Tuesday, August 5, 2008

1 Step at at Time...

7/21/08 - Amos decided to drive up to Lincoln, NH where Tupperware, Spock & Twiggy, Buns & Roses were waiting for him - he's planning on going back to finish the section of trail (157 miles worth) that he missed in Vermont after they reach the summit of Katahdin.
  • Arrived at Chet's house in Lincoln yesterday and just in time to enter the White Mtns! (Chet was blinded and confined to a wheelchair by a camp stove explosion years ago and has since opened a hostel for AT hikers.)
  • Woke up and went to McDonalds for breakfast - Egg McMuffin, hash browns & coffee.
  • A little out of shape from the 2 weeks worth of recovery (plus the White's are notoriously difficult) so they packed up slackpacks & took a shuttle to Kinsman Notch where they hiked south toward NH 25.
  • Started with a 3000 ft climb up Mt. Moosilauke - most of it following a really, really, really pretty waterfall - until it disappeared near Beaver Brook Shelter.
  • On Mt. Moosilauke, they were above treeline for the first time on the entire AT (I love that there are still "firsts" on his adventure!). They ate lunch up top where it was slightly windy & cold and where they met up with Mouth & Chef (2 north bounders).
  • Climbed back down to Jeffers Brook Shelter when it started raining.
  • Came to a brook near NH 25 and most crossed the raging torrent (sarcasm) in bare feet while Tupperware & Spock decided to build a bridge instead. They spent about a half hour stacking rocks and then crossed... Spock traversed successfully while Tupp fell in & got his shoes all wet anyway.
  • Arrived at NH 25 where they stuck their thumbs out and caught a hitch to a gas station down the road to use the phone. Called the shuttle service only to find it extremely expensive & settled on having the hostel pick them up instead.
  • Ate McDonalds - again! Then cleaned up- took showers & did laundry.
  • Chet's house was chaos but all Amos wanted to do was go to sleep as he had only 4 hrs the night before. Snagged a bunk & drifted off to la la land.
  • 9.5 mi slack.

7/22/08 - Ate breakfast at McDonalds AGAIN!! Hearts said he could feel his arteries clogging as he downed 3 hash browns - each of which you could squeeeze out the grease...

  • Stood outside to hitch a ride back to Kinsman Notch but had some difficulty so Roses decided they needed a catch... something to grab peoples attention & instill security that they weren't a bunch of crazies... something like choreographed hitchhiking!! You can think of it as being similar to synchronized swimming for thumbs... and they did become quite creative! Unfortunately, all they got were a bunch of giggles, looks, and people pointing at them but no ride - so it didn't quite work - but it did pass the time!
  • Eventually, a past thru-hiker from 1980 drove by & picked them up (they had given up the song & dance by then).
  • Steep ascent up the Kinsman Peaks where they were met with more above treeline action. From North Peak -whenever the clouds & fog would break- they could see Franconia Ridge (the start of the Presidential Range).
  • Then to the first hut - AMC Hut - to fill up water. [I learned that AMC stands for Appalachian Mountain Club and that they maintain the White Mtns but that they nickel and dime hikers to death and are thus often called the Appalachian Money Club. They argue that the $8 cost to stay in shelters and $90 cost to stay in their solar powered huts are necessary to helicopter in bark mulch for decomposition in the privies. At one point, Tupperware bought an AMC patch in one of the huts, asked for a red magic marker (in front of the salesman), proceeded to scribble a big circle with a line through their logo, and then safety pinned it to his pack. It would seem there's some tension between thru-hikers and the AMC...]
  • 3 miles downhill, they walked past Kinsman Falls which Amos described as being the beginning of an "awesome, amazing" class V section of river known as Cascade Creek. He took (and you can enjoy) SEVERAL (maybe a half a roll of film's worth of) photos.
  • Arrived at Franconia Notch & I-93 where it is illegal to hitchhike... they did it anyway. Got a hitch back to Rt 3 and then another from Rt 3 into Lincoln.
  • It was a zoo back at Chet's house. Every hiker you could imagine had converged: The General, Jukebox, Chief Daddy, Mouth & Chef, Loafy, Catfish, Root, a bunch of south-bounders they didn't know, and 1 homeless guy.
  • Not thrilled with the situation but Roses made up for it by whipping together a spaghetti dinner complete with salad & garlic bread for their little band (plus Chet).
  • 16 mi day.

7/23/08 - DIDN'T eat McDonalds! Whohoo! But they did zero today due to bad weather on the mountain.

  • Went to breakfast & had pancakes.
  • Spock & Hearts went to several different outfitters to find water filters and they somehow managed to convince a clerk to open brand new water filters, take the filter out of the pump and sell them just the filter! That's skill.
  • Then to the post office where everyone, except Hearts, mailed forward food.
  • Back to Chet's (more chaos) for Poker & Eukre tournaments. Hearts didn't win, but Tupperware did - the Poker champion!
  • Tupperware's dad surprised the group by putting $ into his account specifically to take the crew out to dinner!
  • They went to a really fancy restaurant that served "free" hors d'oeuvres while waiting to be seated. (The word "free" is in parentheses because we all know nothing in life is free. It has been suggested that the very same "free" hors d'oeuvres were probably responsible for making Spock & Roses sick later that night...) Once they were seated in the main dining room, they realized the food was too hoity-toity and decided to go back & eat in the bar.
  • Amos enjoyed a crab cake sandwich which was "to die for" (thankfully he didn't).
  • After dinner, Spock was challenged to a game of checkers by an elitist 9 year old & LOST!! Man, that hurts!
  • Amos shuttled the crew back to Chet's in his dad's little Honda Insight & then called it a day.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Back to Bennington...

7/6/08 - Pain & puking continued all night.

  • Woke up with a full bladder, scrambled over to the side of the firetower & accidentally peed on Spock... who took it quite well, all things considered!
  • Pain was too much to handle so they decided to hike back to Bennington & the ER. Hearts was so weak that Tupperware, Buns & Roses split up his gear & carried it back to town for him as he crawled back the same 10.5 mi they had hiked the day before. (Spock & Twiggy, and Cuda continued north.)
  • Once at VT 9, Amos laid on the side of the road as the others stuck out their thumbs in hope of a hitch to the hospital... finally got a ride from a car full of drunks jamming to AC/DC. (I'm glad I don't hear about these things until WELL after the fact or I would have lost my already fragile mind a long time ago!)
  • Took about 5 hours for the doctors in the ER to realize that something was terribly wrong. Just as they were about to discharge him - yes I said discharge him - they drew a blood sample to test for Lyme's and took his temperature one more time to find it at 102. (When he went in to the ER he was on a significant amount of ibuprofen & his fever was down but the OTC meds wore off by the time he was about to be discharged and it had just come back up.)
  • It turns out that the new-found fever + his severe neck pain (and an assortment of other symptoms) = a spinal tap! ouch. (Going from almost being discharged to having a spinal tap is still a little inconceivable to me.)
  • It took about 1 hr for the results from the spinal tap to come back and for the doctors to confirm that he had spinal meningitis. They assured him that it was not the deadly form of spinal meningitis (bacterial) but that it was likely caused by Lyme disease. Unfortunately, the test results for Lyme disease would not be back for at least 4 days... [not knowing whether it was viral or caused by the tick caused it's own set of problems - but that's another story].
  • Tupperware stayed in the waiting room the whole time (!!!) and brought food from the vending machine room upstairs! It wasn't until 11:30 pm -when they said they were going to admit Amos- that he retired his post and met back up with Buns & Roses.
  • They actually admitted him around 7 am... the next morning. It was a looooong night. He was given IV antibiotics and fluids but no pain meds or food & the ER nurse was less than pleasant. Too much pain, no sleep.

Don't we make a lovely pair. (I broke my nose kayaking the same day.)

7/7/08 - This is what Amos describes as being THE worst day (including the events of last night). Luckily, he doesn't remember much of it...

  • Apparently, Tupperware, Buns & Roses stopped in to visit 2x - but he doesn't recall either visit - though he does remember Tupperware spilling something from Taco Bell all over the floor.
  • Admitted to the ICU which made everyone freak-out... ok, maybe just me. (I still didn't know it wasn't considered "life-threatening" - I mean c'mon, he was in the ICU for cryin' out loud!)
  • Spent much of the day rolling around, trying to get comfortable - that didn't happen. Nurse Jackie (really nice but really obtuse) took plenty of blood samples (4x).
  • Finally given pain meds in the early afternoon which proved "very helpful" - made sleeping possible (and random, incoherrent phone calls for that matter).
  • This is the day I really lost it & declared that I was driving back to Bennington and skipping the physics modeling workshop I was supposed to be enrolled in all week. MJ agreed to road trip, too!

7/8/08 - Started treatment for Lyme disease (still not officially diagnosed).

  • Spock & Twiggy, Tupperware, Buns & Roses all took a bus from Manchester Center to come back & visit around noon! About an hour later, MJ and I showed up.
  • Amos took a shower soon after we arrived & it was then that he discovered the bulls-eye rash on the lower-right corner of his back. It faded pretty quickly - already much less obvious an hour later.
  • Transferred out of solitary confinement & into a room with another dude. Amos was less than thrilled to have to pull the curtain to pee in his jug every 20 minutes.
  • We played cards & noshed on hospital food together (they gave MJ & I a free $5 voucher - yum!).
  • MJ & I left to sleep at the Bennington Motor Inn while the rest of the gang attempted to enroll in a hospital sleep study (denied) but wound-up stealth camping in the waiting room instead.

7/9/08 - Slept-in. Hiking companions went back to the trail.

  • Lyme results came back positive. Prescribed doxycycline.
  • Also diagnosed with another tick borne disease, Ehrlichiosis. In fact, he will go down in the medical literature as being the first confirmed case of Ehrlichiosis in all of Vermont! (What a lousy 15 minutes of fame.)
  • Ate a big breakfast & lunch - great to see the appetite back!!
  • Released from the hospital: took a shower, put on normal clothes & wheeled out to the car. (That means I got to be his own personal pack mule - I know he secretly loved it!)
  • Back to CVS to pick up his NEW prescription and then a long 10 hr trip back to Ohio.
  • Got home late & still in a lot of neck pain - but good to be home!

7/10/08 thru 7/20/08 - Just enough time for recovery...

  • Watched a bunch of movies.
  • Got my nose re-broken.
  • Played tennis.
  • Birthday celebration(s) with AMAZING homemade pizza and a live guitarist at Mama Hearts'.
  • Rafted the Lower Yough (R-2'd lunches in a bucket boat).
  • Dinner at Patrons with my Mom, Brandi & Jerrod.
  • Lots of crab rangoons!
  • Kayaked Upper Yough (NO, no not me! Just Amos.)
  • 9 holes of golf with (his) Dad.
  • Did I mention... we got engaged on the Upper Yough?!! Amos yanked me out of the Shredder in the same eddy that I shoved him into 9 months before... where we had our 1st kiss! Now, that's amore...

  • Oh yeah, and back to the trail...

Friday, August 1, 2008

Wrong sort of fireworks...

7/1/08 - Left the shelter before 7 am (to meet up with me later). Trudged through miles of muddy trails, moose tracks & more moose poop.
  • Paralleled Roaring Creek for awhile - looked very kayakable.
  • Took a break at Congdon Shelter then up Harmon Hill - which had absolutely no views.
  • Finally an extremely steep descent to VT 9 where he waited around with Meltdown & another section-hiker until I arrived on the scene around 1 pm.
  • Took Meltdown into town then off to Greenwood Lodge & Campsites for showers and to set up shop (home) for the next few days.
  • Followed by THE MOST unproductive scavenger hunt for authentic Mexican food that you could possibly imagine... a good half an hour down the road (and then some) for a tribal-tattooed white guy to throw black beans and a "Mexican pizza" our way. I resorted to refried ice cream- for dinner.
  • Exchanged birthday presents while we waited in the parking lot for the faux-Mexican restaurant to open. I scored an iPod nano while Amos got stuck with an assortment of odd souvenirs from Europe which included: Scottish sweater, Guinness tee, deck of cards, Viking helmet, wooden sword & matching wooden shield. I might owe him. Big time.
  • Then back to the campground for margaritas & beer.
  • 11.5 mi day.

7/2/08 - Woke up. I took what Amos describes as a "long" shower. In reality, I got sucked into talking to the campground owner, Anne & her son Chris, for at least 20 minutes.

  • Into town to do laundry in a very smelly laundromat.
  • Blue Benn Diner for lunch.
  • Picked up Tupperware from the trail.
  • As we were driving through Bennington, Tup rented a town bicycle, rode alongside the pretty little luxury SUV that my Dad had gotten for his 50th birthday and had graciously let me borrow for the week, somehow got a little too close, and accidentally scratched the multicolored metallic smoky granite mica paint with the handle of the bike. (I'll admit that was a bit of a run-on.) So, while Amos sipped on microbrews in Madison Brewing Co. (and I on water), Tupp snuck off to the nearest auto center for a repair kit. It didn't quite do the trick but luckily Dad didn't mind (I LOVE YOU!).
  • Pizza next door then back to the campground for reheated Patron's, crab rangoons, an air hockey tournament and a game of HORSE - which I WON!!!
  • Another campfire, more beer & margarita, to bed.

7/3/08 - Packed up camp. HORSE rematch - Amos won...

  • To the library, Walmart, a bad stint at Taco Bell (man, we had absolutely NO luck with the Mexican!) then rented a room at the Best Western with Tupperware.
  • Picked up Buns & Roses, Spock & Twiggy, and Cuda out of a soaking rain.
  • Once we got everyone back to the hotel, Hearts started feeling ill & noticed a lump on the right side of his hip near his groin. After several phone calls to family pharmacists, two doctors and one dentist - all it took was one alarming allusion of impotence to trigger a trip to the ER.
  • When we arrived, Amos told the registration attendant that he had a fever (Roses suggested this trick to get in quicker) - it didn't work as intended - but it did get him a creepy blue surgical mask to wear in the waiting room.
  • Waited forever. Doctor finally showed up (maybe 3 hrs later) and instead of inquiring about Amos' symptoms he wound up spiraling into a 15 minute conversation about preferred hiking gear (no wonder we waited so long!). An ultrasound and a debate on appropriate water filtration later we left with a prescription for what the doctor decided -based on extenuating circumstances- was giardia. (NOTE: He had nothing intelligent to say about the lump on Amos' hip and assured us it was a bulging femoral artery - "no big deal"!!! We should have known...)
  • Back to the Best Western & off to bed.

7/4/08 - 1st stop... CVS for Tinidazole. The lady who initially set off to fill his prescription somehow forgot all about him & so we ended up waiting about an hour for the drugs.

  • Back to the Blue Benn diner for brunch but Hearts had no appetite.
  • Dropped everyone off in town where we struggled to say a very long, drawn-out, sad goodbye and then I left.
  • Hung out at Chris' house for the rest of the day. Played pool, cards, cooked on the grill, and enjoyed a Spock-led drum circle.
  • Tried to fall asleep on the couch but felt awful - very feverish - still didn't think much of it.

7/5/08 - In the morning, he felt really weak but thought it would pass so they packed up and decided to hike out anyway.

  • Stopped at the Blue Benn one more time for breakfast, then to the post office to pick up the Therm-a-Rest Half-brew sent in the mail to replace his - which had a small puncture wound.
  • Hitchhiked back to the trail.
  • Climbed up 1000 ft & immediately started feeling really weak and ill with a sharp/stiff neck pain.
  • Took a much needed break at Glastenbury Lookout.
  • Arrived at Goddard Shelter but it was full. Some lady pitched an entire tent inside the shelter and slept in it with her dogs! Another man in the shelter was shrouded in a full-body bug suit - which Hearts thought was hilarious.
  • Moved on to camp on Glastenbury Mtn. Amos decided to sleep on top of the firetower to avoid setting up his tarp & Spock made him dinner.
  • From that point on, his condition deteriorated... he was very feverish and no matter how many or what type of pain relievers he took, the neck pain would not go away. Spent all night vomiting off of the firetower.
  • 10.5 mi.