New Pictures!

New pictures have been added! Enjoy.. Click on the "Pics from the Trail" link to the right. :-)

Mountains..

Mountains... yea...  I remember those!!
I'm in Vermont, the Green Mountain State!  And it's beautiful up here!  Finally back in the mountains!  I wish I could see it up here in fall!  Oh wait... I'll get to see Maine in the fall.   Which is just as nice!
The elevations are starting to ramp up!  They started a little ways back in Connecticut.   In CT, I climbed Mt. Everett, the first mountain over 2,000 feet since very early Pennsylvania.
Now in Vermont, the elevations are going over 3,000 feet.   The last time I saw elevations over 3,000 feet were back in Shenandoah in Virginia... almost 600 miles ago!!
Things about my hike are just getting better and better.  No complaint, except that I miss some of my friends that I met way long ago.  Hope I get to see some of them before I summit!

Trail Angels

I've been really memorized by some recent events.. so I shall write about these experiences.

Some people along the trail are simply magnificent. They welcome hikers into their homes, not for money or because they have to, but because they want to. Inherently, people are good. (so what goes wrong?)

In the past two days, I have been caught in pouring rain and hail storms.  Everything is soaked!!   When it's pouring rain, all I mainly do is keep moving forward and not stopping unless it is absolutely necessary.  Sometimes, there are shelters along the trail that you can take cover in to be out of the rain for a snack break or whatever, but not always.
Naturally, I was on a stretch where shelters were sparse and the rain was coming down hard.  I needed to take a break and eat lunch, but unless I wanted to sit in the rain and get the inside of my pack soaked when I open it to dig out my food bag, it was hopeless.  I came to a road crossing and saw a house with a covered front porch.   I knocked on the door and the woman that answered was all too happy to let me sit on her porch and eat my lunch while I told her about my hike.  She even gave me a Coke and put my wet and cold clothes in the dryer!!
I encountered the same hospitality when I came to Dalton, MA.  Myself and a couple of other hikers got caught in a hail storm for about an hour or two and were soaked and miserable.  We walked up to a gas station and the attendant asks "you guys looking for the Bird Cage?"  Umm, sure... (he must know hikers when he sees them...).  A middle-aged man (Rob) rolls up in a van and takes us to his house where he let us shower, did our laundry, took us to resupply, and dropped us off at an all-you-can-eat buffet.  AND we can spend the night?  WOW...
It's people like Rob --the ones with the big hearts-- that make the world a better place.  Furthermore, it's experiences like this that shape a thru hike into something that you just have to do to "get".  When I try to explain my hike to people and how it changes you, most of the time I sense they don't fully understand just what it is that I am trying to convey.
The AT harbors a wonderful community.  And that is all.

You're Funny

So, here I am in Salisbury, CT.  I've tossed in the towel early today, as I simply can't hike in this heat.  It's unbearable.

My past few blog entries have been on the serious side.  Therefore, I thought I would lighten up the mood a little bit by writing about funny things that thru hikers do.

You know you're a thru hiker if/when:

- You strike up a conversation with strangers about pointless things

- When ordering in a restaurant, you ask how big it is to determine if it's going to be enough

- You think about how you're going to write your witty shelter register entry

- You get pack separation anxiety

- You stop hiking and think about picking up that peanut M&M someone dropped on the trail

- You can smell day hikers' "freshness".... is that Tide?

- Your own funk makes you gag

- You go days without a shower and think nothing of it (sponging off in a stream is good enough)

- You walk past views because they all look the same after awhile

- You play games to make the time go by (count how long it takes to pass 100 white blazes)

- You find humor in the most ridiculous things (bathroom humor in the privy, anyone??)
- You find yourself not using your table manners

- You think nothing of going into town looking like bum

- (and you think nothing of approaching people when you look that way)

- When in town, all you want to know is where the post office & grocery store are... as your eyes glaze over at the thought of a hamburger and coke

- You entertain one or more of the eight topic questions from curious people:

    - Do you carry a gun/weapon?

    - What did you do before you came out here?

    - What are you going to do when you finish?

    - What do you do for food?

    - How old are you?

    - What do your parents think of this?

    - How long is your hike going to take?  "....what?!"

    - Do you do this alone?!

Therefore, as you can see, hiking the trail can be quite humorous... to some.  It's those that notice the magic more than others that cherish this journey!

Ridin' Solo

This hike of mine has gone from all the company I could ever want in the South, to times where I camp alone in the North.  The attrition rate has certainly taken its toll and the further I move North, there are less thru hikers.   It's that simple.  I camped alone last night and it wasn't the first time, either.  I don't really mind it and, in fact, I pride myself on my independence from other people.  But there are times where I do get lonely...
I've come to the conclusion that I'm often between "bubbles" of hikers.  Since I have many friends on the trail ahead of me and behind me, I am aware of their location most of the time via their shelter register entries.   Most hikers will roll as a group, often hiking together... in a single line formation. But I don't want to be dependent of a group.   If I'm around some of my friends, fine.  If not, fine as well.
I don't mind hiking solo because it's hard to find someone that exactly matches my hiking pace and I don't feel like looking at someone's calf muscles all day.  Or hearing steady footsteps behind me.

Another issue I wanted to write about is WATER!

Water is a necessity out here!  It's been so hot and humid with temperatures in the 90s and due to surpass 100 in the next few days.  Unfortunately, (good) water is hard to come by.  The streams in NJ and NY were a black/red color.. mmm.. yummy...   The piped springs that were so abundant in the South have disappeared all together up here.  In NY, there are some water pumps along the trail.  However, the water that comes out, after you manually pump for a good while, is a solid brown / rust color and smells of sulfur.  Also, nowadays, my guide books lists "swampy areas" and meager streams (which sometimes don't exist because they're dried up) as water sources.
The people of NY were so kind.  I lost count of how many times trail angels left fresh water in numerous gallon jugs at road crossings and, sometimes, not even near road crossings.  They don't have to do that but the fact that they did made me emotional at some points...   Trail angels know that hiking in this heat without good water is virtually impossible and potentially a very serious health concern.   If it wasn't gallon jugs at road crossings, it was private residences and businesses close to the trail that would allow hikers to retrieve water from their outside spigots.   Sometimes, when I would be retrieving water from an outside spigot, I would get asked "how do you do it...?!  I can't even imagine..."  I reply with "I just... do."

Yep, I just do.

So, with that update, I'm eating what remains of this chicken salad sandwich and then hitting the trail again!  Peace! ;-)

What's NEW?

New Jersey and New York!  That's what's NEW!  I've completed my 8th state (New Jersey) and now I'm currently in my 9th state (New York)!  Once Pennsylvania was completed, Sparkplug and I, as well as a few other hikers, went to have some drinks to celebrate being done with one of the most hated states along the trail. I finally got to have a martini!
I left the Delaware Water Gap in high spirits, happy to be crossing into New Jersey.  I did a small section in NJ last summer and it was spectacular!  Therefore, I knew what awaited me there:  glacial lakes and ponds, bears, and countless miles to be seen from the ridges.   It's like a completely different world once you cross into NJ!  Lakes start to dot the landscape (all the way to Maine) and cliff walking becomes the norm.  However, when the trail isn't on the ridges, it dips down to swampy areas.  In one section, there was a mile long boardwalk over a swampy area, affectionately dubbed by hikers as the "New Jersey Boardwalk"!  There were also fire lookout towers that provided 360 degree views.  I camped at the base of Catfish Fire tower and watched the sunset.  The picture below is from the lookout nest at the top of the tower.

Also, New Jersey is loaded with wildlife!  I saw three bears, a huge black snake, and a porcupine.  NJ had a lot of variety, but I won't miss the swarming mosquitoes.  At night, in certain low-lying areas, you could hear them buzzing and swarming around in the swamp and around your tent.  Needless to say, I didn't stay in any shelters in NJ.
I'm currently in New York!  I crossed into NY on a giant slab of rock atop Prospect Rock, with stunning views of the massive Greenwood Lake.  This should have been a hint to me what the trail would be like in NY.  So far, the trail in NY has been strenuous, with constant ups and downs along the ridges.  All the while, hiking on rock slabs.  I'm not "riding the ridge", per say, I'm going up and over them--and they're tightly packed and steep!!  It's been gorgeous though!  Views of the NYC skyline (the trail comes within 34 miles of the city) can be seen from Bear Mountain and some parts of the trail in NY have thick spruce/pine trees that block out the sun and make you feel like you should be somewhere in Oregon.
I'll cross the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain bridge tomorrow and 1,400 miles will have been completed!  The area around the Hudson is the lowest elevation on the entire trail: 124 feet above sea level.  That means it's all uphill to Mt. Washington (6,288 feet), right?!

Reeaalllyy looking forward to the upcoming parts of the trail, especially VT, NH, & ME!

When The Going Gets Rocky

Where to begin?!   I'll start by saying: "I'm out of Pennsylvania!!" Woot, woot! Never have I ever hated a trail state so much and wanted out!  Not even in Virginia!  The trail in PA really got to me-- in a bad way.  It was the first time I seriously thought about abandoning my thru hike.
The trail through PA is a stout ~220 miles.  However, the amount of miles didn't bother me; it was what the trail had to offer that did.  In PA, there's limited views in the entire state, the trail is laden with pointy and wobbly rocks, it's poison ivy and tick heaven, the dreaded "green tunnel" effect is present due to the limited views, and the heat and humidity are oppressive.   Not to mention, since I had to take a week off, I was behind virtually everyone I had met since Georgia.  When I returned to the trail, I was eager to meet new people but was bummed I was behind my friends.  Yet, I did met a few new people but due to my accelerated pace, I caught up with a few old faces!  One of them being Sparkplug!!  I love that woman.   Her and I celebrated being done with PA by having some drinks here in DWG.  I finally got to have an appletini!
Therefore, even though I blew through PA, it was a struggle to do so.  Believe it or not, one day, I did 28 miles!  After months of hiking, I knew I was physically capable of doing big miles but some days it was mentally hard to put one foot in front of the other.
When thru hikers are having a hard time, the standard suggestion is to just stick it out and things will get better.  So, I kept hiking but was still running short on motivation.  Not knowing what to do, I reached out to a few friends and a past thru hiker (Monkey). Monkey gave me the best advice ever! He told me that when he hiked the trail last year and he had hard days, he just danced like a fool. That's right. Danced. Like. A. Fool. And he suggested I do the same.  I remember it so clearly, too-- I turned on my phone and saw the messages come in.  I read his message and that was it, game time!   I dug out my iPod and got to dancing-- right on the trail!   Never have I had such a change of mindset out here!
I'm taking the day off here in DWG and then it's on to New Jersey! NJ has a short ~75 miles and then I'll be in NY! Woah, these states are gonna fly by...

The Pinnacle