Trail Letter 14: 6/15 and 6/16

21.8 wet, slipper rock miles today — I awoke to a slight and intermittent rain and instantly closed my eyes, thinking, “Do I have enough food to zero here at the shelter?” On top of the rain’s adding levels of treachery, the clouds would steal any views I might encounter. But, after lolligagging around the shelter for way too long, I set out against the rain and clouds anyway.

The first top I made was at an AMC Hut. Scattered throughout the White Mountains is a series of huts, and although each hut is different, they all provide the same services. Three to six caretakers live in the huts and cook, clean, present info about the White, etc. They’re mostly college kids or fresh graduates: older and richer people stay here for $90/night, which isn’t too bad considering the location. This particular hut is nestled between two mountain ranges, and the views are phenomenal.

Anyway, the huts are known for 1. giving leftover food to thru-hikers and 2. allowing thru-hikers a work-for-stay, which is what I’m doing here. But the first hut I stopped at today was a buffet of leftover food — mashed taters, cornbread w/maple syrup, raspberry danishes, quiche, oatmeal, and cookies were about to be thrown to the compost pile had I not saved them — and there was still plenty more when I left!

Some stretches of Trail here are a steep as if climbing a ladder. mix that with lubricant like H2O and a lack of handholds and you’ve got instant fun! Every step must be somewhat calculated and fully deliberate; one wrong step can end my journey prematurely, as it did for Liquid. It’s almost like a mixture of rock-climbing and hiking — sometimes it’s a puzzle to figure how to progress.

But no injuries and only a few slips/falls, so I made it OK. As for the clouds, as soon as I crested the ridgeline they began to roll away — which in itself was amazing — revealing the mountains’ splendor.

6/16

21.1 hazy miles today. Although I saw a few views, I was experiencing the Whites in their most common dress — cloudy. Actually this morning I awoke to a sea of clouds with island-mountaintops poking through — it looked just like a group of islands in the ocean, except the blue ocean water is thick white. I saw the same phenomenon in the Smokies, but with far fewer peaks.

This morning, some of the hut patrons began asking me about my thru-hike. Two of them (writer and photographer) were doing a piece for Budget Travel (I think) magazine. The photographer took my picture and the writer my info so maybe I’ll be famous soon… One guy took my picture with his i-Phone and immediately e-mailed it to me on the spot. Ahh, the wonders of technology.

The hut I’m staying at tonight has a very friendly “croo”. Actually, 3 of them are gone now — they’ve gone to steal road signs and other trophies from other huts. It’s a game they play. This jumping from hut to hut is really nice — this morning, all I had to do was sweep for an hour and fold a few blankets, and I got 2 very filling meals and warm, dry place to sleep.

Trail Letter 14: 6/13 and 6/14

20.0 Friday the 13th miles today. My stroke of bad luck came around mile 10. A good section of Trail was more mud than dirt, and many of the mud bridges, aka puncheons, were old, broken, and/or unstable. One particular bridge was just a 1 x 4, maybe 12′ long, laid on the mud. With a Take5 bar in one hand and the trekking poles in the other, I placed my foot on the board, followed by my weight, followed by the board tilting and throwing me into the mud. Luckily only one leg went in — but it went in deep! I almost cried because I had on a new pair of socks, but the end of the 20 miles brought me to…

The Hikers Welcome Hostel. A cozy bunkhouse with shower, laundry, internet, guitar, and a score of movies and music. It’s actually fairly crowded — Little Miss Sunshine, Mockingbird, myself, Hurricane, One-Flop, Stride, Waterbear, and Stormin’ Norman are all sharing this wonderful space. I just exited the shower, and this hot sun on my back is a treat — as are these pants in my maildrop.

I had my tent, warmer sleeping bag, and other winter gear here, because tomorrow I enter the highly esteemed White Mountains. Finally I’ll get to try out my new and improved trail legs on some 6000′ peaks! I’ve heard so many praises for the Whites that I’m expecting something miraculous — tomorrow I’ll find out!

6/14

17.0 vertical but beautiful miles today. I came out of the gates with a 3500′ climb straight up Mt. Moosilauke. The view at the top was nothing short of spectacular and moved me very much. I now understand why the Whites have the reputation they do. They’re majestic.

The miles here are much more taxing — the Trail doesn’t mess around with switchbacks or skirting around mountains. My knees feel like a retired 80 year old kangaroo’s. I’d like to do over 20 miles tomorrow, so hopefully sleep will fix me.

In the shelter tonight with Stormin’ Norman, Waterbear, and Stride. Camping here are 5 kids from Northwestern University in Boston. Two of the guys are Civil Engineers (well, majoring in it).

Today’s trek has reduced me to basic senses and thoughts, so that’s why this isn’t interesting today.

Trail Letter 14: 6/11 and 6/12

11.3 relaxing miles today. After a morning shower and the rest of the delicious cookies for breakfast, I lazily scuffled down the street to the General Store for breakfast 2, a breakfast burrito. Did what felt to be an easy 10 to Hanover, NH, the home of Dartmouth College. Picked up my two new pairs of socks (yay!), a new t-shirt, and some food in my mail drop. Thanks, Mom!

In town, I ran into Stride (not Strides), Spencer “One-Flop”, and Hurricane. Spencer and Hurricane are both from N GA, so it’s nice to hear some Southern accent. They haven’t seen many thru’s for a while, so the excitement of someone new is still in the air. We did .8 miles outta town and have been chilling at this shelter.

I’ve decided to slow down — no more 25+ days. I’m entering a beautiful section of Trail, and I don’t want this journey to end too soon..

Oh yeah, today I exited VT and entered… New Hampshire! 2 states left!

6/12

21.9 pollen miles today. In rays of sunshine, I can see the hundreds of yellow pollen particulates floating everywhere. Last night, I couldn’t sleep for quite a while because every time I closed my eyes, they began hurting and I started tearing up, I think because of the pollen. Today, my lung capacity was about half of normal, and that gave climbing mountains an added level of difficulty, but I was able to climb 23-2400′ without stopping.

The lesser miles today gave me more leisure time, which I’ve all but forgotten how to spend. Hiked most of the day with One Flop and Hurricane, and we took lots of breaks. The weather was quite perfect — probably 60s with a slight breeze… no chafing today! My new socks feel like heaven with every step, and I’ve stored a pair in a ziplock so I’ll always have dry socks.

This shelter is located smack-dab on top of Smarts Mountain, and there exists a fire tower a mere feet away with views of the White Mountains and other VT/NH mountains… it’s superb. I’m about to watch the sun set, so that’s it for now.

Trail Letter 13: 6/9 and 6/10

30.1 feelin’ fabulous miles today. I think the calories from the pizza helped a ton, cause my body didn’t feel tired at all today! What a wonderful non-feeling! I hiked from sunup to sundown – from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Early in the miles was a 2000 foot climb, and after it I could tell how much endurance I’ve built. I was surprised when i finally reached the summit – “This can’t be it!”

The weather was mostly perfect until it turned hellatiously hot. It was overcast the entire climb of the first peak, but Mr. Sun came back out at about noon to roast everything. But I was ok with that, I mean, the next 10 miles is downhill, right? Wrong.

The last 5 miles included a super-mega-ultra-steep climb of I don’t know how far. Perhaps it wasn’t even that steep, but I can say without a doubt that today is the hardest I’ve ever physically pushed myself. My body wanted to cry, literally, when I finally topped out, but could find no tears – only a wave of emotion/adrenaline/exhaustion. I was on the verge of passing out, and had to sit and rest 4 different times. I was lightheaded, dizzy, and essentially brain-dead for at least 2 miles after the climb. It’s a funny feeling when you feel your consciousness slipping away, and no matter how hard you try to keep it, there’s nothing you can do. So I’ve never been this happy to see a shelter before. I’m a little disappointed that no one else is here, but it makes sense as the Long Trail and the AT diverged today.

Tonight’s dinner is the pasta the Jews gave me. Yummy!

6/10

26.3 steady miles today. Because of the relentless heat, I decided to take uphills at a much slower and steadier pace to avoid overheating. I coupled that with drinking way more H2O than I felt like drinking, and the miles were quite enjoyable!

I steamed by two older guys without chatting, and later found out they were the “TN Two”. I also met a brave backpacker – I call him brave because he’d never been out before, and this first trip of his was a 60 miler! He was just out of college with an architectural engineering degree and had a week or so to kill before moving to D.C. for a job. Cool guy.

I met a girl, Katie, 3 nights ago who said her mom enjoys being helpful to thru-hikers, and they live on the Trail in West Hartford, VT. So I decided I’d try to “yogi” a place to stay and some cookies… I went to talk to Cheryl, her mom, who offered me a place to set up the poncho-tarp, as well as mentioning she was gonna bake the cookies tomorrow (’cause that’s when Katie told her I’d be by). I said thanks and walked across the road to a deli. While I was eating a sandwich, a guy told me his neighbor bunked hikers – and considering the nasty storm that was about to roll through, I was eager to find a place with a roof to stay. So I went down to Randy’s house and woke him from his nap so he could show me the bunk. It was the attic of his barn/garage, and it was very hot up there. As he was showing it to me, Thatcher, the neighbor (guy in deli) yelled to us that he had plenty of room, too. And it was much cooler. So I crashed at his place. He lives there with his wife Julie and 3 roommates (big house). They fed me (2 suppers tonight!) some wonderful pasta and wine, showered me, and let me use the dryer. Later in the evening, Randy came by with cookies Cheryl had baked and delivered to him for me – they were the best cookies I’ve had yet on the Trail – by far! Hooray for Trail Magic!!!

I just did the math, and to finish on July 8th (even 4 months), I need to do about 16 miles per day – I think it’s time to slow down – no more 30 milers. At least I’ll try…

Trail Letter 13: 6/8

27.7 3-month-anniversary miles today. That’s right, today makes 92 days of living in the “wilderness”. I’ve been chatting with a fellow (21-22ish) here at the shelter – it’s nice because he’s not much of a conversationalist, so there haven’t been many wasted word. Oftentimes, I’ve found that by explaining an idea, thought, philosophy, etc. to another, I’m really just realizing it – as if all the piecemeal thoughts I have on the topic are finally forced to be assimilated and presented as a logical whole. These conversations often help me realize traits or qualities (over and extended period of time) that I have failed to see because of immersion in “now-ness”.

One such quality about this journey that my conversation has made apparent is my shifted home-perspective. The words used to be a leisure place, and civilization was “the real world”. For the first month or two of this adventure, this still held true – going back to the Trail was like holding my breath, and entering town was like taking a breath. Now, I see that has switched. The comforts of civilization are still very, well, comfortable, but my perspective has shifted in a very real way – now the Trail lifestyle is home, is how I live. This is purely an experience, and although I can convey the concept through words, the experience itself must be realized individually.

The heat beat me up again today – but when I arrived at the shelter, my mind was worn out from keeping pushing my body through the fire, and my body was worn out from being in the fire, so when I sat on the shelter steps I was in a very unique state of clarity and being, which made trekking through the fire worth every step.

Trail Letter 13: 6/5, 6/6, and 6/7

30.2 phooey-on-the-USPS miles today. My mail drop still wasn’t here this morning – apparently I walk faster than they drive… but it’s not a huge deal; I just had it forwarded again – although I was very much looking forward to 2 new pairs of socks…

After the first 10 miles, I saw a Jeep that looked very familiar parked beside an ice-cream shop along the Trail – it was Trail Angel Tom whose house I’d crashed at yesterday. He had brought me news that my package still wasn’t at the Dalton P.O., as well as a sandwich for lunch. He also let me use his phone to get my package situation worked out. A very kind man.

Also today I ascended my first 3000 footer since VAC(?). It’s been a while; that’s for sure. The view was marvelous, though, and my 19-16 pack didn’t weigh me down too much…

A few miles later was a road crossing, and I needed a resupply so I walked to Stop and Shop (I think it’s called). They had the best prices I’ve seen since down South – Clif Bars = $1 regular price, and lots of sale items I picked up. They also had a salad bar, but the price per .lb wasn’t listed. I figured it couldn’t be too expensive, so I filled up a container – the salad cost $4/lb and I paid $13 for mine… You do the math to figure out how many lbs of salad I ate. In the store, a guy came up to me – “You a thru-hiker?” My pack was in my buggy and I was wearing my beard and hat, so I thought, “What a silly question…” Anyway, it was Chris, a guy whose shelter entries I’ve been reading, so it was good to finally meet him. He’s going to a job interview for 3 days, so he’s off the Trail for a little while.

Bye-bye MA – Hello, Vermont! Crossed state lines an hour or two ago! It was late in the day – nighttime actually – and I thought I had missed the shelter turnoff. So I backtracked 1/2 mile but still couldn’t find it, so I figured I’d just go a little farther and try to stealth camp somewhere… and about 1 mile from where I turned around, I saw the sign saying “Seth Warner Shelter” – don Juan’s an idiot!

6/6

25.9 misty miles today. The fog was so thick all day that it was quite impossible to make a guess at the time of day. It was very weird not knowing if it’s 11 a.m. or 6 p.m. The fog has its trade-offs – although I had absolutely no view on the 3700′ peak today, I stayed cool on the hike there – and bug free!

I awoke to a downpour this morning, but I just pulled my sleeping bag tighter and thought, “Hah! I win this time, rain!” But before too long, I was trudging in soaked feet/socks/boots. So once again, as always, the rain go the best of me. The storm also caused me a late start, so I didn’t get as many miles as I’d hoped. But after 9 miles of uphill, a “short 25″ is appreciated. I’m about 5 miles behind Strides, a thru-hiker known for his big mileages.

I’ve seen a lot of folk since yesterday – the A.T., for 100 miles, at least, in VT is also the first 100 miles of “The Long Trail” – a 250ish mile trail spanning the length of VT, and its northern terminus is the Canadian border. In the shelter tonight are two SOBO AT hikers that started in New Hampshire.

My bandana smells like Valley Video (next to Piggly Wiggly) used to…

6/7

27.7 steamy miles today. I was on the Trail by 6:45 to avoid the heat, but it found me anyway. The climb of the day was 1800′ to almost a 4000′ summit. I climbed it with ease – at the top I thought, “That was it?” But then the heat set in, and I hiked the next 10 miles in a daze – you know that feeling where you kinda zone out in extreme heat? A thermometer said it was 80 degrees in the shade. I drank plenty of electrolyte-infused H20 to combat it. Tomorrow’s supposed to be hotter – I can’t wait!

I passed a lady and her son who (she) just completed a section hike today – completing the AT. It’s not a very exciting section to finish on, but finishing seemed to be exciting in itself.

Pen just ran out of ink. Blah.

I didn’t plan on it, but I ended up hitching into town for a resupply and some pizza. Some interesting folk here at the shelter tonight. Strides got off the Trail for tonight – his uncle lives nearby. So I passed him but never saw him. Probably will tomorrow…

Gorham, N.H.

Well, my dessert is halfway finished, and I’m taking a zero (or two ) to let it settle. Actually, my knees are loving the time off.

The White Mountains are nothing short of breath-taking. You’ll discover a little more about them through the journals coming up in a week or so, but (like everything I’ve written about) the words will do them absolutely no justice.

One hiking day from now, I’ll be in Maine, the final state and the most wild and desolate one as well. I’ve found that I can’t slow down my pace–I can only take more zeroes. Like all thru-hikers at this point, I’ve got a routine. This reminds me of a situation I heard from a guy I met in Nicaragua named Toby–he was doing some Peace Corps work in Africa, in a village where the women had to walk many dangerous miles each day to gather sticks to cook dinner. One of Toby’s jobs was to show the women a new and more efficient stove that required a third of the wood. So now the women only needed to make the dangerous trek once every three days! Sounds great, right?

Well, the women would absolutely not use the stoves. When I first heard this, I was dumbfounded. But now that I live a “simple” life, I understand completely. I know my role, my job. Each minute of my day is related to and is itself my “work.” If the village women used the efficient stoves, how would they live the extra time it afforded? Just like they, I am quite content doing what I do, and have no use for “extra” time.

It’s amazing–the lifestyle the Trail allows and necessitates. I live in a manner very few (as of late, at least) Americans experience. The most valuable lessons are realizations-understandings that change the way I think, behave, and exist-that cannot be given through words or pictures. Mostly, they are always “common sense” that finally becomes clear through repeated experiences. I have a hard time believing that the human can learn (as in change his lifestyle, his reactions to situations) any other way than the hard way–falling, contemplating why, standing back up, and moving on.

I get many questions about the Trail-What was the hardest part? Why did you start the Trail? Which part did you like the best? etc. In truth, the answer to any of these “opinion” questions doesn’t really exist–for I simply walk and experience, not judge.

I may not have any more live update opportunities, or I may not take them once I reach Maine. Thanks to everyone who has supported me through calls, comments, letters, and prayers throughout this journey. I hope this trek has revitalized you in some way, and I hope you understand that no matter where you are or what actions you’re engaged in, Life is about living, so you can enjoy and find solace in even the simplest of duties.

I’ll be posting my Katahdin picture in a few weeks! Until then, I did just upload another album’s worth of photos, and Bigfoot updated his bloggity-blog.

Trail Letter 13: 6/2 and 6/3

28.5 skeeter-infested miles today. The battle began as I entered an 8 mile stretch in lower elevations. The skeeter scouts might possibly be the worst, as they buzz into your ear saying, “You better watch out — this is our land, buddy.” Being the courageous warrior that I am, though, I pressed on uneasily…. and then they attacked. At first I wasn’t worried, because my fatal blows were staving them off… until they called in reinforcements. They ruthlessly swarmed my face, but it was only a misdirection ploy, for as I swatted them away, a dozen landed on my legs, while another dozen began to feat on my arms. Unfortunately for me, my armor isn’t thick enough to prevent their razor-sharp tubes from entering and making pipelines to my veins… so I just put my head down and bulldozed through the swarms. OK, I’d love to finish the story, but I am seriously getting eaten alive by the little vampire insects.

Shin splints showed up again today — didn’t slow me too much but they’ve got me worried. Aaaaargh! These skeeters are driving me mad!!!

6/3

27.6 happy-ending miles today. Thankfully at some point the mosquitoes quit attacking me last night, so I did get some sleep. But I woke up early and knocked out 18 easy miles before lunch. I recently learned that yesterday’s hiking is renowned for its mosquito population — the swamps there are breeding grounds.

I looked up and saw a black mass, presumably a stump, in the middle of the Trail. Upon a millisecond’s more inspection, I saw there two black masses, not one, and they instantly scurried up the nearest tree. I’ve never seen an animal so large move with such speed — almost as quick as a squirrel — and agility. A couple seconds later Mama bear comes out to see what the fuss is about, and she sees me standing there. After giving her my best “You don’t wanna rumble with me” look, she scooted off. I waited a few seconds, and the “cubs” (they were about as large as mama) climbed back down and ran off. Very exhilarating! Also saw (I think) another raccoon today, but whatever it was, it was all black.

Today’s miles landed me in Dalton, MA, where a Trail Angel named Tom lives right by the Trail (in a neighborhood). He fed me dinner, an ice cream sundae, let me shower & clean clothes, is letting me sleep inside, let me use the phone, and is gonna shuttle me around tomorrow if I need it. All for free. I can’t wait until I can do what he does… A huge thanks to kindness and generosity.

Trail Letter 13: 5/31 and 6/1

17.3 fattening miles today. I did an easy .8 miles into Kent, CT and stopped for some breakfast because the P.O. wasn’t yet kickin’. After doing my mail drop and resupply, I made some phone calls and borrowed some Internet from the library. By that time, it was about noon, so I stopped at a deli and had some Moroccan Eggplant. Kent seemed to be a bit yuppie-ish, but it was nice. I was treated with the respect and Kindness that my smell merited. The banks in town were houses-turned-banks, if that helps you picture it better.

Bought some fuel at the Outfitter, and wrestled with myself over purchasing ankle-high gaiters. I decided they’d infringe on my simplicity a tad too much to be worth the $21. The cashier showed me the doppler, and it looked like all the rain had passed for the day, so I happily started up the trail…

At the road, I ran into a Trail Crew who gave me a Gatorade, and I chatted with them before continuing. I think they enjoy seeing their hard work being used as much as we enjoy using it. When I crested the mountain, I saw another fox! That’s 2 in 2 days. He had what looked to be a mouse dangling from his mouth. Also saw some chipmunks playing tag, a mama goose and 5 ducklings swimming in the river, and heard some crows making the craziest sounds – like a woman crying in distress.

Then the rain came. It was just enough to soak my boots, yay. But it brought cooler temps with it, and I’ve discovered that hiking in heat will VERY quickly zap your energy, so the rain wasn’t that bad…

Or that long. I saw a moving sunset the storm front (or rear) was still visible, but the sun’s vibrant rays illuminated the sky, creating a magical contrast. And the clouds were rising out of the valley… what a spectacular experience.

5/1

29.8 finally-some-real-mountains! miles today. After a few week stretch of below 1500′ elevations, today’s summit of Mt. Everitt was 2600′. I was afraid I’d gotten soft from the 100s of miles of flat ridge walks, but I did OK considering the mileage. It was great to see some mountainous views again, and I’m curious to see how my body holds up in real mountains now that I’ve put 1500 miles on it.

Started early this morning – woke up at 5:45 and was out by 6:45. It’s nice arriving at the shelter with an hour or two of sunlight. I was in a serious funk this morning – it probably had to do with my wet socks/shoes, overcast weather, and not enough calories.

Met 2 interesting people today. First, I encountered a Mennonite family of 6 kids and 2 parents. They had hiked quite a distance uphill – and the youngest looked to be 3 or 4. Every one of them, parents included, were thin as twigs. They asked some questions about my experience so far, gave me the time, then continued. Secondly, I stopped at a shelter for lunch where I found two Jews! They were visiting for a month from Israel – a guy and gal, both 23. She (as a “regular job”) does horseback-riding-therapy, and he is a farmer. He’d already served his mandatory military time, but she had yet to do so. I inquired about Judaism, drip irrigation, and their plans for the next month. They were both VERY kind (she was one of these perpetual smilers) and sent me on my way with a bag of orzo (I think) pasta and a Hebrew phrase that meant “Good health” or something like that…

Crossed the state line into Massachusetts today! Adios, CT; hola MA! I’m trying to do about 30 miles a day, so I shouldn’t be in MA much longer…

Glencliff, NH

This is it. I’m at the dessert of the Trail, the icing on the cake. Coming up: the White Mountains, providing countless views costing only hours of trudging up and down 1000s of feet elevation changes. 100 miles from here is Maine, the final state.

I’ve decided to slow down–no more 25+ mile days. I’m gonna enjoy the home stretch of the Trail, as I’ve heard so much about these last 300 miles being absolutely magical.

I am the Walrus!