The mail drops I send every 5-10 days contain the meals that were so carefully planned, prepared and packaged based on their anticipated schedule, which we all know, never made it to reality. When the number of days hiking between mail drops does not match the number of days in their food supply drop, food becomes scarce. On Monday, 8/24, their food supply had dwindled down to dried fruit, and so by mid afternoon they were forced off the trail at Rutland, Vermont to resupply. After 4 days of rain, it was good to get off the trail and get things washed and dried out.
Rutland is an upscale little Vermont town with beautiful old homes and a hostel run by a religious group called The Twelve Tribes. They live communally with no personal income or wealth. They sustain their group with various businesses in town - a cafe, outfitters store and print shop. They are all hardworking, by choice, to benefit the group as a whole.
Hikers who stay in the hostel may make a donation or work for their stay. If one chooses to work, there is no set time; you contribute whatever time you choose to contribute. In return, hikers are fed two wonderful vegetarian meals a day at 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. The meals are served family style in the cafe and consist of things like fruit, museli and french toast for breakfast and large salads, bread, veggies, couscous amd pasta for dinner. Our hikers chose to work for their stay and so they stayed and stayed and stayed. They have been working in the cafe - washing and chopping veggies, sweeping and mopping and washing windows. On Tuesday, they worked from after breakfast till afternoon, so they were also treated to a lunch of homemade soup and tofu wraps.
Monday evening, their first night at the hostel, the cafe was closed to the public for a tribal event called M night; M standing for music, merriment and mirth. All of the hikers were invited to join in and had a wonderfuil time. There was Israeli music and folk dancing and a large crowd of tribe members and hikers. The hostel has separate dorms for men and women as well as other areas for overflow. The men's dorm was full as well as an auxillary dorm and a deck area - all with men. The women's dorm had Madeline and another young lady, Lucky Star. This is a different crowd of hikers than what they have typically been around; mostly young men, late teens to mid-20's. Although Jonathan falls in this age range, he says he feels much older.
They took a very long time in the grocery store in Rutland to resupply for the approximate 4 days till they reach their next mail drop. This resupply experience made them appreciate the time and effort they put into preparing their food ahead of time. Many hikers rely solely on towns to resupply their food. They found it challenging to find the kind of healthy, vegetarian, easy to pack and travel with, quick to prepare, one pot kind of meal foods, but they managed to come up with an interesting selection, (whole wheat hot cereal, pasta, quinoa, canned parmesan, instant brown rice, packaged asian sauces, tortillas, peanut butter, honey, marshmallow fluff and peanut m&m's). For those of you who know the level of purity in food that is important to Jonathan, there are some departures from the norm here.
Jonathan, especially, has expressed this intense hunger he experiences all the time of late. He feels he can never get enough to eat. They have made two trips to the dairy for a pint of Ben & Jerry's icecream while in Rutland, and have no trouble consuming those extra 1,000 calories following a big meal. They went to a Chinese buffet for lunch Wednesday and ate their way through everything vegetarian they could find. Jonathan then returned to the hostel for a nap and Madeline went off to the movies. They have felt they needed this time in Rutland to just eat and rest (and work). Jonathan asked me to increase the olive oil in their maildrops. Perhaps if they cook with more added oil, it will increase his energy as it increases caloric intake.
Vermont is really beautiful - all lush and green. Moss thickly carpets every surface. Weather when it is not raining is warm and nights comfortable although there was one night atop Mt. Killington that was pretty chilly; the rainy days are cool. They were none too happy to have to tent in the rain one night when the shelter was full with a school group from a local college. Trail ettiquette implys that shelters are to be saved for thru-hikers, and not monopolized by groups. They have hiked of late with an older guy(40's) named Vendog and a younger kid named BamBam, who although nice and harmless, is very weird and a little crazy.
Jonathan says his favorite place thus far is called White Rock Mountain. Here, the larger trees of the Hemlock forest are dying but young ones are popping up everywhere. There were elaborate rock cairns that looked like something dating back to the ancient Druids. There was a sense of something magical and sacred here; he felt revitalized and renewed after a period of weakness and low energy.
They have seen large trees growing atop boulders, with big six inch thick roots stretching down around the boulders and into the ground. Though hard to comprehend how this growth pattern establishes itself, it looks really amazing. In rainy weather, there are red spotted newts all over the trail. They are everywhere, making it nearly impossible not to step on. As juveniles, these newts live in the forests; as adults, their coloring turns an olive green and they return to the ponds to reproduce. Though they have seen moose poo, they have not sighted a moose, although some other hikers have.
Madeline was lucky enough to find a pack rain cover in a hiker box to replace the one she lost. Hiker boxes are located in places hikers frequent. They are a place to share with other hikers. If you have supplies you don't need, or extra food, it is left in a hiker box for someone else's use. Jonathan purchased a lightweight rain suit in Rutland as his rain jacket was no longer proving to be waterproof; (it has already backpacked for months through PuertoRico and months through Ireland). Madeline lost her one and only eating utensil, a spork, awhile back but found a spoon somewhere along the way to replace it. Jonathan, who had taken a lightweight bamboo fork, spoon and knife set with him, had lost everything but the knife, which is what he has been using to eat with for some time now. He recently lost the knife too so they have had a spoon between them to share. Hiker, Dana, has now given him a titanium spork which she had originally brought with her to dig her potty holes but is no longer using. My hikers too have found a digging implement to be unneccessary. One's boot heel can work just as efficiently; so they mailed their trowel home several weeks ago with some other things they found to be nonessentials. Hikers constantly reevaluate their possessions; no point in carrying anything you can do nicely without.
Jonathan says he has learned to be more relaxed. While he used to feel driven to get up and get going quickly each morning, and would get impatient when Madeline lingered in her sleeping bag, that is no longer the case. He cares not if they have a liesurely start to their day. He says it is Madeline now who is the one who is usually packed up and ready to go first. She usually begins the hike before him; he follows within the hour. They planned to return to the trail Thursday morning, hopefully satiated and well rested. We know they are happy and strong. ~Amy
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Vermont's Green Mountains: (a long catch-up entry)
As the primary recorder of this journey, now that school is back in session, I'm falling behind. This entry is a catch-up of the last couple of phone calls.
Jonathan's last entry explained the circumstances that led up to their stay with the "old hippie couple", Chris and Arla, (who are most likely old like me). Chris and Arla also had a a young retriever puppy named Marley, whose company Madeline enjoyed immensely. The hikers decided to stay a second day with this couple because of a headache and dizziness on Madeline's part that following day as they were preparing to leave. As the day wore on, Madeline felt better. They were joined by other hikers, Lion King, What, Dana and Mark Trails. This group of 6 went to a karaoke bar that second night and all took their turn with the microphone. Jonathan sang Beatle's song, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away; Madeline sang Anyone Can Whistle, (from the musical of the same name) and with Mark Trails, Elton John's Rocket Man. A local in the bar bought all the hikers, (Madeline excluded), a pint of beer. They had a blast.
Mark Trails is the first and only person of color they have met on the trail. Mark is African American and has been on the trail since Harper's Ferry, VA and has met but one other non-white, a Hispanic man. He described their meeting like a family reunion; they both dropped their packs and embraced. Apparently the trail is very white. Mark is hiking to Mount Katahdin, the trial's northern most point in the US, and then continuing on into Canada where he will meet up with his wife and kids.
The following day as they were preparing to return to the trail, tragically, the puppy, Marley, got loose and life came to an abrupt halt under the wheels of a jeep. It was a very emotional experience for all. Madeline was inconsolable. They stayed well into the afternoon with Chris and Arla, sharing their grief, and taking part in the burial ceremony. Their start back to the trail was much later than intended; their mileage minimal that day. Chris and Arla called them, perhaps it was the following day, to let them know they had returned to the shelter where they had gotten Marley and brought home another retriever puppy, who they strongly suspect to be Marley's sister.
They have had some stretches of beautiful weather, some hot and muggy, and some rain. Bugs have not been a problem of late. The Green Mountains are hardwood forests, super dense with foliage, many ferns, and very green. They have seen tiny little golden salamanders, only about 1 inch long. They are on a very crowded stretch of trail right now. There is another trail, the Long Trail, that runs into Canada, but shares a 100 mile stretch of trail with the AT. This is the section they are on and this is what accounts for the crowds. Shelters are crowded so they have been tenting, but even tenting spaces can be scarce.
They climbed a fire tower atop Raspberry Mountain for an incredibly awesome view. They have also passed over Glastenbury Mountain in an area known as the Bennington Triangle, an area in which there has been the mysterious disappearance of a number of people over many years. Legend has it that Native Americans considered this area cursed and avoided this mountain area. There is an abandoned campsite in the area which because of the nature of the equipment, it is believed by hikers to be staged by locals to play up the creepiness of the mood surrounding the area. No backpacker could actually hike with the equipment left behind at this campsite. They have blue blazed around one mountain on a day when Jonathan was feeling especially drained. The blue blaze trails are alternate paths to the standard white blaze paths. In this case, I believe the blue blaze went around the mountain rather than over it. Many a hiker will take advantage of a blue blaze trail now and again as needed.
They were headed into Manchester, VT for a mail drop pick-up and planned to stay at a hostel there where for $15 you got a bunk, a pint of Ben and Jerry's, free milk, eggs and soda. They were hiking at that point with a hiker named Hitch, a man in his 40's who is doing a portion of the Long Trail. When they were not able to hitch a ride from the trail into Manchester, Hitch called a cab and allowed Madeline and Jonathan to join him for the ride into Manchester. Because the hostel was full, our hikers planned on just returning directly to the trail. Hitch, however, was going to take a few days off the trail because of blisters, and had gotten a room at Sutton's Place, a local Inn. He invited Madeline and Jonathan to join him for the night; there was ample room with 3 beds, a common living room and shared bathroom. They got showers, did laundry, took Hitch out for pizza and Madeline vegged in front of the TV in the common living room.
Madeline has acquired holes in the rather sturdy seats of both her hiking pants which she has had to sew up. She says their laundry comes out remarkably clean. One of Jonathan's two hiking shirts is yellow and Madeline says it goes into the washer looking totally brown, and comes out amazingly yellow again. Madeline's ankle continues to be a problem. It is weakened with injury and so although she keeps it wrapped, she repeatedly retwists it. Add Jonathan's head lamp to the list of lost items thus far.
And so our hikers continue to fall further behind their original schedule. Jonathan said the days of hiking through the mud pits was especially slow going. Boots become very heavy and it was difficult to find footing. Each step was laborious. But as for schedules, it no longer matters to them what kind of schedule they keep; a schedule does not steer their course. It is the journey that matters and the events of each day. It is the people they meet, the kindness they encounter. Aside from the delays generated through adversity - lost possessions, illness, injury, weather and weariness, many of their delays are self imposed. They detour to treat their weary bodies, take advantage of hospitality offered, linger longer than intended for just the pleasure of an experience or the company at hand. In Jonathan's words, "it's all good". It's the journey, not the schedule and they are drawing each essence of pleasure from its' many diverse moments. In terms of timing, what will be, will be. ~Amy
Jonathan's last entry explained the circumstances that led up to their stay with the "old hippie couple", Chris and Arla, (who are most likely old like me). Chris and Arla also had a a young retriever puppy named Marley, whose company Madeline enjoyed immensely. The hikers decided to stay a second day with this couple because of a headache and dizziness on Madeline's part that following day as they were preparing to leave. As the day wore on, Madeline felt better. They were joined by other hikers, Lion King, What, Dana and Mark Trails. This group of 6 went to a karaoke bar that second night and all took their turn with the microphone. Jonathan sang Beatle's song, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away; Madeline sang Anyone Can Whistle, (from the musical of the same name) and with Mark Trails, Elton John's Rocket Man. A local in the bar bought all the hikers, (Madeline excluded), a pint of beer. They had a blast.
Mark Trails is the first and only person of color they have met on the trail. Mark is African American and has been on the trail since Harper's Ferry, VA and has met but one other non-white, a Hispanic man. He described their meeting like a family reunion; they both dropped their packs and embraced. Apparently the trail is very white. Mark is hiking to Mount Katahdin, the trial's northern most point in the US, and then continuing on into Canada where he will meet up with his wife and kids.
The following day as they were preparing to return to the trail, tragically, the puppy, Marley, got loose and life came to an abrupt halt under the wheels of a jeep. It was a very emotional experience for all. Madeline was inconsolable. They stayed well into the afternoon with Chris and Arla, sharing their grief, and taking part in the burial ceremony. Their start back to the trail was much later than intended; their mileage minimal that day. Chris and Arla called them, perhaps it was the following day, to let them know they had returned to the shelter where they had gotten Marley and brought home another retriever puppy, who they strongly suspect to be Marley's sister.
They have had some stretches of beautiful weather, some hot and muggy, and some rain. Bugs have not been a problem of late. The Green Mountains are hardwood forests, super dense with foliage, many ferns, and very green. They have seen tiny little golden salamanders, only about 1 inch long. They are on a very crowded stretch of trail right now. There is another trail, the Long Trail, that runs into Canada, but shares a 100 mile stretch of trail with the AT. This is the section they are on and this is what accounts for the crowds. Shelters are crowded so they have been tenting, but even tenting spaces can be scarce.
They climbed a fire tower atop Raspberry Mountain for an incredibly awesome view. They have also passed over Glastenbury Mountain in an area known as the Bennington Triangle, an area in which there has been the mysterious disappearance of a number of people over many years. Legend has it that Native Americans considered this area cursed and avoided this mountain area. There is an abandoned campsite in the area which because of the nature of the equipment, it is believed by hikers to be staged by locals to play up the creepiness of the mood surrounding the area. No backpacker could actually hike with the equipment left behind at this campsite. They have blue blazed around one mountain on a day when Jonathan was feeling especially drained. The blue blaze trails are alternate paths to the standard white blaze paths. In this case, I believe the blue blaze went around the mountain rather than over it. Many a hiker will take advantage of a blue blaze trail now and again as needed.
They were headed into Manchester, VT for a mail drop pick-up and planned to stay at a hostel there where for $15 you got a bunk, a pint of Ben and Jerry's, free milk, eggs and soda. They were hiking at that point with a hiker named Hitch, a man in his 40's who is doing a portion of the Long Trail. When they were not able to hitch a ride from the trail into Manchester, Hitch called a cab and allowed Madeline and Jonathan to join him for the ride into Manchester. Because the hostel was full, our hikers planned on just returning directly to the trail. Hitch, however, was going to take a few days off the trail because of blisters, and had gotten a room at Sutton's Place, a local Inn. He invited Madeline and Jonathan to join him for the night; there was ample room with 3 beds, a common living room and shared bathroom. They got showers, did laundry, took Hitch out for pizza and Madeline vegged in front of the TV in the common living room.
Madeline has acquired holes in the rather sturdy seats of both her hiking pants which she has had to sew up. She says their laundry comes out remarkably clean. One of Jonathan's two hiking shirts is yellow and Madeline says it goes into the washer looking totally brown, and comes out amazingly yellow again. Madeline's ankle continues to be a problem. It is weakened with injury and so although she keeps it wrapped, she repeatedly retwists it. Add Jonathan's head lamp to the list of lost items thus far.
And so our hikers continue to fall further behind their original schedule. Jonathan said the days of hiking through the mud pits was especially slow going. Boots become very heavy and it was difficult to find footing. Each step was laborious. But as for schedules, it no longer matters to them what kind of schedule they keep; a schedule does not steer their course. It is the journey that matters and the events of each day. It is the people they meet, the kindness they encounter. Aside from the delays generated through adversity - lost possessions, illness, injury, weather and weariness, many of their delays are self imposed. They detour to treat their weary bodies, take advantage of hospitality offered, linger longer than intended for just the pleasure of an experience or the company at hand. In Jonathan's words, "it's all good". It's the journey, not the schedule and they are drawing each essence of pleasure from its' many diverse moments. In terms of timing, what will be, will be. ~Amy
Thursday, August 13, 2009
You get what you need
Hiking the trail, I am overwhelmed by how perfectly timing and circumstance work together to bring you exactly what you need when you need it. This feeling hit home last night as I shared a beer and listened to the radio with a south bounder named Zeus, and the radio played the Stone's song: "you can't always get what you want...but you get what you need". Let me explain how we got to that point. Tuesday morning we cross into Vermont,and trekked through the worst mud we've seen yet; my boots took on an extra couple of pounds in water and soil, but my spirits stayed high regardless. I've been looking forward to Vermont, and it has proven to be just as lush, green and beautiful as I could have hoped for. But by the end of the day, I was exhausted, (still recovering from our 23 mile day), and I was so hungry. Sometimes the hunger just creeps up on you and your body needs fuel before your stomach tells you to eat, and by the time you stop to eat, you feel pretty terrible. That's what happened Tuesday night, and then I realized that a strap had come unbuckled and I had lost a pair of socks, the bottom half to my pants, and a cup that I was re hydrating vegetables in. This only compounds my general feeling of doom and gloom, and I sink to the lowest point I've reached on the trail. I cowboy camp outside the shelter that night and sleep very restlessly. In the morning, I backtrack 3.5 miles, and luckily retrieve all my lost possessions. I'm feeling bummed about this set back, because it means we won't make the post office by Saturday at noon, and we'll loose track of some really cool people we've been traveling with. We cook lunch and then it starts to storm. We decide to wait out the rain, and as we wait, Cbass and another guy, (I've forgotten his name), show up and tell us about some hostel they heard about in Bennington, VT, 4.2 miles away. They weren't sure where; all they knew was that an old hippie couple ran it out of their home. This sounds exactly like what we need, so we hike 4 more muddy miles, and stick out our thumbs on route 9. Literally the first car that drives past, stops, and gives us a ride into town, but has never heard of the hostel. I ask many people about this hostel, and no one knows what I'm talking about until finally, a car full of young kids know what we mean, and tell us how to get there. It's not a business; they are just loving people that let hikers shower and stay in a barn that is electrified and furnished with a couch, pool table, radio, chairs, everything you need, and more. They are SO nice and welcoming. Upon arriving, my spirits were instantly renewed. So that's how I came to be listening to the radio, drinking a beer, and totally getting exactly what I needed at that exact time. Life is so beautiful! I Love it! Thank you all for your love and support! ~ Jonathan
Madeline's Views on Slack Packing
I am all for slack packing; it is a wonderful feeling not to have that heavy weight on your back. Things were going very smoothly until we got lost and I must admit, (even though it would be fairly easy for me to deny the fact even to myself), that being lost in the woods at night, in the fog, is scary. It wasn't the being lost part as I am totally familiar with that feeling, but it was the fact that it was not only dark, but it was also foggy, making it doubly hard to see. I have come up with a good way of describing my feelings. Once when I was very young, (I can't remember my exact age, but I was at the age where all adults are nothing more than a sea of legs), I was walking around the nocturnal house at the zoo. I was having a great time when I pulled on the leg of who I thought was my mom to tell her something, only the person who looked down at me wasn't my mom. I remember the feeling I had then; it was as if my whole world had been turned upside down. That was what it was like when I realized I was no longer on the AT, even the lighting wasn't the same. Tom is a great guy...I know my mom has already written about that, however, I still feel the need to reiterate the point; he is an absolute angel. Thank you all for all your support. I draw strength and endurance from the knowlege that there are so many people who believe in me.
Love
Madeline
Love
Madeline
Monday, August 10, 2009
August 10th - Jump ahead 23 miles
The hikers arrived in Dalton, Mass on Saturday and looked up Tom Levardi, a retired gentleman who is a hiker's friend in the truest sense. They spent two nights with him since they had to wait for the post office to open Monday morning. He keeps a very hiker-friendly house. Thursday night, he said he put up 23 hikers, Friday night, 17 hikers, and the nights that our hikers spent with him were shared with 6 other hikers each of the two nights. One night was spent on the living room floor, and one night in a bed in a spare bedroom. They showered, he washed their clothes, and he fed them well. On Saturday night, he put out a spread of pasta and sauce, hot dogs, baked beans, corn on the cob and ice cream with lots of sundae fixings, and rumor has it, he creates this spread with magic, for he barely entered the kitchen, yet produced a copious spread for all 8 hikers.
On Sunday morning, following coffee cake, Tom drove them to the far side of Mount Greylock and they slack packed 23 miles of trail (and some additional miles getting lost) back towards Dalton. It was amazing to hike without their packs - they had wings on their feet. Greylock is the highest mountain they have climbed thus far. At the top, they were in the clouds, and although there was a tower to climb, they couldn't really see any distance. It was foggy coming back down, darkness came early, and they lost the trail. After much walking and circling, they were unable to reconnect. Tom had given them his phone number so they called him. He felt certain that if they just kept going, they would come to a road eventually, which they did. Once on the road, they attempted to flag down a car to find out what road they were on because Tom had said he would come pick them up once they found pavement. The car apparently reported them to the police (police encounter number 3 on this journey) as "kids on the road playing pranks, jumping in front of cars". I trust our hikers know better than to jump in front of cars, though I suspect they were waving with gusto at that point. Again, they had to present ID's and answer 50 questions. It's hard to be young. Tom arrived to pick them up and even though it was 10 o'clock at night by then, and all the other hikers in residence were sound asleep, he fixed them grilled cheese and spagetti-o's. Is this world wonderful or what?
The hikers went out for breakfast this morning - pancakes, eggs, toast, home fries and coffee. There is no end to the appetite. I assure you, they don't have all that for breakfast at home. Jonathan borrowed a bike from Tom and rode into town to claim the mail drop. Once they were re-packed and organized, Tom was going to drive them ahead to the far side of Mount Greylock to resume their journey. They plan on short mileage today. Both of them are sore and stiff today, and their packs will again be heavy with food, but they are also exuberant and happy and so am I. I love this trail. ~Amy
"I think," said Christopher Robin,
"that we ought to eat all our provisions now,
so that we shan't have so much to carry." - A.A. Milne
On Sunday morning, following coffee cake, Tom drove them to the far side of Mount Greylock and they slack packed 23 miles of trail (and some additional miles getting lost) back towards Dalton. It was amazing to hike without their packs - they had wings on their feet. Greylock is the highest mountain they have climbed thus far. At the top, they were in the clouds, and although there was a tower to climb, they couldn't really see any distance. It was foggy coming back down, darkness came early, and they lost the trail. After much walking and circling, they were unable to reconnect. Tom had given them his phone number so they called him. He felt certain that if they just kept going, they would come to a road eventually, which they did. Once on the road, they attempted to flag down a car to find out what road they were on because Tom had said he would come pick them up once they found pavement. The car apparently reported them to the police (police encounter number 3 on this journey) as "kids on the road playing pranks, jumping in front of cars". I trust our hikers know better than to jump in front of cars, though I suspect they were waving with gusto at that point. Again, they had to present ID's and answer 50 questions. It's hard to be young. Tom arrived to pick them up and even though it was 10 o'clock at night by then, and all the other hikers in residence were sound asleep, he fixed them grilled cheese and spagetti-o's. Is this world wonderful or what?
The hikers went out for breakfast this morning - pancakes, eggs, toast, home fries and coffee. There is no end to the appetite. I assure you, they don't have all that for breakfast at home. Jonathan borrowed a bike from Tom and rode into town to claim the mail drop. Once they were re-packed and organized, Tom was going to drive them ahead to the far side of Mount Greylock to resume their journey. They plan on short mileage today. Both of them are sore and stiff today, and their packs will again be heavy with food, but they are also exuberant and happy and so am I. I love this trail. ~Amy
"I think," said Christopher Robin,
"that we ought to eat all our provisions now,
so that we shan't have so much to carry." - A.A. Milne
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, August 7th - Almost to Dalton, Massachusetts
I had a lengthy conversation with Jonathan late tonight from the October Mountain lean-to where they are settled for the night. He couldn't sleep and every other hiker in the shelter area, Madeline included, had shut down for the night. They are picking up their next mail drop in Dalton, Mass and had intended to do so tomorrow. The post office, however, is open only till noon and they have 12 miles to go, so they will be forced to wait till Monday for their drop. Jonathan had stomach pains and had to lie down for several hours today which is what put them behind schedule. He's feeling fine now. They will head on into Dalton tomorrow and investigate some interesting possibilities the town has to offer. There are a couple of homes in Dalton where hikers are welcome to sleep on their porches and use their facilities; they may even be fed.
Some people/places in trail towns offer hikers slack packing service. When slack packing, you hike a day, liberated from your pack, which is driven to your prearranged destination. It gives you a chance to cover a lot of ground without the added burden. The hikers are going to look into a variation of that so their weekend isn't a total loss mileage-wise. They are thinking they could get dropped off 20 miles or so up the trail on Sunday (leaving their packs in Dalton) and then hike back to Dalton in order to pick up their mail drop Monday morning. They could then beg a ride back to the place they began their hike Sunday and be 20 miles ahead.
They have met up with a very interesting retired couple, trail names - Smoke Stack and Mother Nature, whose company they are enjoying a lot. These two are section hikers who live near the trail in Georgia. They completed about 1/2 the trail in 2004, another section in 2008, and plan to finish the remaining sections by summer of 2010. They have a lot of wisdom and good trail advice. Mother Nature attributed Jonathan's difficulty today to heat exhaustion.
In addition to Smoke Stack and Mother Nature, they are sharing the shelter tonight with 3 young men who just got on the trail yesterday and will be only hiking for 5 days. Impressively, these guys made pizza from scratch for dinner. They made a yeast dough which they rose in the sun and cooked in a pan.
Last night when they arrived at their intended shelter at Goose Pond, they were very pleasantly surprised to find it to be a cabin - two stories complete with bunk beds and mattresses and a caretaker who provided them with water bottled from a nearby spring and made them coffee and pancakes for breakfast in the morning - 5 star trail accommodations! Jonathan thinks he left his long underwear behind in the cabin. It's proving somewhat challenging to hang on to all their belongings.
They are back to hiking together - Madeline has picked up her pace. They have been hiking through very old and vital hemlock forests. Hemlocks are very slow growing and these are huge. There is still a lot of fungus and something called club moss which looks like tiny evergreen trees sprouting up from the forest floor. Club moss is indicative of really rich, healthy soil. There are also these really cool things that Jonathan describes as looking like ghost flowers which they thought were some kind of a mushroom. They found out they are Indian Pipe which is unique in that it has no chlorophyll. It relies on decaying matter so it lives like a fungus but reproduces through seeds like a plant.
They have also traversed a valley area between the mountains - low, hilly country with farmland, horses and meadows of flowers. They have seen a lot of ponds - some mountain ponds, some lowland wetland ponds, and a beaver pond. They've observed the mating of dragonflies in flight and a hornet devouring another insect.
There's been no rain since Tuesday - it's been beautiful and cool. When it is rainy, slugs are somewhat of a nuisance. They settle on your pack and its contents, cook wear included.
Last night they met a hiker, trail name Lion King, who is on his second thru-hike. He loves how it all feels so familiar. Jonathan can now see the allure of repeating a thru-hike. He is becoming very attached to the trail; there is a human quality to the trail and one begins to feel a part of it.
Lion King was also the first person to hike the Discovery Trail which goes coast to coast. It took 16 months and passes through Cincinnati. Amazingly, he remembered details of passing through Cincinnati, like the "mushroom house" near the bend on Erie Avenue and crossing the bridge into Covington and staying at the Drawbridge Inn.
They came across a Trail Magic Box today that was filled with apples, bananas, pop tarts, granola bars and cookies. Tomorrow when they head to Dalton, Mass, there is a planned detour to a blueberry farm where there lives a woman who allows blueberry picking and provides hikers with blueberry cookies. There are so many wonderfully delightful sweet little acts of kindness and charity shown the hikers; it is a culture unto itself .
So this is what happens when you have a long conversation late at night - there's a lot of little details about which to write. For those of you so dutifully following, I hope this isn't tedious to read. ~Amy
Some people/places in trail towns offer hikers slack packing service. When slack packing, you hike a day, liberated from your pack, which is driven to your prearranged destination. It gives you a chance to cover a lot of ground without the added burden. The hikers are going to look into a variation of that so their weekend isn't a total loss mileage-wise. They are thinking they could get dropped off 20 miles or so up the trail on Sunday (leaving their packs in Dalton) and then hike back to Dalton in order to pick up their mail drop Monday morning. They could then beg a ride back to the place they began their hike Sunday and be 20 miles ahead.
They have met up with a very interesting retired couple, trail names - Smoke Stack and Mother Nature, whose company they are enjoying a lot. These two are section hikers who live near the trail in Georgia. They completed about 1/2 the trail in 2004, another section in 2008, and plan to finish the remaining sections by summer of 2010. They have a lot of wisdom and good trail advice. Mother Nature attributed Jonathan's difficulty today to heat exhaustion.
In addition to Smoke Stack and Mother Nature, they are sharing the shelter tonight with 3 young men who just got on the trail yesterday and will be only hiking for 5 days. Impressively, these guys made pizza from scratch for dinner. They made a yeast dough which they rose in the sun and cooked in a pan.
Last night when they arrived at their intended shelter at Goose Pond, they were very pleasantly surprised to find it to be a cabin - two stories complete with bunk beds and mattresses and a caretaker who provided them with water bottled from a nearby spring and made them coffee and pancakes for breakfast in the morning - 5 star trail accommodations! Jonathan thinks he left his long underwear behind in the cabin. It's proving somewhat challenging to hang on to all their belongings.
They are back to hiking together - Madeline has picked up her pace. They have been hiking through very old and vital hemlock forests. Hemlocks are very slow growing and these are huge. There is still a lot of fungus and something called club moss which looks like tiny evergreen trees sprouting up from the forest floor. Club moss is indicative of really rich, healthy soil. There are also these really cool things that Jonathan describes as looking like ghost flowers which they thought were some kind of a mushroom. They found out they are Indian Pipe which is unique in that it has no chlorophyll. It relies on decaying matter so it lives like a fungus but reproduces through seeds like a plant.
They have also traversed a valley area between the mountains - low, hilly country with farmland, horses and meadows of flowers. They have seen a lot of ponds - some mountain ponds, some lowland wetland ponds, and a beaver pond. They've observed the mating of dragonflies in flight and a hornet devouring another insect.
There's been no rain since Tuesday - it's been beautiful and cool. When it is rainy, slugs are somewhat of a nuisance. They settle on your pack and its contents, cook wear included.
Last night they met a hiker, trail name Lion King, who is on his second thru-hike. He loves how it all feels so familiar. Jonathan can now see the allure of repeating a thru-hike. He is becoming very attached to the trail; there is a human quality to the trail and one begins to feel a part of it.
Lion King was also the first person to hike the Discovery Trail which goes coast to coast. It took 16 months and passes through Cincinnati. Amazingly, he remembered details of passing through Cincinnati, like the "mushroom house" near the bend on Erie Avenue and crossing the bridge into Covington and staying at the Drawbridge Inn.
They came across a Trail Magic Box today that was filled with apples, bananas, pop tarts, granola bars and cookies. Tomorrow when they head to Dalton, Mass, there is a planned detour to a blueberry farm where there lives a woman who allows blueberry picking and provides hikers with blueberry cookies. There are so many wonderfully delightful sweet little acts of kindness and charity shown the hikers; it is a culture unto itself .
So this is what happens when you have a long conversation late at night - there's a lot of little details about which to write. For those of you so dutifully following, I hope this isn't tedious to read. ~Amy
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
August 4: Great Barrington, Massachusetts
The hikers spent the night at a motel in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Madeline enjoyed cocooning in bed with the television and Jonathan shared pizza and time with another hiker, YoYo, who was also staying at the motel for the night. Jonathan also walked into town and was treated to a couple of beers by a local who enjoys meeting AT hikers. They both appreciated beds and showers.
It has been slow going for the last week. Madeline had a few days with a stomach virus and feeling weak. Over that but then sprained her ankle a couple nights ago navigating a rocky, rain slick mountain. There has been rain aplenty this past week. Madeline has lost her pack cover and has to resort to garbage bags to keep it dry.
They have been spending their days mostly hiking separately as their pace has been significantly different. Jonathan is feeling in peak shape and is now comfortable with a pace of between 2 1/4 and 2 3/4 miles per hour as long as the ascents aren't too steep. He has down time when he stops to wait for Madeline to catch up.
The trails of late have been pretty good, though the top of the peaks are very steep. They are still encountering low sections of muddy swamp, heavy with mosquitoes. Madeline sighted a large owl who flew about 10 feet in front of her. Jonathan sighted a skunk kit, hopping around and acting foolish.
They have detoured to towns several times to resupply food. With their slower pace, they are relying longer on a food drop than anticipated.
They sometimes make use of shelters, sometimes camp, and sometimes separate. They have not encountered any mice or other critters creating disturbances in the shelters at night.
They are in the middle of the pack of north bound hikers and are now running into some southbound hikers as well. Spirits seemed pretty good in spite of set backs. They were prepping to head back on the trail, picking up extra provisions in the grocery and asking around for someone going their way to give them the 10 mile ride back towards the trail. Madeline, of course, picked up another book to read as well as a small book of crossword puzzles. Perhaps everyone will be healthy and whole and making better time in the next chapter. ~ Amy
It has been slow going for the last week. Madeline had a few days with a stomach virus and feeling weak. Over that but then sprained her ankle a couple nights ago navigating a rocky, rain slick mountain. There has been rain aplenty this past week. Madeline has lost her pack cover and has to resort to garbage bags to keep it dry.
They have been spending their days mostly hiking separately as their pace has been significantly different. Jonathan is feeling in peak shape and is now comfortable with a pace of between 2 1/4 and 2 3/4 miles per hour as long as the ascents aren't too steep. He has down time when he stops to wait for Madeline to catch up.
The trails of late have been pretty good, though the top of the peaks are very steep. They are still encountering low sections of muddy swamp, heavy with mosquitoes. Madeline sighted a large owl who flew about 10 feet in front of her. Jonathan sighted a skunk kit, hopping around and acting foolish.
They have detoured to towns several times to resupply food. With their slower pace, they are relying longer on a food drop than anticipated.
They sometimes make use of shelters, sometimes camp, and sometimes separate. They have not encountered any mice or other critters creating disturbances in the shelters at night.
They are in the middle of the pack of north bound hikers and are now running into some southbound hikers as well. Spirits seemed pretty good in spite of set backs. They were prepping to head back on the trail, picking up extra provisions in the grocery and asking around for someone going their way to give them the 10 mile ride back towards the trail. Madeline, of course, picked up another book to read as well as a small book of crossword puzzles. Perhaps everyone will be healthy and whole and making better time in the next chapter. ~ Amy
Monday, August 3, 2009
Trail Facts
No contact with the hikers for a week now so I'm posting trail history/facts in lieu of news:
- The AT winds through the Appalachian Mountains of 14 states, through 6 national parks and 8 national forests.
- The AT is home to more than 2,000 rare, threatened, endangered and sensitive plant and animal species.
- The original conception dates back to the early 1900's, with work constructing the trail beginning around 1922.
- The trail was primarily constructed by volunteers and was completed in 1937.
- In 1948, a WWII veteran undertook the first thru-hike to "walk the war out of my system"; many considered his thru-hike a stunt.
- The trail has seen many changes since that first thru-hike. Each year the trail undergoes relocations and other improvements to its route, causing the trails distance to change almost annually. Current length is roughly 2,178 miles - the longest marked footpath in the nation.
- The lowest point is 124 feet at Bear Mountain, NY; the highest point is Clingman's Dome in Tennessee at 6,625 feet.
- It takes approximately 5 million footsteps to walk the entire length.
- More than 6,000 volunteers contribute about 200,000 hours to maintaining the AT every year.
- Of those hikers who set out each year to thru-hike the entire trail, statistics of those who complete it vary year to year from about 15% - 30%.
- In 2008, 438 people completed the trail as thru-hikers; women make up 25% of the completed thru-hikes; 125 people have completed the trail 2 or more times.
- The oldest thru-hiker on record was 81.
- The first female solo thru-hiker, known as "Grandma Gatewood", was mother of 11 and grandmother of 23 when she completed the hike at age 67 in 1955; she completed it 2 additional times. She was famous for wearing only Ked's tennis shoes and carrying a small knapsack.
- There are more than 260 three-sided shelters or lean-tos located along the AT, with room for 6-12 people. Camping wherever you can find a suitable site is permitted along most of the AT.
- The trail is marked by two rectangular white blazes painted on trees, posts and rocks. Rock cairns (piles of rock) are used to mark the trail above timberline, in fields and on balds where no trees are available.
- A thru-hike can cost between $1,000 and $5,000, not including equipment which on average ranges from $1,000-$2,000. The low end on the cost spectrum involves going without restaurant meals and hostels when in towns.
- The potential for snow can last into May in Georgia and into June in New Hampshire and Maine. The first snows of autumn usually occur in September in New Hampshire and Maine. By November, any part of the trail is open to snow.
- It takes from 5-7 months to complete the trail depending on pace and the time you take off along the way.
- An average of 35 thru-hikers a day leave from the southernmost point, Springer Mountain, between March 1st and April 1st. Therefore, the majority of hikers are concentrated over a 300-400 mile stretch of trail.
- Most hikers who quit their thru-hike plans, usually do so the first week or so. Perhaps that's a hopeful statistic as these hikers have now been on the trail for 30 days!
I go forth to make new demands on life. I wish to begin this summer well; to do something in it worthy of it and me; to transcend my daily routine and that of my townsmen...I pray that the life of this spring and summer may ever lie fair in my memory. May I dare as I have never done! May I persevere as I have never done! - Henry David Thoreau
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