When the going gets tough, you're almost close

Yesterday, we crossed the border from Vermont into New Hampshire.  We have less than 500 miles to go.  This may seem like a lot, and it is, but to us it means we are getting close.  We are in Hanover, NH.  Dartmouth college is here.  It is an extremely hiker friendly town. So far we have had free pizza, free snickers, free donuts and there is a free bagel waiting for us! 

 The forest in Vermont has been lovely.  You can't find a better mix of coniferous and deciduous forest.  It seems to change with every 0.2 of a mile.  The trail goes up and down, not too much, just enough. Enough to make me sweat where it drips off of my pack onto the back of my legs on the uphills and then dry off on the downs.  It is about to get difficult.  We are heading into "The Whites".  We have heard since the beginning of the trip that the White Mtns. of NH are the hardest, yet most beautiful part of the trail.  Lots of it are above tree line.  The weather can change at the drop of a hat (much like Montana).  It is steep.  When the trail was originally laid out through these parts they did  not try to find the easiest way up the hill.  Thoughts at the time were not about switchbacks or graded paths.  It was about getting to the top as fast as you can, meaning straight up.  Then down.  This type of hiking is not easy on the knees.  It will be a test of the shoes. 

We stopped in North Adams, Massachusetts for the better part of a day to check out the Mass MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art).  It was HUGE and awesome!  A day of Art is needed every once in a while. The Sol LeWitt retrospective is definitely worth checking out if you find yourself in the NE.

Crossing into Vermont the AT runs concurrently with the Long Trail for 100 miles or so.  This is a trail that runs from the southern border of Vermont up to Canada.  Lots of folks hike the "Long Trail" and it is always somewhat funny from our perspective to ask upon encountering them whether they are hiking the "Long Trail", or the "Longer Trail".  We do not, however, take it for granted that we are able to take the time to complete what many consider to be the "dream hike".  Though it may be tough, we are enjoying every step.

We intended to stop at Upper Goose Pond only to refill our water and take a quick dip.  It was early in the afternoon and we wanted to do some more miles.  The shelter here is a lovely two-story cabin with a working wood fireplace and a caretaker. They let you take canoes out to cruise around the pond.  We tailed a Beaver for a bit, back to his lodge. The place was full of our trail friends.  The weather forecast was for rain that night and the real kicker was that the caretaker feeds you blueberry pancakes and coffee in the morning!  We ended up staying the night, and so it goes.

We have hiked over several ski areas now.  The one pictured above is Bromley Mtn.  They let hikers sleep in the ski patrol shack at the summit.  A few section hikers carried a 30 rack of cheap beer up there along with a bag full of cheeseburgers.  We had a lovely evening with a gorgeous sunset and a sky full of stars.  We passed over Stratton Mtn and Killington as well.  It would be fun to come back sometime in the winter and do some snowboarding on these hills that we have already conquered. 

We got off the trail in Killington, VT to visit some of Butch's friends, Devin and Kiki.  They put us up for a night and we spent a relaxing afternoon just chilling out in their little cabin with their animals.  It was like having a day off from work.  Or something.  It is hard to describe the feeling of working hard all day, every day, but not actually going to a paid job.  Devin is a chef at a top-notch inn just up the way.  He made us a dinner that any hiker would go extra miles to devour.  Big filet mignons are not common fare in the woods.  We felt spoiled. 

There is little civilization left ahead of us.  The trail itself doesn't go directly through another town for quite a ways.  We still cross roads every now and then and if we need supplies we can generally hitch in without a problem.  We don't want to go out of our way too much at this point.   The nights are getting chilly and snow does fall here in September from time to time.  It is, however, worthwhile to detour for waffles served with ice cream and real maple syrup when you have the opportunity!  So long for now.  See you in Maine!

New England

It has been a busy past week and a half.  We had a great time in New York with my friends Joel and Dave!  Dave lives in Brooklyn and has for a few years now. He toured us around to a few choice spots in Manhattan on the evening when we first arrived.  We ate delicious, truly Italian hand-made pizza, drank beers in some eclectic pubs and ended the night with a Buffalo chicken and Gorgonzola stuffed, deep-fried rice ball at a punker bar completely covered with grafitti and sprinkled with mohawks.
The next day we went back into Manhattan with Joel and wandered around Chelsea, bopping into galleries, looking at art and just generally trying to adjust to the concrete jungle.  What a change of scenery!  We walked the highline, which has been converted from an elevated train track into a "green" walkway.  It is nice.  There are different plants and shrubs growing alongside this walking path that allows you to travel through the city without having to cross streets or deal with traffic.  It offers some unique views as well.

We ate lunch in China town.  Joel has been to "the city" quite a number of times and has some prime locales dialed in.  We ate good for cheap.  We wandered some more and then met up with Dave and went to see the new Batman movie.  The movie was ok, but the neat part is that it takes place in "Gotham City", which is really Manhattan.  There were lots of scenes in the movie that are fly-bys of the city.  When the film was over we walked out of the theater into midtown Manhattan, and the setting of the film! It was then that we took the subway up to Times Square where I proposed marriage to Butch (Sally)!

The next day Joel took us back to the trail.  We continued on up through New York.  We went over Bear Mountain (there are lots of "Bear Mtn"s) and down the other side where the trail crosses the Hudson river.  There is a popular recreation area there where many people come to escape the city.  There is a zoo, picnic area, concessions and a swimming pool!  The pool and zoo are free for hikers!  We took advantage and let the chlorinated water do its thing on our funk.

This part of the trail is the oldest section of the AT.  After the trail was first proposed they began work on this section and had it open up Bear Mtn. in 1923.  The rest of the trail wasn't complete until 1937.  This is also the lowest point on the AT.  At the bear cage in the zoo we go down to 124' above sea level. 

It was a  little heart-breaking to see the animals in cages, however, all of the animals there had some injury that prevented them from being able to live in the wild.  That made it a little easier to view.  There was a three legged Fox, crippled Coyotes, a busted Bald Eagle and other forest misfits. 

The trail in New York is scenic.  We commented often about how open the forest was.  Large trees sprung up from a grass covered forest floor that was broken up by large outcroppings of rock.  We wandered in and around, up, through and over, down, along and in-between these bones of the mountains.  The remainder of New York seemed to go smoothe.  There are several stopping points where one can grab a slice of pizza or a good deli sandwich just off the trail.  This always helps grease the wheels.

We were hiking with a guy named "70%" for a couple days near the end of New York.  We stopped one evening and went for a swim in Nuclear Lake. (we found out later that it was the site of a plutonium facility that had an explosion in the 70's)  There were two women who were there wading in the lake with their dogs running around.  We got to talking with them.  One of them said in kind of an off-hand way that if we were up in that area again we ought to stop by her place for a meal.  We didn't really take it serious, but before she left, she gave us more specific directions about the road she lived on, how close it was to the trail, to look for a red door and that we really should stop by.  The next morning Butch, 70% and I came knocking and Michele ended up making us a wonderful breakfast of Buckwheat pancakes, eggs, bacon and coffee.  What a treat!  We ate and talked and played with her dogs.  True Trail Magic.

It was then up into Connecticut.  We weren't there long. There are only 50 miles or so in CT. We crossed into Massachusetts yesterday after a couple days of rain and set our sights on Great Barrington.  Everything was wet.  Things were beginning to rot.  It doesn't take long in the woods for the dampness to begin to degrade even hi-tech fabrics.  We had heard that there was a couple, some former through-hikers, who leave cold sodas in a cooler by the trail and put people up at their place.  Indeed they do.  There were 17 hikers here last night.  It is a two bedroom apartment.  I'm not joking.  Bearwalker and Buttons have room inside for 6 or 7.  We camped in the yard.  Everyone is welcome to shower and cook inside.  Something about hiking and experiencing the generosity shown by so many changes you.  It makes you want to just give.  It has happened to these two.  They just started this "hostel" this year and will probably do it next year but are planning to hike the Pacific Crest Trail the summer after that.  Initially they stayed in the larger of the two rooms here but then moved to the smaller room to give more floor space to the hikers.  Their days consist of making coffee, running hikers to trailheads, cleaning, going to work, picking up hikers, cleaning, pleading with their neighbors and chatting with the myriad dirtbags traipsing through their place.  I am on the computer here writing this blog wearing only my sleeping bag as Butch has taken all the clothes to the laundromat.  Bearwalker and Buttons have gone to work.  People are milling about.  Only on the trail does this scene not seem odd, or the circumstances not arouse suspicions. 

Our stop in New York allowed some old friends to catch up with us.  We have run into other friends who have been doing some south-bound slack-packing.  We continue to meet new people who know other people we know.  It is a great community.  Everyone is a character.


Oh, and we keep seeing cool bugs!

She said, "Yes"!

I had this ring hiding out in my backpack for the last few months.  I was getting tired of carrying it, so while we were in New York I decided to give it to Butch and see if she wanted to carry it.  She obliged!

New York!

grasshopper with dew

Hey everybody!  We are in New York City!  How's that for a bit of a change from the trail!  Since last posting on here we managed to cruise through Pennsylvania. Boy, is that state a rock pile from hell.  I don't know what the last ice age did, or how the glaciers managed to make such a mess of the stones, but the mountains there are stacked, jagged chunks of disarray.  The weather was hot.  There were a couple of choice places we did camp.  On the evening when we ran into our first rattlesnake, we camped only about a hundred yards downhill from the serpent, where a lovely spring bubbled up out of the ground with enough water that it was the genesis of a decent stream.  It had a perfect deep spot to submerge in and rinse off the ever-present sweaty, sticky feel.  Camp spots like that are a joy to come upon in the evening!

We wanted to cruise through PA as quickly as possible.  There aren't many huge changes in elevation.  It was an opportunity to make some miles.  We did, however, stop and experience some of the "must-dos".  We had a burger at The Doyle Hotel in Duncannon.  It is a run down 100 yr. old historic hotel.  We didn't stay there as we had heard that the accommodations were less than luxurious, but the burgers were delicious!  We showered at the 501 shelter.  This shelter in the woods was more of a deluxe hiker rendezvous spot with a solar heated shower (which wasn't too hot, but the weather was, so it was cool), a big enclosed cabin with giant skylight dome and the ability to order pizza and have it delivered just down the trail where it crosses the highway.  The next stop we couldn't miss was Port Clinton.  This little town has built a lovely, large pavilion for hikers.  It is situated at the end of town, just across from the river.  We dipped in the water immediately upon arrival.  The next morning we hitched the 2 miles down to Hamburg.  We got picked up by a Semi!  He dropped us off to tour the largest Cabela's in the country.  It was wall to wall death.  Animals died all over the world to adorn this outdoor enthusiasts consumer dream store.  The aquarium was impressive too.  Some things are not to be missed.

We made it to the Delaware Water Gap and crossed into New Jersey.  The trail seemed to change noticeably as soon as we were out of Pennsylvania.  The previously scattered and  jagged "trail teeth" gave way to smoother, glacially groomed stone trail.  We liked New Jersey.  We had heard that the bears were bad in Jersey.   They didn't seem that "bad" to us as they went away when we yelled at them to do so.  It isn't fair to say bad things about curious bears when cooking with Sardines.  

New Jersey isn't a very long state.  We passed through in just a few days.  We were excited to get into New York as we had plans to meet up with my friends Joel and Dave and go into the city for some serious culture shock.  A shock it is, and continues to be.  What is most shocking is how much food Butch and I seem to be able to consume, not to mention the selection from which we can pick in the city.  We have been soaking up culture through our eyes, ears and stomachs while trying not to touch anything.  We can eat food off the ground in the forest but the city feels dirty.  I'm ready to go camping again.  We are about to pack it back up, stuff it all in the bags and head for the woods.  First, I want to get one more good cup of coffee...and maybe a slice!

some of the "trail" in PA

Rattler #1

Rattler #2

Copperheads are lovely!

crowded log