My Trails

8/4/12 – 1564 miles
I’ve been on the trail for four months now. In some ways it seems like only yesterday when I started. It really blows my mind that I will be hiking into Fall soon. Before long I will be looking to get back my winter gear for the mountains of NH.

I hiked 21 miles into Dalton, MA and stopped at the home of Tom Levardi, a true trail angel. Tom lets hikers stay in his home, shower, and even does their laundry, all for free. I thought I would have to tent out back but Tom invited me into his home for the night.

There was a neat thing that happened today. Way back in Southern Virginia, I met a man backpacking in the Roller Coaster and stopped to talk. He told me he was getting in shape to hike with his son who was coming up the trail, doing crazy big miles, hoping to finish before he was scheduled to start at a new job. He told me his sons trailname saying that he would probably catch me someday. Today I met his son. We are both staying at Tom’s house. It was kind of cool to close the circle.

8/3/12 – 1543 miles
One of the things that used to bug Kleenex was the fact that I never had much of a plan each day. She gets mail drops, meets people in certain towns, and has somewhat of a deadline that she’s working on. She even plans where she will eat lunch each day. I on the other hand just fly by the seat of my pants. When I was with her, I was matching miles and not thinking to much about where I was. It seems like more of an adventure if I let my body tell me how far to go.

I hiked most of the day with Lucky 10, someone I’d met a few weeks ago and caught up to when he took a few days off. The hiking has been miserable with so much heat and humidity, and we have to carry more water because so many streems have been dry.

I pulled ahead of Lucky 10 towards the end of the day and made it to Upper Goose Pond Cabin a few minutes ahead of him. I took a swim in the lake and sat on the dock drying in the sun. It is the first time I have swam on my hike and I must say it felt good.

I claimed one of the bunks in the cabin and sat around talking with hikers as they drifter in throughout the afternoon. By evening every bunk was filled – about fifteen in all. We are still meeting a lot of SOBO’s and getting info about place and food coming up on the trail.

In the morning the caretakers made blueberry pancakes and coffee for breakfast. Some of the hikers were staying at the cabin, taking the canoe out on the lake, swimming, or just relaxing for a while, but I packed and left.

8/2/12 – 1528 Miles
There was a group of inter-city kids camping at the shelter last night so I pitched my tent in some hemlock trees way off by myself. I had plenty of privacy, but in the morning the mosquitos were out in droves. I packed up and quickly headed out with intentions of stopping later for breakfast.

The trail made a gentle climb to the top of Mt Bushnell where the view was awesome. It was like being in an airplane above the clouds. For miles in each direction, all the landscape was a sea of cottony white. I think it is the first time I’ve seen a view like that on my hike.

Kleenex caught me soon after I descended the mountain and we had a snack near Shay’s Monument. I could tell that she has been withdrawn and quiet the last few days and I’ve tried to give her as much space as I could. Those of you reading her blog know how much she misses her family and friends, combine with that the constant physical toll the trail takes on your body for four months, and you have a recipe for some sad moments.

Two things I try never to discus on the trail are politics and religion. The younger generation of hikers out here are mostly involved with a party atmosphere of drinking and marijuana. There are some that do not but they are few and far between. It has to be somewhat discouraging to meet hundreds of guys on the trail and know that none of them share your morals.

But the time has come for us to split up. I love the time we’ve hiked together, she has been my best friend, she has been like one of my daughters.

She told me today that she needs some space and wants to hike alone for awhile. It goes back to the saying, “Hike your own hike.” It’s sometimes hard to balance the trials of the trail and a relationship with another person, no matter what that relationship may be.

And so today Kleenex is zeroing with her sister in Great Barrington and I will move on up the trail. I’m sure I will see her again – the AT has a way of bringing friends back together. And although I will miss her, I’m sure it will be good for me, too.

I’m excited to have Daryl coming to join me in a couple of weeks. He will get a taste of what this journey is like. I’m hoping for good weather and no blisters for his trek.

8/1/12 – 1508 miles
We spent the last two nights at hostels near Salisbury, CT. We heard by way of the hiker grapevine that a new place called the Bearded Woods Bed and Dine just opened for business a few weeks ago, offering thruhikers a place to stay, dinner and breakfast, showers, and laundry, pickup and return to the trail, all for $50. Everyone we ran into on Monday wanted to stay there and by the time we arrived at the pickup point, there were eight of us waiting for rides.
I must say the place was very nice, offering clean showers and beds, serving up some great food, and making us guests feel right at home with their hospitality.

In the morning we hiked on into the town of Salisbury to resupply. Kleenex needed to use the computer at the library to post some blogs. I checked us into the home of an 85 year old lady named Maria McCabe who rents out rooms in her house. Kleenex loves to watch the Olympics and Maria couldn’t have been more obliging. She loves hikers.

Today we moved into Massachusetts, ten states down and four to go. Massachusetts has three pretty good mountains right off the bat and it’s a shock to be back in climbing mode again. There are four Southbounders here tonight and we have been grilling them for information about the trail ahead. It’s said that we have completed 80% of the trail but only 20% of the work. The mountains up north are that hard.

7/29/12 – 1468 miles
Today was a nero. It was only a mile onto Kent where we would do laundry, resupply, eat at a restaurant, and stop into the outfitters. Laundry was first on the list – we still had on our wet clothes from the rainstorm the night before – and we walked onto the Laundromat and set our packs on the floor. I went to get change from the lady manager and got chided for bringing our packs into the building. She snotty said, “Didn’t you see the sign?” There was no sign. Kleenex came out of the restroom and got yelled at for walking in bare feet. Needless to say, Kent is not high on our list of trail stops.

We figured the woman has had bad experiences with hikers before and now dislikes all of them. Rather than argue with her, we let it go, figuring future hikers would be treated better if we did. Before we left we swept and mopped the floor where we were.

Kleenex wanted to attend church and I said I would go with her. We found a Congregational Church up the road and walked there just before services started. All the people were interested in our hike and asked us many questions.

After church, we had a late breakfast and stopped at the outfitters where I bought a new rain jacket. We wanted ice cream but the prices were sky high. Kent is a tourist yuppie burg, not a good stop for hikers.

I walked by myself for the rest of the day, stopping only six miles out at Stewart Hollow Brook Shelter for the night. Tomorrow, we may go to a hostel we’ve heard about.