Monthly Archives: September 2014

My sister is driving me to the trailhead this afternoon to begin my journey. I feel quite underprepared but I suspect this is normal. I don’t plan on making many miles today, just plan on getting myself situated and make today an easy day, the real walking begins tomorrow.

I have spent 2 days walking the trail so far, about 18 miles in total. On this second night, once again there is a group of freshman from Princeton in camp…apparently, all freshmen are required to spend 6 days on the Appalchian Trail before going to class. They have been doing this for over 40 … Continue reading »

My friend Graemlin was kind enough to send me off with a traveling companion…he was too heavy to carry so another friend made a digital version which i have made my screensaver for those lonely nights!

Just had a nice refreshing bath in this lovely river. Smelling pretty ok…time to make some

After getting my butt kicked for 2 days i got to walk along a river for 10 miles…so much easier than that mountain in the distance. Also stopped in the lovely town of Kent, CT, to dump some gear, enjoy Mexican food and get more bug spray…so far so good!

Stopped here to take care of the feet…just lovely!

This is what my setup typically looks like at night, behind the hammock is where I keep the a/c unit for hot/humid nights.

So the last few days have been super hot and humid, apparently the hottest week all year! So my butt is getting completely kicked, i drink at least 6 liters while hiking, another 1-2 @ camp and one before i leave in the morning. At some point my body will get used to this and … Continue reading »

When I first learned about the Appalachian Trail one of the “memorable” stops was a shelter where you could have a pizza delivered. Well, today was that day! Its called the RPH Shelter and I ordered a chef salad and a dozen chicken wings…couldnt pass up the chance to eat something green! As I was … Continue reading »

In about 9 hours of hiking today i came across 1 stream that was more than a mile from where i started this morning…this is what it looked like…would you drink from it? And i met a guy who just hiked north from the NY/NJ border…he said all water sources have dried up…so for the … Continue reading »

Part of the trail winds through some zoo here in NY, I dont know the name but in front of the bear cage is supposedly the lowest point on the entire Appalachian Trail…after seeing these two beautiful animals bored out of their skulls i would have to agree…

I dont know what bridge this is but there were loads of “dont jump” signs all over the place…and a handy dandy phone (yeah, i thought it would have been funny too if i called and said bring me a pizza and i wont jump”…

Water is pretty scarce on the trail but saw this a few days ago traipsing through the woods…if it would have been later in the day it would have made for a very memorable campsite…

So there are a few lakes not too far away from the trail which make fine bathing and cool down spots…I met a guy named Grasshopper who highly recommended that i stop and swim here despite the pesky rumors the gubmnt used to dump stuff in here…and I will admit, he did a very good … Continue reading »

This formation is famous along the trail, its literally only 100 yards long but there are 3 sections that are absolutely brutal to get over/under/through. This is the middle part, I was going down it, y’all know I’m not a tiny dude…so I had to put my poles aside, take off my pack, and carry … Continue reading »

I am meeting my buddy in Harriman, NY tonight so needed to get into town. Its about 4 miles on a highway if you walk in the right direction, 8 miles if you walk in the wrong direction and dont realize it until you read the city limit sign.  In NY hitchhiking is illegal, at … Continue reading »

I ran across a dude in the woods this morning, apparently a bit of a geology buff. He told me he was looking at old iron mines and the hills were filled with them…I turned around and yep, old iron mine!

Yesterday I hit the 100 mile mark, took me 10 days but nice to hit this first milestone. I was a bit disappointed at the size of the ticker tape parade going across the bridge…ah well, maybe mile 1,000 is where the Swedish Bikini Team shows up with a cigar and champagne…

Apparently, on a clear day you can see NYC from three different mountaintops…unfortunately, the day I crossed those 3 were overcast…so instead of a long distance view of NYC picture, I bring you instead this picture of a sign about NYC…almost the same;-)

My first 10 days on the trail the weather was mainly hot and sticky. ..that, plus the fact that I was completely exhausted meant I never made a fire. Having a second pair of hands around makes lots of tasks easier so we decided to light a fire in the rain. It took a while … Continue reading »

I will occasionally be writing about this adventure from the point of view of my travelling companion, Wilson. Here’s his first photo with the name if his Creator.

Everyday the trail throws a new challenge at you. On this particular sunny day we experienced our first rock climbing session. He is actually going down that rock face…backwards was definitely the safest way…we spent this day and the next walking along a ridge line going up and over boulders, it was hard to make … Continue reading »

There are certain sections where you are hopping from boulder to boulder for hundreds of feet straight. It’s usually steep so I prefer going up rather than down(prefer doesn’t mean choice!) Here’s a small sample of the terrain…and the reason why one misstep could cost you plenty…

There is almost no water on the AT in this area right now, luckily there are loads of Trail Angels (I’ll address this more thoroughly in a later post). Apparently, there is a couple who the trail guide describes as “hiker friendly ice cream shop owners” who have a faucet outside their business that hikers … Continue reading »

Ok, apparently I am a magnet for whatever freak show is going on up here because today…I am hiking along, not using my poles so pretty quiet and come over this hill and at the bottom I see an older dude wearing a royal blue Onesy…I didn’t see any numbering on the back but he … Continue reading »

My buddy Jason joined me on the trail a few days ago. It was very nice to see a familiar face plus…he brought some much needed supplies and his bull headed determination which is kind of what it takes to push yourself up a mountain, then down a mountain. We each had our own hotel … Continue reading »

Ok, I made a video of it but it’s too difficult to post video from my location. Basically, I am at the Gren Anderson Shelter somewhere in NJ. I went about 24 hours without seeing another person and today met 6 locals out hiking. Looking back they all shared bear stories without being asked. My … Continue reading »

This was the first time in a while where the weather actually helped to dry some stuff out. I was sitting on a bench looking at my stuff and realized it looked a bit like a hobo camp. At least I got to sleep under a dry bed that night!

Stopped at the Appalachian Mountain Club for the night, fresh food,  soap, towel and hot water…who could ask for more?

I don’t know what happened but I just couldn’t get going today. I stopped here and napped for an hour hoping for an energy boost but got nada. As you can see, lovely spot, had a strong breeze so quite conducive to some good Zzz’s.

So my guidebook is full of places to stop that are “hiker friendly”. Usually hiker friendly means you enter through a back or side door and stay away from their other customers. This sign is from Joe’s Coffee Shop. ..kind of says it all.

The world really is full of good and lovely people. I have experienced it virtually everywhere I have ever travelled. I never intended to write about water on this blog but it is such a huge issue when it’s 20 miles between water sources. On behalf of all hikers I’ve met so far, thank you … Continue reading »

Is located on top of a mountain, there are no roads, elevators or escalators, in fact, you need to be a bit fit to make it here…so why oh why is this privy ADA compliant? Something to ponder…

You can see the AT makes its way through this pasture.  For some unknown reason, one of the cows decided it really liked me and invited the others to come say hi. I felt like I was about to get stampeded so many were coming towards me to say hi. Luckily they all behaved and … Continue reading »

I now have a sprouting bag and seeds, so I’m “growing my own” as I make my way south. Looks scrumptuous, eh?

After a night sleeping in a church basement and some breakfast we sadly had to part ways. Get well Good Sir.  Hope to see you on the trail in NC and thanks a million for the supplies and getting this blog sorted out,  couldn’t have done it without you!

Somewhere in here is where Jason tweaked his knee. I was walking ahead and thought I’d be waiting about 30 mind for him to catch up. After 1.5 hours I figured something happened and then sure enough, he pops up over the hill limping. His knee was already swelling so naturally I called him a … Continue reading »

There’s a section where in my trail guide it just says “ladder”. Had no idea what I was in for. Turns out you are walking down a super steep boulder for about 100 yards, then, you need to toss your poles down and hold on dearly while Hou make your way to the ladder, once … Continue reading »

This is the highest point on the AT in NY. If I recall , it’s one of the landmarks you can see from the Empire State building as well. With the naked eye you could see the NY skyline,  sadly the camera didn’t pick it up.

Jason at some point wanted to show his toughness by wrestling a boulder… Boulder 1  Jason 0

Everyone out here uses a trail name, some choose their name, others have theirs chosen for them. I finally chose my own trail name: Freebird. My interpretation = Free of Burdens.

Had a great day even after the 10:30 a.m. start. Crossed the NY/PA border, passed 200 mile mark and did my first 17 mile day.  I got my butt kicked hiking with Marathon Man but now I know the pace i need to hit to do 18-20 mile days…it’s fast so definitely looking forward to … Continue reading »