day 111, Hanover, NH

Start:  Happy Hill Shelter
End:  Hanover, NH
Miles:  5.3 today, 1724.6 total

East-bound on West Wheelock Street, crossing Ledyard Bridge.

Well that was a quick hike.  I noticed that I really do hike faster the less my pack weighs.  It's like I exert the same amount of effort, so with less drag I go further.  Something to look into.  I'll see what I can get rid of here in town.

So I'm "chillin'" at the hostel, talking to Silver Wings and Ronny whom (is that "who" or "whom"?) I met back at the Winturri Shelter.  Silver Wings was complementing me on how precise and well-done my bees nest signs were yesterday.  Lately the bees have been really bad, but because hikers are so friendly, you're often warned in advance by small signs left on the trail... by hikers.  So I discovered a nest yesterday in a log laying across the trail.  Like any other log, I stepped over it, thinking about something or daydreaming or whatever, and I got stung in the back of my leg.  I dropped my poles without thinking and ran (for some reason, when I get stung or I'm about to take a spill, I always drop my poles).  So then, after darting in to grab my poles, I left notes on the north and south sides of the nest warning my hiking brethren.  I put the notes on sticks which I stuck in the ground, so they were like mini-billboards.  Anyway, New Hampshire baby, yeah!

day 110, Happy Hill S, VT

Start:  Winturri Shelter
End:  Happy Hill Shelter
Miles:  20.5 today, 1719.3 total

I have now hiked over 1700 miles.  A moment of silence, please...

There were at least 5 people (including myself) who were trying to get here by tonight.  Panda made it here, but then hauled it to Hanover (that's a 26-ish mile day).  I'm here.  The rest... somewhere behind, guessing Thistle Hill Shelter.  So yeah, I'm alone here, but no big deal.  I mean, c'mon, Hanover tomorrow!  I'm considering taking a zero Saturday, as in stay two nights in town.  That would put me just a tad behind schedule, but with 440-ish miles left, I can afford to slide a little bit.

Rachel started classes on Monday.  It's pretty crazy how people grow up and do grown-up things.  She said that things were a little awkward when she first moved in last week, but once she met some people living near her, peace returned.  I remember that the first week or so was a pretty volatile experience, being surrounded by totally new people and adapting to an entirely different way of living.  You could kind of compare that to leaving work / school to come out and hike the trail, but the awkward adjustment period isn't as bad nor as long.  (That whole paragraph dealt with the subject of moving into college, by the way.  Just wanted to ensure proper communication.)

day 109, Winturri S, VT

Start:  US 4 (Inn at Long Trail)
Stop:  Winturri Shelter
Miles:  18.5 today, 1698.8 total

Looking at my handwriting last night, that's hilarious.  I fell asleep while trying to think of stuff to write, so when I woke up, I just bull-charged through it.

Well, said goodbye to Freeman this morning.  Turns out he's decided to continue north on the Long Trail, rather than turn east toward Katahdin.  He said he'd been thinking it over for awhile, but the ridgerunner at Cooper Lodge talked him into it.  He was a cool guy (Freeman I mean).

Ok, some cool definitions:

Blue blaze:  verb, when you "blue blaze", you get off the AT and follow a side trail until it comes back to the AT.  Often, side trails are marked with blue blazes, and often you take a blue blaze as a shortcut.

Yellow blaze:  verb, when you "yellow blaze", you get off the AT and get into a motor vehicle, entirely skipping a section of trail.  Supposedly, it's called yellow blazing because you're following the double yellow lines.

Aqua blaze:  verb, when you "aqua blaze", you get off the AT and get into a boat of some type (usually a canoe or kayak) and skip a section of trail by water.  Some people (Ganj & Robin, for example) aqua blazed via canoe on the Shenandoah River.  Evil devils.

day 108, Inn at Long Trail, VT

Start:  Minerva Hinchey Shelter
End:  US 4 (Inn at Long Trail)
Miles:  20.2 today, 1680.3 total

I am officially blue blazin' hiker trash.  I wasn't planning on blue blazing, but I took too long on top of Killington and I also underestimated the mileage to the Tucker-Johnson Shelter.  So when I found out how far I REALLY had to go, I couldn't decide what to do.  Trying to explain the whole thing would be too boring and complicated, so I'll just say that after intense internal deliberation, I decided to rebel.  The blue blaze I took was in fact the AT back in like 1998 or '99.  You could see the white underneath, creeping outside the blue blaze on top.  The AT was relocated apparently because of some land deal with a local ski resort (I'm guessing Killington).  When I went to sign the guestbook, I saw a lot of thru-hikers who had stayed here.  Skipper (Laura) stayed here 6 days ago, so I gained another day on her.  Man, I'm getting tired.

So I'm here at the Inn.  Freeman got a room for two nights, and he's letting me sleep in his own room on the floor for a mere $12.  Got a shower and a Reuben.  Hope I can make my goal for tomorrow.  Goodnight.

day 107, Minerva Hinchey S, VT

Start:  Peru Peak Shelter
End:  Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles:  19.4 today, 1660.1 total

I was really worried that the muscle in my leg would get worse today, so I took it slow at first.  Now that I'm here at the shelter, it feels pretty good.  Hopefully sleep will heal it some more for tomorrow's 21 miles.  And so far the raw heels haven't been a problem.  I think the extra liners are the answer.  It's basically like having a layer of moleskin (that doesn't slip!) covering your whole foot.  I may have discovered something profound: buy your boots half a size too big and layer up the socks, and that may just eliminate blistering.  Then again, I might just be a fool.

Saw a couple of Laura's register entries.  Looks like I'm about 7.5 days behind her.  I hope I don't catch her too soon, I'd like to do the Wilderness with her, but our schedules might not work out.

Caught back up with Freeman tonight.  He took it pretty easy today.  He's going to have some breakfast at the Whistle-stop Cafe tomorrow, a really tempting idea.  But a 21-mile day can't afford a stop like that.  I considered slowing down, cutting back the mileage for all the days between here and Hanover.  I'll have to see what I feel like tomorrow.  I like making decent mileage, but I also like food.

day 106, Peru Peak S, VT

Start:  VT 11 & 30 (Manchester Center)
End:  Peru Peak Shelter
Miles:  9.7 today, 1640.7 total

Again, slow getting out of town.  But really, it's no big deal.  The plan I made to Hanover puts me almost exactly where I was yesterday in terms of average miles per day.  And that's with a zero included.  Anyway, I'm not too worried about the schedule, bottom line.  My heels seemed to do ok, though it was like a half day today.  However, I think I've pulled a muscle or something on the front, bottom of my left shin.  This didn't actually occur today, it happened a few days ago.  It's painful enough to slow down my pace quite a bit.  I'll have to see how tomorrow goes... I might want to avoid rushing to catch up to my plan if it means getting the leg to heal faster.  Anyway, time will tell.

It's great being caught-up with my journal entries.  It's like I have to find something else to worry about... like reducing pack weight.  Thought about that a lot today.  The Kelty Flight pack is like $600, but it weighs less than 2 pounds apparently.  Man, I'd really like to try going ultra light, but it would require some big purchases along with possibly big changes in my hiking/camping style.

Oh, hey, I'm in my brand-spankin' new sleeping bag right now!  I can tell already that it's going to be REALLY warm.  Oh boy!  Mom made this liner for it out of a sheet for easier washing.  I'm excited about going to bed.  Nighty-night.

day 105, Manchester Center, VT

Start:  Spruce Peak Shelter
End:  VT 11 & 30 (Manchester Center)
Miles:  1.6 today, 1631.0 total

And it all works out.  Got a hitch into town with Freeman.  He's a pretty cool guy.  He lives in the San Francisco Bay area, he's a software guy - does lots of Windows apps with Visual Basic.  Apparently he made a lot of money off the dot com boom, but didn't lose it all when the whole thing fell apart, so he's been living it up since January.  He took a trip to Costa Rica with his girlfriend, took a trip to British Columbia with his family (parents, siblings, etc), and now he's hiking the AT from Harpers Ferry to Katahdin.  We're splitting a double room at Sutton's Place, my second motel of the trip.  It's $27 each, which is much better than the $40+ I spent on a room back in Helen, GA.

So I got into town ok and with plenty of time to do the P.O. stuff.  The sleeping bag is amazing.  It's really puffy and fluffy, but you can compress it down to the size of my rolled-up fleece blanket.  Took a shower, did laundry.  Had a pretty good chat with a retired guy while our clothes were in the wash.  I spent a good while at Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) trying to figure out what to do about my boots.  The guys there were REALLY going out on a limb for me, offering to take my boots back and exchange them for something else, coming up with some pretty crazy ideas just to help me out.  It's like I heard Freeman say (I think): those who know the Trail treat you like a god, those who don't treat you like a bum.  Had a Denny's-style breakfast, a spaghetti dinner, and a Ben & Jerry's "Blue Blaze" for dessert.

day 104, Spruce Peak S, VT

Start:  Kid Gore Shelter
End:  Spruce Peak Shelter
Miles:  23.0 today, 1629.4 total

Did some unwanted leap-frogging with the weird guy this morning, but after he got ahead of me this one time, I didn't see him the rest of the day, and he's not here at the shelter.  Anyway, good riddance...

Yesterday, while hiking with weird guy, the Orkin Man came by, headed south.  Turns out he and Snack Attack had gotten so far behind that they started yellow blazing hardcore, about 580 miles-worth.  Well, for some reason, Orkin Man managed to rack up some serious debt, about 5000 pounds-worth, and is finally leaving the trail to handle reality.  So he was headed south to Bennington.  I caught up with Snack Attack later and we both stayed at Kid Gore.  Today she did some serious miles (26) to get into Manchester Center tonight.  She and the Orkin Man are getting a room tomorrow night for one last fling before he goes back to England or some other pound-using country in Europe.  I guess Snack Attack just needed to get off the trail a day early to recover.

Well, it's great that I was able to pull off a big 23-mile day, especially in VT, to help ensure that I get to the P.O. in time.  Just have to wake up and hike 2.7 miles to the road and then pray for a quick hitch.  I hope it all works out.

day 103, Kid Gore S, VT

Start:  Congdon Shelter
End:  Kid Gore Shelter
Miles:  18.7 today, 1606.4 total

Broke 1600 miles... look, no blisters... yeah, right.  For some unknown reason, the backs of my feet, about an inch above the heel, are getting rubbed raw.  I experimented with tight / loose lacing and adding extra sock liners.  The extra liners combined with tight lacing seemed to lessen the pain, but not remove it completely.  That's a massive amount of sock liners, by the way:  3 on my left foot and two on my right, and then an actual sock on each.  Most people only wear 2 socks.  I wear 7.

Had another weird-guy experience (the first being the Neil Young look-alike in PA).  Some guy, who I think I've seen once recently before today, came through our camp this morning (the shelter is practically ON the trail), talked for a bit, and kept on walking.  Eventually I leave camp.  I get to the Melville Nauheim Shelter and decide to pull in to grab some water.  Well, the guy is there.  I say I'm going to get water and he comes with me.  No big deal.  We're talking some, can't find the water, and then he asks if I'd mind if he hike with me.  In my gut I'm screaming "NO!", but I don't want to be rude, so I say "sure".  So we hike together for about a mile, he's behind me.  I'm afraid he'll knife me from behind.  I lose him for a bit when I say I've got to make a pit-stop in the woods.  He's over at Caughnawaga Shelter now, which is about 0.1 miles from here.  Hope to lose him for good tomorrow.

day 102, Congdon S, VT

Start:  Wilbur Clearing Lean-to
End:  Congdon Shelter
Miles:  17.1 today, 1587.7 total

Vermont!  Hello Green Mountains!  Hello Long Trail!  It's the final 3 states and the action is heating up.  The scenery is beautiful, like the Smokies, only better.  And it's REALLY green, like solid green everywhere.  There's lots of underbrush, too.

Met a couple just starting their thru-hike of the Long Trail.  They were approaching it via the AT through North Adams.  Also met a couple more NOBOs (along with quite a few SOBOs): Touch of Time, and some other guy.  Touch of Time (which is a weird name, even for a trailname) is a GA>MEr, I think, and today he was slacking south.  The other guy just started today in Cheshire (he did 25 miles his first day!) and is headed to Katahdin.

A SOBO here at the shelter said a good thing to do would be to call The Barn in Gorham when I get to Pinkham Notch in the Whites.  Apparently they shuttle for free, so I'd leave the trail, stay the night in Gorham, then slack the 20ish miles from Pinkham Notch to Gorham and stay another night (possibly slack ahead in Maine?).  I'll think that one over.

Clear, cool night tonight, doesn't look like it'll rain.  Sleeping in the shelter with 5 other people.  I was alone last night, so I was hoping for some company tonight.  That new sleeping bag Mom & Dad bought sounds awesome.  Looks like I'll get it just when I'm starting to need it, too.

day 101, Wilbur Clearing Lt, MA

Start:  Cheshire, MA (campsite)
End:  Wilbur Clearing Lean-to
Miles:  11.0 today, 1570.6 total

Picked up my maildrop without any trouble around 7:30am, ate breakfast, packed up, did laundry, took a picture of the nice people who let me take a shower in their place, had someone take a picture of me in front of the Cheese Monument.  As I write this page, it's getting harder to remain awake.  Anyway, the climb up Greylock was really amazing.  Steepness wasn't too bad, and the scenery / vegetation is getting awesome around here.

Oh, as I was leaving Cheshire, I came across Bad Ass Turtle.  She just recently decided to quit the trail.  She may do some more this season, we'll see what happens I guess.  When I saw her today, she was doing Trail Magic out of the back of her rental SUV.  I asked her if there was a convenience store nearby because I had to pick up some batteries and dental floss.  So she drove me about 100 yards to a Shell station just out of sight around the bend.  I told her I was going to call my parents and that it might take awhile, but she said she'd wait since there wasn't much else she could do back at the trail.  Apparently, I was the first NOBO to come through that day, and it was like 1pm.  Called home, picked up batteries, no floss for sale.  Bad Ass Turtle asked me if I'd mind doing an interview for her PhD thesis.  So that was fun.  She tape-recorded it.

day 100, Cheshire, MA (c)

Start:  Pittsfield Road (Cookie Lady)
End:  Cheshire, MA (campsite)
Miles:  18.9 today, 1559.6 total

What a day, what a day.  Take a look at that number... 100 days.  Well, it's just a number now that I'm looking at it.  Big deal.  Ok, moving on...

Lots of Trail Magic -type stuff today.  First, there was the Cookie Lady's place this morning.  Nothing really new there except that I got a late start (what else is new?).  Then, after about 3 miles of hiking, I come across a whole bunch of Poland Spring water left by Winthrop & Mortimer, two SOBO section hikers back in NJ/NY.  Though I never met them, I gladly partook of a liter of agua.  Then, when I got to Dalton, I was walking down the street, following the white blazes, when I happen to glance at this one house and notice that it's got a "Katahdin: 600 miles, Springer: more than that" -type of sign, and also a little sign pointing around the side of the house reading "Water".  Turns out this guy Tom lets people tent in his backyard, he does slackpacking occasionally, and makes ice cream sundaes for all the hikers that go by his place!  I was hanging around on his front porch, and then he pulls up in his car getting home from work.  So we talk and he makes me a sundae.  Good timing!  And finally, here in Cheshire, I'm tenting behind the Bait, Bike, and Blade Shop, but the older couple across the street just let me take a shower in their place!  I had some spaghetti delivered here for din-din.  Feelin' good.

day 99, Pittsfield Rd c, MA

Start:  Webster Road (campsite)
End:  Pittsfield Road (Cookie Lady)
Miles:  16.1 today, 1540.7 total

Yes friends, I'm staying at the Cookie Lady's blueberry farm.  Got my tent up in her front yard.  It's really a husband and wife living in a house with a black guy (who I'm guessing is either hired staff for the farm or maybe an adopted son?  I don't know).  Anyway, they're really nice folks.  She brought out a little basket with 3 cookies and 2 small packages of pitted prunes - gotta stay regular.  Their dog, Rufus, barked at me when I first walked up, but later was really friendly.  And they let me use their phone after I tried calling home twice only to have the connection get screwed up both times.  So a little bit of Trail Magic, you might say.

Well, because the miles were on the easy side, and the terrain wasn't so bad, I took advantage of the extra time and really wailed on those backed-up journal entries that I've been meaning to get to.  It's a new trip record: including this one, I wrote 5 journal entries today, as well as setup the little table of contents -type thing in the front.  (post-hike note:  All of my journal entries were hand-written with a black pen in 4 5/8" x 7" 48-page "Rite in the Rain" yellow notebooks.  I ended up filling 3 of those notebooks by the end of the trip.  I kept a "table of contents" in the front of each book, though in hindsight, not sure how much value it added.)  Really made some progress there.  So now I've only got 3 outstanding entries left to take care of.

Man, I can hear those mosquitos outside waiting to tear into my flesh.  They're insanely bad here in the Tea Party State.  Hope I don't have to pee tonight, they might bite my willy!

day 98, Webster Rd c, MA

Start:  East Mountain (campsite)
End:  Webster Road (campsite)
Miles:  18.1 today, 1524.6 total

The past couple of weeks I've been thinking a lot about the different gear that I'd use if I were to do this (or the PCT?) again.  The three big gear items are:  the pack itself, tent / tarp, sleeping bag.  And I'd probably change all 3.  As much as I've been against Go-Lite packs, I've gotta say, they're REALLY light.  Back at the Vernon hostel, one guy with the same pack as me said that it weighs 6-7 pounds on its own.  The Go-Lite weighs 11oz!  That's completely nuts.  For the tent, I might shrink down a size and go with the Sierra Designs Light Year CD.  I think it's about a pound less than the 2-man Clip Flashlight.  And for sleeping bags, the 20-degree 5-pound bag that I used until Harpers Ferry is just too darn heavy; a new bag, same degree rating, but in the 2-3 -pound range would be great.  And, as an afterthought, I'd also buy a pair of Leki trekking poles, and put rubber tips on them and remove the "mud catcher" basket.  Oh, and maybe wear some sunglasses, too, the keep the bugs out of my eyes.

Good hike today.  Good mileage, got into camp just before 7pm.  I'm "stealthing" with a 3-man group of section hikers tonight.  Cookie Lady tomorrow.

day 97, East Mountain c, MA

Start:  Sages Ravine Campsite
End:  East Mountain (campsite)
Miles:  18.8 today, 1506.5 total

This must've been just after I left camp that morning (vs. previous evening).

One interesting side-story throughout this hike involves the environmentalist fanatics Treebeard and Amaranth.  I have never actually met either of them, though I saw their pictures back at the Eckville Shelter in PA.  Treebeard is a bearded white male - the typical thru-hiker.  Amaranth is a white woman (not bearded, possibly from England).  Both look to be in their 30s or 40s.  They are known among, and often scorned by, various thru-hiker cliques because of their frequently inflammatory register entries.  Yahtzee first brought the two of them to my attention back in VA after he read one of their writings and proceeded to chew them out vocally and write a retaliatory response (though it's doubtful that Treebeard or Amaranth will ever read what he wrote).  Sometime in the past couple days I read an entry by Amaranth about how she wants to "avoid the insane, consumer-driven, car-needing, Type-A American lifestyle".  Both proclaim loudly that they are "vegan car-haters" and they have openly insulted those who aren't.  For the most part, I've sat on the sidelines watching, formulating opinions, questioning my reasonings, etc.  I've concluded that if I were to write any sort of response, it would probably be negative.  Anyway, a little bit of trail entertainment at the very least!

day 96, Sages Ravine C, CT

Start:  US 7 (Belter's Campsite)
End:  Sages Ravine Campsite
Miles:  17.7 today, 1487.7 total

The Kuhns were some really great people.  I got a picture of the 3 of them with their dog on their front lawn.  I had Jackie (Sassafras) write down address info so I can send them something after the hike.

Jackie and I did a 3-mile slack from where we got picked up last night to where the trail comes closest to her house.  That went pretty quickly.  Then I grabbed my pack and headed out for the day.

Nothing too crazy the rest of the day.  Pulled into Sages Ravine Campsite around 7:45pm, talked to the caretaker some.  Apparently, I'm not in Massachusetts just yet.  He said the signs marking the state line are just ahead.  The thing is, both my map and the Data Book say I've already crossed the line.  Oh well, either way I'm still on schedule and a few miles plus or minus doesn't mean squat, yo.

The caretakers around here get really big tents.  I'm talking 8-10 person capacity.  And they're setup permanently on wooden platforms.  The guy here is college-aged.  He goes to Columbia and studies history (I think).  Then, after he graduates, he's going straight into a Masters - PhD program.  He says it's all paid for through an insane amount of student loans.  He's actually a ridgerunner, says it's a lonely job.  I'll be in Mass. tomorrow, one way or another!

day 95, US 7 (Belter's c), CT

Start:  Mt. Algo lean-to
End:  US 7 (Belter's campsite)
Miles:  22.9 today, 1470 total

Long day with some tough terrain.  Pulling 26 miles was a tough job.  I left camp a little after 7:30am, Sassafras left at around 6:45.  I caught up to her at the Silver Hill Campsite around 1pm.  She had been chatting with a "family" that I met my first night at Mt. Algo.  I say "family" because it was a piece-meal assortment:  aunt and uncle from one branch, nephew from another, niece from another.  As in, 3 branches.  The uncle is in the PATC, and we talked about that a bit back at Mt. Algo.

So then I passed Sassafras there.  Got to Belter's Campsite just before 7pm, stopped and waited on her.  I didn't want to get to her house before she did, thought that would be a little awkward.  "Hi, you don't know me, but let me stay here anyway.  Got any ice cream?"  While I waited I got water and had a good chat with Tenderheart, who took a 3-mile yellow blaze earlier today.  We talked about the various pressures of finishing a thru-hike, but also how the end was in sight.

Sassafras got to Belter's around 8pm, we decided to get a ride, rather than walk the rest of the way in the dark.  Used my cell phone to call her parents.  They're in their 80s, really nice.  Got a shower, dinner, called home, and sleeping on a pull-out couch!

day 94, Mt. Algo Lt, CT

Start:  Mt. Algo Lean-to
End:  Mt. Algo Lean-to
Miles:  0 today, 1447.1 total

A big fat zero!  Wasn't planning on it, but the time keeps on ticking and you've got business to do, so no big deal.  And I'm still on schedule with the plan I made to Manchester Center.

It sounds like I might do 26 miles tomorrow to stay at Sassafras' house.  She's a 40-year-old woman (though she looks like she's 28), meeting her parents tomorrow night.  She said a bunch of her hiker friends are going to stay, though I'm not sure if that'll be tomorrow or not.  Anyway, I figure it'll be well worth the extra effort to get a free place to stay, shower, etc.

Two northbounders just caught up with me tonight.  Panda and Maverick started May 20-something and June 3 respectively, I think.  So they're really moving.  I mean, really, there's very few people who have passed me.  I'm sure these two will.  Gravytrain, Commodore, that guy John who I met back in the Smokies... can't think of anyone else.  So that means I'm moving pretty fast myself, which might be a bad thing.  As I said before, I wish I had at least 2 more weeks to work with, just to make the trip more relaxing.

Ok, time for bed.  Big day tomorrow, waking up at 5:30am.  Peace out.

day 93, Mt. Algo Lt, CT

Start:  Telephone Pioneers Shelter
End:  Mt. Algo Lean-to
Miles:  21.4 today, 1447.1 total

An extremely frustrating day, especially right now.  I hike 21 miles, my feet are falling apart because my socks and boots are wet and they're rubbing the tops of my toes raw.  I've got some pretty bad chafing / crotch rot down there because I'm never dry because the humidity is like 300% and my sweat never evaporates, thus creating a big salty mess between my legs.  I pull into camp at dark (which is around 8:30pm now, not 9pm anymore) a little after 8:15pm, the shelter's full and there's half a dozen people tenting, as well.  So I setup my wet tent (it poured last night, that was AFTER I wrote my journal entry, thus no ranting yesterday) on my wet ground cover, on the wet ground.  The night wouldn't have been NEARLY as bad if the floor of my tent wasn't wet.  The mosquitos are bad, as usual, so I'm eating my dinner of peanut butter crackers, dried fruit, and gorp inside my tent.  No way I'm going to cook out there.

Anyway, I'll hope for better times tomorrow.  Hey, at least I'm in Connecticut!  One more state conquered.  And I found out that there IS still an outfitters in Kent.  The ME>GAs from RPH Shelter said it closed, but now I hear it's just moved.  And the shower is still at the old location.  That'll be a lifesaver!

day 92, Telephone Pioneers S, NY

Start:  RPH Shelter
End:  Telephone Pioneers Shelter
Miles:  16.6 today, 1425.7 total

Despite a slow start out of camp (9:30am), I managed to swing by the Mountain Top Deli for an hour or so, and pull into the shelter before 7pm.  Man, I am REALLY liking this tent!  A little interjection there.  It just keeps the bugs out so well.  I love that.  Anyway... 3 section / weekender types here.  They're hiking from Kent to Bear Mountain.  They all appear to be in their late twenties / early thirties.  Asked me a lot of questions about gear and thru-hiking in general; Tenderheart said she'd come at least this far, so she must've gone further ahead.  No water at this shelter, the stream is dry.  The Cooke's offer tap water about 0.7 miles north of here, so I'll take advantage of that tomorrow morning.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I'm going to do when I get off the trail, as far as work, exercise, socialization, goals, etc.  A couple ideas are:  train for and compete in a marathon; bike across the USA on the American Discovery Trail; play hockey again; start/join a band, record my own music; start a lifelong effort to read all the Classics (Odyssey, Wuthering Heights, etc); build a computer, circuits and all; pursue my cause & effect, teleportation ideas.  A lot of "extracurriculars" there to choose from.

day 91, RPH S, NY

Start:  Graymoor Friary
End:  RPH Shelter
Miles:  18.8 today, 1409.1 total

Good hike today.  Got off to a reasonable 8:20am start time.  Hiked a good full-day's hike, pulled into the shelter before 6pm!  That's what I'm talking about!  I've been getting so tired of ending my hikes near, or in, darkness.  Doing the camp business by the light of your headlamp every night gets old.  And you're always trying to keep quiet because everyone else is asleep.  So hopefully I've broken that slacker slump I was in.

Leap-frogged with Tenderheart some today.  She reminds me a lot of Michelle, the Garden Dept. Supervisor at Hechingers (the other one aside from me!) (post-hike note: I worked at a Hechingers hardware store back home during summer and winter breaks senior year in high school / freshman year in college.)  In the Graymoor register, she wrote about how the hiking's been so hard lately and how she got stung in the butt by a bee, and so she's thinking of quitting.  We never talked about it today.  At this point in a thru-hike, it's all mental.  You've passed the physical part of the test, just gotta keep your head in the GA>ME... heheh.

Tonight we've got Tenderheart and myself representing the GA>ME crew, Moonshine & Daydreamer (yeah, found out his name), Paul (a trail runner, not a ridge runner, the guy literally runs sections of the trail for fun), and the ME>GAs:  Strider (girl), and two other guys whose names I may never know.

day 90, Graymoor Friary, NY

Start:  Bear Mountain (campsite)
End:  Graymoor Friary
Miles:  9 today, 1390.3 total

Took it nice 'n easy today.  Broke my awesome campsite around 9am, got up to the top and had a bagel & gatorade.  Moonshine and his buddy (whose name I forgot) caught up with me there.  And they had already hiked 8-9 miles!  Alone, that sort of time is impressive, but compared to the 0.1 miles I had walked it's downright illegal.  I left the summit around 10am.  Took about an hour break, 30-45 minutes of which involved a phone call home.  So that was 11-12.  Then I actually hiked some.  Went through a zoo.  Nothing really special there, except for the title of "Lowest Elevation on the AT".  Somewhere around 124' above sea level.  Crossed the Hudson on the Bear Mountain Bridge, a long highway suspension bridge.

I made it to the Friary a little after 4pm.  Took a refreshing cold shower.  The highlight of the evening was the pork, potatoes, peas, and yellow watermelon dinner the Friars gave us.  It was me and 3 women:  Tenderheart (a NOBO thru hiker), Midnight, and Swiss Dish (2 SOBO section-hiking hotties, college-age!).  After dinner, around 7:30, a male SOBO thru-hiker rolls in... and I forget his name.  Oh well, not like I'll see him again anyway.  Real miles tomorrow!

day 89, Bear Mtn c, NY

Start:  Green Pond Mountain base (campsite)
End:  Bear Mountain (campsite)
Miles:  15.7 today, 1381.3 total

Change of plans.  Actually, I'm still sticking with the rest of my schedule to Kent, just pushing it back a day.  And here's some reasons why:  trying to stick to the old schedule might burn me out; I'd like to experience the Friary - dinner and all; the trail goes through a zoo, which closes at 5pm everyday - the old plan wouldn't get me there in time, and I'd have to skip a section of the trail and miss out on the fun animals; I'm hiking slower now.  Ok, and the reasons why I'm hiking slower:  heat, lack of water, heavy pack (recent maildrop), harder terrain, mentally discouraged.  The "mentally discouraged" part is really a combination of getting behind my schedule, fear that the terrain will only get harder and I'll only get slower, and then the heat, lack of water... etc.  So, a little bit of a negative trend there.  And now that I've spotted it, I'll seek ways in which to eliminate it.  Honestly, I'm not too worried, I've just got to reassess and adapt.

Awesome campsite tonight.  I really pushed to get up here, and I'm glad I did.  I've got my tent on some grass next to a big rock ledge.  It looks like the moon and Mars and a scaled-down replica of New Mexico all in one.  Really windy, I hope I don't fly away in my tent (ie: large kite).  Supposedly, I can see the NYC skyline.  The Palisades Parkway is below to the west.

day 88, Green Pond Mtn c, NY

Start:  NY 17A (campsite)
End:  Green Pond Mountain base (campsite)
Miles:  12.4 today, 1365.6 total

A lot of ups and downs today with both hiking the trail and my emotions.  The trail is starting to get vertical again.  For a long time, since maybe central VA, the trail has been pretty level, and when climbs came, they were gradual, not too hard.  Today was different.  Steep, rocky climbs and descents, the kind where you sometimes have to set your poles aside so you can grab on to the nearest rock or tree to advance up (or down) the trail.  And my pack is heavy after picking up my maildrop in Bellvale.  So, all in all, it was a slow day, which explains the measly 12 miles.  I didn't get started hiking until 11am, and I set my goal to be at the Fingerboard Shelter, about 16-ish miles away from NY 17A.  Anyway, I got really frustrated as I saw the time ticking, but the miles going slower than I liked.  I've been arriving into camp after 8pm way too much lately, and I'd like to put a stop to that.  Well, I don't think I'll make it to the Graymoor Friary tomorrow because I cut it so short today.  Really, the best thing there is the AYCE dinner at 5:30pm, which I may have been able to make with my original plan.  Anyway, I've got plenty of my own food.  I'll make a small feast tomorrow night as a substitute!  hee hee!  Goodnight.

day 87, NY 17A c, NY

Start:  Vernon, NJ (hostel)
End:  NY 17A (campsite)
Miles:  15.3 today, 1353.2 total

Oh man, talk about screwing things up.  I was making some great time today, better than usual.  I had crossed into New York, started going over these large rock outcroppings.  After awhile, I stopped and took a break.  Eventually, Eggman catches up to me, we start talking.  He said he was headed to the Wildcat Shelter.  I told him that's where I was going, too, but I had to pick up a mail drop in Bellvale first.  He looks at his watch and says, "Hey man, it's 5:30.  The post office is closed."  I immediately let out a few expletives, not believing (did I spell that right?) how I could've forgotten such an obvious fact.  I mean, for some reason, I NEVER thought about it.  So then I had to sit and think some more.

So here's the new plan.  I hiked on, ran into a couple ME>GA maniacs who said there was NO water until the Wildcat Shelter.  I got to NY 17A, hitched a ride from a really nice guy into Bellvale, got a gallon of water, and got a ride back to the trail from the same guy.  That was pretty lucky.  Now I'm tenting close to the road.  I'll hitch in tomorrow morning to the P.O.  Saw another bear today.  Woohoo!

day 86, Vernon, NJ (hostel)

Start:  High Point Shelter
End:  Vernon, NJ (hostel)
Miles:  19.7 today, 1337.9 total

For the first time in a long time I hiked pretty fast today.  Left the shelter at like 9:20am, so I figured I'd get to NJ 94 about 10 hours later, assuming a pace of 2 mph.  Well, I jacked up the pace a bit and got there between 6 and 7.  Unfortunately, New Jersey drivers don't stop for dirty hikers, so I ended up walking the 2 miles into town.  Put out the thumb many a time, but no such luck.  I'm thinking my beard and dirty clothes make me look like a bum.  I've been seriously considering shaving for awhile.  Eating wouldn't be as messy, I'd be cooler, I'd look cleaner, and thus get less stares.  But, I wouldn't look like a Mountain Man when I finish the trail.  And that's really the reason why I'm out here: to be the Mountain Man.  So, that settles it, the beard stays for now.

Oh, big news:  met my first thru-hiking southbounders today.  There was Dude, Add Miles, and Sweat Bucket.  They all started from Katahdin, though at different times.  It's cool seeing SOBOs, they're like long-lost hiking brothers and sisters.

day 85, High Point S, NJ

Start:  Brink Road Shelter
End:  High Point Shelter
Miles:  19.7 today, 1318.2 total

No bears today, oh well.  7 bears is more than enough to last me the rest of the trip.  I hiked all day again, though it was only 19.7 miles.  One day I WILL pull into camp before 8pm.  I've been slacking in that department lately.

A lot of time to think today.  I remember thinking a lot about the Flytrap album (post-hike note: "Flytrap" was a band I had senior year in high school).  I played a few of the songs, start to finish, in my head.  That passed the time really well.  I also thought about the rest of the trip.  When I get to Kent, I will have hiked about 2/3 of the trail.  It's crazy.  Then, the next jump after Kent will probably be to Manchester Center, VT.  That's completely nuts.  Vermont.  I'm practically done already.  Anyway, don't want to talk too much about finishing because I don't want to jinx myself.

Tonight at the shelter there's 3 guys, early 20s, late teens - college age - leading a group of inner city kids on a 3-day trip on the AT.  They're from England (the 3 guys), and asked me a lot of questions about my quest.  They seemed pretty interested in doing it themselves.  One of the kids keeps on singing in his tent.  Everyone is telling him to shut up.  Kids can do REALLY strange things.  A volatile stage in life.

day 84, Brink Road S, NJ

Start:  Delaware Water Gap (hostel)
End:  Brink Road Shelter
Miles:  24.8 today, 1298.5 total

This is hilarious.  I leave the hostel pretty early, like 8ish, to do my insane 24.8-mile day.  I cross the Delaware River on the highway bridge.  Eventually, the trail leaves the highway and follows a less busy side road.  In the distance, I see some guy sitting next to the road leaning against the guard rail.  The guy's got his feet sprawled out about a foot into the road.  It's Peter, and he's extremely stoned.  I say "Hi.", and he slowly lifts his head up to look at me, his eyes all droopy, and then he realizes it's me and starts to smile and says "Hey man...".  I set down my pack and go pee in the woods.  I come back and he's playing with one of my poles.  I'm like, "Well, I'm gonna go about 25 miles up to the first shelter."  And he's like, "Yeah, me too.  I'll catch you in about 4 hours."  He'll be lucky if he can get up in 4 hours.  So I left him there and didn't see him the rest of the day.  I hope he didn't get arrested or run over or something.  Peter was a cool guy.  For the couple days that I've known him, we had some great times and good conversations.  I hope I see him further down the trail.

Saw 4 bears today!  One by himself, and then a mom and two cubs.  That's completely nuts!  Well, I'm in NJ, but the scenery isn't all that bad, actually.  Fell down right before the shelter.  That's the third time this trip.  Always happens when I slip going downhill.

day 83, DWG, PA (hostel)

Start:  Delaware Water Gap (hostel)
End:  Delaware Water Gap (hostel)
Miles:  0 today, 1273.7 total

Well, I wasn't planning on taking a zero today, but because I'm so slow and lazy, I did.  I originally wanted to do about 10 miles to the Mohican Outdoor Center, a place where I could take a shower and get a bunk for a pretty cheap price.  So now my plan is to do some horrendous (Is that how you spell that?  I don't think I've ever used "horrendous" in my writing before.  I get it from Dad, because that's a word he says a lot.) miles to the first shelter.  It's like 24.8 miles, so I'll have fun tomorrow.

The two major accomplishments for today, aside from getting fat on all the leftover desserts from that pot-luck dinner, were:  making my plan to Kent, and finishing that Chekov book that I've neglected since well before Damascus.  According to my plan, I'll be in Kent in 10 days!  That's gonna be amazing.  Kent is like a golden city of hope when you're walking through the PA pits of lava.  I imagined Connecticut as being a happy, cheery land of joy.  I mean, after all, David Letterman lives there (I think).  And now that I read "Peasants", I've finished the two short stories in the book ("The Black Monk" is the other one), so it's time for a new book.  I'm thinking I'll try to tackle "Lord Jim".  It's one of those classic books on that AP English list, and it's relatively small in physical size.  Talked with Peter a lot the past couple days.  He's a pretty cool guy.  He's also a grandfather at 40! (I think)

day 82, DWG, PA (hostel)

Start:  Delaware Water Gap (hostel)
End:  Delaware Water Gap (hostel)
Miles:  0 today, 1273.7 total

Busy like a bee.  First things first, I had to get some real food in my belly, so I ate breakfast at the DWG Diner.  I get there and look around for a seat, when... who do I see?  Why, it's the Virginia G-man!  So I sit with him for a bit, order my meal, he finishes and heads out.  Turns out he came down the hill later than I did last night, but he didn't stay at the hostel, got a hotel room instead.  So that was a surprise.  Ate my meal, which was your average Denny's -style breakfast, paid, bought a bunch of post cards, and left.  At 10am, Peter and I went down to the Pack Shack to get a shuttle into Stroudsburg.  Now this shuttle driver is a lazy, poor excuse for a human.  It took forever for him to get ready to take us into town, and then, later I called for him to pick us up at the Stroudsburg library at 4pm, but we didn't get back to the hostel until 6pm.  And it's only 5 miles!  We could've walked faster.  But anyway, did laundry, wrote my post cards, ate at Subway, did the internet thing at the library.  When Peter and I finally got back, the church congregation was having a big pot-luck dinner, which they apparently have every Thursday for hikers!  So we got a big free dinner, and they left all the extra desserts for us to finish off!  Gnome and the crazy Neil Young guy were there, too.  All in all, good day.

day 81, DWG, PA (hostel)

Start:  Leroy A. Smith Shelter
End:  Delaware Water Gap (hostel)
Miles:  20.2 today, 1273.7 total

PA rocks!  hmm... Double meaning?  After today's battle with the terrain, I've decided that I'll never... well, no, I'll say that I don't want to ever hike PA again.  (I might thru-hike later, thus forcing a re-hike of PA, so never hiking it again is uncertain.)  Anyway, it was bad out there.  I took some more pictures.  There were times that I laughed out loud because it was so ridiculous how bad it was.  But I made it to the Delaware Water Gap!  And on schedule, too!  I came down the hill with the headlamp burning bright at around 9:15pm or so, pulled into the hostel, took a GREAT and much needed shower, called home, cooked dinner, and went to bed before 1am (hehe... I'm writing this the next day, Aug. 2nd).

New faces at the hostel.  I left Gnome, Puck, Sherpa, and Khaos back at the Kirkridge Shelter.  Tonight there's Peter (the first black thru-hiker I've seen, in fact, maybe the first non-white thru-hiker I've seen), Fossil (a guy visiting, thru-hiking, from Belgium I think), Peewee (a woman), Peewee's male partner (forgot his trail name), and others whose names I forgot.  Leap-frogged with Gnome some today.  He's older, maybe 50s, a horticulturalist, single, talkative.  Saw 3 bears!  One about 100 feet away, didn't notice me for awhile.  Then later, a cub and parent (mom?) about 30-50 feet away.  First definite sightings this trip!