"A pile of rocks ceases to be rock..."

"...when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind."
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

July 31, 2001

Stayed at Otter Creek Campground in Danby, VT.

Passed several neat places today.  This bridge across the Clarendon Gorge looks scary (and apparently it really is).

Bridge across Clarendon Gorge

Later, I came upon this pile of rocks stacked one upon another:

Rock statues near White Cliffs

The picture doesn't quite express how detailed the statues were, and how many hours upon hours it must have taken to build it all.

Danby, VT

I had a maildrop at the Post Office in Danby, Vermont (the plan was to be there on July 29th).  By the time I got there, I didn't feel like hiking back out to the trail so I stayed in a nice little campground called Otter Creek Campground.

"May your days be many and your troubles be few..."

"...May all God's blessings descend upon you.
May peace be within you.
May your heart be strong.
May you find what you're seeking wherever you roam."
-Irish blessing

July 30, 2001

To Killington and beyond.

Got a free Gondola ride down Killington and back up!

AT hikers get a free ride down and up the Gondola on Killington

Probably the reason AT Hikers get a free ride down the Gondola is because there is a store at the bottom waiting to sell food to hungry hikers!

Today was a nice day.

I got a great view on top of Killington.

On top of Killington Mountain

I got 2 chocolate milks and a Crush [in the store at the bottom of the Gondola ride]  I got a free ride down the Gondola (& back up).  

I got to see wonder in a child's eyes as I told him about hiking the AT.

There was a kid and his grandfather on top of Killington.  After I described thruhiking, the kid got that look meaning he would probably hike the AT someday.  Just like that boy scout troop.

I got Trail Magic - Dr. Thunder in a brook.

I built a good campfire, and I'm staying in a nice little shelter with free lollipops, bunks, and a window.

Cooper Lodge (link)

Thank you, God, for these blessings.

"Ireland, thou friend of my country..."

"...in my country's most friendless days, much injured, much enduring land, accept this poor tribute from one who esteems thy worth, and mourns thy desolation."
-George Washington, speaking of Ireland's support for America during the revolution.

July 29, 2001


The Appalachian Trail met up with the Long Trail today:

Northern conjunction of Long Trail and Appalachian Trail

[Took the] Sherburne Pass Trail (historic AT) to the Inn at the Long Trail.

The Inn is incredibly Irish, and very hosting to Thru Hikers (we probably bring them a lot of business).

We all filled up, some of us drinking milk, others drank Guinness in the form of a "black and tan" where they made a clover in the foam when they poured in the Guinness.

They let us stay the night in the field across the street:

Camped across from the Inn at the Long Trail (mine is the middle tent).

In order to do all this, we took the Sherburne Pass Trail as opposed to the actual Appalachian Trail because the Sherburne goes right by the Inn.  The Sherburne used to be the original path of the Appalachian Trail before they moved the AT to the west side of Pico Mountain:

Link

"Get hot water! Get some disinfectant!..."

"...Get some iodine!"
-Lucy in Charlie Brown Christmas

July 28, 2001

Today, the mission is to find some way to make water drinkable.  So, I turned off of the Trail and down Stage Road...

I did the city loop.  I went to Teago General Store and they had no iodine.  I went to Rosewood Inn for help and ended up doing this huge loop back to where I was earlier that day.

I was stymied.

I walked back to the General Store and hitched to Woodstock where I got Portable Aqua.

Portable Aqua are iodine tablets to treat water.  Although this is the tried and true way that water has been treated over years (common military method), most North Americans consume too much iodine as it is.  It is only a temporary solution.

Since I was stressed over all this...

Also, a Ben & Jerry's smoothie.

I then hitchhiked back to the Trail and...

I went to Winturri [shelter] and saw Savage.  He said P's, etc. (Lemming) were all at the Lookout, a cabin on top of this hill.  That's where we all are now.

Sunset from the Lookout Cabin: a beautiful end to a long day

"It is wise to bring some water,..."

"...when one goes out to look for water."
-Arab Proverb

July 27, 2001

I was too upset to write because my water filter is messed up.  I went 14 miles to Thistle Hill Shelter with P's [Peanut and Panama Red] and Savage.

I started the Trail with a water filter similar to the one shown here:

Link

These water filters work by the hiker manually pumping water through a carbon cylinder in order to separate out everything you don't want to drink.

After about 2.5 gallons you need to take the filter out and scrub it, or the buildup of dirt and junk will start to clog it.  Unfortunately, with the drought that was going on, the water sources along the AT had less and less water and more and more dirt, meaning a lot of wear and tear on the filters.

Mine had enough.  Some of the other hikers pumped some water for me.

Tomorrow, I would solve this problem.

"The radio craze..."

"...will die out in time."
-Thomas Edison, American inventor, 1922

July 26, 2001

Zero day #3!

I'm taking a bus to West Lebanon to the Radio Shack.  I got a 1.4 oz. radio.

I still have this lovely radio.

This was a very fun trip back in civilization for me.

 First, I bought the little radio above, which would provide much entertainment for me on the lonely stretches of the Trail when all of us Southbounders spread out along the mid-Atlantic states.  It was the radio upon which I first heard about the 9-11 attacks.  I also listened to Virginia's governor debates on it so I knew how to absentee vote.  And many nights I would lay in my sleeping bag after sunset listening to local news or tunes.

 Second, I went to McDonald's and ordered ten cheeseburgers.  I received quite a few funny looks as I sat down with a pyramid of cheeseburgers in front of me listening to my newly-purchased radio.  Ten cheeseburgers and a large soda - and I wasn't full - proof of my new Trail metabolism.

"Some communities experienced record dryness..."

"..., including the driest April-July on record at Burlington, Vermont.  In northern Vermont and western and northern New York, the dry conditions of the last several months have begun to reduce streamflows, stress vegetation, and prompt water restrictions in some communities."
-NOAA report from July, 2001

July 25, 2001

I walked 15.5 miles into Hanover.

tree outside of Hanover

The streams and springs are all drying up from this heat and lack of rain, yet I'm doing fine with my extra liter bottle giving me 3 liters to carry.

The Trail has changed so much having come off the alpine heights down to pastureland and valleys.  It is much warmer but the Trail is smoother and easier without the rocks and huge climbs and descents.

The Trail has become meadows, pastureland, and woods.

It was strange coming into Hanover.  The Trail came out of a forest, across a field (part of a baseball field) and right through a gas station in Hanover.  I quickly dropped my pack and got a Cliff Bar and cream soda.  I then proceeded to get a Subway sandwich and later my "White Blaze", a free milkshake from Ben & Jerry's for all thruhikers.

I'm staying at the Panarchy frat house down in the cellar.  It's a quiet place to sleep.  I visited the Tabard frat house and they were just getting a party started at 10:30 PM when I left.

Panarchy House in Hanover, NH

Talked to mom and dad at the DOC [Dartmouth Outing Club] place in Robinson Hall.

"And with regard to English conveniences,..."

"...they are also an unknown luxury in the United States, where there are only "little houses" five hundred paces from the house whenever possible.  That is very disagreeable in winter with the snow, and in summer when summer complaint, diarrhea, is quite a common ailment."
-Pierre S. du Pont de Nemours to his wife, Sept 28, 1816

July 24, 2001

I did a record 19 miles today in incredible hot, drought conditions.  I think I drank about six liters today.

Stayin' at Trapper John Shelter here. 

The Trapper John Shelter has the best privy.

I know it doesn't look like much, so let me explain.

1.  One of a few (if the only) privy with an armchair bolted onto it.
2.  Open air.  Enough said.
3.  The view that you cannot see.  This privy looked out onto a vast and beautiful valley.  Who needs a book?  Does your bathroom have a view like that?

Seriously, you must experience it! :-)

Peanut and Panama Red [see end of this post] are here.  It is nice to see them again since before Andover!