Month: September 2013

Miles today: 18.8
Total miles: 780.1

I ate some leftover pizza for breakfast this morning. What a crazy experience being able to order a pizza to a shelter. It’s nice and delicious on one hand but on the other it’s kind of sad how hard it can be to escape civilization sometimes.

Oh well. My knees were really bothering me toward the end of the day yesterday and also hurt a bit today. I wore my knee brace for the first time in a couple weeks and that helped, along with ibuprofen. The day was as it has been lately. Pretty lazy with long breaks but still making decent time. It was nice having extra company too. I’m so grateful for having other people around now that I’ve gotten a taste of what it’s like hiking completely alone. I enjoyed Blondie, timeless and buzz’s company throughout the day. Saw some deer in the woods today which was nice.

At one point in the day, Blondie and i switched packs for a couple miles. No wonder he walks so fast!! His pack weighed next to nothing. It was lighter than my backpack I wore in college. Lighter than my purse. It was insane, I felt like I was carrying pillows and could run up hills. Those were the most liberating couple of miles of my hike. Then we switched back. And I was very sad and have vowed to find a way to make my pack as light as his (preferably without spending all the money I have). Seriously though, I feel like my hike would be entirely different both physically and mentally if my pack were light. I shall update if I find a way to make this happen.

Our destination for the day was a spiritual center that allows hikers to camp at its baseball field. We got there and it was on a beautiful quiet campus where I think friars live? It is so kind to provide this space. There was a little pavilion with ELECTRICITY! Lights, how strange. And plugs to charge our phones! I got there and enjoyed sitting in the warm sun while cooking my dinner at a picnic table and calling some friends. Blondie, buzz, Timeless, and Delta also stayed there. Timeless made us a nice fire and we roasted marshmallows and stayed up later than usual talking. The moon was nearly full and was so bright over the open field. We didn’t even need headlamps to see.

Miles today: 16.8
Total miles: 761.3

It was so nice to sleep in today. I still woke up early at 6 something but enjoyed drifting in and out of sleep until almost 9. Blondie and I left the shelter by 10 and had an easy day ahead of us. We were headed to RPH shelter 16.8 miles away for one reason: pizza. A couple pizza place actually deliver pizza to the shelter since I guess it’s pretty close to a road. The promise of pizza convinced us to do a bit of a shorter day.

The day went by quickly and easily and we were at RPH shelter by 5, even with our late start and many breaks. The shelter was actually more like a cabin. It had a door and windows and actual bunk beds, a yard, and plenty of chairs and picnic tables. Two guys, Buzz and Timeless were also at the shelter. Buzz is a southbound thru hiker from Germany. A ton of Germans hike because I guess there is some german documentary about the ATthat has convinced many to come. Timeless is from MA and is just out hiking a section for three or so weeks.
Together we looked up the pizza menu on my phone and called to place our order. We had to wait 45 minutes and were all pretty freezing as the sun went down but pizza was worth it! About an hour later two pizza delivery boys come walking up to the shelter carrying stacks of pizza. It was a hilarious sight. These two 16 year olds kids bringing food and four starving hikers jumping to their feet running to meet them. After some minor issues with paying we finally secured our pizzas. I ate mine sitting in my sleeping bag since it was so chilly. We all got larges which turned out to be large even for hikers. I had leftovers for three days. As evidence of how much hikers like food, I texted delta to come for pizza even though he was 17 miles away at 3pm. He came anyway (after hiking the whole day before that) getting there in the dark at 930ish. Pizza. It’s a powerful tool.

Miles today: 21.2
Total miles: 744.5

Not too much notable stuff happened this morning and early afternoon. Blondie and I took many breaks but still made pretty decent time. The trail crosses a road right by a garden center at mile 17 or so and we got there by 4ish. They sell snacks and sodas to hikers and even allow hikers to shower there. I enjoyed a coke AND dr pepper while Blondie showered. I didn’t shower because I didn’t want to be cold with wet hair (and because I’m gross obviously). We set out around five for the last few miles to the shelter. We first passed the Appalachian Trail train station. It only runs on weekends and only at two times but a lot of people use it to get into the city. Unfortunately I’m not going into NYC since I took so much time off already but it was cool albeit a little eerie to see the totally empty station.

We got to the shelter at 6 something and had the place to ourselves! And it was a big shelter so it felt luxurious. We went to bed excited because we have a short easy 16 miles tomorrow and are allowing ourselves to sleep in.

Miles today: 17.3
Total miles: 723.3
It was a nice easy day today, complete with a five mile flat section along the Housatonic River. It was so enjoyable: the air was crisp and leaves were falling to the ground as I walked beside the river glistening in the fall sun. There were sections with rolling fields and bales of hay and trees changing colors in the mountains in the distance.

Before getting to this serene setting I had to descend a hill. As I was nearing the bottom by the river, a dog came barreling up the hill full speed at me. It didn’t slow down as it got to me and was jumping up at me and baring its teeth. Its owners down below yelled “you can kick her!!” which I definitely did not. But I did try to fend her off with my poles as she lunged toward my face. She wasn’t biting but her visible teeth and relentless jumping was slightly terrifying. Her owners caught up and apologized and I found out the dog was a Rottweiler Doberman mix, which made me realize part of the reason she was so terrifying. In reality she was just an excited puppy but she caught up to me twice more in the day and each time I was slightly scared shed bite me. My luck with animals lately is not the best.

I hiked with Blondie all day. Or more like I hiked behind him as he sprinted and then waited for me every now and then. Our plan was to go into Kent CT at the end of the day for dinner and then after dinner go back to the trail and walk 0.3 to the next shelter. We’d heard Kent isn’t the most hiker friendly. In fact, the laundromat has banned hikers. Granted, the reason is that one thru hiker stripped naked to wash his clothes there, but still. As soon as we got to the road into Kent we ran into a family that was so Connecticut. They were wearing polos and khakis and one even had a sweater draped around them. And this was for a walk in the woods they were doing. Blondie and I talked to them and they were really friendly but it was just funny how different the people seemed from other towns we’ve been to. At the road we also met a thru hiker I haven’t met yet. I was super excited because she was a girl–there are no other girl hikers around, I miss my shuffle. Anyway, her name was Mosey and she was pretty quiet and shy and no where near as excited to meet me as I was to meet her.

Blondie and I walked into kent and passed the fanciest looking buildings which we deduced belonged to a fancy boarding school, the Kent School. A lot of people stared at us. We started worrying a little about going into town. BUT THEN. The best thing ever happened. This woman holding a covered plate approached us and asked if we wanted the plate. She lifted the cover to reveal a plate full of brownies, cookies, and chocolate covered strawberries. She said she thought we could use the calories and gave us the plate. Our opinion of the town immediately changed and we devoured the entire plate. The rest of our stay in town wasn’t too eventful. We resupplied and got dinner at a pizza place where we watched some football and relaxed. We headed out for the shelter around 7 as it was getting dark and set up our tents an went to bed.

Miles today: 19.8
Total miles: 706
Today I was planning to meet my sister and her girls for lunch in Falls Village CT, about 12 miles from the shelter. The boys wanted to go into the first town the trail crossed, Salisbury, about four miles from the shelter. So I said bye to them as they went to get food and I did my best to get to Falls Village by 1.

The rolling hills and trail were easy and I made it to Water St in Falls village by a little after 12. Since we planned to meet at 1, I walked another 2.5 miles to a different road crossing. Once there, Lisa actually drove right by me walking along the road. She stopped and picked me up and her and the girls did a great job tolerating my I’m sure unpleasant hiker smell.

We got lunch at a little cafe, one of the only businesses in the tiny town. It was so great to see them and hear about what they’ve been up to and tell them stories of the trail. I’m so lucky to have family that will drive hours out of their way just for a quick lunch. It was a definite morale boost and I’m so grateful for it.

After lunch, they dropped me off at the trail and I quickly ran into a couple I’d met way back in Rutland VT rigt before I had to get off trail for my knee. It was good to see them, but I won’t be hiking with them as they are going very slow in order to coordinate timing for a train to a wedding they are going to in a week.

I got a text from Cool blue that him and Wolf bird are in Kent already. What?! That’s at least two days hiking away, close to the NY border. He said while they were in Salisbury, a woman whose husband is a vet on NYC, offered to drive them and Mabel to Kent and give Mabel free surgery to fix a ruptured cyst on her leg. Mabel’s leg looked pretty painful and gross so I’m glad she’s getting it fixed. But this meant the boys were done hiking until after they get back from Chicago. So I won’t get to see them before they leave, but oh well. I’m sure once they are back in a week and a half they’ll catch up to me quickly.

The rest of my hiking day was uneventful. I got to the shelter to find Blondie (who didn’t go with wolf bird and cool blue) and Grub. grub is another Southbounder I haven’t seen since Rangeley Maine. It was so great to see him–it’s crazy how even though I didn’t hike very much with him seeing him felt like a reunion of long lost friends. He actually just got back on trail after ten days off sick with giardia. He skipped a section of Vermont and MA so he wouldn’t be super far behind. Later in the evening the three of us were joined by a flip flop hiker named Sun Driven. He was quite the talker and as such I learned a lot about his life. He told some funny stories but did keep me up a bit past my bedtime with all his talking. It was worth it for the entertainment factor though.
A good part of today was discovering the trail is now easy enough and I hike fast enough to be able to take a couple hour lunch break and still put in a twenty mile day before 6 pm.

Miles today: 18
Total miles: 686.2

Wolf Bird made us a great breakfast this morning of scrambled eggs and mushrooms, English muffins, coffee, and orange juice. We hung around all morning and got back on trail by 11 or so. We said goodbye to Andrew and his friend jimmy and thanked them for their incredible hospitality.

We had three mountains to climb today. As much as I hate uphills, I kind of enjoyed the way the mountains broke up the day, giving me tasks to accomplish. Cool Blues shins were hurting him so I went in front of him, rather than bringing up the rear as I’ve been doing with the boys without shuffle to go last. I hiked behind Wolf bird and Blondie all day. Or so I thought. I was behind them but couldn’t seem to catch them. Usually they will break every couple hours or at least for lunch, giving me a chance to catch up. But today I couldn’t seem to catch them. Mountain after mountain went by and still no sign. I was hustling too since we got such a late start and had to go 18 miles. I figured they were also hustling so I took my breaks alone.

All day it looked like impending rain but luckily it never did. We hadn’t discussed exactly which shelter we were going to at the end of the day. There are two right near each other, 1.2 miles apart. As I got close to the first one I was really hoping Wolf Bird and Blondie had stopped there for the night. I was tired and it was getting late and I just wanted to stop. But of course upon getting to the shelter I found it empty. I sucked it up and set out for the next shelter. On the way there a deer sprinted out of the trees across the trail in front of me scaring me to death. When I finally got to the next shelter around 6:30, I was surprised to find it also empty. Had wolf bird and Blondie gone on?? How come they weren’t there? I texted Blondie and Cool blue (wolf bird lost his phone of course) and found out blue was at the previous shelter. I told him to come to the one I was at. A little while later he came , along with wolf bird and Blondie. Apparently I’d been in front of them all day with no idea. They’d stopped for lunch at a shelter way earlier and I’d walked right by (the shelter was a little off trail). Somehow I was walking fast enough they didn’t catch up to me. I was glad to see them though and it was nice of them to come to the next shelter–they’d already gotten out their sleeping bags and such at the earlier shelter but packed back up to come to me.
It was a nice fall day made even better by completing yet another state! We crossed over into our fifth state Connecticut today.

Miles today: 7
Total miles: 668.2

Today my plan was to go the 7 miles to town, resupply, get some real food and then see how I felt and either try to stay somewhere in town or hike eight miles to the first shelter out of town. Since the boys had spent yesterday in town already, they were passing right through and headed 23 miles. Perhaps one of the most frustrating parts of hiking alone without the boys is something surprising: cobwebs. Since I hike slower than the boys, I am behind them and don’t even think about cobwebs. But hiking without the boys means I am the first one on the trail in the morning. Which means all the cobwebs that spiders have built overnight are fresh and I walk into them. Constantly. At shin level, thigh level, eye level, getting on my arms and legs and worst of all, in my face. It’s even worse when I’m sweaty and they stick to me even more. It’s just a small thing but it was SO nice this morning to have the boys back and be rid of this nuisance. I woke up with a sore back and as I walked I just couldn’t get my pack to sit right so it didn’t hurt. About an hour into hiking, Cool Blue passed me and asked how I was. When I told him my back was bothering me he said I shouldn’t put rocks in my bag. My jaw dropped. He didn’t. Oh but he did. When I was changing this morning the boys snuck a rock in my pack. I made Blue take it out and felt instant relief. It was SO heavy. I was so annoyed but also have to respect them for getting me good. The next few miles to town felt a lot better without lugging that rock around.

Just outside of town, I caught up to the boys and they announced they were coming to town with me! Wolf Bird was meeting a friend who might take Mabel for a week. Wolf bird and Cool Blue are going to Chicago for a week or so (blue for a wedding, WB for the adventure). They might hitch there or ride the rails (illegally ride trains…). I don’t know. Anyway, I was happy to hear I’d have company in town.

We tried hitching for a while and it seemed like no one would stop. Then a car actually turned around to go the opposite direction to pick us up. The driver, Bob, said he’d actually picked up and hosted an AT hiker a couple weeks back. And who was this hiker you ask? Our very own Shuffle! She’d stayed with Bob and his wife, family friends of hers, when she went through Great barrington. Small world! He even offered to let us stay with him. What a great guy.

Once in town we ate and resupplied and Wolf birds friend Andrew came and met us. He offered his place if we wanted to stay. The idea of showers and beds and avoiding a storm that was supposed to come this afternoon convinced us to accept his offer. We’ve had a great day relaxing and are all clean and smell fresh. Cool blue even cooked us dinner and we had ice cream for dessert. It’s been a great stay but we are heading out tomorrow and need to make some miles!

Lately I feel like I need to rush. I am at least a week behind the next Southbounder and there are very few behind me. I don’t like hiking completely alone so I hope to catch up to more people. Not sure if that will happen or if there is even really a “group” to catch or if its mostly just individuals alone. When the boys get off trail, Blondie will be the only one near me but he may be able to walk way more Miles than me so we shall see. Connecticut is coming soon though and then NY shortly after. I like all the state borders–it helps me feel like I’m making real progress.

Miles today: 21.1
Total miles:

I had a long day ahead of me to get to the shelter I wanted to. I wanted to get to the Tom Leonard shelter because it was only 7 miles outside of Great Barrington MA, where I planned to resupply. It’s always easiest to get as close to town as possible the night before in order to maximize time there.

This was my longest day yet and just my luck, it was unseasonably hot. It was a hot and sticky, unbearably humid 90 degrees out. Hiking was miserable even when I set out at 830 am. Unlimited delicious pancakes and coffee at the cabin before I left did help alleviate some of my misery. But boy did I sweat so much that day.

The terrain thankfully wasn’t too tough but I did have quite a crazy encounter in the early afternoon. The trail wandered through some farms and then a cow pasture. There was no fence separating me from the cows but they were mostly too busy eating and seeking shade to care about me. To exit the cow pasture I had to go over a barbed wire fence using a step ladder type thing they’d set up. But on the other side of the step ladder on the OUTSIDE of the fence was a gigantic cow!! It was directly where I needed to step and the cow was just standing there blocking the way, staring me down in what I interpreted as a very menacing expression. I don’t know how much the average person knows about cows but I realized I know very little. I had no idea if cows get aggressive and if it would trample me or if it’d be scared of me or what. All I knew was it was giant and scary and I didn’t want to mess with it. I waited for a while and finally it lost interest and moved a little. I made my move and went to climb the stepladder over the fence. But the cow noticed and started walking toward me! I freaked out and ran across the street and up the hill and luckily it didn’t follow.

I was still recovering from this experience, following the trail up a hill and rounding a corner when a loud rustling in the bushes and trees made my heart nearly stop. It was another frickin cow!!! But behind a tree. And far from its pasture. I have no idea why it was just hanging out hiding in the woods. I slowly walked by, only a foot or so from it silently hoping it wouldn’t attack me. Just when I got safely past I looked up ahead to see THREE MORE COWS blocking the entire trail up ahead. Once they heard me they all stopped eating and looked at me (evilly of course). They just stared and blocked the way, as if they were challenging me. They were so giant and I had no idea if a bull was secretly hidden among them. I was terrified. Then, one of the three mounted another cow and the two of them started walking toward me as one. I freaked out and turned to get away only to find out the cow that had originally scared me behind the tree was now on the trail blocking my escape! I was trapped in both directions! There were thick woods on either side so I had no way out. I was positive I was going to be trampled by cows. I tried to walk a little bit in one direction but the cows didn’t move and were just glaring at me. I was scared the male would attack me for interrupting his mating. I resorted to getting out my trail mix and holding it out in my hand and then throwing it on the ground in an attempt to lure the cows out of my way. They didn’t even react. I took some photos as evidence for after I was trampled. Finally I mustered the courage to try to walk past them. As I neared them they kind of moved out of my way. I was so nervous and speed walked by, only inches from them. Then as I made my escape one of the cows (with a tag on his ear that said Jevon, so I assume thus his name) started following me! Jevon seriously started trotting up the trail and I was flipping out he’d come kill me. There was a hill up ahead so I was able to climb it better than he was so I finally got away. I don’t think my heart rate went down for a good 15 minutes after that experience.

The rest of the day was not nearly as eventful. Just hot and long. I didn’t pass anyone all day until my last hour or so. I was kind of lonely and got in a bad place mentally because I was so hot and tired. The thought of town tomorrow with real food helped me stay optimistic. Also Blue had texted me to stay at the Tom Leonard shelter because they’d left a surprise there for me (I assumed they’d stayed there the night before). I was curious to see what it was.

I got to the shelter and there was no one else there. And no surprise to be found. I cooked my dinner and changed etc and then read for a little. Believe it or not I’ve yet to spend a night completely alone on the trail. As it grew dark and no one else arrived, I figured this would be my first night alone. To be honest I was a littler nervous and scared. A huge storm was rolling in and I just felt super alone especially since I hadn’t seen or talked to anyone all day.

Then, as I was reading in bed and about to go to sleep, the boys showed up! It was my surprise! They’d only gone five miles that day and spent the day in town (entering using an earlier road crossing) and so now weren’t ahead of me anymore (except I’d go into town tomorrow to resupply so they’d regain their lead quickly). I was so happy to see them and even more happy when Blondie gave me a McChicken and fries and Blue gave me candy and cookies and Wolf bird gave me grapes. Can you tell I cherish my food?

It was nice to have company during the huge storm and I went to bed looking forward to town in the morning.