When I got back on the trail it was just north of the Hudson. I got to cross the Bear Mtn Bridge and then climb Bear Mtn which is a super-touristy mountain in that it has mostly stone steps up and down each side, and also the paths on the top are such fine packed gravel that we can safely call them 'practically paved.'
From there I went Northwest. Not my decision. I just followed the 2x6 inch white 'blazes' that I have been trained to follow, and that's where the trail took me: along the NY/NJ boarder. When I cut back into NY, briefly, before I was supposed to cross NJ for reeelz, I entered Unionville, NY. Just to be clear, this is day 4 of me being out on my own and lemme tell ya... boy is it lonely to suddenly be, well... alone.
...But I digress...
As I was entering Unionville every day-hiker that I encountered, when I told 'em I was through-hiking, warned me about hurricane Sandy and said I should find a place to 'hole up' for a couple of days.
{sidenote: lots of people hiking the AT last year had to skip entire states (though usually just Vermont) 'cause hurricane Irene made so many of the trails impassable.}
So my options were to hike out of town, or find other means of transportation (even people passing me on the street, not in conversation, would see my backpack and say things like, "You don't want to be out there this weekend" or, "Best get on out of town now." --When I read it back, that one sounds more threatening than it was meant. You see, there are no places to rent a room in Unionville. The night I was there I set up my tent outside the local bar. It was kind of nice actually... no worries about driving home. No lost keys to contend with... just stumble on out to the tent and you're good: a service more bars should offer :))
So I made the decision to skip a bit of trail (Lindsay: keep your eyes peeled for a picture of me on that Segway ;)). While it's disappointing to me that my adventure has changed it's track, I'm also still totally excited that I'm getting to do this at all! Most of the other southbounders are a good 200 miles south of me already, so that's a big factor. Also I've been hiking in damp/overcast weather for four days now and am getting 'diaper rash' on the inside of my arms because my t-shirt never dries. So the idea of hiking out of Unionville in the HOPES that I stumble across a hiker-hostel soon (where I can wait out the storm) seemed like a long shot.
So I started to look into buses/trains which, apparently. If I'm trying to get 150 miles south on the AT (well into Pennsylvania) I'll have to go through New York City, where I have friends I can stay with.
... So I did.
I holed up in NYC for the duration of the hurricane, trying to fatten up while also trying to respect the generosity of my hosts and not eat them out of house and home. We were so fortunate! We never lost power, we ate well every night, and it was like an extended weekend for the people who live here (but a weekend on hurricane-watch house arrest is, I'm sure, no exciting ride for someone who LIVES in the city) so we just watched movies all day and played Bananagrams and crosses between Telephone and Pictionary. My new favorite way to make chocolate milk is half milk, half heavy cream (try it, it's lovely), and I've eaten a pint of ice cream two nights in a row (though I'm sure I'll be back to 'constantly hungry' within a few days of being on the trail). As I sit here typing it's Wednesday night. Holloween!! I got to walk around in NYC today and see a boatload of costumes. The friends who are so generously letting me occupy / stink up their space went for a walk this evening with one of their dogs dressed like a shark :)
Tomorrow morning I'll take a subway to Penn station to catch a bus at 9:00am to Philadelphia, to take another train to Harisburg, PA. Then I have to figure out how to get to Duncannon, where I'll pick up the trail. AAAND where I"ll get the package my lovely sister sent to me! I didn't get to open it (they wouldn't have let me 'bounce' it forward for free if I had opened it), and I can't wait to see what I'll be snacking on for the next few days :)
I'm distracted right now, so this is the end of this post :)
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Andrew's "Journal": Day 82
Hey Friends and Fam!
These days I'm so exhausted at the end of each day that I've all but stopped writing in my daily journal, thus the quotations in the title. So now I'll try my best to give coherent anecdotes about the last week or two:
Almost through Vermont!! We've discovered unpasteurized apple cider during apple season in VT: Ambrosia, people, look it up. We've learned that the A.T. is MUCH easier south of New Hampshire (despite what Northbounders have told us)!! We've cranked up the mileage and learned to overeat (a staple of the N. American skill set). And we've hiked over 1/4 of the entire trail!!! Every day my list of things to be grateful for grows by at least one, so the official subtitle of this post is: Grattitude: +1
We walked into Bennington, VT shortly after my air mattress had started to come apart, ballooning up on one end. It started out like one of those floating lounge-chair things that you might use in the pool, with a nice built in pillow. But the bubble grew beyond pillow size and the whole thing became unsleepable.
So I got a new one shipped to Bennington. +1
I did this from the top of a mountain (because I have a magical box that can show pictures of bubbly mattresses to people in Seattle, send my voice along with the pictures, and find addresses in Vermont... from the top of a mtn! Some people call it a 'phone'... I call it magic to be grateful for). +1
After I had it sent, I noticed (in our little travelers' companion book) that the place I had the package shipped would accept packages 'for guests.' And the next two days were spent worrying that they would see my name on a box, check the guest register, and send it back, via FedEx, to Seattle :( BUT when we walked out of the woods and onto VT-9 (5 miles east of Bennington) hungry, cold, and tired, Lysandra's cousin picked us up in a larger magical box (+1) that held heat inside it's glass walls (+1), and carried our delicate human bodies faster than they were ever designed to travel (+1)... on a strip of oil (+1)... fueled by oil... (+1)
When we arrived at the Autumn Motel it was still morning. I was still hungry and tired, and saw three possibilities:
Moving on: There's SO MUCH TO WRITE!!!
We've had our first really long stretch of rain on the trail. After three days of hiking in the rain, you're feelin' pretty good if your boots are dry. After 7 days your boots have no chance, and dry socks (+1) lose their special something (-1). You're so excited to put them on your feet in the morning, then you stick your feet in your boots and wonder, 'What was all that warm fuzzy business, about 10 seconds ago?' You get the point.
So the weather is harsher: the last two mornings it's been raining cats and dogs (or 'frogs' if you're french) and the temperature has been close to freezing.
BUT The terrain is WONDERFUL!! (+1)
The Vermonters are GENIUS!!! ... they've done this thing (some kind of fancy new trail maintenance perhaps?) where they've taken dirt and filled in all the cracks between roots and rocks! They call it: Topsoil. If the word feels foreign on your tongue, check quick! ...odds are good you live in Maine. Some of my more geologically savvy friends and family might already know what I have only recently learned: Glaciers ripped off all the topsoil from Maine! It's true! Like a thief in the night (or maybe like an unnamed backpacker behind the front desk of a small motel in rural Vermont?) glaciers took all the dirt from Maine, straight down to the bedrock, to the coast.
These days I'm so exhausted at the end of each day that I've all but stopped writing in my daily journal, thus the quotations in the title. So now I'll try my best to give coherent anecdotes about the last week or two:
Almost through Vermont!! We've discovered unpasteurized apple cider during apple season in VT: Ambrosia, people, look it up. We've learned that the A.T. is MUCH easier south of New Hampshire (despite what Northbounders have told us)!! We've cranked up the mileage and learned to overeat (a staple of the N. American skill set). And we've hiked over 1/4 of the entire trail!!! Every day my list of things to be grateful for grows by at least one, so the official subtitle of this post is: Grattitude: +1
We walked into Bennington, VT shortly after my air mattress had started to come apart, ballooning up on one end. It started out like one of those floating lounge-chair things that you might use in the pool, with a nice built in pillow. But the bubble grew beyond pillow size and the whole thing became unsleepable.
So I got a new one shipped to Bennington. +1
I did this from the top of a mountain (because I have a magical box that can show pictures of bubbly mattresses to people in Seattle, send my voice along with the pictures, and find addresses in Vermont... from the top of a mtn! Some people call it a 'phone'... I call it magic to be grateful for). +1
After I had it sent, I noticed (in our little travelers' companion book) that the place I had the package shipped would accept packages 'for guests.' And the next two days were spent worrying that they would see my name on a box, check the guest register, and send it back, via FedEx, to Seattle :( BUT when we walked out of the woods and onto VT-9 (5 miles east of Bennington) hungry, cold, and tired, Lysandra's cousin picked us up in a larger magical box (+1) that held heat inside it's glass walls (+1), and carried our delicate human bodies faster than they were ever designed to travel (+1)... on a strip of oil (+1)... fueled by oil... (+1)
When we arrived at the Autumn Motel it was still morning. I was still hungry and tired, and saw three possibilities:
- Maybe they denied the package.
- Maybe they'll charge me a 'handling fee' of ten bucks or so.
- Maybe they'll refuse to give me the package unless I get a room for sixty bucks.
Moving on: There's SO MUCH TO WRITE!!!
We've had our first really long stretch of rain on the trail. After three days of hiking in the rain, you're feelin' pretty good if your boots are dry. After 7 days your boots have no chance, and dry socks (+1) lose their special something (-1). You're so excited to put them on your feet in the morning, then you stick your feet in your boots and wonder, 'What was all that warm fuzzy business, about 10 seconds ago?' You get the point.
So the weather is harsher: the last two mornings it's been raining cats and dogs (or 'frogs' if you're french) and the temperature has been close to freezing.
BUT The terrain is WONDERFUL!! (+1)
The Vermonters are GENIUS!!! ... they've done this thing (some kind of fancy new trail maintenance perhaps?) where they've taken dirt and filled in all the cracks between roots and rocks! They call it: Topsoil. If the word feels foreign on your tongue, check quick! ...odds are good you live in Maine. Some of my more geologically savvy friends and family might already know what I have only recently learned: Glaciers ripped off all the topsoil from Maine! It's true! Like a thief in the night (or maybe like an unnamed backpacker behind the front desk of a small motel in rural Vermont?) glaciers took all the dirt from Maine, straight down to the bedrock, to the coast.
{Sidenote: If you live in Cape Cod: The dirt you live on was stolen from Maine, please give it back.*}
So the rain is rain. And it's challenging and uncomfortable, and all that you might expect. To sweat in rain gear or walk in the rain? But Fall is absolutely gorgeous and we have things like hot chocolate, and fires, and views, and foliage to make it all worthwhile. Walking through the woods for 10 hours a day gives you so much time to think about things, and with all the distractions of life, that can be a precious thing. Time to think! Without the constant barrage of marketing, good intentioned but misled advice givers, temptations and distractions. Granted, too much time alone can result in false conclusions and unibomber-esque self editing loops. But too much time alone is hardly the rarer of the two commodities... at least in my experience of the world.
Anyway. I'm done rambling. Here are a couple cool things I found that I'm sharing:
An interactive map of the Appalachian Trail (basically this should be the 'scenic route' that comes up if you choose 'walking' as your mode of transportation between Georgia and Maine): AT interactive map
And here's a cool comic I found that probably took an astounding amount of drawing time at a computer: Click and Drag (this XKCD comic)
Anyway. I'm done rambling. Here are a couple cool things I found that I'm sharing:
An interactive map of the Appalachian Trail (basically this should be the 'scenic route' that comes up if you choose 'walking' as your mode of transportation between Georgia and Maine): AT interactive map
And here's a cool comic I found that probably took an astounding amount of drawing time at a computer: Click and Drag (this XKCD comic)
{*...unless, like a certain (still unnamed) backpacker, you feel a bit like that 'stolen' thing is yours, you know, kind of, in a way, and well, possession being 9/10 of the law and everything... let's just let bygones be bygones.}
Hiking Solo
Well friends, It's been an amazing time here in New York City. I've seen not one, but TWO Broadway shows! I've eaten not one, but TWO New York City hotdogs! I've written a list of not one, not two, but THREE things I've done since coming to NYC!
But the trail is calling... and NYC is expensive. So although I'm having a blast. I'm out.
Alone :(
Lysandra has thought long and hard and decided to cut her losses and get off the trail. She's been an amazing trail partner and I'm going to miss the hell out of her. Now, when we started, I knew full well that she had NO IDEA what she was getting herself into. But she said she'd go, so I didn't ask questions :) One of the reasons I decided to do the Appalachian Trail NOW was because I had someone willing to try it with me! It was just a bonus that I was sweet on her *<3* And now I'm going to have a hell of a time figuring out how to turn all of our two-person routines (she usually cooks while I set up 'camp,' etc...) into a one man act.
Wish me luck, friends. I'll be lonely out there.
*more on the differences of hiking alone after... well, after I've experienced distance hiking, alone, with winter fast approaching.
But the trail is calling... and NYC is expensive. So although I'm having a blast. I'm out.
Alone :(
Lysandra has thought long and hard and decided to cut her losses and get off the trail. She's been an amazing trail partner and I'm going to miss the hell out of her. Now, when we started, I knew full well that she had NO IDEA what she was getting herself into. But she said she'd go, so I didn't ask questions :) One of the reasons I decided to do the Appalachian Trail NOW was because I had someone willing to try it with me! It was just a bonus that I was sweet on her *<3* And now I'm going to have a hell of a time figuring out how to turn all of our two-person routines (she usually cooks while I set up 'camp,' etc...) into a one man act.
Wish me luck, friends. I'll be lonely out there.
*more on the differences of hiking alone after... well, after I've experienced distance hiking, alone, with winter fast approaching.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
NYC!!
So Lyss and I rolled in to New York City yesterday! (the trail doesn't pass straight through the city, but we took a bus in b/c Lysandra has WONDERFUL friends who live here :)
So far I've been relaxing in an antihistamine-induced drowsy haze, but tomorrow will be a day around the city. Already I can tell you that going from the woods to a concrete jungle is HARD! People are EVERYWHERE! and they don't give a CRAP about you!
Just getting ON the bus to come to new york, while stooping to throw our packs under the bus (a practiced motion, moving a pack) the bus driver goes, "Hurry it, you're holdin' me up. I got a lotta stops to make."
Slept on a rooftop last night b/c my allergies were a nightmare with two dogs in the apartment. The wonderful Lysandra slept up there with me to keep me company <3, even though I'm sure she's ready to have a bed to sleep in. Today has been lazy, but tomorrow will be adventurous. We're going to a Broadway show!! (much as I wish I could spend a couple hundred bucks to go see Book of Mormon, I'll be settling for the free ticket 'friend connection'). We're going to see Cyrano about Cyrano de Bergerac.
The trail lately has been ROUGH, but also awesome!! It's continued to rain and be cold. A few days ago we woke up to snow flurries! When you wake up and it's still dark and freezing, a hot drink is a lifesaver, so tea has been seriously integrated into our routine. Lots of tea. Which means we carry honey, naturally (how could you NOT), which means when we stop for snacks sometime we get Honey Shots!!
All in all the trail is still lovely, even though we may have been robbed of peak fall colors by the weather.
Lysandra has lots to tell, and tends to be a bit more loquacious than me, so check out her update soon.
So far I've been relaxing in an antihistamine-induced drowsy haze, but tomorrow will be a day around the city. Already I can tell you that going from the woods to a concrete jungle is HARD! People are EVERYWHERE! and they don't give a CRAP about you!
Just getting ON the bus to come to new york, while stooping to throw our packs under the bus (a practiced motion, moving a pack) the bus driver goes, "Hurry it, you're holdin' me up. I got a lotta stops to make."
Slept on a rooftop last night b/c my allergies were a nightmare with two dogs in the apartment. The wonderful Lysandra slept up there with me to keep me company <3, even though I'm sure she's ready to have a bed to sleep in. Today has been lazy, but tomorrow will be adventurous. We're going to a Broadway show!! (much as I wish I could spend a couple hundred bucks to go see Book of Mormon, I'll be settling for the free ticket 'friend connection'). We're going to see Cyrano about Cyrano de Bergerac.
The trail lately has been ROUGH, but also awesome!! It's continued to rain and be cold. A few days ago we woke up to snow flurries! When you wake up and it's still dark and freezing, a hot drink is a lifesaver, so tea has been seriously integrated into our routine. Lots of tea. Which means we carry honey, naturally (how could you NOT), which means when we stop for snacks sometime we get Honey Shots!!
All in all the trail is still lovely, even though we may have been robbed of peak fall colors by the weather.
Lysandra has lots to tell, and tends to be a bit more loquacious than me, so check out her update soon.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Quick update!
Hello all!
Lysandra and I have just crossed the boarder... of Vermont. thanks so much to her wonderful cousin, Dorothy, who she hadn't seen in some 15 years, and who was gracious and hospitable while we dominated her computer and kitchen :)
The last few days on the trail have been VERY rainy and juuust above freezing every morning (perfect hypothermia weather!) So Lyss and I have been drinking lots of tea and stopping for quick snack breaks now involves much layering and unlayering.
Also thanks to my wonderful roomie and mommy! Both of whom sent me stuff in the mail. It's so wonderful to get treats, especially the unexpected (i.e. the random drawing of a 'cat zombie') and it always lifts my spirits.
Anybody who wants to cram a small flat rate box with Pro Bars, I can tell you where to send it!
Okay before I end this quick update I should tell you that Lyss has a trail name!!! Lyss is now EDI. Pronounced as if it's short for Edith, it actually stands for Easy Does It, and is a nod to her cautious nature.
Love you all,
Take care,
Fungi and Edi
Lysandra and I have just crossed the boarder... of Vermont. thanks so much to her wonderful cousin, Dorothy, who she hadn't seen in some 15 years, and who was gracious and hospitable while we dominated her computer and kitchen :)
The last few days on the trail have been VERY rainy and juuust above freezing every morning (perfect hypothermia weather!) So Lyss and I have been drinking lots of tea and stopping for quick snack breaks now involves much layering and unlayering.
Also thanks to my wonderful roomie and mommy! Both of whom sent me stuff in the mail. It's so wonderful to get treats, especially the unexpected (i.e. the random drawing of a 'cat zombie') and it always lifts my spirits.
Anybody who wants to cram a small flat rate box with Pro Bars, I can tell you where to send it!
Okay before I end this quick update I should tell you that Lyss has a trail name!!! Lyss is now EDI. Pronounced as if it's short for Edith, it actually stands for Easy Does It, and is a nod to her cautious nature.
Love you all,
Take care,
Fungi and Edi
Sunday, September 23, 2012
ALL DEM PICTURES!
Hey Yall we were having a problem posting all the pictures on this blog, but Andrew spent many hours (because he is a wonderful super fantastic person who I love to peices) putting all the pictures on Flickr! So from here on out, we will probably be posting pictures on this site. So check out our adventures so far :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiaorbust/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiaorbust/
One step forward and then you trip
Well dear friends, family and random people who may be reading this, I am happy to report we are out of the woods! And by that, I mean we have finally completed the "hardest parts of the trail"; we are of course still spending the majority of our times in a wooded area. I'm writing to you from Lebanon, NH which is a town outside Hanover, NH. Andrew has flown home because his grandfather passed away and he of course wanted to be with his family. He will be coming home Sunday so we can set off on the trail Monday morning. We were incredibly lucky that we were in Hanover when trying to make arrangements for him to fly home for several reasons. One we were close to several airports which made flying out easier and Andrew's sister Torie has some good friends in Lebanon who have kindly let me stay at their house for a few days while Andrew is in Memphis, which is great for our budgets.
It feels good to finally have Maine and New Hampshire behind us, though as always our journey is far from over. We have hiked 440 miles with some 1742 miles to go, a number which still seems too big to fathom. It might as well be a humpty billion more miles to hike. At least that's how I feel when I look ahead. When I look behind me I feel pretty darn proud of the miles we have already hiked, given I was sure at least once a day that I was never hiking another step. Many NOBO's have warned us that the miles ahead are much more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Now that we don't have such difficult terrain, we have to focus less on the trail itself and make sure not to "get bored". Currently we are so freakin grateful for the more mild terrain we cannot imagine being bored by it, but like all things in life any good always comes with a little bit of challenge. Keeps us on our toes I suppose. Our last 50 miles of hiking were so wonderful we are still basking in the glow of this much easier trail. There are still roots and rocks of course, but we instantly see a massive difference in the trails. You can actually walk and get a good stride going, which hasn't been the case for the first 400 miles. We have also noticed the difference in the mountains, the last three we climbed were verging on easy (Easy for climbing mountains, of course eating ice cream while watching The West Wing will always be easier than this crazy shit). You still have uphill and downhill, and are still breathing heavy as you climb, but you get to the top in a reasonable amount of time. These last few mountains you climb for a bit and then you are at the top, no crying or reaching into the depths of your soul for strength you never knew you had required. It's pretty darn nice. The only flip side are the views are nothing compared to the ones we have seen, but for the moment we are fine with that. Plus fall is coming, so no matter where we are the world is about to be painted with color.
I've gotten a new pair of shoes (Patagonia Mens Trail shoes) and inserts (SOLE modable inserts) that seem to be doing my feet a world of good. That's not to say they don't still hurt in the morning and after mile 11-12ish, but for the most part the pain is tolerable. The smoother terrain also helps with that, I can take nice flat steps instead of crunching my foot in-between whatever rock and/or roots looks the least dangerous. But, as I mentioned, with this new terrain comes different challenges. We have finally increased our mileage, doing 15, 16 even 17 miles days! Oh yeah! Go us! Which means we are walking faster, and somehow for me means I'm falling down like it's my new job. Our last 5 days of hiking (By far our easiest days on the trail terrain wise) I took two fairly hard falls a day, every day. And of course I seem to always injure the same two joints. I keep rolling my right ankle and landing on my left knee. I believe because we are walking faster and I'm not paying attention to every step it's easier for me to miss a small stick or rock which causes me to lose my balance. Also the leaves have started to fall here, so some parts of the trail are covered with dead leaves which makes it harder to see the debris underneath. My first big fall was literally about a mile after our last big climb (Mt Moosilake, super cool mountain) and I remember thinking "Wooohooo, the trail is finally getting easier!" and then rolling my ankle catching myself on both my knees on hard rock, causing both my knees to bleed. Ouch. Every time I fall, tears seem to burst out of me, regardless of the pain, but I do my best to stop the tears quickly. I will say rolling an ankle hurts like a bitch, but I have to keep walking so I try not to focus on the pain, just the idea that if I keep moving forward I will eventually get to rest.
Anyway besides my new trend to bite it hard twice a day I really am enjoying this new terrain and excited to hike with fall. The 15 mile days are exhausting in a completely different way than the 10 mile days in Maine and New Hampshire. It is more a cardio workout, instead of the slow arduous climbing we are accustom to. Usually around mile 12, I severely crave to be done and have to really push myself to keep going those final few miles, no matter how easy. And since we have taken so long in our first two states, we really have to push ourselves to get at least 15 miles a day and hopefully getting to 20. I've promised Andrew I will attempt a 30 mile day, but we will be waiting until a flat as a pancake state like Pennsylvania before I actually attempt that many miles in a day.
Before I forget I must tell a story in which Andrew was my knight in shining calmness. The day before we hiked into Hanover I was feeling pretty good. Despite all the falling, I was keeping a fairly optimistic attitude and really trying to appreciate the easier terrain and lovely fall weather. Then about 10 miles into our day I fell. Dammit. Ouch. But I got up and kept going. But the fall had crushed my spirits and it began what I refer to as the "Avalanche of Negative Thinking" (this seems to happen to me, and many women I know. It is when you start thinking one negative thought which then snow balls into a billion negative thoughts all within a 5 minute period) My first thought was I haven't actually gotten any stronger. This quickly turned into a snowstorm of crazy where my thought pattern went something like:" I've actually gotten weaker and fatter and I'm stupid and I'm the worst hiker ever and my I will never get better and I should probably die because all I do is hike badly and fall and also I'm stupid." Then came many uncontrollable tears. At this point Andrew was hiking ahead of me and didn't know that I had fallen or was having a little mental breakdown. Finally I took some deep breathes and tried to focus on good thoughts, which were mostly I have to keep hiking so suck it up Sykes! Then the trail got tricky very quickly (tall grass covering big rocks) and I fell again, minutes after I'd finally composed myself. Andrew happened to be on a bridge nearby and heard me fall and yelled to inform me he was coming. I had picked myself up by the time he got there, though emotionally I was entering the period after the Avalanche of negative thinking, where logic and reason are completely lost on me and I can turn any positive thought into a negative self deprecating one in under a minute. Andrew has seen this before and did his best to say sweet wonderful things, while also understanding that I may not be able to be cheered up. We did, as always, have to reach our destination if we wanted a good flat place to sleep. So we walked on and at the first hill we reached I became a 3 year old.
Me: "I can't do this! Why is there a fucking hill? Its suppose to be FUCKING FLAT! I'm too fat to get up this hill and I hate this fucking trail and..... I cant.....I cant.......UGH!!!" This was all said while sobbing.
Andrew: "Ok, lets take a break". And he took his pack off and sat down. I just stared at him.
Me: "But we have to keep going. What if we never make it and we never sleep and we just die here!?"
Andrew: "Well then at least we will be together, now set down your pack and let me hold you."
Me:"Ok."
And then I sat between his legs while he said logical calming things to me and reminded me that this much falling is as damaging to the spirit as it is to the body. All while getting me to focus on calming my breathe down. After a few minutes we got up, and continued to the shelter. I still stopped a few times for totally irrational crying freak out moments, and Andrew handled every one with the patience of a saint. The next day I was able to laugh at my behavior but at the time I really had gone off the deep end, and I am so thankful he was there to pull me back to reality. We have not had a perfect relationship on this trail, in fact this trail has already put our relationship through the ringer several times, but he is a steady rock for me, and I wouldn't still be on this trail without him.
Also we forgot to mention he has a trail name! I dubbed him Funguy (or Fungi) because of his love of all things fungus. (You will see this when you look at our photos!) Seriously the guy stops every 10 minutes to take a picture of all these freakin awesome mushrooms we have seen. Plus he is a fun....guy. Yeah, double meaning, you know you like it. I have yet to have a trail name......would love any suggestions.
We are still in awe by the kindness of strangers and the generosity we've experienced along this trail. Hanover is known as a magical land of Oz type place to AT hikers, and now we know why. There is a list of names on a board when you walk into town, and you call them up and they let you stay at their hose for free! Basically there are 10 adults who open their homes to you, in large part because Hanover is expensive and they want hikers to feel welcome and have a nice place to rest their bodies. We were SUPER lucky to stay with Lizanne, a women in her 40's who is a consultant for non-profits. She picked us up from downtown, drove us to her house, and said "Eat anything you want, there is beer in the fridge, I have to run, but Ill be back soon to cook you dinner" I mean really, besides having a unicorn, her house was pretty much heaven. She cooked us smocked salmon for dinner, had a huge comfy bed for us to sleep in and added bonus was a interesting, smart, wonderful person to be around.
Plus the outfitter gives you a free snickers, the pizza place gives you a free slice, you get a free bagel at the bagel basement and the local dinner gives you a free donut. Plus the town has a FREE bus that runs M-F and takes you pretty much anywhere. I mean this place loves hikers, which is good because we love people who love us. This is a rarity to have this much love in one town, usually we aren't pimpin so hard when we roll into towns, but it feels pretty incredible when it happens.
Alright yall, I've rambled enough, we will try to post more before we leave, there are so many wonderful stories to tell, but for now hope this will do.
Go do something you think you can't do today. Even if you cry, you tried. That's saying something. Love to all!
It feels good to finally have Maine and New Hampshire behind us, though as always our journey is far from over. We have hiked 440 miles with some 1742 miles to go, a number which still seems too big to fathom. It might as well be a humpty billion more miles to hike. At least that's how I feel when I look ahead. When I look behind me I feel pretty darn proud of the miles we have already hiked, given I was sure at least once a day that I was never hiking another step. Many NOBO's have warned us that the miles ahead are much more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Now that we don't have such difficult terrain, we have to focus less on the trail itself and make sure not to "get bored". Currently we are so freakin grateful for the more mild terrain we cannot imagine being bored by it, but like all things in life any good always comes with a little bit of challenge. Keeps us on our toes I suppose. Our last 50 miles of hiking were so wonderful we are still basking in the glow of this much easier trail. There are still roots and rocks of course, but we instantly see a massive difference in the trails. You can actually walk and get a good stride going, which hasn't been the case for the first 400 miles. We have also noticed the difference in the mountains, the last three we climbed were verging on easy (Easy for climbing mountains, of course eating ice cream while watching The West Wing will always be easier than this crazy shit). You still have uphill and downhill, and are still breathing heavy as you climb, but you get to the top in a reasonable amount of time. These last few mountains you climb for a bit and then you are at the top, no crying or reaching into the depths of your soul for strength you never knew you had required. It's pretty darn nice. The only flip side are the views are nothing compared to the ones we have seen, but for the moment we are fine with that. Plus fall is coming, so no matter where we are the world is about to be painted with color.
I've gotten a new pair of shoes (Patagonia Mens Trail shoes) and inserts (SOLE modable inserts) that seem to be doing my feet a world of good. That's not to say they don't still hurt in the morning and after mile 11-12ish, but for the most part the pain is tolerable. The smoother terrain also helps with that, I can take nice flat steps instead of crunching my foot in-between whatever rock and/or roots looks the least dangerous. But, as I mentioned, with this new terrain comes different challenges. We have finally increased our mileage, doing 15, 16 even 17 miles days! Oh yeah! Go us! Which means we are walking faster, and somehow for me means I'm falling down like it's my new job. Our last 5 days of hiking (By far our easiest days on the trail terrain wise) I took two fairly hard falls a day, every day. And of course I seem to always injure the same two joints. I keep rolling my right ankle and landing on my left knee. I believe because we are walking faster and I'm not paying attention to every step it's easier for me to miss a small stick or rock which causes me to lose my balance. Also the leaves have started to fall here, so some parts of the trail are covered with dead leaves which makes it harder to see the debris underneath. My first big fall was literally about a mile after our last big climb (Mt Moosilake, super cool mountain) and I remember thinking "Wooohooo, the trail is finally getting easier!" and then rolling my ankle catching myself on both my knees on hard rock, causing both my knees to bleed. Ouch. Every time I fall, tears seem to burst out of me, regardless of the pain, but I do my best to stop the tears quickly. I will say rolling an ankle hurts like a bitch, but I have to keep walking so I try not to focus on the pain, just the idea that if I keep moving forward I will eventually get to rest.
Anyway besides my new trend to bite it hard twice a day I really am enjoying this new terrain and excited to hike with fall. The 15 mile days are exhausting in a completely different way than the 10 mile days in Maine and New Hampshire. It is more a cardio workout, instead of the slow arduous climbing we are accustom to. Usually around mile 12, I severely crave to be done and have to really push myself to keep going those final few miles, no matter how easy. And since we have taken so long in our first two states, we really have to push ourselves to get at least 15 miles a day and hopefully getting to 20. I've promised Andrew I will attempt a 30 mile day, but we will be waiting until a flat as a pancake state like Pennsylvania before I actually attempt that many miles in a day.
Before I forget I must tell a story in which Andrew was my knight in shining calmness. The day before we hiked into Hanover I was feeling pretty good. Despite all the falling, I was keeping a fairly optimistic attitude and really trying to appreciate the easier terrain and lovely fall weather. Then about 10 miles into our day I fell. Dammit. Ouch. But I got up and kept going. But the fall had crushed my spirits and it began what I refer to as the "Avalanche of Negative Thinking" (this seems to happen to me, and many women I know. It is when you start thinking one negative thought which then snow balls into a billion negative thoughts all within a 5 minute period) My first thought was I haven't actually gotten any stronger. This quickly turned into a snowstorm of crazy where my thought pattern went something like:" I've actually gotten weaker and fatter and I'm stupid and I'm the worst hiker ever and my I will never get better and I should probably die because all I do is hike badly and fall and also I'm stupid." Then came many uncontrollable tears. At this point Andrew was hiking ahead of me and didn't know that I had fallen or was having a little mental breakdown. Finally I took some deep breathes and tried to focus on good thoughts, which were mostly I have to keep hiking so suck it up Sykes! Then the trail got tricky very quickly (tall grass covering big rocks) and I fell again, minutes after I'd finally composed myself. Andrew happened to be on a bridge nearby and heard me fall and yelled to inform me he was coming. I had picked myself up by the time he got there, though emotionally I was entering the period after the Avalanche of negative thinking, where logic and reason are completely lost on me and I can turn any positive thought into a negative self deprecating one in under a minute. Andrew has seen this before and did his best to say sweet wonderful things, while also understanding that I may not be able to be cheered up. We did, as always, have to reach our destination if we wanted a good flat place to sleep. So we walked on and at the first hill we reached I became a 3 year old.
Me: "I can't do this! Why is there a fucking hill? Its suppose to be FUCKING FLAT! I'm too fat to get up this hill and I hate this fucking trail and..... I cant.....I cant.......UGH!!!" This was all said while sobbing.
Andrew: "Ok, lets take a break". And he took his pack off and sat down. I just stared at him.
Me: "But we have to keep going. What if we never make it and we never sleep and we just die here!?"
Andrew: "Well then at least we will be together, now set down your pack and let me hold you."
Me:"Ok."
And then I sat between his legs while he said logical calming things to me and reminded me that this much falling is as damaging to the spirit as it is to the body. All while getting me to focus on calming my breathe down. After a few minutes we got up, and continued to the shelter. I still stopped a few times for totally irrational crying freak out moments, and Andrew handled every one with the patience of a saint. The next day I was able to laugh at my behavior but at the time I really had gone off the deep end, and I am so thankful he was there to pull me back to reality. We have not had a perfect relationship on this trail, in fact this trail has already put our relationship through the ringer several times, but he is a steady rock for me, and I wouldn't still be on this trail without him.
Also we forgot to mention he has a trail name! I dubbed him Funguy (or Fungi) because of his love of all things fungus. (You will see this when you look at our photos!) Seriously the guy stops every 10 minutes to take a picture of all these freakin awesome mushrooms we have seen. Plus he is a fun....guy. Yeah, double meaning, you know you like it. I have yet to have a trail name......would love any suggestions.
We are still in awe by the kindness of strangers and the generosity we've experienced along this trail. Hanover is known as a magical land of Oz type place to AT hikers, and now we know why. There is a list of names on a board when you walk into town, and you call them up and they let you stay at their hose for free! Basically there are 10 adults who open their homes to you, in large part because Hanover is expensive and they want hikers to feel welcome and have a nice place to rest their bodies. We were SUPER lucky to stay with Lizanne, a women in her 40's who is a consultant for non-profits. She picked us up from downtown, drove us to her house, and said "Eat anything you want, there is beer in the fridge, I have to run, but Ill be back soon to cook you dinner" I mean really, besides having a unicorn, her house was pretty much heaven. She cooked us smocked salmon for dinner, had a huge comfy bed for us to sleep in and added bonus was a interesting, smart, wonderful person to be around.
Plus the outfitter gives you a free snickers, the pizza place gives you a free slice, you get a free bagel at the bagel basement and the local dinner gives you a free donut. Plus the town has a FREE bus that runs M-F and takes you pretty much anywhere. I mean this place loves hikers, which is good because we love people who love us. This is a rarity to have this much love in one town, usually we aren't pimpin so hard when we roll into towns, but it feels pretty incredible when it happens.
Alright yall, I've rambled enough, we will try to post more before we leave, there are so many wonderful stories to tell, but for now hope this will do.
Go do something you think you can't do today. Even if you cry, you tried. That's saying something. Love to all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)