First half of Virginia (Mile 1404)

Just to be clear, the mileage in the title is our distance from the northern terminus of the AT and no longer reflects the distance we have covered. We have hiked about 1100 miles so far.

Today we decided to only hike a couple miles and decided take the rest of the day to hang out in the woods. We stayed in a hiker pavilion built by the boy scouts in Glasgow, VA last night and picked up a care package from my lovely and generous friend Nicole at the post office. The shelter is wonderfully built and maintained but the town is small and it was hard to get a hitch back to the trailhead. We didn't start hiking until 11 and decided against pushing it 17 miles to the next water source (apparently it's dry in this area).

I have too many stories to share from Virginia already. Our best experience on the trail so far happened last weekend. We met a rad hiker named Stef and hiked with her for a few days in Shenandoah National Park. She took us to a folk, funk, and bluegrass music festival called Festy at a brewery a few miles from the trail. We spent the weekend getting down with the locals in the valley and it was incredible. 

Now we are back up at high elevations and have been climbing more and walking around on ridgelines overlooking miles of Virginia wilderness.

Our only worry is the encroaching cold weather, particularly in the high elevations of the Smokies, but we can get through it! Less than 800 miles to go!

Giardia!!

Well I guess it had to happen at some point: I got really sick and had to leave the trail for a short period. Giardia, a parasite that lives in some freshwater ponds and streams, is the most likely culprit.

One fortunate thing about my sickness was that we had some interesting experiences trying to figure out what to do. We ended up going to the nearest free clinic in Goshen, NY since I have no health insurance. There is a large farming community in the surrounding area and this clinic was started by one doctor who was treating migrant workers out of a trailer near one of the farm camps. Now they have a network of clinics spread around the eastern part of the state and provide free health care to anyone in need. They took care of me and helped me get medicated and back on the trail within a few days.

The terrain in New York was much easier than anything we experienced previously and we were able to comfortably do 18+ miles each day for a while. From my understanding this is one of the only good things about this section of the trail; easy terrain. There isn't much for scenery besides that, so after I got sick we decided to skip ahead to Harper's Ferry, WV to get back to the mountains and avoid too much snow in the Smokies. We are hoping to go back and cover the mid-Atlantic states after Springer (the southern terminus of the AT).

Connecticut and the start of New York (Mile 740)

It has been a while since I have posted an update. Sagacious and I have been focusing on making miles recently and haven't spent much time in towns.

The rest of Massachusetts was fun. We had a couple opportunities to sleep indoors - in a church in Cheshire, MA, on the porch of trail legend Tom Levardi, and in a beautiful cabin at Upper Goose Pond near Becket. The cabin even included a pancake breakfast cooked by the caretaker in the morning. I'm so grateful that places like this exist.

The land in Western MA is incredible. One of my favorite spots was Sages Ravine right on the border of CT. It is beautiful and mysterious. I will definitely be returning there.

All of Connecticut was wonderful - scenic and largely flat so we got through it relatively quickly. We'll see how New York goes!

Trail Magic in MA (Mile 612)

Finally made it to Massachusetts! I crossed the border a couple of days ago (and slipped in the mud and skinned my knee as is apparantely traditional with border crossings). That wasn't be an indication of what the state would be like, though.

We met back up with our Canadian friends right before we crossed into MA. As we were hitching into Williamstown we got picked up by an incredibly generous Williams College professor named Phil. When we discovered that the gear shop we were planning on camping behind had recently closed, Phil decided to take us back to his house and he and his wife Kathy provided showers, food, laundry, and beds to sleep in. What trail magic!! We learned that they are active volunteers in their community and they open their home to students and guests for all sorts of occasions. The kindness of this couple and other trail angels we have met can be overwhelming.

Onward to Mt. Greylock and the rest of MA!

Vermont Vortex (Mile 540)

Whoops! I haven't hiked much the past couple of weeks. Vermont is too good for words and it is sucking me in with its farm fresh food and good vibes.

I did some restoration work on a home  foundation for a couple days and slept in the barn of a trail legend and ate like a king. One night was an all out party with Miss Janet, Baltimore Jack, and Dan (the aforementioned legend) all in attendance. I feasted and laughed with some of the best people I have met on the trail.

A couple days earlier I jumped off a bridge and was invited inside the house of a fantastic woman who cooked me breakfast.

Tonight I'm sleeping at one of the nicest hostels on the trail - the Green Mountain Inn in Manchester - eating ice cream and hanging out with friendly people while Craig recovers from some minor sickness. I got to watch the sunset over the mountains with a horse grazing in front of me. Life is good.

Despite my many off days I have still hiked some of my longest days (22 miles!!) and plan on picking up the pace through southern VT and Massachusetts.

Hello Vermont!! (Mile 445)

Wow... I made it through The Whites all in one piece. I was even blessed with good weather and incredibly smooth terrain for the last couple of days. It was certainly a challenging stretch but a rewarding one that part of me is already missing.

After Pinkham Notch I climbed over Mt. Madison and got to sleep on the floor of an AMC hut and eat like a king in exchange for doing some dishes. It feels great to work for something necessary and tangible rather than to stockpile money for some possible future purpose (or some past purpose that hasn't quite worked out yet like a college degree). The stretch after the hut was amazing - 13 miles or so of ridgeline over Mt. Washington, the tallest peak on the east coast, along with some other 5000 footers.

Luckily I got through the toughest parts before getting stuck with some rainy days. It was raining with strong winds through most of the Pemi Wilderness and I felt like I was going to get blown off of Mt. Guyot. It can be a little sucky to work so hard climbing a peak just to be socked in with fog and rain, but such is life in New England sometimes. At least it is an adventure.

Yesterday I walked into Hanover, NH (the trail cuts right through downtown) and I have been taking advantage of the trail magic here. It's off the hook. I am staying with two trail angels named Betsy and Grey Beard who are definitely some of the most generous people I have met in my life. They let Sagacious (Craig) and I stay with them for two nights, did our laundry, and gave us a ride. In town we got free donuts and pizza, not to mention all of the free samples at the farmers market. All that we have been asked to do in exchange is to pay it forward in the future. The people we have met on the trail are like the people at our church - they not only recognize that people should be living differently and treating each other differently - they actually take action on their beliefs and make differences in the world.

I have to take more pictures of the trail over the next couple of days. It's unbelievable how much easier it has gotten. Pine needle paths, switchbacks, and miles without elevation gain or loss are finally daily occurences. Life is good.

Rained out in Gorham (mile 319)

I'm in town sooner than anticipated this time because of the rain. Yesterday every hiker that passed me suggested taking a zero day today because there was a 100% chance of rain in the forecast and tough terrain ahead. It was a good excuse to sit around the Pinkham Notch vistor center reading and eat too much food.

I had a great hike over the past couple of days - over Mt. Moriah and across the Carter and Wildcat mountains. I slept on top of North Carter and got to watch the sun rising over a sea of clouds. The mountaintops looked like they were floating in a thick white soup.

Tomorrow I'm back on the trail. I am climbing Mt. Madison and heading down over Adams, Jefferson, and Washington. Hopefully I get some views and I'm not just shrouded in clouds the whole time. One of the unfortunate things about having a timeline is that I can't wait around too long for a clear day to hike. As long as there is no thunder or heavy rain I will keep climbing.

I just got back from a few days off to see my lovely friend Nicole get married. It was really great to see my family and have lunch with my friends Sarah and Bronson. My only regret is not seeing my dad before I left. I couldn't be here if it weren't for him and I hope we get to hike together in the future.

Taking some time off was awesome because I am hiking with a new group of Southbounders now. My favorite SOBOs Campfire and Young Guns are slightly ahead of us but we saw some fresh faces in the past couple of days so hopefully we won't be camping alone.

Greetings from NH (mile 300)

My first state is done!! So long Maine! It's a little sad - the people there were incredible and from what I gather it's definitely the most wild state (very few roads and small isolated trail towns) - but I'm proud of my accomplishment.

The southernmost 20 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine are rumored to be some of the hardest. I don't doubt it! The trail goes up a mountain, all the way back down to nearly sea level, then back up again. My knees were killing me. I ended Maine with Mahoussic Notch, involving a steep decent down Old Speck Mountain and a mile of scrambling over boulders and through narrow caves. Even the last 0.5 of Maine was difficult. There was a big rock wall to climb right at the end.

I am on a never ending quest to lighten my pack weight. I have sent home a lot of things and am down to what I think are just the basics. I'm even ripping pages out of my book as I read them but it still seems too heavy after I ressuply on food. It's a learning process. I keep getting tips from people as I talk to them.

I am having a little trouble uploading pictures and was waiting to post an entry until I could figure it out but internet access is rare so I can only do a few for now.

Rangeley, ME (Mile 220)

What a trip!! The trail has been so challenging and so rewarding so far. I made it through the roots and mud and bugs of central Maine and now it's on to rough rocky terrain in the southern part of the state. I just finished 100 miles or so from Monson to Rangeley across rivers and mountains. I even got a "ferry" ride (from a very nice gentleman in a canoe) because of strong river currents.

I hit a lot of mountains recently. I ended up doing one a day for the last few days. Saddleback was definitely the best so far. Absolutely amazing views. I also had a great near-0 day where Craig and I only hiked 6 miles and saw some thunder clouds approaching. We booked it over the mountain we were climbing and stayed at a shelter a short way down with some awesome north bounders. We spent about 13 hours laying around in the lean-to reading, sleeping, and watching the lightning up on the peak.

I have met an amazing cast of characters so far. So many great and unique people. Everyone out here is so friendly and helpful. The comradery is definitely the best part of this adventure. People have been providing free food and rides and offering us places to stay. It's amazing what comes your way when you open yourself up to it. I am going to do my best to pay it forward and keep it going.

I will be updating my blog more regularly soon. All of these trail towns in Maine are remote and far apart so it's hard to find service. I'm only 60 miles from the NH border though!! Less than a week away!

Beautiful pondside campsite outside Rangeley

Shoelace tying

The Horn on Saddleback - you can see the ridgleline trail going up the mountain in the background 

Saddleback Junior!!

Repackaging delicious Fig Newman's from Newman's Own Organics

Makeshift bridge building with a plastic spoon. The travel guitar is hanging in there. Thanks Bronson!

Through the 100 Mile Wilderness (Mile 114)

I completed two pretty big AT challenges in the past couple of weeks -- Mt. Katahdin and the 100 Mile Wilderness. Katahdin was definitely more difficult than I anticipated, especially when it started raining as I was descending some intense scrambles, but it was so rewarding.

We set off for the Wilderness the first day after the hurricane and had to battle our way around fallen trees, high waters, and ridiculous mosquitoes, but it cleared up a couple days in and we were blessed with clear skies and incredible scenery. It took us 10 days to amble through while getting used to toting our 40 pound packs and climbing over roots and through mud. Hopefully we will be able to pick up the pace as we develop our trail legs.

Last night we finally made it to Monson, bruised and sore but in good spirits, and stayed at the Lakeshore hostel and pub. It's a wonderful little place run by an incredibly hospitable crew. It will be hard to leave the town comforts but I already miss the woods and the feeling of accomplishment that comes after a long day of hiking.

Throughout the hike we have met so many awesome people -- too many to list -- but the comradery out here is probably the best part of the trail. More about that later. I have written to much already. <3 Happy Trails.