"Then Jesus said, 'Let's go off by ourselves..."

"...to a quiet place and rest awhile.'" -Mark 6:31a (NLT)

August 19, 2001

Hiked into Vernon, NJ.  

I enjoyed hiking through beautiful and interesting New York, but New Jersey was just fun and delicious.



I went to a farm right by the road (they sell ice cream, fruit, plants, etc.)  I got two large ice cream cones, two peaches, and a Dr. Pepper.  

For some reason (maybe it's obvious), when hiking I always craved fat (ice cream) and sodium (soda).  Fresh fruit was a big plus as well, because you just can't carry fruit very long in a backpack.

This was a delicious stop.

Then hitched into Vernon to the Episcopal Church.

Slept in the Episcopal Church and stayed the next day as well.  It was a very peaceful place with kind people.

"You should not see the desert as simply a faraway place of little rain..."

"...There are many forms of thirst." -William Langewiesche

August 18, 2001

Very dry.  Fortunately Trail Angels are leaving water at roadsides.

It is finally too dry.  A lot of springs are not flowing now, making it hard to keep hydrated.

I thought for sure that Fitzgerald Falls between Mombasha High Point and Lakes Road in New York would be at least trickling:

from here

It was dry.

Thanks to New Yorkers all was not lost though.  I came to Lakes Road and someone had set up a sign saying to walk to their nearby house and use their hose.

I filled up my bottles and drank a gallon.

As I got ready to make the 1.5 mile jaunt to the Wildcat Shelter for the night some weekend hikers were coming the other way from that direction.  I asked if they knew if the shelter's spring was dry or not, to which they replied that it was dry.

However, when I arrived there was a decent mud puddle.  Those weekend hikers...don't they know how to filter water out of mud!?

Hah, there was plenty to make supper and add another quart to my stash.

"Zoo animals are ambassadors..."

"...for their cousins in the wild." -Jack Hanna

August 17, 2001

A very interesting day!  I went over the beautiful Bear Mountain Bridge...

Bear Mountain Bridge crossing the Hudson River

...and into the zoo [Trailside Museum and Zoo].  They had all the animals from the Trail in the zoo.

The AT literally goes through the zoo!

One of five black bears I would see on the AT...does it count if it's in a cage?

Although I would have to go around several beaver-made ponds, and cross a few beaver dams, I never saw one except here in the Trailside Zoo:

Trailside Zoo beaver

After leaving the zoo, I came across one more animal for the day:

Probably a black Rat Black Snake (thanks, Dad!)

Fortunately, I saw him crossing the log just before I was about to step on it!

At Tiorati Circle I met 3 new Southbounders...Twinklefeet, Giggles, and Beat who started June 1st.  They had gotten a pizza delivered so I helped them eat it.  Ed [who I had been hiking with] got a ride to Campmor so he is a little behind but should catch up soon.

Little did I know that I would finish the Trail with Twinklefeet, Giggles, and Beat, but never see Ed again.  Twinklefeet (Mac) and Giggles (Marge) were dating and had picked up Beat (Jason) along the way.  I became a fourth part of the group until we hit the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

"For it is in giving..."

"...that we receive." -St. Francis of Assisi

August 16, 2001

I'm at Graymoor Friary.  Very good dinner.  Yum!

They sat us down at a huge table in a dining hall fit for a story like Beowulf.  They put a full setting with extra forks for salads, desert, etc. and fed us a delicious meal.  This was all just to bless us.

We got a tour by the Fransiscan Friar of the center.  The first Friary and chapel was built around 1900.  Now, it's much bigger!

Hanging out with the Friars at the Friary's pavilion

The tour was excellent, and I thought much of it interesting of how the original friars lived and the marble alter from the St. Francis chapel in Italy.  Neato.

When a railroad was built along the Hudson River nearby, many men came along looking for shelter.  All the friars had to share at that point was a chicken coop which became known as St. Christopher's Inn.  I suppose the tradition continues with AT hikers!

The altar from the chapel was made in Florence, Italy and was at the St. Francis chapel there until it was given to the Graymoor Friary, arriving in 16 crates.  At the time the marble altar cost the same amount it cost to build the chapel.

Tomorrow: Surrounded by Animals!

"The Adirondack lean-to was developed by guides of the region...'

"...as convenient camp to house hunting and fishing parties.  The earliest of shelters....were quickly and crudely built and although they offered shelter from the elements, they could not have been very comfortable." -History of Adirondack Lean-tos

August 15, 2001

Stayed at RPH Cabin.  RPH: Ralph's Peak Hiker.  It is excellent with bunks and concrete block walls.  They had to knock out one wall to meet AT shelter building codes.  Okay.

RPH Shelter (from here)

New York is turning out to be a top-notch state to hike through!  Wait until you see where I end up tomorrow: marble altars, a meal served, and an order going back to 1209 AD...

"You know the actor John Garfield? In one movie he walked up to this train station,..."

"...the ticket booth, and the guy says, 'Yes, where are you going?' And he says, 'I want a ticket to nowhere.'  I thought: that's it.  The freedom to do that.  I want a ticket to nowhere." - Wayne Shorter

August 14, 2001

Another 21.4 (something) day.  Much easier terrain though!

I'm in New York now- such a surreal day it was. 

On Schaghticoke Mountain (like saying "Should I get Coke?")

NY staggers the double-blaze to point the direction (here it leads left).

A train stop on the AT!!!  You can take this into NYC (41.2 miles to Grand Central Station).

The Dover Oak, largest tree on the AT, is over 300 years old.

The NOBOs [North-Bounders] were loud and obnoxious last night, but they are getting less and there are none here at the Telephone Pioneer's Shelter.

"Anger is as a stone cast..."

"...into a wasp's nest."
-Pope Paul VI

August 13, 2001

Did Kent, CT.

I did my laundry for the first time since Hanover, NH -> 19 days.  It makes a big difference having clean clothes.

On the way into Kent, CT, I passed over Caleb's Peak.

The only thing I remember about Caleb's Peak was that as I sat down to eat a snack, a yellow jacket stung me.

This made me mad.  I followed it to it's nest, a hole in the ground, and poured the rest of my stove fuel down the hole and lit it.

Guess I would need to find stove fuel in Kent.

I was also trying to get new water drops, since I had been using iodine for awhile, and it isn't good to use it long term.  I had ordered Aqua Mira from CampMor and had it shipped to Kent...

CampMor sent my water purification drops to the post office via UPS.  Obviously, it got returned.

I told them to send it to Vernon, NJ and got the postage fee waived.

Rain, rain, rain.  Supposed to get sunny.

"You don't need to know how to work a telephone..."

"...switch to make a phone call, or how to use the Hoover Dam to take a shower, or how to work a nuclear-power plant to turn on the lights."

-Scott McNealy

August 12, 2001

A 21.6 mile day.  It rained from 6 am to 9 am so I slept in.

iron bridge over Housatonic River

Let me set the stage for what comes next.

I had not had a shower since July 25 when I was in Hanover, NH.

Being August 12, it has been well over two weeks of hot weather with no shower.  I'm even offending myself with my own smell.

And then I came upon the Falls Village Dam:

Falls Village Dam

And after crossing the dam I find an ivy-covered wall with a shower head:

I got a shower at the hydro-power plant.  They had an outdoor shower there.

Those are my socks and shirt hanging up there.  Don't worry, my shorts stayed on the whole time!

I wrung out my shirt about a dozen times before the water came out mostly clear.  It was so good to be clean again!

"Rest is not idleness,..."

"...and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."
-J. Lubbock

August 11, 2001

Some nights it's where you stop.

Rand's View in Connecticut

I'm taking Ladder's advice [Ladder was a northbounder] tonight and camping on top of a mountain.  I'm on top of Prospect Mountain listening to Prairie Home Companion, eating creamy tomato Ramen and M&M, mixed-nuts gorp, looking out over northern Connecticut.

Camped out on Prospect Mountain

It's peaceful with cool air flowing through oaks bringing a desire to relax.

"The rebellion in Massachusetts..."

"...is a warning, gentlemen."
-James Madison, referring to Shay's Rebellion

August 10, 2001

I filled up the water bags at Benedict Pond, had breakfast, and drank a root beer.  

Hiked to US 7 where the Corncrib is (it's a plant nursery/fruit stand).  I had 5 plums, 3 peaches, 2 pieces of fudge, orange soda, and root beer.  It threatened rain but it wan't bad.

The Corncrib stand is in Sheffield, MA, near this monument:

Final battle of Shay's Rebellion

The monument is the location of the final battle of Shay's Rebellion in which 30 rebels lost their lives.  This rebellion set in the mind of many of our forefathers that we needed a stronger central government, leading to the demise of the Articles of Confederation and the birth of our Constitution.

At Jug End Road I filled the water at a piped spring, and then climbed Jug End.  It was straight up and felt like 2000 feet (I think it was just over 1000 feet).  I was soaked it was so humid.

View from Jug's End

Jug End's name came from the German "jugend" which means "youth" (see history here).  There used to be a barn and ski slope (with two rope pulls instead of lifts), but is now simply a beautiful reserve in SW Massachusetts.

Today, I did 19.7 Trail miles.  With the side trip to Benedict Pond it was 20.7 miles.  All on one of the hottest, most humid days of the year!

"When the well is dry,..."

"...we know the worth of water."
-Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac, 1746

August 9, 2001

Very dry.

Dry swamp in Massachusetts (and camera starting to go bad)

The dryness that had begun this year, would lead to an official drought by October 2001 and result in water restrictions throughout Massachusetts (and other Northeast states).

Several springs were still flowing, but it would not be that way by the time I reached New York...

"You ought to have seen what I saw on my way..."

"...To the village, through Mortenson's pasture to-day:
Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!"

-excerpt from Blueberries by Robert Frost

August 8, 2001

So, I left off on August 7, 2001 arriving and staying at the Cookie Lady's place, a blueberry farm run by Rosalyn and Roy.  After sleeping in their yard under a beautiful sky of stars (the Eastern US was entering a drought...so no risk of rain), we awoke to the quiet that enfolds a field full of hundreds of blueberry bushes.

from here

I fired up my alcohol stove and cooked up some oatmeal.  As I was about to dig in, I looked around and grabbed a handful of blueberries and enjoyed them with my breakfast.

A little while later Roy came out, and I told him I had grabbed a handful of the berries and asked what I owed him.  He said, don't worry about it;  then he gave me two gallon-sized ziploc bags and said to fill them:

Roy had me pick a lot of blueberries to take to Good Pond Cabin because they make pancakes in the morning.  

Thank you Roy!  God bless him and the Cookie Lady.

Cookie Lady's place from this cool blog.

Goose Pond Cabin:

That's where I am now.  There are bunks in the cabin and I even got to take a canoe out on the lake during sunset.

Before I took the canoe out, I tried something I'd always wanted to try:

I took my Therm-a-rest out on the lake.

Yep.  Worked like a charm.  I floated out on the lake way out into the middle...just me and my Therm-a-rest.  When I realized all of the speed boats were starting to come back, I swiftly paddled back to shore and got the canoe.

I really wish I had a picture of me out in the middle of that lake on my Therm-a-rest!

Blueberry pancakes in the morning...

"The trees are God's great alphabet:..."

"...With them He writes in shining green
Across the world His thoughts serene."
-Leonora Speyer

August 7, 2001

Giants

I walk among Giants.

I tread across their toes,

Like a spider across my toes,

Yet they flinch not.

As I walk with head down,

At times I risk a look at

Their celestial heights

And beauty,

But I trip

Over their toes,

And land face-first

In the dirt.

Yet they do not laugh,

But with the wind

They applaud

not facetiously,

But like a best friend

They approve even in my

failure.

Old & gnarled,

Young & smooth,

Their faces change

As I walk,

But their hearts are the same.

They are the Giants,

And I walk among them.

I was inspired to write this poem after a literal hiking "trip".  One of my feet caught a root, sending me to the forest floor.  It was nice not to have others around to see, and I considered how the trees politely refused to laugh.

Dalton library was my source of email goodness today.  After that I walked to the Cookie Lady's place which is a blueberry farm run by Rosalyn (Cookie Lady) and Roy.  They let us (Dragon, Greensinger, and I) tent there as is usual for hikers.

"The first requisite of a good citizen..."

"...in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight."
-Theodore Roosevelt

August 6, 2001

Ah, the town of Cheshire.

I headed there after breakfast at Bascom Lodge on Mt. Greylock.  Met Ed there.

Bascom Lodge on Mt. Greylock (image from here)

I, honestly, forgot all about visiting this place.  I don't think I even expected to find it either, but I do remember the bench to the right of the main door.

Pretty sure I ate my instant oatmeal on that bench.

I must say it is a lovely place; however, I unfortunately did not eat a large cooked breakfast from their kitchens.  Not sure why I didn't, except I was likely in a hurry to make the Post Office in Cheshire for my food drop...

In Cheshire, I did "pack surgery" and a sleeping bag switch.

This is when I fully converted from human into "thru-hiker".  In my food drop came a felt sleeping bag that I had bought from Walmart weighing 2 pounds less than my sleeping bag.  I had planned to switch sleeping bags since it was now fully into a warm summer.

You cannot understand what shedding 2 pounds means to a thru-hiker.  Seriously.  Walk 100 miles with 30 pounds, and then another 100 with 28 pounds, and you will understand.

I got greedy...I started cutting off random straps off of my pack; I founds some pockets in the pack I never used, so I cut them out; I traded a fuel bottle out for a lighter-weight soda bottle; and I sent home a thick rope for some parachute cord.

All that extra weight was sent in the mail to my parents, and I left Cheshire about 4 pounds lighter.  This is like attaching 8 helium balloons to my pack filled with 60 cubic feet of helium!

In 2001, between 60,000 and 75,000 drivers..."

"...competed in at least one of the 2,000 demolition derbies held that year in the United States."
-Los Angeles Times

August 5, 2001

Intending to eat at Pizza Hut for lunch, Lemming and I walked into North Adams, Massachusetts.

However, something caught our eye.

We both saw a blue derby car on a trailer at a gas station nearby.  We both remembered hearing that a Demolition Derby would be taking place that day at the Maggie Fair, and so we walked over and inquired about it.

The driver of the car told us to hop onboard, so we did:

Lemming and the blue derby car

Into N. Adams and the Maggie Fair.  They have llamas, sheep, horses, and donkeys.  I learned the types of sheep:  Dorset, Romney, Hampshire, and Shropshanks (sp?).  Romney are for wool and the rest for meat.

It was lots of fun at the fair, with good "Carney Food", as my wife would call it. :-)

I even got a picture with someone famous:

Smokey and Viking

We have a Demolition Derby going on at 2 pm.  We skipped Pizza Hut for this.  Yeah!

Our blue car taking care of business in the derby

These guys were furiously trying to repair their vehicle to make the next round.

Our blue car would get hauled off by a tractor after too much damage.

Notice the fire extinguishers ready for use

Action!  All the cars go in reverse to keep their engines safe in the front.

Waiting for the final round.

Our blue car before it got demolished.

One of the final rounds

At the D. Derby, Lemming and I ran into the couple (Foot's Afire and Easy Does It [Nobos]) who told us about it.  They gave us a ride back to the Pizza Hut where L. and I then had supper.

After supper, I climbed up to Greylock's Ridge and camped short of the summit on a rocky overlook.  My first night really alone (not at a campsite or something.)

view from Mount Greylock

The ascent was steep - it felt like Katahdin!  On the way up I saw a porcupine coming down the switchback.  It got to the corner, stopped, sent a long and sideways look my way, and headed down off the Trail.

The next morning, I woke up to a growling sound and looked out a "window" of my tent and saw a porcupine rushing my tent!

When I say "rushing", it was about at the speed of one inch per second.  It was hard not to laugh at an angry porcupine stampeding this tent that had taken his favorite spot when he was barely moving faster than a snail.

I growled at the porcupine from my tent "window".  The porcupine immediately froze, looked at my tent in horror, slowly spun around, and headed back into the woods at his "rushing" pace.

It left me laughing, and it is one of my favorite memories of the Trail.

Porcupine on Appalachian Trail (from here)