchased a heavier and warmer sleeping bag - my little old 32-degree bag wasn't cutting it in the freezing nights of the Smokies and I've got a bunch of high peaks to go before summer really starts. On the other end of the spectrum, its getting really hot in the sun when going up hills, so its time to get a tee-shirt for the day times. You should see the tan lines on my lower arms from where I was pulling the sleeves up. At least I'm no longer getting sunburned like I was in Georgia - the scabs on my ears from sunburn have finally come off. I'll be sending my unneeded gear home along with the photo disks so Elizabeth can post some photos soon.

Hot Springs is a neat small town - the promised festival wasn't much of an event, so our group ended up in the one bar drinking most of the afternoon. I'm staying at this fantastic B&B called Elmer's that's in this great old Victorian mansion with antiques and knick knacks and peeling wallpaper, like something out of the movie Clue. Will check out the town's name-sake hot springs tonight after dinner, but plan on relaxing most of the afternoon with a pint of Ben & Jerry's. I finally got to weigh myself - lost 18 lbs so far, bringing me to my college weight of 176. It may sound scary, but its expected and its not nearly as much as some of the other guys out here. Unfortunately, for the ladies, most of them have gained a pound or two as fat is converted into muscles.

The past few days took me over a few neat balds - mountains that are treeless on top. No one is really sure why they are treeless - its not from climate this far south - but they are grassy and have beautiful views. I spent the night on top of one two nights ago - perfect place for sunset, stars, and sunrise gazing. A spring is in full force - the forest is carpeted in Trillium and other wildflowers, the birds wake us up at sunrise, and the blooming dogwood trees are fun to see as they show up nicely against the green and brown background.

I plan on leaving tomorrow afternoon for another 6-7 day stretch to Erwin, Tennessee. I will be leaving North Carolina permanently behind, one more state down, still many to go....

10% Done

2008-04-24T12:09:00.003-04:00

Got to talk briefly with Shawn a few moments ago – he asked me to pass on some info for our friend Chris: he hiked under the US40 overpass and thought you'd appreciate knowing that bit of trail/transit trivia. And, as bonus info, but in the "gross information" category - although he did get to shower for the first time in 6 days, he did not get to do laundry, so he put back on the clothes he had been hiking in, and set out again (ick). That part sounds completely unappealing to me (and the rest of the folks here in our office), but Shawn really seems to be enjoying himself!!

The group he's currently hiking with is not staying overnight at the hostel this evening, but instead is pushing on towards Hot Springs, where a festival and hot springs relaxation await. When he gets there, there will be a better phone connection and internet service, as well as more time to chat… which I, for one, am looking forward to!!

DAVENPORT GAP - SMOKIES ARE OVER

2008-04-24T11:11:00.006-04:00

Hi all - this will have to be real quick since i've stopped only briefly at a hostel with a bad bad wireless connection. The Smokies were really amazing - by far the most beautiful part of the Trail so far. Followed the ridgeline for 80 miles, most of which is above 5000ft - we had some cold nights around 30 degrees for most of the week, and some rain early on, but the last three days were magnificent with 60 degree highs and sunshine all day. The trails are beautifully maintained and often sloped nicely for horses. On the ridges it often runs on 6ft wide knife edges with 1000ft drops on either side, and views abound. The forest up top is unique in the south - all spruce and balsam conifers that remind you of New England, but very very wet - an island remnant of the type of forest that covered this area during the last ice age. Plus, tons of moss. The peaks here get something like 90 inches of rain a year - consider that Philly gets about 45in. And since nothings been logged since the 1930s when the Park was created, the trees are big and the forest floor is covered with fallen logs, thick soil, moss, and wildflowers.

Hit lots of milestones - tallest peak on the AT at 6670ft, the 10% mark two days ago (217.6 mi), longest stretch of roadless area until Maine, and my personal longest day at 14.8 miles (its typically 11-13 miles each day right now). I'm at mile 238 right now, but am pushing on to reach Hot Springs, NC by Saturday afternoon- theres a festival that day. Plus hot springs.

Just took a shower, first in 6 days, which felt great. Plus the food bag is down to 2 days, which is so much nicer. Walked into spring as i came down from the high peaks - the trees are all leafing and there are huge patches of wildflowers everywhere. Unfortunately, the only wildlife I saw in the Park were rabbits who watched me during a midnight pee. Pervs. Oh and shelter mice abound - i've mostly tented thus far, but the Park Service requires you to stay in shelters if there is room in the Park. Did get my photo taken by tourists at Newfound Gap where a major road cuts through - they were from Nebraska and thought it insane to do this hike. Must say that the group of us dirty beaten homeless looking hikers standing there do not look exactly sane. In fact, I think the hiking poles are the only thing separating us from your average hobo.

The body is starting to harden with three weeks of hiking, and it actually feels like I could make it the whole way - though kinda depressing when I saw the NPS Strip map hanging here at the hostel. Three weeks of hard hiking, sun and rain, ups and downs, miles upon miles, and i've gone like 2 inches! My feet are aching whenever i start up from a long break, but generally feel good after 15 minutes of walking. Some pains in the right knee and elbow (from using poles) came and went during the Smokies. Looking forward to a full day off in Hot Springs.

Once I get to Hot Springs i will be able to write more. Plus i will send home my first camera card so Elizabeth can post some pics of Georgia and early North Carolina. Thinking of you all...

ABOUT TO ENTER THE SMOKIES

2008-04-18T11:18:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone - a quick hello since the slow-moving computer here at Fontana Village finally became available. I'm in Fontana, NC, a town built to house TVA dam builders in the 1940s who were building the nearby Fontana Dam, which is the tallest dam in the East, and the gateway to Smoky Mountains National Park. My buddy Y2K and I will be entering the Smokies today, hoping to do the 11 mile uphill slog that will put us on the crestline. The weather is beautiful, highs in the upper 70s and perfectly sunny - hopefully it will hold for most of the next week, since the Smokies are notorious for bad weather. It snowed 6 inches there 3 days ago, but its since melted. These will be the highest peaks on the AT - Clingman's Dome is almost 6800 feet high - a full 600 feet taller than Mt. Washinton in NH. The rumor is that once on top of the ridgeline the trail is relatively easy, with few major gaps to climb in an out of. This will be a nice break from the punishing North Carolina Trail so far, with its almost twice daily 1200ft down, 1200ft up gaps. I did spend the night on 5500ft Standing Indian Mtn a week ago, with perfectly clear skies and endless stars. Great sunset and sunrise - thanks to Suzanna for her star book. Thanks also to everyone who has sent stuff - Bridget Keegan's postcard, Gavin's map and mix, Mom's cookies, Aunt Sharon's card, Grandpa's card, and of course Elizabeth's meals and notes. They've been very inspiring, particularly on the long 3000ft climb out of Wesser, NC a few days back.

I stayed here in Fontana Village at a real hotel, having enough of the snoring (I reckon 50% of the hikers snore terribly. You should meet the guy named "Rolling Thunder") and the foul bunkhouse at my last stop with its B.O. smelling mattress. I ended up sleeping on the porch. So it was nice to get a real bed and pillows and linens for a change, plus an indoor pool, and restaurant and bar nearby. Now, i'm packed up with a ridiculous amount of food, enough to get through the 6-7 days of the Smokies, since there's no close town once you're in the park. This will be the longest section without stopping until Maine, and the pack is fully loaded, probably weighing something around 45lbs. I've sent some items home, but its never as much as you'd like to send.

As someone told me last week, the AT is the most fun you'll ever have, interrupted by long walks. This is very true - the characters out here are truly interesting people, and its great fun to gather at the shelters to cook and socialize each night. The actual hiking bonds people closely, since we're all going through the same thing. I'm making great friends and having a great time so far. I've met a number of people who do long-distance hikes every year - they work during the winter to make enough money to take off for a few months each summer. It's very addictive, I agree, but not sure if Elizabeth will let me run off again and again like this....

Ok, i'm off. There's a hostel right after the Smokies with internet I hear, so I will try and stop there to post more. Until then, here's hoping the bears, freezing temps, snakes, lightning, falls, and exhausting labor don't get me....

Fontana Dam, NC

2008-04-18T09:52:00.007-04:00

According to the math that Shawn and his new friend Y2K did last night, they are now 7% done with the trail... only a little more than 2000 miles to go. Y2K got his name from the dehydrated food supply that some friends had gathered for the millennium and never needed, and then donated to him for the trail. Everyone's got a story behind their trail names, it seems. Shawn has stuck with "Keychain", and even purchased a North Carolina one yesterday during his afternoon off. Other folks he's met include SlowGoin' and Johnny Thunder.

So far, everything is going well. He has received everyone's postcards, letters, and snacks, and asked me to pass on a big thanks to everyone. He stayed last night in an actual hotel instead of a hostel or bunkhouse - I can only imagine how nice a real bed must have felt after 2+ weeks of the floor or the ground! The weather has been a bit of a challenge, with fluctuations between 26degrees at night and 74 degrees during the day. However, since he mailed me back his heaviest long underwear, I think he's doing ok. Also in the "I-decided-I-don't-really-need-this-anymore" box that got delivered to our doorstep last night: extra bandanas, a small microfiber towel, and some campsoap.

He's spent a couple of nights on the tops of mountains, some alone and some with other people. I think part of the inspiration behind the hotel room last night was the snoring factor - apparently there's one in every group of hikers you come across and bunk with.

The Smokies (and the snow on them that is visible from where he is now) are next, so it will be about 7 days before we hear from him again.... surprisingly, his next stop is Tennessee, followed by a return to North Carolina. That tricky trail - it never goes in a straight line! By the 28th or so, he'll be relaxing in the hot springs at Hot Springs, North Carolina - probably the one and only time that we will be jealous of him!

One state down....

2008-04-14T09:16:00.003-04:00

Hello faithful blog readers (aka our families ...). Just a short note to let you all know that I heard from our intrepid hiker very late last night. We spent almost an hour on the phone, and it was so wonderful to talk to him and hear what he's been up to. I really miss him an awful lot, as you can imagine! Shawn has made it to the NOC, in North Carolina -- so that's one state completed (Georgia), and something like 13 to go. Not too shabby! Its also over 100 miles that he has hiked. He said that all is well, and except for some rain and a recent 26degree evening, things are going along great. Knees, feet, back all still in good shape. Shawn got to spend what sounds like a wonderful night out on a mountaintop, admiring the evening stars (thanks to Suzanna for the constellation book!), and has made some hiking friends. One of them, SlowGoin', it turns out I met as well at the Lodge in Georgia the morning he left. He's hoping to find some internet access in town today, on his Zero Day (also known as a day off after a 6 day stretch), but its hard to say whether he will be able to or not. The next mail drop is a short three days away, also in NC. He asked me to say hi to everyone in case he did not get a chance to post anything here, and he thinks of everyone often.

HELLO FROM CLOUD9

2008-04-07T19:06:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone! I can't write for long as there is a line for the computer, but I am sitting in a delightful place called Cloud9 Hiker Hostel and Trout Farm in Hiawasee, GA. I've done about 68 miles of the Trail, and have only a day or two more in Georgia before I hit the rollercoaster mountains of North Carolina. The trail has been tough so far but not as bad as I expected, and mu body is holding up very well, though the feet began protesting yesterday afternoon since they knew a day off was coming. This hostel is great - jacuzzi, horseshoes, pool table, free ride to town for groceries, a big cookout and bonfire tonight. Perfect after 6 days of solid hiking, especially given the weather. Its rained at some point every day except one, and on the few sunshine days, it gets into the upper 70s and sunburn through the leafless trees is a factor. The longest day so far - 13.5 miles, was also on the toughest terrain with two 1000ft drops and two thousand foot climbs, and it was solid rain and 55 degrees all day and night. But it was done with gusto because a local BoyScout troop was cooking burgers at the destination, and after 3 burgers, a hot dog, 2 bowls of soup, a pile of cookies, and other snacks, a great sleep was had. The best part of the Trail is the people hiking with me, and the first day out I was introduced to M&M and Pootz who hiked the trail last year and left me with two delicious beers that day and have stashed some bourbon along the Trail in North Carolina for me to find later. I also met SlowGoin at the Lodge, who seemed a bit crazy at first but has quickly become a great companion. Lots of others, too many to mention now. I will try and write again when i get to Wesser, NC in about a week. Until then, take care all and thanks for the support. A special shout out to Mom, whose cookies were well-received by me and a dozen other wet and cold hikers at Neels Gap. More to come!

Hiawasee, GA

2008-04-07T11:46:00.004-04:00

Just got off the phone with Shawn, who has now completed 3% of the trail! All is well in Georgia, and he's still on schedule. He said there was a little trail magic recently, when they came across some Boy Scouts having a cookout for trail hikers. A few hamburgers and hot dogs later, he was back on the trail and is now at a hiker Hostel for the day to refuel and resupply. He said to say hello to everyone, and might get the chance to post here soon... And as it was last time, it was so good to hear his voice. The next time we could expect to hear from him is when is makes it across the border into North Carolina, around the 15th.

Georgia on my mind

2008-04-03T12:32:00.007-04:00

oops.... I think I am hoping he walks faster than he is... note to self: check map, then post. He's still in Georgia, at least for a day or so. I was thinking of the next mail drop he'll get, which is, in fact, in North Carolina... sorry for any confusion for those following along on a map!! Just had a wonderful, but sadly brief, conversation with Shawn, who has made it to Neels Gap in Georgia. This was the destination for mail drop #1, which was sent out about 2 weeks ago and waiting for him when he arrived! He also said he got a package from his mom (cookies, I believe), that he was really looking forward to opening. All is going well on the trail - weather, food supply, water supply, knees, feet, and back are all doing just fine. He slept the first night in the shelter with about 8 other hikers, but since then has been sleeping in his tent. So far so good... I think we'll be talking again on Saturday or Sunday, depending on how fast the next few days go - that will be able to be a longer conversation as he's planning on spending the night in a town. It was so good to hear his voice, even if only for 5 minutes.

He's in Georgia... I think.

2008-04-01T16:45:00.009-04:00

After a short debate as to whether it was better for him to walk away from me, or for me to drive away from him, Shawn headed off into the woods at around 10am on Monday morning.

He registered at the Amicolola State Park Visitors Center as a northbound thru-hiker in the morning. The sign in procedure is kind of fun – you walk in, and tell them you’d like to register for the Trail. The question is then, “Where are you going?” and when you answer, “Maine,” they smile, say, “That’s the right answer!” and let you sign in. We also weighed his pack, including food and water, and it came to 37 pounds, which I think he’s pretty happy with. We took a lot of photos (if you’d like to see more, let me know!), walked over and saw the beautiful waterfall, had some tears, and then he was off.

Interesting Trail Fact – Shawn was the 500^th northbound thru-hiker to register this year. According to the staff, that number is down a little from last year at this time, but they expect to pick up soon. There were three hikers who left earlier that morning, and we met one other who was expecting to start later on in the afternoon.

Interesting Trail Fact #2 – It is around 800 miles from Fishtown to the start of the trail… and a distance that took us 2 days to drive will take him about 3.5 months to walk. Kind of puts your commute into perspective. Of course, the other kicker is that once you set out from the Visitors Center, you're not actually on the trail yet... you're on the 8.5 mile "Approach Trail," which them takes you to the official start, on Springer Mountain. I'm guessing he arrived there, to the shelter, before dinner time last night.

We also think he’s settled on a potential trail name – “Keychain.” It comes from the two photo keychains I gave him as a going away present (Camille and my photos), which he has hanging on his pack. Those plus his small thermometer and whistle keychains make a nice little jingle as he walks. We also bought him a keychain from Georgia. He’s hoping to buy one in each state as he hikes through. We’ll see if it sticks or if the other hikers decide on something they’d rather call him!!

Thanks for everyone’s well-wishes… I expect to hear from him sometime on Thursday, and I’ll be sure and let everyone know when I do! (and if you look very closely at this photo, you can see Shawn, walking off onto the Trail...)

He's off!!

2008-04-01T11:10:00.004-04:00

Shawn is currently hiking through Georgia, and I am home ... more info to come.

FINAL THOUGHTS AS I BEGIN

2008-03-31T09:12:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning with Hall & Oates’ “Fall in Philadelphia” which I find fitting and a nice relief from John Lennon’s “Sitting Here Watching the Wheels Go Round” which is also fitting, but has been in my head since last Tuesday’s karaoke. I also woke with some final thoughts and expectations for the Trail before I leave in an hour: I am hoping the trail will teach me patience, and let me see how wonderful life is when lived slowly. I want to accomplish the whole thing, because then what couldn’t I do? I’m looking forward to spending everyday in nature, and seeing the subtle changes of the seasons each day. I am scared about the length of the trail, about how much time I will be away from Elizabeth and home. I’m more scared of not doing it or quitting for weak reasons. I’m scared about hurting myself. I’m scared about being alone and existing on superficial relationships for such a long time, but I’m curious to see what happens when I do. I hope it allows me time to know myself more fully. I hope I will write better journal entries than “hiked 11 miles, it was raining”. I hope I see a bear, but from a safe distance. Same with a moose. I want to learn about trees and be able to identify them. I hope I don’t screw my teeth up from sleeping face down on hard ground every night. I hope the Trail is as rewarding as it is challenging. I hope my friends will come hiking with me at times. I hope Elizabeth forgives me for leaving her alone for so long. I know we will love each other even more than we do now because of this shared experience.

WELCOME TO AMICALOLA FALLS

2008-03-31T09:11:00.000-04:00

We have arrived at Amicalola State Park after a long and tiring, but beautiful, drive. Free internet here too. Elizabeth and I crossed the trail once yesterday and five times today. We saw some hikers in Franklin, NC and earlier at Elwin, TN – one I recognized as Dynamite, a guy whose trail journal I randomly started following a few weeks ago. How perfect is that? I called out his trail name and got out of the car to talk to him, but I think he was a little disconcerted by my stalker behavior. Had an incredible dinner at a funky restaurant in Dahlonega, GA before coming to the lodge. Unfortunately, the bar is not open and nobody sells booze on Sundays in Georgia, so we’re a bit dry for our final night together. Still lots to do – finish writing an outline for Doug (will work ever end?), pick out the id and cards from my wallet, cut my fingernails, write this up. I also want to take a moment to thank everyone who has helped in some form or another, whether it was a gift card or a simple “good luck”. You’re all in my thoughts as I prepare, and your well wishes will be a solace in times of boredom and loneliness. See you all soon!

REGRETS

2008-03-30T08:56:00.004-04:00

Next time I do the Trail (!), I will do things a little differently. Like give myself at least one day between ending work and starting the drive down. My desk at KSK looks like I'll be in on Monday, I didn't have time to touch a thing. I also didn't have time to fully load my ipod with music, so Elizabeth has to endure me whining whenever a good song comes on the radio. I still have to do an outline for Doug for a work project - its coming Doug! I also would like to have exercised my hiking muscles a little more. I started using the stairs to our 12th floor office in the last two weeks, but it’s annoying to arrive at your desk winded and sweaty. I feel like I'm in some sort of decent "base" shape since I bike the 7 miles roundtrip to work fairly often, but that uses totally different muscles than hiking. I would also liked to have had more time for the drive, and maybe done some shakedown hikes along the way. Plus the mountains here are pretty amazing and there’s lots of attractive places to visit. Elizabeth and I could’ve made a real vacation of it. Other than that, I think we're mostly prepared, at least in terms of gear, food, and other physical things. The mental preparation is strong, in terms of knowing what I'm getting into, but it was still a shock yesterday when loading the car, since all I own right now is in a backback, and I won't see home for months. A tearful goodbye with my Camille as well.

BANANAS

2008-03-30T08:40:00.004-04:00

Hello from Staunton, Virginia, which has at least one leg up on Philly with its free wireless. We're about halfway to Dahlonega, Georgia - the first gold rush town in the US and the initial cause of the Cherokees being force-marched to Oklahoma during winter. We'll get a nice dinner there. And then a quick ride to nearby Amicalola Lodge at the base of Springer Mountain.

Had an interesting dream last night where I was at the start of the trail, which turned out to be an ageing hippy commune on a palm-treed beach. Everyone was living in cool little bech shacks and tents, and walking around barefoot to toughen their feet. I met up with a 90something Ed Garvey (the now-dead author of a popular Trail book in 1971) who showed me around, pointing out the places where other historic AT figures lived and spent time. Elizabeth was going to do the first 40 miles or so with me, but we needed more food and the only thing around were wasting bananas. What all this says, I don't know, other than I need to stop talking and reading and thinking about the Trail, and get out there already.

On the move...

2008-03-28T17:05:00.005-04:00

Shawn had thought he might "bring Camille on the trail" with him, so we tried out her hiking gear. I think the realization of the weight of the cat chow she would have required, combined with her need for constant petting, ended that partnership pretty quickly .... despite how cute she looks in camo.

GEAR BUYING COMPLETE

2008-03-27T17:00:00.002-04:00

With the purchase of duct tape today, it seems that my gear purchasing is complete. For those of you who are interested, I've put the final gear list as a link to the right. According to the industry weights, and me weighing smaller items on a kitchen scale, the base weight of the pack (without food and water) is 27.5 pounds, but I think its probably closer to 25 pounds. Or at least I hope it is - I will be testing that theory tomorrow.

WHY AM I DOING THIS?

2008-03-24T21:09:00.001-04:00

Roland Mueser, AT ’89, handed out surveys to his fellow thru-hikers that asked them hundreds of questions about their experience. He catalogued the answers to his queries in a wonderful book, “Long-Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail”. According to his findings, hikers cite three basic reasons for wanting to thru-hike the whole trail in varying degrees: Escape, Adventure, and Nature. Strangely, no one cited the fine cuisine. I suppose for me it’s mostly the first two of those reasons.

Simply put, I wanted a break from regular life to do something different. I’ve been doing the same thing – working at the same job, living in the same city, thinking about the same subject matter, and participating in the same hobbies and activities for over ten years now. Not that I don’t enjoy all this, but the sense of adventure isn’t there anymore, which is something I’ve always considered essential in life. Heck, if I ran the world (!), we’d all have summers off where we’d move to the beach, or take another job, or just do whatever we wanted – just to keep our brains healthy.

So, if that’s the desire, the catalyst is the timing. I’ve read that it takes three things to hike the trail: time, money, and ability. Young people have time and ability, but no money; retirees find themselves with money and time, but a lower ability; and us middle-agers (egads, am I middle-aged?) have money and ability, but often lack time. In this I am fortunate, having an understanding boss, accommodating partner, and patient cat, and being at a point where I don’t have any responsibilities to children yet.

But why do the Appalachian Trail? Couldn’t I buy a sports car? The trail idea came about after some other adventure ideas were tossed aside – although someday, I swear, I will fly to Mexico, buy a car, and driving around Latin America for a few months. I first discovered the AT as a kid from a National Geographic book about the trail at my grandparents’ house. I knew then, at age 8 or so, that I’d do this trail someday – or so I thought then. The Trail dream went away for quite a while, but resurfaced in 2000 when my friend Jeff and I started quasi-planning a thru-hike. It never got off the ground, but I got a pack and boots out of it. (Of course, now that I know what I’m doing, I’ve had to replace these expensive items with even more expensive items to save a few pounds.)

Plus, hiking is something I love doing, as anyone who’s traveled with me and been dragged down some random path can attest. Thanks to my parents, I day-hiked and car-camped as a kid, but it was during my time as a Forest Service volunteer in Alaska that I picked up the addiction of climbing on top a crest to see the view. Juneau is not a bad place to get to know hiking, either. My fellow volunteers and I hiked every week on our days off – Juneau has dozens of amazing and challenging trails to mountain tops, alongside glaciers, and through old-growth temperate rainforest. Plus, I was volunteering, and hiking is free.

And even better, I escape contemporary society for a bit. I’ll miss a good portion of the election insanity, I’ll leave reality TV behind, I won’t have to think about Ed Rendell trying to put casinos in my neighborhood, and I won’t have to wear a suit for 6 months. Considering this, any of you up for joining me?

SHAFFER AND GARVEY AND BRYSON

2008-03-23T17:26:00.004-04:00

I’ve been reading books by some of the earlier hikers to get a sense of the Trail’s past and see how it has changed. I just finished “Walking with Spring,” which details the first-ever thru-hike of the Trail, done by Earl Shaffer in 1947. Amazing how fast he manages to do the distance, especially given the equipment he carries, including a backpack with no hipbelt. It’s also amazing how much the Trail and America have both changed. Strangers have no problem taking him in and feeding him. There’s still backwoods farmers living in Smokey Mountains and Shenandoah National Parks and the rangers there actually hike and maintain the park, instead of managing traffic and crowds as they do today. In the forests, American chestnut trees are everywhere, though they are in the process of succumbing to the blight that will make them virtually extinct today. Because of the War and a huge hurricane in the mid-40s, the Trail is so poorly maintained that Shaffer looses his way often, forcing him to bushwack and roadwalk large portions. Earl Shaffer was quite the hiker – he went back and did the Trail north to south in 1965, and then hiked it again for a third time in 1998 – at the age of 79!

The book I’m into now is Ed Garvey’s “Appalachian Trail, Adventure of a Lifetime.” Garvey thru-hiked in 1969 and wrote a book about the hike, his preparation, and detailed descriptions of the gear he used and food he ate. The first how-to for the Trail, it sparked a lot of interest in the Trail when it was published in 1971, and the number of thru-hikers started growing from a handful to hundreds in the 1980s. Garvey is great, a true hiker nerd. He’s got detailed directions on cooking mundane things like pasta, he picks up every piece of litter he finds (amazing how Americans had little problem littering back then), and he even pleads for hikers to wear nice button-up Boy Scout style hiking clothes to present a good image to the rest of the world. Of course, at the time the trail was still on a lot of private land where hiking privileges could be easily revoked, and the typical unshaven and smelly hiker might smack of “too much hippy” for the squares of the time. Garvey’s best moment comes when he makes camp and goes for water, but looses the path back to camp. Dark comes and he has to sleep on the ground and cover himself with leaves for warmth. After he makes it through the night, he finds his stuff, and gets off the trail for a well-deserved day off.

I also recently re-read Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods,” which is the book I would most recommend for novice Trail interest. Bryson is a travel and general interest writer, well known for his humor and his book is very popular. If you look at the stats on the numbers of thru-hikers, they peaked in the three years after his book came out, which suggests some correlation to me. The book tells of how Bryson attempts the trail, but he becomes frustrated with the various challenges, from dealing with Park Service bureaucracy to dealing with the other characters out hiking. Eventually, he becomes bored in Virginia, tired of looking at the unending “green tunnel” that can become tedious without milestones. This apparently happens to a lot of hikers in Virginia, where you are hiking for 500 miles without feeling any progress being made – the phenomenon is known as the “Virginia Blues”. One more thing to worry about.

IT’S A GRAND OLD TRAIL

2008-03-23T16:55:00.002-04:00

One of the things about the Appalachian Trail that makes it unique is that it’s OLD, at least in terms of recreational trails. Vermont’s Long Trail, which goes up the spine of the Green Mountain State, is older by a few years, and the White Mountains and Hudson Valley have trail networks that predate both, but the Appalachian Trail is still the granddaddy of long-distance hiking trails.

The idea for it came about in the early 1920s, when a government forester named Benton MacKaye proposed it as a connector between a series of wilderness and farm camps set up in the mountains to provide rest, vocational training, education, and escape for America’s city dwellers. It’s a classic project from the age of regional planning, along with America’s first highways and regional park systems and such. And the amazing part is that it went from idea to actuality in just 16 years, being completed in 1937. Even more amazingly, it was built almost all by volunteer labor, with help from the Civilian Conservation Corp. In fact, it’s still maintained by volunteer labor.

FIRST MAIL DROP GOES OUT

2008-03-21T18:30:00.002-04:00

So, the first mail drop has been prepared and shipped out. If I want to ever see the potato flakes, ramen, and peanut butter/honey spread that Elizabeth prepared again, I will have to walk the 39 miles to Neels Gap, Georgia. Four breakfasts, four lunches, four dinners – all for under seven pounds.

Tent City

2008-03-13T11:48:00.005-04:00

Realized I never put this photo up, from the day Shawn's new tent arrived in our office. We all tried it out, and we realized that he'll be living and sleeping in a space the size of his cubicle for the next 6 months...

ABSURD

2008-03-06T16:46:00.008-05:00

Absurd is how I felt about the trail today, which happens now and then since it seems so far away from day-to-day life right now. I spent the last 2 days in Savannah for work, a town I've been visiting for several years for a few different city planning projects. Savannah is gorgeous. No matter how stressful the projects there get, its always a delight to visit that city. This trip had especially beautiful weather, and the azaleas were in full bloom, and big public meeting went really well, and left me feeling especially good about career and city life, etc.

So, this afternoon, I was looking out the window of the plane as I took off from my Atlanta connection and could see the mountains I'd be walking through three weeks from now. And it all felt ABSURD. Not crazy or impossible, just plain absurd.

However, I know that ole Philadelphia will have me back in reality within 24 hours, and reading Earl Shaffer's book about his thruhike - the first ever thruhike - in 1948 will get me back in Trail mood real quick. But then I still have to go to Savannah two more times before the trail....

THE FOODPILE GROWS

2008-03-04T12:55:00.005-05:00

Elizabeth and I went shopping last weekend. $100 later, we have the beginnings of my mail drop cuisine. Looks delicious, no? At least we could now survive a month or two if a nuclear war happens....

ITINERARY AND MAIL DROPS

2008-02-29T16:25:00.015-05:00

Finally have completed my itinerary, the making of which has felt like hiking the trail itself. Elizabeth can testify to the nights and weekend days spent with maps and guidebooks, pencils and paper spread over the room, often with Camille laying on whatever item I needed next. All told, 187 days of hiking, 16 mail drops, and 25 known overnights in hostels and such are whittled down to a single 11in x 17in piece of paper, looking so clean and easy. Of course, hidden within the spreadsheet lines are the blood, sweat, and tears to come.

The itinerary can be found through the link at the top of the links along the right side of this blog. It opens as a PDF document, which can be printed or saved to your computer.

I will be relying on mail drops to supplement food purchases I make in towns close to the trail. (No, I will not be carrying 6 months worth of food from the start). This will help save money, and is the traditional way of resupplying, from an age when not every town had grocery stores and 24-hour big box stores. Plus, its a nice way to keep in contact with everyone back home - Elizabeth especially is expecting many letters from me. Plus, waiting for mail is a good excuse for a day off, or what the hikers call a "zero-day".

For those of you planning on sending any mail drops along the trail, I've included addresses of the places I know I will be stopping at along the way. I think the instructions are clear on the intinerary, but it bears repeating - remember to address any packages in the following manner:

Shawn Rairigh

c/o name of business and address

c/o General Delivery (only for a Post Office)

Town, State Zipcode

"Please hold for AT thru-hiker, ETA date"

Be sure to include the last part - the business owners and postmasters of the small towns and villages the Trail goes through are understandingly overwhelmed sometimes and will only hold packages for a few weeks within that date.