My Trails

8/11/12 – 1656 miles
I’m camped tonight beside a picturesque lake called Griffith Lake. It’s near Peru Peak Shelter for those who are following me on the AT map and near Danby, VT for everyone else. It has been raining for two days. We are blaming the SOBO’S because the weather has been fine until they started showing up. We think they brought it with them.

I’m not getting good cell service here in the Green Mountains of VT, that’s why updates have been slow. It’s also getting harder to resupply up here, too. I had to hitch six miles into Manchester Center to buy food today. Some places are easier than others to get rides – it only took about 15 minutes each way – but some towns are not friendly to hikers and fly on by.

I hiked 24 miles yesterday and only about 10 today after my resupply. It rained for most of both days but at least the rain has been warm to walk in. There’s nothing you can do but get soaked. If you wear rain gear, you just get sodden on the inside from sweat.

As I walked into the wood today, wearing freshly laundered shorts and shirt, it made me disgusted that after paying $5 to clean and dry them, the rain and sweat would waste my money. So this is what I did:
I took off my shirt and put it in my pack. I took off my shorts and put them in my pack. I made a mini-skirt out of two bandanas to sort of cover my underwear and hiked that way the rest of the day.I look at it this way: there is no dress code on AT and I’m tired of wasting money at the laundry.

8/8/12 – 1601 miles
I spent yesterday morning lounging around the motel, enjoying the time off from hiking. It was a short walk across the street where I could resupply and sample a couple of restaurants. The motel offered a continental breakfast but I was more interested in bacon and eggs than cereal. To top off the morning I walked a block to a Dunkin Donuts and secured a coffee and a half-dozen glazed rings to eat out on the patio.

The night before, I received a text from Kleenex sayings she would be in town the next afternoon and asked that I reserve her a room at the motel. I checked and found out that I got the last room for two days. It seems there was a conference of some sorts going on and everything in town was booked. I only had a single room but we were able to obtain a roll-a-way bed so she would have a place to sleep.

And so the trail once again brought us back together for a couple of days. We washed clothes together, ate dinner and breakfast together, and caught up on the Olympics on TV. This morning we took the motel shuttle back to the trail and climbed four miles to the VT border, paused for a picture, and continued on to Congdon Shelter for the night.

8/6/12 – 1587 miles
It was a short hiking day into Williamstown, MA, where I will rest for today and tomorrow. I hiked all morning with a German girl named Spring. I’ve met her several times in the last few weeks as we leap-frogged each other. She hikes somewhat slower than me but she walks long days and usually takes little time off. It was fun getting to know her and learning different culture aspects of someone from another country.

Spring from Germany

We left Mount Greylock about 8:30 this morning. We were hanging around the lodge hoping for some breakfast but all they brought out for the hikers was some toast – that was their continental breakfast.

When we got to the road into town, Spring decided to hitch in with me and get pizza. It didn’t take long for us to get a ride right to the restaurant where we split a medium pizza. After we ate and said goodbye, Spring hitched back to the trail and I went to check onto a room. I will be here all day tomorrow, resting my feet and building energy. Vermont is next and then the Whites.

8/5/12 – 1581 miles
Today I got a taste of climbing mountains again. It was a 2000 foot ascent to the top of Mt. Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. All afternoon the skies were covered in mist and it rained lightly on and off. By the time I reached Bascom Lodge at the summit and checked into the bunkhouse, the wind was howling and the monument was shrouded in fog. I took a shower, ate a hamburger at the restaurant, and met some new hikers.

The sun has come out now and the sky is clearing, casting unobstructed views of the surrounding countryside. I am relaxing at the lodge while an African band plays in the next room. They are serving dinner soon but the price tag left me out.

I will have a short hike into Williamstown tomorrow where I will probably take a day off. I need a rest. My feet are saying give me a break please.

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.