Location: Unknown Shelter I didn’t sleep well last night on the picnic table at the Spruce Mountain shelter. I tossed and turned and killed spiders until around 1:00 am. I could still barely hear the snoring of the old men. They all began snoring after I left. The night was cool though, and it calmed […]
Hiking Through Hot Pastures in Vermont – AT Thru-Hike Day 59
Location: Unknown I left the shelter late this morning because I only planned to hike 14 miles. The heat began to drain my energy as soon as I began climbing the hills in Vermont. I walked though a lot of pastureland today. The hills are still challenging, but the miles are pleasant. The heat is […]
Climbing Mount Washington in Near Zero Visibility – AT Thru-Hike Day 45
Location: Mizpah Hut, White Mountains This morning came early. Last night I had difficulty falling back asleep after being woken up by some noise in the bunkroom. The snores from the bunkroom were intolerable. I rolled to cover one ear and then the other with my makeshift pillow, an inflated Ziploc freezer bag with […]
Climbing Through Wildcats to the Ski Patrol Hut – AT Thru-Hike Day 43
Location: Wildcat D I hiked a difficult ten miles today through the cold rain. I left Imp Campsite early and reached Carter Notch Hut around lunchtime. I had already eaten lunch in the late morning on the summit of Carter Dome. I chatted for a bit with the hut master. He let me fill my […]
Meeting The Three Religious Brothers…One Rumored A Thief – AT Thru-Hike Day 42
Location: Imp Campsite in the Carter-Moriah Ridge I’ve stopped at Imp campsite on the Carter-Moriah Ridge for the day. I only hiked 7 miles, but they were a hard seven miles up steep and long slopes. I stopped short of my intended destination for several reasons, the main reason being that I need to be […]
The Repercussions of Nearly Being Killed by Lightning – AT Thru-Hike Day 39
Location: Hiker’s Paradise Today Stick and I crossed the Maine-New Hampshire state line. I felt a full sense of accomplishment for completing the hardest state on the AT without injuring myself. I had some hard falls, but each time I fell I got back up and continued hiking, taking the blood, bruises, and close calls […]
Bouldering the Mahoosuc Notch – AT Thru-Hike Day 38
Location: Full Goose Shelter My last full day in Maine. Tomorrow I’ll cross into New Hampshire. I only have five miles left in this state. Stick showed up at the campsite this morning before I had fully woken up. He stealthed on top of the mountain last night. He says that Flying Turtle has been […]
Death has his hand on the boy in the woods – AT Thru-Hike Day 36
Location: Frye Notch I left Andover with a full pack today. I had expected to reach Baldpate Mountain lean-to across the open ridgeline of the mountain, but I only reached Frye Notch. I felt sick for most of the morning because of a hangover from the night before with Sean Boyle and his sons. I […]
6 Tips for Successfully Thru-Hiking the Appalachian Trail
Successfully thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail requires physical endurance, perseverance, and, of course, a little bit of luck (or at least the absence of bad luck). I met a thru-hiker in Maine who was the unfortunate victim of bad luck. He had successfully thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and was by all accounts an experienced […]
Life Lessons Learned from BJ Bear – AT Thru-Hike Day 33
The bugs woke all of us up early this morning. The rain fell hard last night so the talk over breakfast revolved around pessimistic expectations about the trail’s condition. Tomato and David left first, followed by BJ Bear, and then me. I didn’t want to get out of my sleeping bag in the morning. I […]