I have made it to Vermont. Actually I have made it 107 miles into Vermont. It is absolutely beautiful up here. The trail all of the sudden has things that make it worth hiking, like views and mountains. There was a while there where it did not have much to offer other than delis. I'd rather have the views than eat another Reuben.
In just a couple of hours I will have passed the 1700 mile mark. That is a crap load of walking. If you don't believe me go outside and count 1700 steps and then think about it a bit. I still have 480 to go though and I'm cruising along. I have passed quite a few folks here in Vermont who are doing the trail from North to South. They are known as SOBOs (southbounders), and I swear I will beat the next one with my trekking poles who tells me the Whites are gonna kill me. Re-reading that sentence it would sound like caucasians are out to get me, but do not be alarmed, they are the White Mountains they speak of. Every single one of the Sobos has said something sensationally over-exagerated about them, as if they were trying to scare a small child. I feel as if I am Lawrence of Arabia hiking out to a desert that will surely kill me. Lets hope it does, or I will have to chase down all the Sobos and beat them with my poles.
-Wrong Way
Friday, July 23, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Peg legs and mosquitoes
Hello all from Dalton, Mass. Things have gotten a bit crazy since Right Way left me. For starters the trail became a steep rocky, rooty, slippery mess. Not so much a problem, but the bugs also arrived at the same time. Being a skilled hiker with much practice in the art of walking I am able to negotiate most types of terrain, but it becomes difficult when in the midst of sliding down a mossy wet rock and trying to regain your balance a mosquito flies into your eyeball. Its a lot to handle, but I will persevere. The bugs are horrible up here. I have been in many situations with far more bugs, so that is not the issue. These bugs are akin to a driver on the interstate who wanting to pass a semi-truck are in the passing lane, but are too timid to make the move. They have the nerves enough though to stay right next to the trucks rear bumper making it impossible for a right hand pass to cut them off and pass the truck causing a frustrating back up on the highway. These mosquitoes and gnats fly around your head endlessly for hours on hours buzzing in your ears and hovering in front of your eyes, but they never land to bite you. I wish they would land, bite me, and move on. I hike with trekking poles in both hands so swatting at them isn't really possible without whacking myself in the shins with the poles. So I hike, trying like the dickens to achieve some state of Zen with the bugs, but I always fail and throw a tantrum. The tantrums are not pretty. Its usually a barage of curse words (salt, pepper, ass, republican!) an abrupt stop, I throw down my poles, and go on a bug killing spree which to a bystander probably looks like a freak show, this guy with pink toenails frolicking in the woods clapping his hands together. Think woodsy flamenco dancer. That has been my last few days with the addition of a couple of bear encounters bringing that number up to 18 wild 2 caged.
New England is different than the south. I knew this before, but its amazing how quickly a region changes, and it is noticed all the more when you walked there. The south didn't really end till northern PA, which led way to the "how you doin'?" part of the country. I asess the character of a place by eateries with counters, be them bars, delis, or diners. In the south it was the elderly farmers exchanging witty insults and weather forecasts, in NJ and NY it was public service workers like cops, firemen, and paramedics talking about accidents and girls that just got out of high school (yikes), and in New England thus far it has been the idle rich talking about God knows what. I can't listen because I'm too busy sitting in the corner with the other hikers feeling ashamed of our attire and trying not to mess the place up.
Some things never change though. The other day I was walking into Salisbury, CT to go to LaBonne's Epicure Market (Connecticut talk for you'll spend 10 bucs on a bag of pretzels, some candy, and a chocholate milk) when this car pulls over and I hear, "Hey you wanna ride?" I wasn't hitching and to this point nobody had ever pulled over like that before, so I was kind of shocked. I was even more shocked when it turned out to be my two trail friends Marty McFly and Achilles the Red. Where they had gotten the car from I had no idea, but rather than stand on the side of the road and ask questions I figured I better get in before the cops showed up looking for a stolen car. As it turns out Marty and Achilles were walking along when a lady started yelling at them. They couldn't make out what she was saying so they went over to her. She was a one legged woman hopping to the bus stop to ride to physical therapy. Being the only logical thing to do when seeing a couple of hikers she handed them the keys to her house and her car and said she would be back later. So they went into her house did laundry, took a shower, and took the car out to lunch where they picked me up. Amazing the things that happen.
I'm going to head into town now for some food. Y'all be good out there and if you see some guy wearing a backpack who looks kind of sketchy I don't recommend giving them the keys to your house, unless you've only got one leg. Whose gonna steal from a one legged grandmother, its an instant one-way ticket to hell.
-Wrong Way
New England is different than the south. I knew this before, but its amazing how quickly a region changes, and it is noticed all the more when you walked there. The south didn't really end till northern PA, which led way to the "how you doin'?" part of the country. I asess the character of a place by eateries with counters, be them bars, delis, or diners. In the south it was the elderly farmers exchanging witty insults and weather forecasts, in NJ and NY it was public service workers like cops, firemen, and paramedics talking about accidents and girls that just got out of high school (yikes), and in New England thus far it has been the idle rich talking about God knows what. I can't listen because I'm too busy sitting in the corner with the other hikers feeling ashamed of our attire and trying not to mess the place up.
Some things never change though. The other day I was walking into Salisbury, CT to go to LaBonne's Epicure Market (Connecticut talk for you'll spend 10 bucs on a bag of pretzels, some candy, and a chocholate milk) when this car pulls over and I hear, "Hey you wanna ride?" I wasn't hitching and to this point nobody had ever pulled over like that before, so I was kind of shocked. I was even more shocked when it turned out to be my two trail friends Marty McFly and Achilles the Red. Where they had gotten the car from I had no idea, but rather than stand on the side of the road and ask questions I figured I better get in before the cops showed up looking for a stolen car. As it turns out Marty and Achilles were walking along when a lady started yelling at them. They couldn't make out what she was saying so they went over to her. She was a one legged woman hopping to the bus stop to ride to physical therapy. Being the only logical thing to do when seeing a couple of hikers she handed them the keys to her house and her car and said she would be back later. So they went into her house did laundry, took a shower, and took the car out to lunch where they picked me up. Amazing the things that happen.
I'm going to head into town now for some food. Y'all be good out there and if you see some guy wearing a backpack who looks kind of sketchy I don't recommend giving them the keys to your house, unless you've only got one leg. Whose gonna steal from a one legged grandmother, its an instant one-way ticket to hell.
-Wrong Way
Monday, July 12, 2010
Pink Blazing
Hello all from Kent, CT
Ally (Right Way) and I arrived here in Kent this morning. We have had a very hard week out on the trail with some steep terrain 100 degree temps and some wicked humidity. With much perseverance and patience we prevailed with minimal calls placed to divorce lawyers. Ally did at one point call our hike a death march. She did a great job and I am very proud of her. We even did a 19 mile day one day a feat that takes most thru-hikers several weeks to work up to. Y'all should buy her a drink the next time you see her, she deserves it.
New York was interesting for the many delis, ice cream stands and stop overs. Excellent traps for hikers tired of being in the heat. Ally got to meet lots of other hikers and I think got a good sense of what the community is like out here. She will be leaving me tomorrow though and I'll be strapping my sandals back on and walking my way north. I bought a ticket out of Bangor ME for the 18th of August so my pace will be quick and I'm now unrefundably committed to finishing.
Hope all is well in the world! -Wrong Way
Ally (Right Way) and I arrived here in Kent this morning. We have had a very hard week out on the trail with some steep terrain 100 degree temps and some wicked humidity. With much perseverance and patience we prevailed with minimal calls placed to divorce lawyers. Ally did at one point call our hike a death march. She did a great job and I am very proud of her. We even did a 19 mile day one day a feat that takes most thru-hikers several weeks to work up to. Y'all should buy her a drink the next time you see her, she deserves it.
New York was interesting for the many delis, ice cream stands and stop overs. Excellent traps for hikers tired of being in the heat. Ally got to meet lots of other hikers and I think got a good sense of what the community is like out here. She will be leaving me tomorrow though and I'll be strapping my sandals back on and walking my way north. I bought a ticket out of Bangor ME for the 18th of August so my pace will be quick and I'm now unrefundably committed to finishing.
Hope all is well in the world! -Wrong Way
Monday, July 5, 2010
The Rockets Red Glare
Happy 5th of July everyone!
I am having a great time at my grandparents house here in fabulous Brogue, PA. I rented a car and headed down here for some r and r and good old fashioned 4th of July fun. I was really excited to see some fireworks without a bunch of kids in tow which I haven't enjoyed since I was 20 years old. I attended a few picnics and BBQs in preparation for this event and the family made a plan to go to a park that overlooked the Susquehana river valley to watch the Wrightsville fireworks show. This was a good plan because we thought it would be less busy and not have to deal with the crowds. We got up there and it wasn't crowded, but there were probbaly about a hundred people up there with the same plan. We settled in to our blankets and enjoyed the last of the daylight there. It soon appeared that most folks there were not quite sure what time the show started. You could hear people asking about the start times and what not. At about 9:15 you could see a bunch of fireworks shows starting in far off places from our high perch, and yet nothing from our beloved Wrightsville. At about 9:45 we were getting a little concerned and some other spectators were packing up and leaving. My cousin Carla then got on her phone and looked up the event. I had always thought that independence was on the 4th, but like so many other things I was wrong. Turns out the show is tonight on the 5th. Does that say something about your country or what. We had a good time though laying on the blankets.
The hike is going well. Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while. I've gotten a little overfocused and am cruising. Lots has happened. I have made it to New Jersey since my last blog, meaning that I have hiked through the Shenendoahs and reached Harpers Ferry, WV. I hiked through Maryland, and then reached PA. I passed the 1000 mile mark, the half way point, the 1100 mile mark, the 1200 mile mark, and the 1300 mile mark. Having hiked more miles than I have miles left to hike has drastically changed the mental game of hiking the trail. At the beginning hiking 200 miles seemed like a big accomplishment, but then I would look at the column in my guidebood that gives the mileage to Kathadin and it would say 1900 miles and I would get really disheartened. Now I look in that column and it ONLY says 800 miles. Totally doable. Its amazing what changes a different perspective can make.
I've met quite a few hikers along the way and received generosity from locals along the way. I started hiking with a guy named Marty McFly early on in PA and we hiked together to Glenwood NJ before I got off to come here. He was trying to catch up to some friends who had gotten ahead and he thought if he paced himself with me he could catch them. We did and pretty soon I was hiking with a pretty large crew. We don't hike together, but you walk for awhile and then take a break and everybody catches up and you eat together and rest together and camp together. There has been quite a few more restaurants close to the trail so we all go out to eat together which is pretty fun. There were 9 of us when I got off the trail.
This next week I'll be hiking with Ally who has come out for a visit. Hopefully that works out well. I am looking forward to it. We are going to leave here pretty soon and drive back up to NJ. She'll be with me through NY and then into CT. Hope everyone is well and I'll try to update more frequently than every 400 miles.
Hike on! -Wrong Way
I am having a great time at my grandparents house here in fabulous Brogue, PA. I rented a car and headed down here for some r and r and good old fashioned 4th of July fun. I was really excited to see some fireworks without a bunch of kids in tow which I haven't enjoyed since I was 20 years old. I attended a few picnics and BBQs in preparation for this event and the family made a plan to go to a park that overlooked the Susquehana river valley to watch the Wrightsville fireworks show. This was a good plan because we thought it would be less busy and not have to deal with the crowds. We got up there and it wasn't crowded, but there were probbaly about a hundred people up there with the same plan. We settled in to our blankets and enjoyed the last of the daylight there. It soon appeared that most folks there were not quite sure what time the show started. You could hear people asking about the start times and what not. At about 9:15 you could see a bunch of fireworks shows starting in far off places from our high perch, and yet nothing from our beloved Wrightsville. At about 9:45 we were getting a little concerned and some other spectators were packing up and leaving. My cousin Carla then got on her phone and looked up the event. I had always thought that independence was on the 4th, but like so many other things I was wrong. Turns out the show is tonight on the 5th. Does that say something about your country or what. We had a good time though laying on the blankets.
The hike is going well. Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while. I've gotten a little overfocused and am cruising. Lots has happened. I have made it to New Jersey since my last blog, meaning that I have hiked through the Shenendoahs and reached Harpers Ferry, WV. I hiked through Maryland, and then reached PA. I passed the 1000 mile mark, the half way point, the 1100 mile mark, the 1200 mile mark, and the 1300 mile mark. Having hiked more miles than I have miles left to hike has drastically changed the mental game of hiking the trail. At the beginning hiking 200 miles seemed like a big accomplishment, but then I would look at the column in my guidebood that gives the mileage to Kathadin and it would say 1900 miles and I would get really disheartened. Now I look in that column and it ONLY says 800 miles. Totally doable. Its amazing what changes a different perspective can make.
I've met quite a few hikers along the way and received generosity from locals along the way. I started hiking with a guy named Marty McFly early on in PA and we hiked together to Glenwood NJ before I got off to come here. He was trying to catch up to some friends who had gotten ahead and he thought if he paced himself with me he could catch them. We did and pretty soon I was hiking with a pretty large crew. We don't hike together, but you walk for awhile and then take a break and everybody catches up and you eat together and rest together and camp together. There has been quite a few more restaurants close to the trail so we all go out to eat together which is pretty fun. There were 9 of us when I got off the trail.
This next week I'll be hiking with Ally who has come out for a visit. Hopefully that works out well. I am looking forward to it. We are going to leave here pretty soon and drive back up to NJ. She'll be with me through NY and then into CT. Hope everyone is well and I'll try to update more frequently than every 400 miles.
Hike on! -Wrong Way
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