compiled pix and some videos

https://picasaweb.google.com/bomanton/ATHike2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNXY9rLtyK2G_QE&feat=directlink

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7SHcASwD_c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_qevxIwh0U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRflDmQO-fM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb8QiH6uQNM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LPxDof-ev4

Update (probably last one)

7/21

(start 10 finish 7:20. Tented on summit of Mt Success. 14.6 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.46768,-71.04507&ll=44.46768,-71.04507&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Lots of ups and downs today. Tough hiking but it felt great. Finally I got to stress the legs and lungs as opposed to my feet being the weak link. There was actually dirt to walk on. It was very hot, had to carry a lot of water.

I met back up with night train. He's a cool dude. One of the most positive person ive ever met.

I tented on what I thought was the summit of Mt Success (it wasnt. The next morning I still had a little bit to go). I've never picked a worse tent site. I let being tired affect my judgment. First there seemed to be an obvious animal walking trail right through where I tented. Second a storm rolled in late and being on a summit is not good for lightning. And lastly it turned out not to be level and I woke up completely shifted to one side of my tent, off my pad and pushing my tent off it's stakes.

The storm was bad. It was probably the most scared ive ever been. I was about to fall asleep when I saw multiple lightning flashes. I couldn't hear the thunder so I thought I was good. Then slowly I started hearing the thunder. And the time between lightning and thunder got closer and closer and closer. Then the drizzle started, closely followed by a torrential down pour and closer lightning strikes. it was pretty scary.

Good news was I made it and I was only 1.9 miles from the Maine-New Hampshire border.

7/22

(start 8:30 finish 1:30. Hiker paradise in Gorham. 8 miles )

I walked 1.9 miles and hit the border which was a cool feeling. I continued on for another 0.4 miles to the Carlo Col shelter where I filled water and had breakfast. It took me two hours to hike 2.3 miles. It was pissing me off how difficult the terrain was. It wasnt hiking, it was rock climbing. And all the rocks were still wet. It was slippery and dangerous. I had to actually take my pack off multiple times, throw it down and then make my way down. It sucked. The upcoming terrain was suppose to be worse and I was realizing I wasn't going to make it in time to meet up with the fam at moosehead lake by Saturday. So after long contemplation and talking to a local at the shelter, I decided to take a side trail off to a road and hitch back into Gorham. Then hitch from Gorham to Moosehead area.

7/23

(start 10 finish 5. Tenting behind Greenville school)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=45.45931,-69.59232&ll=45.45931,-69.59232&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I started hitching from Gorham New Hampshire at 10 AM today. The goal was to get to Greenville Maine, which is 167 miles away by road. I've never did long distance hitching before and I had no clue how long it would take. I was guessing 2-3 days. I would just tent in the woods off of the side of the road.

Well I caught 8 hitches and made it all the way to Greenville by 5 PM. I walked probably around 10 miles. It was pretty hot, the sun was a beast. The farther I got from the trail, the harder it was to get a hitch.

The last hitch I got took me a long way across multiple roads. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have made it in one day. They were a cool group of 3 ladies- the mom, daughter and friend. The daughter thru-hiked last year and the mother got into the hiking culture. She spends a lot of time providing trail magic in Maine. They were on their way home from a mountain adventure race. A 5K course with multiple obstacles, similar to the tuff mudders.

So I got in town and went to the outfitters. I was hoping I could get in on a 3 day kayak and camping trip. But it was too expensive. I couldn't justify spending the money when next week I could do it for free when David drives up my kayak.

So I spent lot of time at the outdoor bar at the black frog. Some Jim Beam neat and moosehead beers, potato skins and curly fries. Yum! Followed by a drunken scramble to the ice cream stand for a waffle cone of moose tracks.

It had gotten dark and I hadn't figured out where I was sleeping yet. One of the waitresses suggested tenting behind the local school. It seemed like a good idea. It worked out fine.

The bartender just moved up here from mullica hill. She went to Clearview. Small world.

Update

7/16

(start 10:20 finish 6:40. Tented beyond Garfield shelter. 11.9 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.19315,-71.62054&ll=44.19315,-71.62054&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Very tough day of hiking. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of rocks. Very big elevation gains. This is real hiking or at least the toughest hiking I've done.

7/17

(start 9:00 finish 5:30. Mizpah hut. Idk miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.21931,-71.36972&ll=44.21931,-71.36972&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Today was an adventure. I woke up from my stealth tent site and hiked for an hour. It was more downhill than the guide showed and I passed a few water sources, again which the guide did not show. I was starting to figure out that i wasn't on the Appalachian Trail. Finally i came to a major intersection of trails and there was no white blazes and now I knew that i wasnt on the AT. So I pulled out my White mtn national park map and waited until someone came around to try to find out where I was. Luckily the first group of people were knowledgable and friendly. They helped me realize that i made a wrong turn the previous day. I was 2-3 hours away and a steep downhill from where I should be so I contemplated a new way to get back on trail.

I choose to continue to walk down away from the trail and pick it back up at another trail head. Well the guy said 'we'll take wherever you want.' then they mentioned the magic word. They said their father was in town waiting at McDonalds for them to finish. MCDONALDS!!! (their father and one his friends tried to hike with them the day before but after starting their uphill, they said they couldn't do it so they went into town and got a hotel) so I went with them to McDonalds and ate a quarter pounder. Yum!. And the guy wouldn't let me pay for my food. Peoples generosity is amazing... Then his other friend was driving in the direction that i had to go, so he took me part of the way. Then I had to hitch a good 10 miles on another road, then another 15 miles on another road. Hitching was pretty difficult this time. I walked a lot of the way and it was hot. I got sunburned pretty bad on my arms and neck. I had to catch 3 different hitches to finally get where i was going to pick up the trail. So I finally got to the trailhead and I only had to hike 2.9 miles to a Hut.

Throughout the Whites they have huts. A pretty good size cabin that has multiple bunks in multiple rooms. Hikers can spend the night there for $125 per person. They let thru-hikers do a work-for-stay which is sweet. My job was to sweep the floors in the morning for which I get dinner, breakfast and I get to sleep on the floor somewhere. There's really nowhere else to sleep because they don't want you to camp because the wildlife is fragile in that high elevation environment.

7/18

(start 9:00. Finish 11:00. Lake of the clouds hut. 4.8 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.25875,-71.31894&ll=44.25875,-71.31894&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Ok so last night two other hikers came in late from a 21 mile day. They agreed to also do a work for stay and their duty was to help me sweep in the morning. We had to wait until all the guests leave which is around 8.

So these two guys wake me up at 5:30 and say "sorry dude we're leaving. We have to get started early" actually they didn't day sorry. So i went back to sleep, woke up at 7, ate the leftovers from the paying guests, and swept at 8. Emma, the hut leader, was very upset that the dudes left without doing what they were suppose to do. I really didn't care that much because I like the dudes and I know they like to leave early, but what they did was wrong. They probably screwed over future hikers that come to that hut. Now Emma is going to be less apt to take in hikers.

One of the reasons I didn't mind them leaving early was because of the weather forecast. It was suppose to be nice in the morning but get very ugly towards the afternoon. So they were trying to get over mount Washington before the bad weather rolled in. Mount Washington is notorious for bad weather. It has the highest recorded wind speed in the world (normal wind speed, not a tornado). 146 people have died on mount Washington.

However later in the day I did become a little upset at what they did. When I started hiking at 9 AM the weather was decent but it quickly turned horrible- high winds, foggy, rainy and cold. (the highest temperature ever on Mt Washington was 72 degrees) So I stopped at the next hut which was only 4.8 miles for the day. One i didn't want to get stuck in bad weather over Mt washington and two I also wanted to see. The visibility was like 20 feet. I was walking in a cloud. And these views were suppose to be magnificent. I walked all this way and did this rough hiking in the Whites. I wanted to the payoff- the views, so I was content with only a 4.8 mile day.

So anyway when I got there, those two guys were there. They left early and left me to sweep alone just so they could get 4.8 miles. And they never said thanks or sorry. Thats what pissed me off. I talked to them about it and they still didn't seem like they cared. It's makes me think of a quote from a leading person in the evolutionary biologist, anthropology field, Robert Trivers- "The human brain is the outcome of the cognitive arms race set in motion by the Machiavellian intelligence of our primate forbears fueled by the emotions needed to regulate reciprocal altruism." when you live in a group, people count on each other and people need to be accountable to that group. Give and take. These two are taking without giving back. They had no remorse. No 'I owe ya one' nothing. And what made it worse we had work for stay at this hut too. And our only duty was we had to reorganize the library book shelves. It was me, another dude and the two guys. Three of started working on it while one dude was away. Well that dude walked right by us, saw us and continued walking away. He didnt even help. So after yesterday's ordeal of skipping out of his duty, he did it again. Taker.

So anyway it was a short day, bad weather and no views.

7/19

(start 8:15. Finish 5:15. Osgood tent site. 10.3 miles)

(I guess the spot didn't work tonight)

Today was a day I will never forget. My emotions were at the absolute opposite ends of the spectrum.

The hut was awesome because a volunteer hut crew came in to give the normal workers a day off. The normal workers are college kids who have a smug attitude towards hikers. The volunteer crew were older people who use to work the huts like over 30 years ago. They were happy to be there, cheery and receptive. We actually got a bunk room instead of having to sleep on the floor.

So after breakfast the weather was finally starting to clear up and we could actually see. IT WAS BREATH TAKING. one dude said it's so beautiful that it looks fake. And he was right. It looked like the kind of place I see in magazines when I'm at home and ask myself "why the hell am I not there." I cannot express how amazing it was- infinite visibility, above treeline mountain tops, cool rock formations, clouds blowing over the mountains from the valley. It was a treasure. I felt so fortunate to be there and wondered why should I continue to hike (away) from these mountains. I should find a way to stay there. But I had to keep hiking so I did. Most of the day was going to be hiking above treeline so I would be able to see all of this beautiful stuff all day.

It was tough hiking. Every step was on a rock. This sucks for multiple reasons- you have walk very slow because every step is different and rocks could slip, so it takes a longgg time to walk a short distance, and a lot of the times all of your weight gets pressed on 1 inch of your foot because of how you have to step on certain rocks.

The summit of Mt Washington (6288 feet above sea level) was only 1.5 miles from the hut I slept at. It was pretty cold and fairly windy. The views were awesome. I hung out there for like 30 minutes and continued hiking. It was then 4 miles to the next hut where I planned on breaking and eating lunch. It took a longggg time because of the rock walking. I was still in awe and loving it, loving every moment, loving every nanosecond.

Then things took a turn. After lunch it was 3.5 miles until we went back under treeline. It was all horrible rock hiking like it had been all day, but before I was in blissful euphoria. But after lunch my feet starting killing me and I tweaked my right knee because of the twisting and turning I had to do because it was a 4000 foot descent of all rocks over a 3 mile stretch. When your feet hurt it really sucks because every step is- ouch, ouch, ouch. And every ouch is a worse ouch. It got worse and worse and worse UNTIL... WTF!!! why am I doing this?!?! This is bullshit. Why does it have to be so rocky?!?! I'm done!! I'm quitting!! I'm done hiking... forever!!! I lost it. I broke.

So I finally get back under treeline. I get to walk on dirt again and things were looking up... Nope! I forgot all about how bad the bugs were because I had been above treeline for 3 days. As soon I got under treeline, the bugs were buzzing in ear, landing on my head, Mosquitos biting my arms. And it got real hot. As Bear Jew said later that night 'you cannot win on the AT. It's always something.' ha, I guess that's life too. You have to take the good with the bad. And after I ate dinner and re-acclimated to the heat and constant bug annoyance, I fell back in love with hiking.

My plan was to hike farther than I did, but I pulled up early at a campsite because I just couldn't stand to hike any longer that day. Well four others that I stayed with at the hut the previous night were in the same ballpark as me. I had eaten dinner and had my tent all set up when they walked in and they said how you doing. And I immediately went into my tyraid that I just shared with you about the day going from the best to the worst very quickly. And dude (bear Jew) threw his arms up and said "hallelujah. I was just saying that to my girlfriend." they planned on hiking farther too but they also couldn't stand hiking any further. that made me feel better.

After filtering some water, I went over to their campsite and hung with them. It was a great time. They were very cool and funny. (bear Jew, rock puncher, sea weed, biologist)

I also want to talk about the Hut dynamic. I think it really sucks because theres really no other place to sleep because its above treeline, there are no other shelters and they dont want you tenting because the alpine wildlife is fragile. So you really have to stay at the huts. You have to wait until the guests clear the eating quarters and then eat their leftovers and then you sleep on the floor. Some guests are really cool to you but some look down at you. And the hut crew are smug college kids. It's not that bad but I'd rather just do the normal shelter or tent thing and not have to feel like a second class citizen.

7/20

(start 9:00. Finish 10:30. Hitched into Gorham. Hikers paradise. 3.5 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.39801,-71.19415&ll=44.39801,-71.19415&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I was only planning to resupply in this town and continue hiking. But the heat and my sore feet slowly persuaded my conscious mind to get a room and stay the night. So I did. I hitched to walmart. Got food for four days and got a bottle of wine, a block of cheese, lime tortillas and salsa to eat and drink today. Yum! They sell alcohol in walmart here. New Hampshire's slogan is "live free or die" gotta love that!!'

Update

7/14

(start 8:00 finish 9:30. North Woodstock, NH. 1.4 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.03391,-71.68613&ll=44.03391,-71.68613&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I've decided to take a Nero into town then a zero. I felt so good after my last Nero and I think it will be very productive to rest, let things heal and get stronger. I also bought new boots, stiffer boots in hopes that my feet will no longer hold me back and maybe I can get to doing big miles. Although that will probably have to wait until after the Whites, because that is tough hiking.

I took a thorough shower then swam in a chlorine pool and I still have horrendous b.o. I haven't taken a shower in 7 days and it's been very hot. Haha.

7/15

(zero)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.03391,-71.68613&ll=44.03391,-71.68613&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Chilled. Walked around. Did a
warm-up and stretched. Planned upcoming miles and resupply points. Looked through google maps for possible end points in Maine and drew road routes so I can successfully hitch hike to moosehead lake.

Update

7/10

(start 9:45 finish 1:30. Hanover. Dartmouth College. 10.5 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.69771,-72.27792&ll=43.69771,-72.27792&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I left Paul's house at 8. Then ate breakfast at the general store in town. I wound up sitting with beer hunter and timber for a while. They were older guys hiking together. Timber was from Britian and he helped me come up with the idea of doing a bicycle tour of Europe next summer.

Today I did NOT want to hike. I was thinking about hitch hiking from that general store to Hanover. I thought about trying to catch a bus. My body or maybe my mind didn't wanna hike the 10 miles to Hanover (a city that AT goes directly though. Dartmouth College. And where I have to pick up my mail drop of my goretex gear) But I finally convinced myself that I needed to burn off the calories from the big breakfast and from my over eating gorge from last night's party, so I set off. I started feeling great and it wound up being a great day, felt strong. I met some cool people on the trail that fired me up- two south bounders that were friendly and positive, a father that was mountain biking and his daughter running behind that were talkative and friendly and finally a group of four youngins on their first day out of their goal of hiking all of the AT in Vermont.

I bought the AWOL guide from an outfitter in town. This book shows the elevation change much better than the book i have. I had it before but I gave it to that dude. And now I'm eating lunch at a salad buffet. I think I've felt weak because I haven't been eating much vegetables. So I loaded up on good food- spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, beans, blueberries, strawberries, chicken, turkey, olives, squash, zucchini.

I spent time on the computer today at the Dartmouth Outing Club uploading photos and videos and now I'm tenting in the woods behind their soccer fields. I have to go back into town tomorrow morning to go to the post office.

7/11

(start 10:30 finish 8:00 @ trapper John shelter. 16.3 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.78258,-72.11157&ll=43.78258,-72.11157&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Today was a lot of ups and downs. Tough miles. The only thing that really hurts are my feet. It's sucks. They're holding me back. Today was also the first time the heat was a big factor. It was pretty hot. I sweat a lot and had to carry and drink a lot of water.

The Whites are coming (White Mountain Range). Very big mountains. Very big elevation changes.

Someone asked me tonight who I've been hiking with and since it's such a short post I'm going to attempt to remember who I've hiked with and got to know a lil: coyote, puddle duck, nochello, llama legs, Christian, the fixer, the newly weds, Nero, shoefly, over the top, battle cat, dream walker, sky pilot, white wolf, Charlie, inch worm, sprocket, pipe, night train, timber, beer hunter, Billy goat, Beth, good foot.

7/12

(start 10:00 finish 10:20. Rumbler's Rest campsite. 1.1 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.88891,-71.95773&ll=43.88891,-71.95773&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I woke up to this dude talking loud to another hiker asking him if he wanted to slack pack. So I got up and talked to the dude. He's trying to start a campsite business nearby so he's recruiting hikers to stay at his place and he's also offering slack packing. Slack packing is hiking with a light pack. So this dude would take our extra gear to his campsite (you only take the gear you'd need for one day). We would walk about 16 miles and he would pick us and take us to his campsite. YOU KNOW I LIKE SLACK PACK!!!! my feet are hurting so I decided to do it.

So we had to walk 1.1 miles from the shelter to the road where this dude was parked. When we got there, he tied us up, f•cked us and robbed us. Calm down do-do. (jk. Another movie quote)

Then I took the slacking further. I've decided to take the day off. I'm starting to lose weight, feeling stronger, my fitness has improved a lot. I don't want to get a little stupid injury to set me back. Life's not a track meet, it's a marathon. I wanna be healthy for Maine and for when I get home to continue working out.

7/13

(start 10:30 finish 7:20. Beaver brook shelter. 18.8 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.03313,-71.81137&ll=44.03313,-71.81137&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I felt very strong after my Nero. I walked the first 10 miles in about 4 hours. I was going to stop at that point at the Hikers Welcome hostel but I felt very good and the weather was suppose to be good. It was another 8 miles to the shelter I was hoping to reach which was after a 3800 foot elevation gain to summit Mt Moosilauke. That was the biggest elevation gain so far this trip, maybe I've done, not sure how big it was when I almost summitted Mt Elbert. AND the weather was not good. It rained and there was a thunderstorm cluster behind me, so I was walking fast and running off the bare (above tree line) summit. That was only the second time in my life that ive been above treeline. It was cool. Its going to happen a lot more very soon while summiting these mountains in the Whites.

It's funny how psychology affects your perceived effort. I knew it was going to be a big climb so I prepared myself mentally for it, and it seemed rather easy. However when I have to do an unexpected 500 feet up, that seems very hard.

There was a crazy dude at the shelter that got in late. He was nuts!!! I didn't realize he was nuts and I was trying to be nice and talk to him. Big mistake. I wish I could have recorded what he was saying. Somehow we got to talking about sex and he said he learned from horses- sniffing around, following and then... Then later he was talking about war. He said if you enter war, you have to go all the way, concentration camps and genocide your enemy. Then he began his ramble across all things- religion, Indians, fighting styles, weapons, space travel, over population, right vs wrong, democracy, equality. He would just say random things like 'back in the day i bet everyone had their own fighting style. And they knew it. And it was good.'

I was really afraid to sleep in the same shelter with him. I bought a little book on the brain in Hanover that I've been reading out here and the last section I read was on psychopaths and how when Bundy was 4, his aunt woke up to him standing over her smiling with all the kitchen knives placed around her. That kept coming into my mind about this guy... He was about 25. I think he was slightly retarded or some type of mental problems, homeless and penniless.

jumping off iron bridge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Uu-dwWhv0

New Hamshire

I'm in New Hampshire!!!! 300 miles down.

Update

7/7

(start 1:45. Finish 6:45. @ stony brook shelter. 10.0 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.69191,-72.73016&ll=43.69191,-72.73016&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Late start. I missed bus into Rutland from the Inn because the dude from the inn told me the wrong time. I choose it was time to trim the beard so I wanted to go into town to a barber. It costs me $5 to trim down the beard.

One of the things I didn't like about being at West Point and in the military is when people are passing each other they don't look at your eyes, they see what your rank is and then act accordingly. I found it very judgmental and impersonal. I am finding a similar dynamic out here. The first question most people ask is 'are you thru-hiking?' like why is that the most important thing you need to know about someone. How about- what's your name, where are you from, how ya doing?

I was talking to some cool people at the shelter tonight and I think ive come up with how I'm going to respond to 'you thru-hiking.' I'm gonna say I'm an adventurer. Another funny response I've came up with the help of Coyote (he is actually the dude i slept with at the shelter on my first night) is when people ask where'd you start, the response is going to be 'the beginning.' where you going to 'the end.'

I hammered out the 10 miles today. Felt strong. There was a decent climb. It was only 1300 feet and it was a great steady climb. The trail was awesome, no mud, no rocks, no roots.

I miss read the book and miscalculated the distance to Hanover. For some reason I thought it was 60 miles, so I planned on 4 days. Well it's only 40 miles, so I'm carrying extra food, but the real pickle is the timing of when I'll get there because I have a mail drop there of my goretex pants and coat. They say that I'm going to need warm clothes in the White mountain range so my mama mailed them to me. The problem is I could hike normal miles and get there in 3 days which would mean i would get there by Saturday but since the post office closes at noon and is closed on sunday, I'd have to wait there until Monday morning to get my stuff, so I've decided to hike smaller miles, get there on Sunday, resupply and plan the next few days, tent nearby, walk to the post office Monday morning and be on my way. (Gina, was that a run-on sentence? If not, it was a damn impressive sentence) (Russ,that's why i dont like mail drops or bounce boxes) (some hikers use bounce boxes. Which means when they're in a good town to resupply, they buy extra stuff and mail it to another town ahead so they can have good supplies in towns that may not offer good stuff but have easy access to a post office)

7/8

(start 8:40. Finish 4:20. Tented after Woodstock Stage Rd. 15.4 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.67447,-72.55106&ll=43.67447,-72.55106&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I'm done with sleeping at shelters for the time being. Last night there were two people about to go to sleep at like 8:30. 3 hikers came in late and made a lot noise, talked a long time and were not considerate of the two trying to sleep. So the two trying to sleep early repaid the favor this morning. They set an alarm for 4:30 and let it go and go and go. Then they proceeded to pack their gear loudly on purpose for a long time, rustling everything they could and banging stuff on the ground. It was hilarious and I couldn't blame them. However i was an innocent bystander. Then the dudes that were loud the previous night woke up at 6:30 and continued their loud shananagins while i was trying to sleep. I don't know if they're wrong or it's something that is to be expected in a public place. And it's all about freedom out here. I don't want to impose on someone else's experience. So I'm just gonna stay away. I plan to tent from now on in none shelter/campsite locations.

7/9

(start 9:40. Finish 4:30. @ iron bridge Vt 14. 11 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.7094,-72.41855&ll=43.7094,-72.41855&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Today was a lot of ups and downs. And the guide book i use to hike the trail isnt good at telling you the terrain. It just gives major landmarks and their elevation. So for instance today it showed one road at 880 feet and the next landmark was another road at 820 feet that's 2.5 miles away. So in planning I thought ok that should be an easy flat 2.5 miles. Nope. It was straight up then straight down. It was pretty much like that all day; however. . .

Today I hit hiker JACKPOT. The trail went briefly through this town. I was about to cross this bridge when from afar I saw this girl on the other side of the rail, looking like she was about to jump off and two people were talking to her. I was like oh snap, she's about to commit suicide and they're talking her down. As I got closer I realized there was a river down below and she was going to jump into it. She was pretty frightened and it was taking her a long time. So then I was like I'll do it. So I put my stuff down, took my boots and shirt off and hopped on the other side of the railing. Well it took me a while to finally jump. I have a fear of heights, but i finally did it. It was fun. It hurt my taint a lil. I'm guessing it was about 30 feet. (I have video of it but it's on my camera so i have to wait to get back home to put it on the computer) so anyway then the two girls jumped too. We took pictures and I was about to be on my way. Well it was the two girls and one of the girls dad there and the father invited me to have a beer back at his brother's party. I couldnt turn it down so i went. It was awesome. Great food. Great people. Great beer. Great house. This very nice lady was trying to sell me a house in the area and get me a job at the local school. She was great. And the guy who owned the house was a retired teacher. His house was amazing. He's such a craftsman. He built this little shack to have a brick oven pizza house. And that's where I'm sleeping tonight. I have a video of the party on my mobile me gallery. The link is in my blog description at the top of this site. It's definitely a night I'll never forget.

7/6

7/6

(start 10:30. Finish 1. @ us 4. 6.3 miles)

No spot check- Inn at the Long Trail

Ok so I forgot to mention yesterday how awesome the hike was up to the summit of mt Killington. It was 4.3 miles rising 2000 feet. Some people like to do the elevation change in a shorter distance to get it over with. I prefer the longer, more gradual climb. This climb had an awesome vibe. I felt like i was in some enchanted forest from lord of the rings or harold potter. it was scattered with evergreens. Half were dead and barren, the other were alive and well with a weird moss growing on them. The forest floor was covered with moss. There were humongous, veiny roots all over. It was a super cool feeling.

So I walked my 6.3 miles to get to the road where I planned to hitch hike west 7.5 miles to resupply in Rutland, VT. it took a while to get a hitch but then I got the best hitch ever. She was a sexy, outdoorsy girl, 25 yrs old. She quit her teaching job to work for this outdoors guide company. She takes groups out hiking and kayaking. I wanted to ask her to marry me. Haha. Jk. But really.

I planned on tenting for free at the Inn at the Long Trail, but on the bus ride back from Rutland, I met up with Christian (a dude i met a while ago on the AT) and he said it was a good place to stay. So I wussed out and got a room. An hour later it went from a beautiful day to a torrential down pour, hail and lightning. Good decision on the room. I plan on a big burger and a few beers for dinner.

Ok so I've been sitting at the pub with steve, dan and Mary. Awesome times. No burger because I ate a block of cheese and a package of pepperoni (that I bought at the grocery store when resupplying) but the beers are flowing. And I'm sitting at the bar in boxers because that is my back up, clean shorts. I keep them clean and hike in my real shorts. I probably should start using real shorts as my clean shorts so I'm not in public in boxers. I don't wanna get tipsy and let the turtle head pop out and not realize it.

Question, respond please

Ok so I have a new question on hiker etiquette (please respond)

What should the hiker etiquette be on who gives way to whom when passing on the trail?

(aspects to consider: going uphill, downhill. Day hiker, multiday hiker, multimonth hiker. Carrying a pack, not carrying a pack)

(the trail is very narrow in a lot places, so when passing opposing hikers, who should give way to whom?)

Update

7/3

(start 7:50. finish 5:20. @ lost pond shelter. 14.8 miles. Tent)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.34768,-72.95285&ll=43.34768,-72.95285&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Watched hang over last night. 'we dont remember anything from last night, remember?'

The present is called the present because it's a gift. Unwrap that b•tch and start enjoying it.

Decent day of hiking. I got dropped off at the trailhead with Beth and good foot by Jeff (owner of hostel) at 7:50. Hiked up to the summit of mt Bromley 3 miles, 1400 feet up before 9. Then it started pouring and lightning. So lucky for me and Beth that mt Bromley (a ski resort) keeps a little building open for hikers, so chilled in there. Good foot was a little slower and got soaked. That always sucks. We spent a whole day dry and clean at the hostel, did laundry, took a shower, fresh and clean, and poor dude gets soaked within the first 2 hours back on the trail. I waited about 40 minutes and the rain stopped so I was relatively dry. The mud on the AT up here is crazy so my feet are wet and dirty again, already. But everything else is dry so no complaints from me. I'm really tempted to come home. I could be having great times with family, watching the tour de France, riding my bike; but I can do all those things all the other months so I'm pretty sure I'm gonna stick this out.

It was cool for me today because where I started hiking was where I attempted a winter hike two Christmases ago, attempted being the key word. So almost two years ago, I left a day or two after Xmas (keeping christ out of that materialistic holiday that he probably wouldn't approve of) to hike, snow shoe for a few days. So I made the drive up in decent time. I think it took me like 5-6 hours to get to Manchester Center. However once I got there, I drove all over trying to find the trailhead. It probably took about an hour of driving around the town to find it. And the only problem was that I read the map wrong. So anyway, it was starting to get dark. I parked my car, got my gear together, put my snow shoes on and started hiking. The plan was to sleep at Bromley shelter which is exactly 2 miles from the parking lot and it's about 700 feet uphill, not too bad. I wound up having to hike in the dark which wasn't too bad either. So i finally get to the shelter with a little feeling of accomplishment and a little nervousness about my first serious winter trip. I set my stuff up and realize that i forgot my sleeping bag in my car. Doh! So 2 miles down 700 feet and then back 2 miles up 700 feet.

Now its really night time. I hiked with my head lamp. And on the way back up I noticed that the stream was freezing. I dont know what the temperature was that night unfortunately but it has to be pretty cold for moving water to freeze.

So I'm finally in my sleeping bag and for some reason i decide to read a book- The Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner by Dean Karnazes. It was awesome. I couldn't stop reading. The next thing I knew it was 3 AM.

I didn't wake up until noon. I knew I was in a little bit of trouble. I contemplated staying in that shelter and just starting the next day. The plan was to hike 8.2 miles to the next shelter. I thought it was possibly doable and I was hella-fired up from the book that i just went for it. Ernt. Bad decision. 8.2 miles in the summer would take less than 4 hours. But I now know snow shoeing is much, much slower.

I was moving super slow and it was difficult to find the trail sometimes. it was getting dark and I was nowhere close to the shelter. It was freezing cold. It was starting to snow heavily. It was so cold that after a few hours of hiking, the water in my water bottle was frozen solid from being on the outside of my pack. I had to hike with the bottle under my down jacket to thaw it out.

So I was very nervous and beaten mentally. I was about to set my tent up in the midst of the snow storm when I heard snow mobiles. Ahhh yes. I went a little farther and there was a woods road. I waited by it. They stopped for me and asked me what the hell I was doing out there and then gave me a ride back to my car. So my first winter attempt, I lasted about 24 hours. I'm not proud but it's pretty funny.

7/4

(start 9:30. finish 6:40. at Minerva Hinchey shelter. 14.9 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.48761,-72.92438&ll=43.48761,-72.92438&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I'm feeling weak. The miles are hard to do. My feet hurt. I'm missing the 4th of July BBQ.

In the moment of weakness play rocky songs... In the burning heart. In the warrior's code theres no surrender. Your body cries stop. Your spirit screams never!!

Tonight at the shelter there was a wilderness camp of 8 girls and 2 counsellors. They were so cute. All full of energy and curiosity. They asked tons of questions. Song lots of songs. Cooked up s'mores. Cool group.

Today i came across an older dude that looked real familiar and as he kept talking (which he did a lot of) I realized I met him two years ago while hiking on the AT in NY. I remembered him because he was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and he always had cool stories. Cool dude.

I also got to canoe a little bit at Little Rock pond. I canoed across the pond and chilled and ate lunch on this huge rock formation overlooking the pristine mountain pond.

7/5

(start 9:15 finish 7:15 @ cooper lodge shelter. 15.2 miles )

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.60608,-72.82248&ll=43.60608,-72.82248&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

This morning I had an alarm clock of 8 squirrely little girls playing- "Oh Big booty. big booty big booty big booty. Big booty number 1. Number 1 number 3..." these girls were great. So full of life and high spirits. They have been out for days grinding out the miles and they were still squirrely.

Sometimes while walking through the woods I hear these very weird noises. And at those times I can't help but to be very thankful that I don't have to be worried about being hunted by veloca raptors. You know?!?! They're guile little buggers. They hunt in threes. The first one gets your attention to distract you while the other two work on flanking you. It would definitely make hiking much more stressful. Thanks Ice Age.

Had a great breakfast at whistle stop- The Works- 2 eggs, home fries, toast, French toast, a pancake, 2 sausages. Mmmmm

My feet have been dry all day. Out of 20 days this might be the 2nd or 3rd time that has happened. It feels nice. I was actually contemplating buying new, waterproof boots. Not any more. I will continue to cheap it out.

This shelter is .2 miles below the summit of Mt Killington. I dropped my pack and walked the blue blaze trail up to the peak and it was amazing. It's probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen (the only two things that rival it are the views I had in Colorado on Mt. Elbert and the views from Old Rag in Shenandoah). The sun was on the horizon so the sky was a mix of blue and red. The sky was clear, so I could see forever. The mountains very plentiful and big. It was awesome. I should have ate dinner up there.

7/2

7/2

(zero day. Green Mountain House Hostel)

The Tour de France starts today!!! super bummed I’m going to miss watching this year. Let’s go Andy Schleck.

I’m taking my zero at the best possible hostel. this place is amazing. its huge, its clean and its got everything. the owner is a hiker and he’s been around to see a lot. He knows what we need and want, and he does his best to give it to us. You can use the kitchen, eat the food in the house, he has a pint of ben and jerry’s ice cream for you, you can use the computer, wifi, he has a piano, a guitar, a nice tv, lots of dvds, a phone, you can do laundry, there is an awesome hiker box, there are things to use in the bathroom such as nail clippers and Q-tips. And he only charges $20. awesome! thanks Green Mountain House.

Ok so I didn’t want to have to do this, be negative or hate on people. And actually I’m not hating, because these people are actually pretty cool and nice and good people; I think they’re just young and lack a certain perspective right now, but here goes: so these two people, boyfriend and girlfriend of a long time, in their early 20’s have this ‘better than thou’ attitude, mainly because they are thru-hikers and have a little experience doing other hikes. The first time I noticed it was when the dude was judging other peoples packs and how they packed them. He was making mountains out of mole hills, acting like he knew so much. Another time was when he looked at what food I bought to resupply. I got this awesome dried fruit medley for my trail mix. He asked how much was it and I said 2 bags for $4. He was all high and mighty, ‘oh you spent way too much. puh, section hikers.’ (looking down on a section hiker) meanwhile this douche bag is spending $55 on a horrible hostel and he’s acting cool over 50 cents. ok so that was yesterday, then today on our way out of town this morning I came across them at the supermarket. we were hanging out in front by some seats and a picnic table. I was waiting for a ride to this new hostel and they were doing some resupplying before heading out. so I was sitting between them and two thru-hikers that both of us have never meant before. Now usually there is a lot of love between hikers, lots of talking, greetings, etc. Well these two new people obviously saw us, but choose not to talk to us. They left after like 10 minutes and when they left the doucher asked me ‘do you think they were thru-hikers’ I said ‘they certainly smell like ‘em’ (they definitely were) And doucher’s response was ‘(all sad) they didn't even say hi to ME’ and he emphasized ME. like he understood why they wouldn’t talk to me because I’m just a section hiker, but those people definitely should have said hi to him... Ok so one more thing (last thing). They knew I was uncertain about whether or not I was going zero today. So a little after those people left, we began to talk and I told them I was zeroing and waiting for a ride. I forget her exact response because I try not to focus on the negative (and the only reason I’m writing this post is because I’m at a hostel on a computer with nothing else to do, otherwise I wouldn't waste time or energy of immaturity) but anyway it was something to the effect of your are a weak individual to zero after a nero. I almost went off. I felt my blood boiling, but I calmed down and again, I didn’t want to waste energy on immaturity. Because it really is just immaturity, they are not malicious, because these are good people. They are just young and haven’t realized that different people have different goals and it makes no sense to impose your way of life onto someone else. You run into a lot of people out here that are doing a thru-hike with the mentality that they have something to prove and usually leads to being competitive and judging others.

7/1

7/1

(start 6:30. Finish 8:30 AM. Manchester center. 6.3 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.17936,-73.05646&ll=43.17936,-73.05646&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Dude what a sleeping experience I had last night in the shelter with battle cat and ott. I've been hiking close by with this couple for a few days now (those are their trail names which pretty much all thru-hikers have). They're cool people. A little negative but very cool. So anyway we laid down early (8 PM) hoping for an early wake and an early arrival into town. So dude was first to fall asleep and he was snoring a lil. His girlfriend woke him up and asked him to 'roll over' so he would stop snoring. Little did I know how that would be a classic foreshadowing of what was to come!!! OMFG!!! I guess I'm a snorer. So this girl, lady, proceeded to wake me up multiple times during the night asking me to "ROLL OVER PLEASE!!!" it was a weird experience because I didn't know if I was dreaming it or it was an unfortunate reality. So when it was 5 AM and I was wide awake and felt like I got NO sleep, I knew it was reality. well I also know that non-interrupted sleep is very important. You have to go through the stages of sleep continuously to get to REM sleep which is the important part of sleep. If you interrupt sleep and don't get to REM sleep, it's almost like getting no sleep at all. AND I got no sleep because she was either yelling at me or her boyfriend ALL night to tell us to "ROLL OVER" I guess it was a blessing in disguise because I did wake up early and arrived in town early, which was nice.

The shelter experience is a staple of AT life. We are so use to solitude and peace all day and then at night we congregate at the shelter and have to coexist. The problem is everybody brings with them a different view on what is right and what is the polite thing to do. Should snorers sleep outside in a tent, or should light sleepers be the ones who have to tent? Ear plugs? Then there's the early risers who wake up the late risers by getting their stuff together. And by the same token, there are those who don't like to go to sleep early that keep the early to bed people awake. It's really funny. And these are just a few of the many issues. There should be a psychology case study done on this dynamic of human interaction. everyone always thinks their way is the right way. The early risers look down upon those who dont wake early. And the late risers get pissed at the noisy early risers.

So I'm in town and it feels nice. I ate breakfast at mcdonalds and hung out with Charlie, dreamwalker, sprocket and inchworm. I'm staying at hostel for a Nero (near zero miles of hiking). And I'm thinking of staying at a cheaper hostel tomorrow to make it a 0 (zero miles of hiking) to let everything heal and get strong.

For me this hike is about getting back into shape and enjoying my time of freedom, on the road, in nature. So I've decided I'm not going to care about the miles. I'm going to enjoy each day, I'm going to stop to enjoy every bit of beauty I encounter and not worry about how many miles I do. And eventually I'll make my way to my family on July 30th with my fam (minus Kara) on Moosehead lake. That's the goal. Thats the plan. I was inspired to take this plan action because I passed by this beautiful lake in the middle of nowhere and another hiker was about to take a swim and I decided not to because I wouldn't make my distance goal of the day. That night I was like, dude, that could have been an awesome experience and I passed up on it just to say I walked big miles. Not cool.

I spent most of the day chilling at the hostel talking with hiker people's- Charlie, inch worm and sprocket mostly. We had some intense convos. The one that really sticks out is our talk about the evolution of world power from Britian to the US and now possibly to China. It was cool to get charlie's perspective since he's from the UK and the other dude was sort of a southern conservative so his views were sort of predictable.

Update

6/27

(start 10. Finish 7. Sherman brook campsite. 12 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=42.71729,-73.15128&ll=42.71729,-73.15128&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

This morning this dude from Virginia said something funny to me. He was talking about how in all of the southern states you can have fires anywhere but in the most of the northern states you cant have a fire or only in certain locations. He was like but up here it's cold. What do they do in the winter? Just sit there and wish about having a fire, yea the north is really enlightened.

Man I've been weak today too. I didn't want to continue hiking after sitting around at the top of Mt. Greylock. It's the highest point in Mass and it's a tourist attraction. Its beautiful up there. It was a tough hike and a tougher hike down. There was this cute little kid up there looking down into the valley saying over and over again so joyously "Everything looks like toys... Lots of toys!" (because all of the houses were so small) You can see forever up there.

So i contemplated for a long time on how I could get down easily. Btw it's almost 3000 ft down, very steeply. So I thought about hitching or walking the roads or a combo of both. But I didn't. I humped it down, slipped a few times, cursed a few times, but I made it. One of the things motivating me to get down was I knew Friendly's was on the bottom in this town we pass. I've been planning to stop here since before I started. I was just going to have ice cream but I decided on dinner as well (the Reuben and picture menus are a mighty temptress). And while I was eating a married couple passed me on their way out and asked if I was going north or south. I said north and they nonchalantly walked out. A minute later my waitress came up to me and told me those people paid for my meal. It's amazing how often people help out hikers. Thank you anonymous couple!!!

I'm thinking I'm not gonna make the goal of 16.7 miles today. It's getting late and I'm tired.

Side note- the weather was great today. My boots are dry for the first time since June 21st. No bullshit. At no point before about an hour ago have my boots been dry since the 21st.

My legs are finally sore and I'm not liking it and I tweaked my hamstring a lil. One of the sayings that has been getting me through tough times is "there are good times. There are bad times." dean karnazes said that during an interview while he was running 40-50 miles a day to run across America. It's simple but powerful... and true. There are going to be good times (enjoy em). There are going to be bad times (get thru them so you can have more good times). That's what it means to me anyway. Expect the bad times and if you still want the end result, you gotta persevere to make it to more good times.

6/28

(start 9:50. finish 7:30. Melville nauheim shelter. 18.4 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=42.88803,-73.0954&ll=42.88803,-73.0954&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Today was just a grind it out day. I was sore, my hammy was hurting, I got a late start, but I hammered away the miles. I started by pretty much walking for 6 straight hours. Then took an hour break and knocked out my last 6 miles. The finish was tough- 1000 feet steeply down, then immediately 1000 feet steeply up.

It's not illegal. It's frowned upon. Thanks a lot bin laden.

Yo, this dude in the shelter is snoring loud!!!!

6/29

(start 10:10 finish 7:10. @ story spring shelter. 17.4 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.05038,-73.01236&ll=43.05038,-73.01236&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

This has been my 14th day out so it's officially my longest trip... I walked about 4 straight hours (8.5 miles) to start the day, took an hour rest then walked another 4 hours straight (8.9 miles) to finish at the shelter. My knee is completely better. My hamstring is close to be 100%. My feet and ankles are the weakest link. Everything else is doing good.

There really needs to be a term like "you've got boy scoutted." and here's why- it was a tough hike today, ups, downs, rocks, mud. Others decided to stay at the previous shelter and make it a shorter day, but I decided I'm behind schedule of getting to Katahdin by July 30th, so I'm trying to push the miles. So I pushed the miles, I'm really tired, really hungry, really thirsty and I get to the shelter hoping to set my stuff down, cook a peaceful meal and just relax AND no, because there are 15 adolescent boy scouts, who walked their 5 miles today and now they will take up all the spots in the shelter and be loud and annoying. 'I got boy scoutted'

6/30

(start 9:40. finish 6. William Douglas shelter. 15.8 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43.14458,-72.99091&ll=43.14458,-72.99091&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

It's starting to smell a lot like Christmas... It was great today. The AT went through intermittent forests of evergreens that smell like Christmas trees. It's amazing how smell evokes memories. I couldn't help reminiscing about when I was kid and getting an Xmas with the fam. Good times. Its ashamed that as you get older you stop wanting to do those things. Now I'm so cynical i don't even want to celebrate christmas. All I wanna do now is get drunk and watch the grinch (kara will get that).

I've recently met this British bloq trailed named Charlie after Charlie Chaplin (not Charlie bit my finger). He's a cool cat. He finished schooling at age 15 and went into becoming a zoo keeper. He bought a house and paid it off in 15 years. Now he rents it out and travels all over. This is his 3rd thru-hike of the AT. He has hiked the PCT and biked the CDT twice. he and his girlfriend rode their bikes from anchorage Alaska to the bottom of south America in 9 months. They have done bike tours all over Europe. They have travelled around working on organic farms in Europe. He calls it playing. He's an inspiration to me.

Man I wonder what Arsenio is doing right now. He's probably at a wine and cheese party... He's probably mad cause somebody didn't tell him how good the cheese was.

That was from the Chapelle show, btw, but when i walk into this town tomorrow I'm getting a hotel room, a bottle of wine, a block of cheese and maybe a pack of cigarettes. Pass out for an afternoon nap, wake up and eat dinner either at a Greek pizza place or a Mexican restaurant. I've been trying to push the miles the pass few days and it's making me not appreciate nature. All I worry about is hitting my time and miles marks. I'm thinking I'm gonna slow it down which means I'm not gonna make Katahdin by july 30. So Im thinking I'm gonna hike at a fun pace then just hitch hike so i get to the 100 mile wilderness by july 23. (the 100 mile wilderness is the last 100 miles of the trail leading to Baxter state park and Mt Katahdin) that will give me 7 days to hike about 110 miles and then I can meet the fam at Moosehead Lake, hollerrrr at me!!!

6/26

6/26

(start 10. finish 5. Mark noepel shelter. 14 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=42.60847,-73.18445&ll=42.60847,-73.18445&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Newtons 2nd law states that in order to change the motion of an object, a net force need to be applied. That was me this morning. I did not want to leave the comfort (and dryness) of Tom's home. I was so tempted to take a 0 day (0 miles of hiking). But finally I said f*ck it. I am suppose to be on a hiking trip so I better getting hiking you pussy. Motion, change is hard. It requires a force. And forces usually require energy and bring pain. Take the plunge.

I decided instead of 21 miles today and 9 miles tomorrow that I would do 15 and 15. The other day when I did 19 miles I tweaked my hamstring, my feet were very sore and my ankles were a little sore. So I'm thinking I'll try to average 15 miles a day for week 2. Then maybe 18 miles a day for week 3 and replan after that.

Today was a decent elevation change and a fairly big climb. First up 800, down 1200, then up 1800. It felt good. I would rather go up than coming down. Up requires more energy, but going down hurts my knees and ankles and kills my quads. (that's what she said... Why would she say that?!?!)

Today was really funny. There was like a mile straight of horrible mud. As soon as it got dry they had a boardwalk section. I don't know who planned or designed that.

Dude, I was chilling with this real cool dude tonight at the shelter, Pipe. He offered everybody everything. He takes it day by day out here. He hikes with a fishing poll. Whenever he come across a virgin pond, he justs chills out and fishes for a day or two. He was an iPhone genius. He had crazy apps to help him out with whatever you think you might need with out here. I was able to give him a guide book. I was carrying two because one has stuff the other doesn't and I like to have both. But I'll be more than okay with one and I was happy to help.

I SHOULD BE IN VERMONT TOMORROW!!!!

Update again

6/24

(start 7:20. Finish 6:40. October mtn shelter. 19.2 miles)

(spot didnt work)

Long, wet day. I haven't been dry in a while. It's rained a lot and the woods are wet, foggy and humid. Everything I have is wet. I'm happy with the miles I hiked today. My fitness is getting better.

6/25

(start 11:00. Finish 1:00. Dalton, MA)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=42.47174,-73.15671&ll=42.47174,-73.15671&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Walked 3 miles than yellow blazed into Dalton. It's finally not raining. And it's sunny. I'm gonna be able to dry my stuff out. Yay!!!!

This dude in town helps out hikers. Let's them sleep on his porch, tent in his yard, shower, drives to mall. So I'm now sitting in the mall. The other hikers here are in the movie theater and I just walked around. I got some food to resupply at EMS and Target and bought an ice cream!!! I smell really bad and look like a hobo. It's great the expressions I put on people's faces.

I was hiking with Alice when we hitched into Dalton. We caught an awesome hitch. The guy was me on steroids on political views. He is planning on moving to Laos in a small village that their lives are based are the rice season and harvest. He has a good grip on realizing that 'we the people' don't really have a say in our government. That it's run by corporations and small, rich, powerful, multinational groups that have their best interests in mind. He wants out. The simple life, an honest, wholesome life.

The goal is a 21 mile day tomorrow, so I'm gonna try to get an early start and then slow and steady hiking. I have a 2500 feet climb. Time to test the goods.

Update

6/19

(start 8:15. Finish 6:00 at limestone spring shelter. 12.8 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=41.98045,-73.39252&ll=41.98045,-73.39252&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

This is the kind of day I live for. I walked into a cute lil hick town and ate at a country cafe where the owner was the cook, the food was fresh and delicious. Then after that great meal, i came across a huge waterfall where a lot of locals were hanging out, swimming, sun bathing. I jumped off a 15 foot cliff into the water. I know thats not high, but I don't like heights and it was fun. Then a lady gave me 3 menthol cigarettes. There was a cute chick I was talking to too and I got the impression was feeling me. Only god knows why, I'm sure I looked terrible and smelled worse. Not to mention it was an absolute beautiful day weather wise. If I believed in god, I'd be thanking him right now. But I don't, so I guess I finish typing, eat my dinner and smoke one of those cigarettes.

6/20

(start 7:30. Finish 9 AM. Salisbury 3.9 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=41.98556,-73.42352&ll=41.98556,-73.42352&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Walked into town of Salisbury. Staying with Maria Mcabe, hostel. Resupply. Shower. Wash clothes... On the short hike in this morning I saw a bear. It was awesome. The instant adrenaline rush is the natural drug. I didnt get a good picture of him tho. The terrain didn't allow me chase him down for a pic. He was small and just leisurely walking about.

6/21

(start 9:40 Finish 6:20. @ Hemlock shelter. 14.1 miles )

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=42.10995,-73.42844&ll=42.10995,-73.42844&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE. Longest day of the year! And also HIKE NAKED DAY ON THE TRAIL.

Today was an amazing day. It was a very difficult day of hiking because I had to go up and down 3 mountains (elevation change of 5600 ft ). It was amazing because I felt so strong. I never felt tired or that I needed a break. That gives me high hopes that in a week or two I'll be in pretty good shape.

I didn't hike naked today because no one wants to see a fat, hairy man's body. And it's a good thing too, because I saw lots of day hikers and a group of 8 teenagers.

After the resupply, I'm carrying 5 days worth of food. I plan to resupply again in Dalton Mass in five days (70.2 miles). Today I thought my pack was going to feel heavy, but it really didn't. It was great the past few days on the trail bc most of my food was gone so my pack was very light... When I started my pack was 31 pounds with 4 days of food and 2 liters of water.

I'm really going to try not to stay at another hostel or at least not for a long time. I don't want to stay in civilization and I also dont want to spend a lot of money.

Oh yea and I crossed into MASS today. I'm wicked syked to pahk a cah at a hahvad bah and f*ck up some smaht kids.

This is the second night so far I'm all by myself. It's very quiet!!!!

6/22

(start 10:30 finish 6:30. @ Tom Leonard shelter. 14.4 miles )

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=42.16496,-73.30597&ll=42.16496,-73.30597&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

It was tough leaving the shelter this morning. It was raining pretty heavy and starting the hike wet really sucks. I waited a little bit in hopes of the rain passing but to no avail so I just got after it. It rained the whole day and I had no shelter from it. I ate lunch in the rain, took breaks in the rain, hiked in the rain.

I'm in a shelter with a bunch of nubes: weekend hikers who have no clue what they're doing. They take up way too much room in the shelter. I kind of wished this on myself. While approaching the shelter I was hoping it wasnt going to be empty. I didn't want to spend back to back nights alone. Well there is 12 people now and I'm wishing I was alone. Oh well.

Dude a purcipine just passed through. I had the perfect picture of him and just as i was about to snap the picture, it said replace battery. By the time I switched batteries he ran off, weak!!!

I can't stop eating. I'm eating beyond what I was calling a days supply, so I'm gonna try to hitch into town tomorrow to pick up some extra food.

I was a little tired today. My feet were pretty sore towards the end of the day. My legs muscles are doing ok. No joint pain. And my anaerobic endurance is already improving so much (going up hill). I'm planning a 11 mile day tomorrow to take it easy then an 19 miler the next day.

6/23

(start 8. Finish 5:30. Shaker campsite. 11.2 miles )

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=42.25212,-73.22449&ll=42.25212,-73.22449&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

I had an interesting hitch hiking experience today. I decided i didn't have enough food so I planned on a quick hitch for some food. Well a very older gentleman picked me up. I had a choice- east 4 miles to a general store or 4 miles west to a town. Because the book had listed the east first, I choose that direction and little country stores have been awesome in the past. So I get in his car and he takes me east. Halfway there he tells me that the store had closed down. So now Im heading in the wrong direction. So the guy tells me that he just has to stop at his house then he'll take me to the town west. Cool. So when the guy gets out of his house, I tell him I love the neighborhood. It was a great little neighborhood in the mountains. SO the guy proceeds to show me all around his town. Look at this, look at that. I'm thinking great dude, I'm hungry and I still have 9 miles to hike today, but whatever. Then I look at his gas gauge and it's below empty. I'm like SHIT. I'm gonna get stuck in the middle of nowhere, miles from the trail with some poor old man. So I tell him about the gas issue and he's shocked. Now hes on a mission to get to a gas station. Well it only took one turn for him to forget about the gas issue and start showing me more real estate and also pulling into any farm to see if they have a market so I could buy food. I had to politely keep reminding him about getting gas. It was painful. He was sweet. I didn't want to be mean. So then he finally finds a gas station and tells me good luck. Like thats where hes dropping me. I almost said something like dude after all that time you can't take me another 3 miles to town? But I felt too bad and just started hiking to town. I caught one hitch into town but she couldn't take me all the way in either so I walked most of the distance.

IT WAS WET!!! it rained pretty much all day. All of my stuff got wet. I pushed hard to get to the campsite so I was pretty tired when I got there and all I could think of was eating. It was still pouring at this point so I set my tent up in the rain. I set it up and ATE like a champ. As soon as i finished it stopped raining. So all my stuff got wet for no reason. But at the same time I had no reason to believe it would stop raining bc it didn't start all day. I really must love it out here bc through all this gloomy rain, constant wet feet, constant wet crotch, smelly clothes I haven't thought of quitting yet. There have definitely been tough times. The miles are tough, my feet have been hurting and Maine is still 650 miles away. But everyday brings something new and I love that. Everyday I se new things, I eat lunch and dinner in a new place. It's awesome.

BEAR

Holy Shit!! I just saw a bear. Awesome!! Small, alone black bear just peacefully wandering

Water fall

I hope this video shows up... I just jumped off these rocks into the water. So refreshing. I was scared. Not a fan of heights. I'm counting this as my first shower. My socks were so dirty and stiff they could stand up on there own...

HAPPY FATHER's DAY

Thank you Russ for everything you've done for me. You are amazing. You're the best.

6/18

6/18

(start 9:15 finish 6:15 at Pine Swamp Brook shelter. 10 miles)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=41.88189,-73.39166&ll=41.88189,-73.39166&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Fairly sore. Big blister staring on Inside heel of right foot. A little chafe in crotch area. I've never had that problem before. When you gain 30 lbs, I guess your legs are goin to start to rub together... Came across an awesome camp site in the middle of the woods. It had a water pump, benches, and a swing seat. It was only 3.2 miles into todays plan of a 10 mile day. I'm very tempted to stay and make it a Nero... I walked on. Only another 6.8 miles. I'm really out of shape and the constant ups and downs are getting me. My biggest problem is chaffing between my legs. The shorter mile days are changing my resupply plan. I'm gonna have to stop in Salisbury CT. If the chafing doesn't improve, I might stay in a hostel in Salisbury and take a zero... Don't get it twisted. I'm loving it out here. Every second. Every bird chirp. Every stream. Cool people, animals, plants. Freedom. No alarm clocks. I'm taking it slow so I can stay healthy and make it to Maine... Today I stopped to take a picture of this cool rock formation. I had my headphones on and I heard this weird scratching noise. I was like damn I don't remember that in this song. Then I look to my left and theres this vulture/eagle/hawk (idk) perched 5 feet from me. He was hissing at me to move. Animal instincts took over and I sped through the section. I was pissed afterwards tho. I'm thinking- why should I be the one running. I'd fuck that bird up. Damn instincts... I'm writing this while chilling in this shelter and theres two mice messing around with each other. The other night in the shelter, I had my crocs on and a damned mouse ran right into the back of my croc. About a year ago, a snake did the same thing. I guess that's nature balancing itself out.

Update

CONGRATS DELSEA 2011 and especially to my brother. Love ya

6/17

(start 8:30 Finish 7:20. 17.2 miles. Stony Hollow Shelter)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=41.77893,-73.4183&ll=41.77893,-73.4183&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

1.5 miles of that distance was in the wrong direction. Late start for the day, trying to wait out heavy rains. Wet day. Could have been worse. It rained pretty much all day but my feet remained fairly dry until the end of the day. Almost fell twice from slipping on rocks going down a steep descent. A really cool thing happened today. The AT was down a woods road so I was walking down it. A little fawn was running away from van driving down the road which happened to be running right towards me, but it didn't see me until the last minute and the little fawn slammed on it's brakes in fear, skidded on the rocks and ran in the perpendicular direction. It was cute. Also, I finally got to tell someone "I'm going to Maine" I've been wanting to say that for years. When hikers see each other on the trail, that's usually the first question asked- "where you going"

6/16

(6:30 PM start. 2.8 miles from hoyt rd to ten mile river shelter)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=41.66509,-73.5097&ll=41.66509,-73.5097&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Within the first mile, I crossed a beautiful stream and was eye locked with a curious deer that was only 20 feet away. It didn't take long for it to sink in that I was back where I belong... Met 4 thru hikers at the shelter. Coyote, puddle chuck, nochello, llama leg. A couple about my age and two dudes who have met and become friends on the trail. Cool people. Very generous... There was a spider with about a 3 inch diameter in the shelter... There was a field about the size of a football surrounded by dense forest in front of the shelter. There was an amazing sight of fireflies all night. One of the prettiest things I've seen.

2 years and 35 lbs later...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=41.64106,-73.52005&ll=41.64106,-73.52005&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Planning the first few days

First day- getting dropped off at the NY-CT border, Hoyt Rd by mama...


first day (2.8 miles) up 600 feet, down 700 feet

2nd day (15.7 miles) up 1000 feet, down 900 feet

3rd day (15.2 miles) up 600, down 300, up 200, down 500

4th day (14.6 miles) up 700, down 500, up 300, down 500, up 1000

5th day (10.1 miles) up 700 feet, down 1000 feet, up 1000 feet, down 500

holy elevation change

July 2 2009

this is the picture of my mom picking me up from NY-CT border (Hoyt Road) 2 years ago... 

thanks mom! you're the best!

"It is better to light a candle than to curse darkness." -Eleanor Roosevelt

Testing

hello. testing to see how this works. this will be my future blogging site.