VT-NH

On the bridge across the Connecticut River this afternoon...

On the Move

I should be in W. Hartford, VT, on Wednesday.

The Green Mountains

The Green Mountains, Vermont

Welcome to Vermont

Manchester Center, VT

Mt. Greylock, MA

Summit of Mt. Greylock

Looking Back toward Mt. Greylock

The Berkshires

I'm 12 pounds lighter!  Weighed myself this morning.  And then walked a mile down Main Street and ate two full breakfasts at the Dalton Restaurant.  I'd already done a few  miles from the shelter.  After digesting and a resupply I will leave Dalton and head  for Cheshire.  I underestimated my last resupply at Salisbury, so I've been a *little* hungry.   I've also been keeping a steady pace and making fairly good time, despite a bad knee.

The Berkshires are beautiful.  There are more evergreens; more hemlock groves, pines and firs.  The ground is often cushioned with their needles (a welcome change after all the rocks!). I began to see a few birch trees in NY, but now there are lots of them growing among the beeches, maples and oaks. Wide patches of ferns stretch beneath the trees. There is a growing silence in the woods, even though the wind and brooks and birds are as alive as ever. Roads are growing further apart.

The trail runs beside bogs and ponds, some as large as lakes. Dragonflies zip along above beaver dams. Bull frogs croak and jump suddenly as I walk by. Great blue herons wade out in the shallows.

I stayed at Upper Goose Pond Cabin and went canoeing, exploring an island and the shores for almost two hours. The caretaker made pancakes and coffee for us the next morning.

Then I walked almost twenty miles to Dalton, stopping in for a visit to the Cookie Lady just down the road from the trail. Actually I met her husband, the Cookie Man.  He gave me fresh farm eggs, a Klondike bar, and a Coke (plus cookies) in a little basket with a tray for the egg shells.  I ate it outside on their picnic table and said howdy to the rooster.

(Later...) So as I was typing this in the library, some jerk stole my ipod as it was charging right next to the computer.  The librarian recognized the last guy who was sitting across from me, and she pulled his picture up on the internet.  Then they called the cops for me.  The station happened to be in the same building, so the officer was there right away.  He, too, recognized the guy and said he'd just gotten out of jail on assault charges.  So I went with the officer to the station, thinking I'd only be there for a few minutes and then leave town.  Instead, I spent the next two hours listening as calls from three officers came into the central office about my ipod.  There were no other officers at the station, so I guessed that most of the Dalton police were on the case.  Long story short - got my ipod back, wasn't interested in pressing charges, and wound up staying in Dalton.  Thanks Dalton police!

Williamstown, MA

Had a great visit with my cousin David and his fiancee Burcu! Thanks you two for having me over! :-)

Cousin David & Me

David and Burcu

Welcome to Massachusetts

CT-MA

Tick bite? Evil spider? Hatched alien spawn?

Race Mountain, MA

Salisbury, Connecticut

Hiked just 8 miles this morning into town, where I am now taking refuge from the heat in the public library.  I will grab something cold to drink from the cafe down the street, chill out for a while, then walk the remaining miles to the shelter when the sun gets low. Drank a gallon of water before noon and still feel dehydrated.

Yesterday I tramped up to the Toymaker Cafe (Toymaker as in the motorcycle) and had a cheeseburger. Annie, one of the owners, then showed me where I could tent in back of the cafe for free.  I had set up camp and was journaling at a picnic table when a truck pulled up and a guy named Hudson introduced himself.  He was one of the owners of Bearded Woods-- a "One of A Kind Bunk & Dine"--just outside Falls Village.  I hadn't seen any mention of it before (probably because it's not quite on the right page in the AT Guide). He then offered me some amazing trail magic:  a night including shower, laundry, dinner & breakfast, clean linens and a comfy bed, a beer, and good conversation -- all for free. Usually l'd have had to pay $55 for all that (which is still incredible).

Hudson and his wife, Big Lu (both trail names), have been running Bearded Woods for two years now, and I have to emphasize that theirs is the best, most hiker-friendly operation I have seen since Harper's Ferry.  Where to begin?

Maybe with the inlaid walnut "AT" emblem in the floor at the top of the stairs to the bunk rooms.  Or the exquisite joinery and framework in the common room.  Or the white blazes painted on the raw pine bedposts.  Or the 4' x 6' photo above the couch of Hudson looking back along Katahdin's awesome Knife Edge.  Or the separate and refreshingly clean double shower bathroom complete with tile and towels... And then there were the burgers (yes, more burgers!), the twice-baked potatoes, excellent pasta salad, professionally served cake and berries and ice cream (all courtesy of Big Lu).  And they did our laundry for us while we ate!  So much hard work and attention to detail, so much enthusiasm for providing a comfortable resting place for other hikers -- I will not forget it.

Thanks Hudson & Big Lu!

Let me also mention that we went back this morning and had a killer breakfast at the Toymaker.  I don't want to leave them out of my praise here.  Thanks for the excellent black sesame french toast, sausage and home fries.  (Gee, do I have to have Ramen tonight?)

Looking forward to more s'miles.

Still Sailing,
Wilderness Samurai

Kent

Made it to Kent, Connecticut, where I am currently in a B&B friendly to hikers. May well zero tomorrow or slack-pack a section of trail. More soon.

New Jersey & New York

Some photos from the past few days:

New Jersey, after Delaware Water Gap. 

Sunfish Pond, in New Jersey.

Another of Sunfish Pond.

Climbing Bear Mountain in New York, just before the Hudson.

View of the Hudson. New York.

Crossing the Hudson. New York. 

Crossing the Hudson. NY.

Tuxedo

I'm a day and a half into New York.  Left New Jersey finally yesterday after following the state line for a bit.  In a couple days I'll climb Bear Mountain, cross the Hudson River, and head on towards Connecticut.  Speaking of bears, I saw my first bear this morning.  Beautiful animal... I was coming down a gentle slope and it was foraging in some grass a ways off.  I didn't want to sneak up on it and startle it, so I made some noise with my hiking poles.  It took off down the hill. Now I wish I'd waited a while and watched it.

It is hot, very humid, and the humidity is expected to get worse as the week goes on.  I'm drinking tons of water (in part thanks to the 'trail angels' who leave huge caches of spring water in coolers for hikers).  But I still feel dehydrated.  Ticks are abundant; every day I find a few on my socks.
Yesterday evening there was a huge thunderstorm; it mostly passed to the north, but the lightning was spectacular.  I stood on a rock pinnacle and watched it cover up the sun, felt the cooling breeze.  Tried to sleep in the shelter, but the mosquitoes were pretty bad so I set up my tent.  I've met a few other hikers:  ET (English Tony), Half 'n Half (from Austria), and Normal (from Vermont).  I've had great conversations with all of them.

Here in Tuxedo, NY for resupply... it's back to the trail tonight, if the weather lets me.

Smiles

Thinking about timing and miles and keeping my momentum up, while taking it more easy on my feet and going at a slower pace. It's lonely and my feet hurt etc., but I'm going to keep going.

Mileage:  270
Undeniable fact:  feet hurt like hell
Lesson learned:  it's the smiles, stupid (not the miles)

Palmerton, PA

Well, here I am in Palmerton, PA.  I hiked 25 miles yesterday and well into the evening to outrun a bad storm everyone said was coming, only to find that the main part of it went south of here.  I still feel justified in having ordered a hiker's breakfast at Bert's Steakhouse.  The french toast was great.

Saw a porcupine yesterday morning, and a snake swallowing a large toad whole.  Unfortunately (or luckily,
depending on how you look at it) I interrupted its breakfast, and the toad hopped away, wobbling a bit. Signs of rattlers.  Deer.  Turtles.  Large rocks overturned by bears looking for grubs.  Back near Boiling Springs I had a stand-off with a woodchuck in the middle of a field.  He was ready to take me on, and
would have, if I hadn't backed up a couple steps.  Then he darted to the side.


I love the ever-present song of the wood thrush in the evenings.  Whipporwills in the darkness as I hike, spider eyes glinting along with granite chrystals in my headlamp.  Wild geese flying north.  I don't like the masses of poison ivy, or the presence of ticks.  I've entered the high risk zone for lyme disease, so I have to check for the buggers regularly and wear long pants even when it's hot.

Most of the thru-hikers I meet heading north are passing me within a day or so.  They've been going for over 1,000 miles already and have their legs in machine mode.  But I've managed to keep up with some, if only for a couple days:  Fiddle Head, Northerner, Grandpa, Bailer, Crash, Mac, Z-Man, Two Speed, Baker, Shadow.  Met Cody Coyote this morning.  And there have been many cheerful section hikers.  I am grateful for all their company on the trail.  And, yes, 'Trail Magic' is real:  a bag of fig newtons left in the middle of a footbridge for hikers; jugs of spring water along a dry ridge; a cooler full of PB & J for making sandwiches; and Bob Fromme, with table and chairs and a menu set up every Wednesday at the Clarks Valley Gap Rd. Turkey pasta salad, deviled eggs, chocolate cupcakes... Thanks Bob!
















I have 'zeroed' twice since beginning at Harper's Ferry; once at the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon and once at Port Clinton.  In Port Clinton we waited out the rain in the Hikers' Pavilion.  Today will basically be another one in the Jailhouse Hostel; my feet have endured enough punishment for a while.  The hype surrounding PA and its gnarly rocks is true.  Can't wait for some actual dirt to walk on...

I could put down so much more about the last three weeks.  It is enough to say simply that I am happier than I have been for a long time, despite the physical discomforts.  It's freeing to remember this way of life, this slower rhythm, this path.  My pack is like a feather compared to all my other worries.


Still Sailin' --

'Wilderness Samurai'

Port Clinton, Pennsylvania

Just walked into P. Clinton, eating late brunch @ 3 C's diner, 'bout .3 mile from hiker's pavilion. Will get ride to walmart this aft. for resupply.

Questionable Cuisine

So this guy offered me some rattlesnake and cherry moonshine when I got to a shelter...
Neither of these were legal.

Beer is the Question

Yes is the answer. Finally here, in Duncannan, PA. Had a burger and a birthday beer to celebrate. Still a long way to go....

Did laundry, resorted, reorganized, resupplied.

Gas Station Gourmet

'Weather's been hot. Rain would be welcome.

'Left the trail for a resupply, and the only thing open was a gas station. Have been eating what grub I was able to find there for days.

Cascade

Greetings!  In town of Cascade, MD, refueling. Will cross Mason-Dixon line this aft. All's good. Weather is superb. Hope to make Boiling Springs by Fri.

Hitting the Trail

Beginning my hike now, headed for Boiling Springs, PA, where I expect to arrive in 10 days.
The weather looks good.