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.

Allow not nature more than nature needs...

6/17/08 - Breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts (chocolate donut!).

• Creepy guy with the Mystery Machine showed up to shuttle them back to the trail... it reeked! I'm going to go out on a limb and assume it smelled so badly because he admitted to habitually relieving himself... in jugs... in the van. That, and his dog smelled like it was slowly decaying from the inside out.
• Climbed up Wawayanda Mtn. and hiked along a ridge with views of the NYC skyline and conspicuously expensive homes nestled along picturesque lakes in the valley.
• Crossed NJ/NY state line which was very fancy in-and-of itself - spray-painted on a rock.
• Stopped for a tasty homemade ice cream treat at the Bellvale Creamery along NY 17A.
• Final break at Wildcat Shelter followed by 2 mi hike to Fitzgerald Falls - where they decided to spend the night and where they eventually found nearly every mosquito in the northeast to have converged for the evening...
• 19 total mi.

6/18/08 - Tupperware joined back up with the group. Mom dropped him off & he initially set-off the wrong way down the trail and had to turn around and hike back!! Eventually caught back up with the group & shared a box of donuts for breakfast!

• Came across the much talked about, highly anticipated East Mombasha Rd. (the end of Half-brew's hike) - turned out to be your everyday, ordinary roadway. I don't think it quite lived up to the hype.
• Water sources have been harder & harder to come-by. Most trail angels have been leaving jugs of water as trail magic.
• Climbed up Arden Mtn.
• Climbed down Arden Mtn. - described as 'horrible' - steep & rocky.
• Blue blazed along Arden Valley Rd. (in the rain) - Twiggy's 1st blue blaze! (Spock hiked the trail.)
• Hiked the last 4 mi to William Brien Memorial Shelter in the rain.
• Found a really nice father & son duo already set-up in the shelter. The young boy turned out to have terrible night terrors though & broke out into bloodcurdling screams throughout the night. Hearts was lucky enough to have the bunk directly above him but slept surprisingly well in spite of it!
• 18 mi day.

6/19/08 - Rain stopped. Hiked down to Palisades Parkway where a sign said 30 mi to NYC!

• Climbed up Bear Mtn. which was a bit of a let-down because the observation tower was locked - but they did come across an operating soda machine!
• Hearts left early to hit up the post office in Bear Mtn... also closed - really weird hours.
• Hung out at the entrance to the Bear Mtn Museum/Zoo (the lowest pt. on the entire AT @ 124 ft!). Eventually the group took a walk thru the zoo (free to thru hikers). Said it was really sad & full native animals in small cages... it's a shame bolt & chain cutters add too much pack-weight otherwise those critters could have been free!
• Crossed Bear Mtn Bridge which spans the Hudson River. Bridge must have a bad track record as it was lined with suicide hotline phones.
• Arrived at US 9 and hitched a ride into Peekskill from a self-proclaimed 'Shakespeare nut' with tons of Shakespeare website decals all over her van.
• Ate at local diner & realized there was nowhere to stay... so they headed to the library where they met a police officer who GAVE THEM HIS CAR so they could drive to Fishkill!! Yeah, a police officer GAVE THEM HIS CAR to borrow for the night! You've got to be kidding me - some people are unbelievable! I want to be that trusting & generous someday!
• Taco Bell for dinner #2, resupplied at Walmart (bought my birthday present - a new iPod), and then shacked up in a sweet Holiday Inn Express with a big HD plasma TV for Twiggy's birthday!
• 14.5 mi.

6/20/08 - Down to the lobby for a continental breakfast and then back to the room to pack-up.
Stopped at a gas station on the way out of town to load up on food & beer.

• Took FOREVER to hitchhike back to the trail - eventually someone did stop and they turned out to be another Shakespeare nut! In fact, they were friends with the first Shakespeare nut!
• Got back to the trail late.
• Passed Graymoor Spiritual Life Center and were bummed because they realized they had missed out on an opportunity to experience monk hospitality as the monastery allows hikers to stay at their picnic shelter.
• Hiked up to Clarence Fahnestock State Park & campground only to find the free hiker pavilion overrun with 15 other hikers from a Philadelphia hiking club. So they set up their tarps in their own area & did their own thing... listening to Tupp's radio & beer drinking.
• 12.5 mi.

6/21/08 - Hiked back to the trail. Around Canopus Lake. And up Shenandoah Mtn.

• Break at RPH Shelter - which was a little cabin that you could have pizza delivered to - but they didn't know & missed that opportunity.
• Made up for it. At NY 52 they hiked down to Danny's Pizzeria & Mtn. Top Market where they ate their pizza and packed out more beer & munchies.
• Hiked over I-84 & climbed Mt. Egbert.
• Arrived at Morgan Stewart Shelter fairly early so they started a fire & hung out.
• 16 mi.

6/22/08 - Woke up to rain, but it didn't last long.

• Crossed NY 55. Hiked around Nuclear Lake - the site of a former nuclear fuels-processing research facility given a clean bill of health but they didn't take their chances with the water anyway - and there were no blueberries nearby for Hearts nibble on so we lucked out there, too.
• Break at Telephone Pioneers Shelter (odd name).
  Saw the largest oak tree on the AT - the Dover Oak - I believe there is a picture of Amos hugging it...
• Passed the AT train station - which shuttles day hikers from NYC & only runs on the weekends.
• Hiked to NY 22 & stopped at Tony's Deli for lunch - bet you're wondering if they packed out more food & beer...
• ... of course they did.
• Heading back for the trail they came across a landscaping business and found that one of their fellow thru hikers, Root, got a temporary job there to help finance more of his trip!
  Next section of trail included some scenic field walking followed by pointless ups & downs. (Funny, that's how I see the entire AT!)
• Break at Wiley Shelter - worst shelter ever - which says a lot if you remember the ones without roofs & running water back in Virginia. Described as small, dirty, crappy, rundown, with lots of mosquitoes.
• Crossed the NY/CT border with a 'WELCOME TO Connecticut' sign!
• Climbed up Ten Mile Hill and then back down to Ten Mile River where they took baths & swam for a bit. Amos went skinny-dipping while Tupperware preferred to remain in his skivvies.
• Well deserved after a 20.5 mi day! Stayed at Ten Mile Lean-to.

6/23/08 - Trail meandered along the whitewater section of the Housatonic River Gorge (future kayaking trip)!

• At Schaghticoke Rd. they veered off the trail and walked toward Kent to see an Indian Reservation - disappointed to find the residents very poor & living in run-down homes.
• Arrived in Kent - 1st real New England style town. Upon entry they were greeted with rich Cape Cod influenced homes and a huge boarding school that looked fancier than most colleges... yes, even Muskingum!
• Outfitter, laundry, grocery store, post office, Pizza Garden (expensive!), then beer.
• Poured heavily while they were in the laundromat and the attendant shrieked at another thru hiker, Cricket, for being in the bathroom too long... wonder what she thought he was doing in there??
• Left Kent, walked along the road & saw Kent Falls which was gushing from the recent downpour.
• Next stop - Cornwall Bridge. Everything was closed except the liquor store and a gas station. BUT good news is that the owner of the gas station upholds a tradition that all thru hikers who stop by get a free beer! He also clued them in on a covert camping locale in town - a secluded spot behind the church.
• So they snatched up a few snacks from the gas station and camped out behind the church!
• 19.5 mi.

Zoinks!...

6/15/08 - Slept in. Still soaking wet. Started hiking around 10 am.

• Beans & Benadryl left early early & didn't say a word to them all morning.
• Found a coiled & ready-to-strike surprise waiting on the trail just past Sunrise Mtn.
• Rattlesnake provided a few minutes of what I would deem ridiculous & freakishly unnecessary entertainment complete with photo ops & a video of Spock wrestling it off the trail with a long loooonnnggg stick.
• Stopped to take a break at Mashipacong Shelter. Beans & Benadryl were there but when they saw our boys (& lady -sorry Twiggy!) coming they split lickedy quick... I wonder what climbed in their sleeping bag??
• Came across a ridge line absolutely stripped by gypsy moths just before High Pt.
• Wandered down into Unionville where they encountered a man we'll call 'The Mayor's Henchman' who encouraged them to follow him as he drove his car to the mayor's house through town...
• Once at the mayor's house, the henchman spoke with the mayor... alone... then led them around back where he opened a hatch leading to the basement... - Let me stop for a brief moment to state the obvious which is that the only way you could have gotten me to shimmy down that dark hatch 'round back of the mayor's house is with a Great Dane & a well timed box of Scooby Snacks.
• Mysterious hole in the ground turned out to be a tool shed with an attached bunk room for thru-hikers and the henchman wasn't so evil after all- he made them pizza for dinner, gave them free beer, did their laundry, and offered the group showers!! ...Of course he could have been leading them into a false sense of security all along...
• 20 mi.

6/16/08 - Nope. Henchman made breakfast.

• Sat around for a good portion of the morning playing horseshoes in the backyard with Spock and waiting for news on whether or not the mayor would/could drive them north for a slackpack.
• No dice. Mayor wasn't scheduled to return till late afternoon so they hiked out.
• Down to Wallkill river and then to Wallkill Lake where they saw several large Trumpeter swans.
• Climbed Pochuck Mtn.
• Crossed Pochuck Creek Footbridge -kind of neat- it was roughly one and a half miles of boardwalk that meandered through a swamp and then over a small creek.
• At NJ 94 it started storming really badly so they caugh a ride with some creepy guy who likes to shuttle hikers around in his Mystery Machine. Drove to Vernon to stay at the St. Thomas Episcopal Hostel - which was simply a big church with several matresses in the basement.
• Watched Independence Day & then drifted off to sleep.
• Fairly uneventful for a murder mystery. Fred would have been disappointed- and with no word of free food, I imagine Shaggy was, too...
• 12 mi day.

Raining squirrels...

6/4/08 - Woke up to sopping wet shoes - although they are NEW sopping wet shoes!

• Trail angel bringing trail magic lost track of the trail... so Amos helped set her straight & carry her cooler to the underpass before I-81. Rewarded with 7-Up, mini Oreos, applesauce & bananas.
• And the rain rain rain came down down down: Feet were soaking wet all day which made them especially tired & sore and prompted a few blisters on his right paw to sprout.
• So it was raining cats & dogs... and apparently woodland creatures as well... At one point he heard a loud cracking noise followed by a dull thud & turned to find that a squirrel had fallen from a tree behind him. Soon after, the branch the little bugger was perched on came crashing down, too! Said the squirrel must have survived the fall fairly unscathed because he watched it scamper off... aww a happy ending!
• Parking it a 501 Shelter tonight - another that is well known for pizza deliveries! No fancy toppings this time though - just a large cheesy pie.
• Shelter also equipped with a solar shower but since there was no sun today Hearts had to settle for a cold rinse... brr. Then about a half hour later, a trail angel showed up with hot coffee - man, I cannot believe his luck sometimes. It's like somebody is blatantly looking out for him... and to that I say 'God is good' (can I get an Amen)!!
• So, if you're keeping track... 17 miles down today and...

less than 1000 miles to go!!!

Pick your poison...

6/3/08 - They shut down the bar just as the Pens went into double overtime last night!! What a let down... woke up still wondering who won!?? (Pittsburgh in triple overtime!!)

• Breakfast at Goodies. Had a dish just like the Good Start (2 eggs, homefries, & toast) at Sisters (in Confluence) but 20 cents cheaper! That IS a good start!
• Picked up new shoes & mailed old ones home... just in case. Can't wait to get that package.
• Left town around 10 am, faced a decent climb just outside of Duncannon & then picked his way through a boulder field...
• Nature extracts its revenge: came across a copperhead blocking the trail - apparently it didn't take too kindly to having its lunch tenderized the week before. None the less Amos did not sniff it to see if it smelled like cucumbers (maybe that's just something I'd be tempted to do) - he did take a very cautious photo and then Cu blazed around where he wound up in poison ivy instead.
• AND another bird came charging after him... I'm going to have to assume he's either venturing too close to their nests or they think his beard looks sexy... maybe just homey.
• Stopped for snacks at Clarks Ferry (4.5 mi) and Peters Mtn Shelter (11 mi) but an amateur meteorologist with a bad weather forecast told him that the chance for rain was low low low - at least until 1 am. She realized about a half an hour later - she was dead wrong... sorry!
• It became really dark as he approached the ruins of Yellow Springs Village & started raining cats & dogs about 10 minutes after that. His fancy ultralight camping umbrella didn't survive the canoe trip, so by the time he hiked the additional 6 mi to Rausch Gap Shelter, he was pretty waterlogged. Glasses nearly impossible to see through & water managed to seep into his headlamp - but it stayed lit! (now I have a scene from Pete's Dragon running though my head) He assured me the durability of his headlamp was very fortunate as he would have been screwed (with a capital 'S') without it.
• Got in around 10:30 pm - all in all hiked 29 miles - which is the longest he's hiked in 1 day by 1 mile!!

Eukrazy hiking 1100 mi...

5/27/08 - Drove a bunch - Jordan & Colby arrived around 10:30 & on to the big car shuffle...

• Drove back to Md. 17 to snag Momma Ludwig's new ride - stopped on the way to pick up Half-brew's mail drop (in appreciation he treated the group to coffee at Starbucks!).
• Up to Pa. 944 to drop off Jordan's car and then back to Fayetteville to pick up where he left off on the AT the day before. About 4 hrs worth of moving & a shakin'.
• Started hiking through Caledonia State Park just as a slew of menacing storm clouds rolled in so they stopped to play a few hands of Eukre at a picnic shelter.
• Once the weather cleared, the group (Half-brew, Hearts, Jordan & Colby) moved on to Quarry Gap Shelter where they met back up with Meltdown.
• Odd characters at shelter included a socially awkward 90's Calvin Klein model who threw all of his trash in an unlit fire pit (very uncouth) and 2 section hikers who later described their group as "loud & obnoxious"... !
• 2.5 mi day.

5/28/08 - Woke up & hiked all the way to Birch Run Shelter without stopping.

• Hung out, ate lunch & played Eukre for 2 hrs.
• Eventually moved on to Toms Run Shelter where they stopped to play more Eukre... can you say 'stuck in a rut'? If not yet... you will.
• Passed the TRUE 1/2 WAY POINT (!!!!!) (unmarked & at 1087.5 mi by my calculations) then on to Pine Grove Furnace State Park to celebrate with the 1/2 Gallon Challenge - whose rules are to eat a 1/2 gallon of ice cream in one setting in honor of arrival at the AT midway point!!
• Amos & Meltdown chose to partake - everyone else "turtled out." (Amos' claims chickens don't scare easily & thus the saying should be changed...)
• They bought 1/2 gallon of chocolate & 1/2 gallon of vanilla - with the skill & precision of a neurosurgeon, they split the two down the middle so that they didn't have to barf up only one flavor.
• Amos said by ~3/4 of the way in he realized he had made a BIG mistake. (Which surprised me because I had seen him house several pints of ice cream at the Naked Ron ice cream orgy of '08 - my last visit.)
• Anyway... he did it! In 48 minutes AND without heaving it all back up!! (Meltdown finished in 1 hr 50 minutes.)
• 17.5 mi - man he made Jordan & Colby work!! (If you recall, I died after 1 measly 12 mi day!)
• Unable to venture beyond the site of the challenge, the haggard crew slept on the porch of the camp store (... after playing more Eukre).

5/29/08 - Woke up at 5 am & ran to the bathroom... expelled about 2 pints worth of last night's "dinner."

• Ate breakfast at the camp store & moved on to a photo op. at the midpoint marker.
• Hiked up to Green Mtn. General Store at Pa. 34 to eat lunch - subs, chips, & 1/2 gallon of "orange drink" (you'd think they'd be done with half gallons). More Eukre.
• Stopped at Alec Kennedy Shelter. Ate dinner - Jordan & Colby already sick of trail food... played Crazy 8's - just kidding - more Eukre... and then off to bed.
• 15.5 mi.

5/30/08 - Left camp at 7 am to hike through 3.5 miles of soggy cornfields and into Boiling Springs.

• Breakfast at JC's Country Time Cafe.
• Left packs at ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office & hiked another 12.5 really flat, really hot miles through a lot of cornfields, across a lot of roadways & through countless cow pastures. Smelled like poop all day... yep, all 16 mi.
• Didn't know roadkill was a possibility on the AT... just figured the traffic would be moving too slowly. I was wrong - Amos squished a toad that haphazardly hopped under foot just as he was stepping down - a moment of silence for Mr. Toad...
• Finally arrived at Pa. 944 where they picked up Jordan's strategically parked car, drove it back to Boiling Springs (to pick up their packs) and found the entire crew (Half-brew, Snoopy, Meltdown, Spock & Twiggy, Chief Daddy, The Treat, and Buns & Roses) sitting in the same exact spot they had left them earlier that morning.
• Drove to Chili's for real food & then to Pittsburgh for a surprise weekend visit!!

Ahoy, me Hearties...

5/19/08 - Started with your basic town-type chores: post office (mailed forward iPod & thru-hiker companion, etc.), groceries, liquor store.

• The next three days to be aqua-blazed: 12 hikers, 6 canoes, 1 dog and the Shenandoah River from Front Royal to Harpers Ferry.
• Once each canoe was outfitted with a cooler and all of their packs were tied in, the group - Hearts, Half-brew, Spock & Twiggy, Tupperware, Snoopy, Josh (Snoopy's friend), Buns & Roses, Meltdown, ChiliMac, and his cousin Ian - set sail.
• Amos said it was fun watching everyone get used to paddling but it didn't take too long for them to get the hang of commandeering the boats.
• 5 miles later, they pulled ashore for lunch & Snoopy fell out the back of his canoe trying to get back in! (I guess I spoke too soon...)
• Half-brew & Hearts kept getting too far ahead - show-offs - which made them miss the rope swing (okay by Amos, it was c-o-l-d).
• 17 miles worth of paddling led them to an overgrown field on an island where they were forced to bushwhack a small expanse with their paddles to set up camp for the night.
• Then it rained - which was pretty typical since they are still in Virginia...
• Batten down the hatches - the AW gauge had the river pegged as "high" even before this particular soaking... Luckily they had super-river guide Amos, who made sure to take the easiest lines through the class I/II whitewater - his main goal was trying not to freak Trinity out.

5/20/08 - Avast ye mate, twas still raining when they awoke - luckily it stopped about an hour after they got up. So, they donned soaking wet/cold gear & hit the river... or should I say 'the high seas'...

• 5 miles in, Half-brew & Hearts got ahead again & decided to stop on the bank under a highway overpass to brew coffee.
• It started to pour as the rest of the group caught up so they built a bonfire, tried to dry their gear & ate lunch. Amos said he felt a little homeless...

• 2.5 hours later - the rain stopped.
• Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen, the adventure had just begun...
• Shiver me timbers! With foam swords furnished by ChiliMac - pirate on pirate action ensued as scurvy dogs swashbuckled and pillaged booty from enemy ships - arg! Luckily, no one was sent to Davey Jones' Locker and as for walkin' the plank... it was a wee too cold for these buccaneers. (Man, that was a lot of pirate catch-phrases to squeeze into one entry.)
• 18-19 mi. Ended up stopping short of the island they had intended to camp on & realized they were on private property... oops! Spock & Hearts hitchhiked to a nearby gas station for supplies (s'mores, potato chips, & beer)... I guess those old salts built up quite an appetite.
• While half the crew turned in for the night, the other half stayed up singing songs to the tune of Ian's guitar. Crowd favorites included: 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin, ditties from The Lion King, Robin Hood... and many, many more popular, albeit cheesy songs. Amos found it particularly entertaining when his fellow thru-hikers started ad-libbing...
• Eventually fell asleep under the stars.

5/21/08 - Started out nice & dry. Crossed over the 1000 mile mark and into West Virginia!!

• Amos tried to get everyone to make a 'WV' with their boats & snap a picture, but no one cooperated - another good idea down the drain...
• Saw a ton of birds along the river & spotted bald eagles all three days!!
• Found an old, deserted motor boat around one river bend. A few hikers threw their canoes on the back & hopped-in to paddle it downstream. They eventually ended up beaching it along the left riverbank & had to abandon ship.
• Rescued a baby calf (maybe a week old) that had fallen into the river and couldn't get out because it was too muddy. Snoopy was first on the scene & almost got pooped on because it was so scared! They eventually wrangled it to safety as its mom cried & moo-ed along the shoreline. Well done boys... & Twiggy!!
• Barely made it off the river before the rain but they arrived at the take-out just in the nick of time!
• Shuttle from an old Upper Yough guide to downtown Harpers Ferry where they stopped at the ATC Headquarters to have their photos taken and logged in the Official Appalachian Trail Headquarters Register!!
• Off to dinner and then a room at the Quality Inn. 6 people, 1 room... @ $12 a piece, that's what I call quality (or is it quantity??)!

Critters in all shapes & sizes...

5/14/08 - Started the day with a baby bear encounter! Said the little tyke was itty bitty - smaller than Trinity - and sweet... but not knowing where momma bear was lurking made them EXTREMELY nervous...

• Hiked along Skyline Drive after a pit stop at the Loft Mountain Wayside.
• Found another thru-hiker's wallet at a road crossing along the way.
• Ran into Rangers doing a Peregrine Falcon study - so the fellas chatted them up about the research & what they (as hikers) had to do to become rangers... graciously obliging in the conversation (which I think was a bit of bull - at least on Half-brew's part) they explained the hardships that they've found to accompany their rigorous & apparently highly competitive field.
• Took a break ~5 mi before Hightop Shelter where they ran into ANOTHER baby bear which led them to mom and 3 additional siblings!! That's 5 bears in 1 day!
• 21.5 mi. Returned Hugs' wallet once they arrived at the shelter - ecstatic to have it back and true to his name, everyone got hugs - Half-brew grabbed his butt... awkward...

5/15/08 - Cruised through first 11.5-12 mi - no stops save a few small breaks.

• Until... a 4 hour break at Lewis Mountain Campground & Wayside. Beer, munchies, ice cream.
• Also managed to squeeze in a shower & ticked off the campground attendant by sharing a 50 cent towel after taking a $1 shower. I don't know who to think behaved more comically in this situation... the lady for caring enough about sharing a 50 cent towel to yell or the boys for not forking over an additional half-dollar.
• Brew-hike: bought another 6 pack for the road & drank one at every overlook until rain forced them to pack it in for the night at Big Meadow Lodge.
• Saw a ton of deer along the way.
• Passed 900 mi! Today's total = 20.5 mi.

5/16/08 - Woke up covered in Kibbles 'n Bits. Trinity knocked her food off the bed & all over Hearts!

• Breakfast at Big Meadows Wayside - egg McMuffin w/cheese... delish.
• Didn't leave wayside till noon & hiked 9 mi to Skyland Lodge to decide on plans for the rest of the day.
• Plans heavily dependant on 'summer blizzard' (though nasty, maybe a bit of an exaggeration): cold, rain, fog, wind.
• Decided to stay at Skyland (name sounds creepy - like Michael Jackson's ranch) & got lost trying to find tent/cabin. (I wanna know how they can hike from Georgia to Maine with no maps whatsoever & manage get themselves lost in a campground??!)
• Burned a pile of ticks they found on Trinity - yuck! Amos said he's found at least 15 ticks on himself in the last few weeks but has been able to pinch them all off before they scurried up past his knees.
• When asked if he regretted sending all of his fleece & other warm weather gear home with me he responded with a shaky, "Nah, its all good..." I think that means he's chilly.

Virginia has not been for lovers of cell phone reception...

5/6/08 - I think you'll find a good chunk of this week sounding a lot like the movie Groundhog Day. Up & down. Started with a big 2000 ft climb.

• Came across an ATC ridge runner (the AT's equivalent of police) & Half-brew laid into him about the crappy terrain. The ridge runner retorted something about how the AT's not supposed to be easy.
• Ate lunch at Punchbowl Shelter - pond on top of the mountain was lovely & unique.
• Climbed down 900 ft & took a break by Pedlar River before walking around Pedlar Lake.
• 18 mi day. Arrived at Brown Mountain Creek Shelter where Spock & Hearts took an ice bath in a nearby creek. Brrr!
• New blister... ok maybe that's not new, but an onset of athlete's foot is... probably due to the unrelenting heat & moisture.

5/7/08 - Started day with 3000 ft climb to Bald Knob - not bald.

• 2nd mountain was Cold Mountain. Which wasn't cold, but it was bald... go figure.
• Down to Hog Camp Gap - difficult water resupply - spring was located 1/2 mile downhill. Turned out to be a nice meadow with a tree swing - crew took full advantage of the wooden toy & stopped for lunch.
• Cranked out 9 more miles & passed Seeley-Woodworth Shelter to camp in Porters Field.
• 17 total mi.
• Built a campfire & drank Half-brew's bottle of Dickel's Whiskey to celebrate the fact that Half-brew made it 1 mile further on the trail than he did last year!! (plus the fact that they had all made it over 800 miles!!)... then it rained.

5/8/08 - Snoopy left the group this morning - got off the trail at Montebello to spend some time with family & friends.

• Everyone else climbed to the top of Main Top Mountain.
• Ate lunch at Priest Shelter (just before Priest Mountain) where entirely too many dirty priest jokes were told as Hearts ate oatmeal & coffee.
• Still raining... lets be honest it rained all day.
• Back down to 900 ft (getting old huh) along the Tye River where they'd had enough of the ups, downs, and the rain & decided to try & hitch a ride somewhere... anywhere.
• After a few failed attempts they were finally picked up by a seemingly jovial yet hard-core biker named Seth & his lady-friend (a UVA professor and cheating mother of 2 whose name will not be mentioned to protect her own anonymity).
• 7 people (Tupperware, Spock, Twiggy, Half-brew, Hearts), 5 packs, 1 dog, 1 Toyota Tercel.
• Rode (rather tight) 14 miles to a BBQ joint/convenience store. Ate, bought ice cream, watched Seth pop some pills & drink 6 pack in the parking lot... then things started getting really uncomfortable...
• Seth's drug-induced bipolar disorder began to rear it's ugly head soon after some sort of shady "transaction" with the check-out clerk went down outside. He got pretty antsy -some might argue downright rude or impatient. He yelled "gimme your wallet, woman" to his lady-friend (WHO SHOULD KNOW BETTER - go back to your husband!!), grabbed her sandwich, took a huge/sloppy bite, threw it down, and demanded that the group get in the car & get going.
• Death-defying car ride back to the trail where he kicked them out of his car & went on his merry way. (Amos mentioned really regretting this particular hitchhiking experience.)
• Another 3000 ft climb (over 9 mi) to Maupin Field Shelter. 19 total mi.
• Arrived 10 minutes before it started to hail & managed to squeeze 8 people in a 6 person shelter.
• (THIS was the night that EVERY county in western Virginia was being pummeled by severe thunderstorms & tornado warnings... not watches... WARNINGS. All except Nelson County - smack dab in the middle - which listed as having a measly little flash flood warning. Despite knowing they were in that blessed little county, this was the night I was riddled with worst-case-scenarioitis & completely unable to sleep.)

5/9/08 - Started 4-5 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway with Half-brew. Still raining & surrounded by fog - sounds like a good time to walk along the road...

• 16 mi to Paul C. Wolfe shelter for lunch.
• Saw 15-20 BRIGHT orange salamanders with black spots. Trinity kept stepping on them... & Meltdown probably too because he claims to have only seen 1. Which means he must not have been paying much attention...
• 21 total mi today. Hiked the last 5 miles in 1 hr 15 min!! Claimed it was because he knew he was getting to see me - I think it was because he was desperate for a shower & neck shave.
• Trail angel, Bill, took them to the Quality Inn in Waynesboro - where Half-brew, Tupperware & Meltdown remained for the next 3 days.
• I met Hearts at the laundromat & from there we went for Mexican, watched the Pens beat the tar out of the Flyers & camped at the KOA in Verona.
• Time to zero!

Not wading any longer...

4/28/08 - 8 hikers racing for a spot in Niday Shelter tonight - only holds 6... and it's supposed to rain all night...

• Rained all Sunday night, too. Hesitant to get out of bed, the group (still Half-brew, Snoopy, Mr. Friendly, and Hearts) slept in till 10 waiting for the downpour to wrap-up... it didn't.
• Finally got going around 11 & came across trail magic as they ascended their 1st climb (Pepsi & Baby Ruths)!
• Stopped raining after lunch (finally!), but the adventure had just begun - all of the creeks in the area were flooded...
• 1st creek they came across - everyone managed to shimmy across a log.
• Next creek they found themselves in a pickle... the most challenging predicament was determining how to get Half-brew's dog (Trinity) across a fairly swift moving current. They ended up wading waist deep into the water & handing her off from Half-brew to Hearts. Needless to say, Trinity was a bit sketched out! Amos also mentioned he was a little weary of the strainers he caught sight of just down stream... now I'm sketched out!
• Another climb.
• Description of the 3rd creek was reminiscent of the scene in Forest Gump where they're walking chest-deep through a swollen rice paddy in Vietnam - but it this case it was a farmers field in southwestern Virginia swimming with horse & donkey poo.
• Took 10 hours to go 5 miles because of all the difficulty they ran into crossing creeks.
• Managed to crank out the remaining 13 miles before dark & found the shelter with no vacancy by the time they arrived - forced to camp.
• Sky remained clear until bed and then the thunder & lightning began to roll just as they tucked themselves in... scattered T-storms became an off & on spectacle all night.

4/29/08 - Woke up in the morning shivering and not at all enthused about slipping into soaking wet gear. Proceeded to peek outside - initially looked like summer (green leaves and all) - further inspection yielded a novel surprise... SNOW! With temperatures becoming more & more frigid as they gained elevation throughout the day.

• ~17 mi. Snoopy described it best as "the most demoralizing day."
• Climbed Dragons Tooth - cragged rocky terrain with zero soil and zero vegetation that went straight up then straight down then up then down then up then down... & so on & so forth for 7 miles!! Good name.
• By the time they arrived at Va 624 they were spent. Stopped by the local convenience store to warm up with pizza and coffee but Half-brew had had enough so he vowed to pay for a hotel room if they could hitch a ride into Salem.
• 5 minutes later they snagged a ride with nice fellow in a company pick-up truck (who also agreed to take them back in the morning)!
• Spending the night at the Days Inn... room 220. Looking forward to a BIG continental breakfast bright & early in the am!!

Muddled up...

4/27/08 - Nice day for hiking - cloudy but no rain, warm but not hot!!

• Arrived at Bailey Gap & spent an hour and a half drying out gear (still wet from the day before).
• Described a pretty poorly maintained chunk of AT: Pine Swamp Shelter missing its roof (because a tree came crashing down on it earlier in the season) followed by a mandatory detour around a section of trail because a bridge was out...
• Trinity (Half-brew's dog) wrapped-up in animal instinct took off after a deer! (didn't get the rest of that story because the phone cut out...)
• 20.5 mi - got to War Spur Shelter just before it started raining!

Or not...

4/26/08 - Left Pearisburg at 10:45 am & hiked 11.5 mi before storms started raging around 4:00.

• Day began with a cream cheese injected blueberry muffin and then an ascent up a big mountain in the blazing sun (still no leaves) & unfortunately had to pass an industrial waste dump on the way - very smelly.
• Walked along boundary between WV & VA for much of the day.
• The group (Half-brew, Snoopy, & the hiker formerly known as Shutterbug - now Mr. Friendly) was forced to set up camp in Symms Gap Meadow on top of an apparently unnamed ridge line in West Virginia due to the weather!

Be kind to your behind...

4/21/08 - Such a difficult goodbye... so difficult that I backed my car into a ditch. Left around 4:30 so that he could hike 11 mi to Chestnut Knob shelter before dark.

• Arrived around 9ish.
• Shelter was packed with people... even Naked Ron was there!

4/22/08 - Fairly uneventful day...

• 1st half of the day was pretty horrible followed by a nice & easy ridge-line walk to the interstate and then another climb to the shelter.
• Cold & rainy - in the 50's.
• 1st trail magic in a long time - cooler full of Gatorade provided by a local United Methodist church.
• Mid day surprise: someone left 6 rolls of Charmin Ultra at Jenkins shelter - SCORE!
• All in all hiked 24 miles to Helveys Mill Shelter.

Forced march...

4/18/08 - Arrived at forest service road about 3 miles before Chatfield Shelter - just as forest service personnel began to ignite a controlled burn.

• Allowed 6 thru hikers to follow foresters with chainsaws through burn area.
• ... and then one fell... not a chainsaw laden forester or a thru hiker but a burning TREE!! Forest service scattered when they heard the tree crack while the hikers stood there frozen, each with a wide-eyed deer-in-the-headlights stare. The tree landed about 20 feet from the foresters and about 2 feet from fellow thru hiker, Jukebox - splitting the two groups in half... close call!
• Lucky to get through - most hikers had to be shuttled around the site.
• Continued to walk the rest of the way thru a hot field to the truck stop in Atkins (I-81) & stayed at the Relax Inn. True to the motel's name... relax is just what he did for the remainder of the day... on the porch with Half-brew, Shutterbug, and a few beers.
• 11 mile day.

4/19/08 - This is where I come in. Upon arrival, Hearts sprung the idea of hiking a section of the AT together. "10 miles... easy terrain" was how the concept was presented to me...

• I was BAMBOOZLED.
• Chose to slackpack. Dropped-off the Jeep north of Atkins where the AT crosses Va. 42 and hiked back SOUTH to Atkins. (Half-brew & Shutterbug hiked north from Atkins and we handed-off the keys when we crossed paths so that they could drive my car back to town at the end of the day.)
• As we approached Va. 610... Amos decides to let me in on the fun little fact that our trip would have been 10 miles - as promised - IF we would have started at Va. 610 instead of Va. 42... The 10 miles I was pledged became 12. Keep in mind, at 2 miles in I was already getting pretty tired (I'M A SPRINTER - this distance stuff is for the birds) and I had just found out that my day hadn't actually begun...
• My attire was anything but ideal: fleece-lined pants, an assortment of cotton tees and my Mary-Jane Crocs. Several hikers we passed made mention of this urban legend they had heard in town of some chick hiking in Crocs... yeah that was me. Roller coaster weather made my clothing choice (especially the fleece-lined pants) absolutely miserable at times & a sheer blessing for the remainder of the day.
• After climing first big mountain we learned we had made it to the AT's 1/4 way point!! (@ 544.75 mi!!) Yay, Amos, yay!
• Remember how I was led to believe the terrain was going to be fairly easy?? Yeah, well we've come to the conclusion that Amos' perception of an "easy day" of hiking is heavily skewed. It was riddled with switchbacks and countless ups & downs - each one was even more unnecessary & excruciating that the last. He spent a significant amount of time waiting for me at the top of (and - to be fair - the bottom of) pretty much each and every climb.
• 9 miles later we found our way to Davis Path for a MUCH needed break. While I (literally) passed out on the shelter floor, Amos snacked on an apple pie & read the register. I eventually woke up freezing cold and less than enthused to finish the remaining 3 mi. The carrot Amos dangled in front of me to get my lazy butt off those old wooden planks was a promise of My Puerta Mexican and more importantly - a pitcher of margaritas. GAME ON!
• With an invigorating second wind we continued onward... Ran into a crazy guy in field with 1 answer to all questions... How many miles did you go today? "Springer Mtn." Which way do you think the rain is headed? "Springer Mtn." Any idea if the rain is coming our way? "Yeah. I come from Springer Mtn. down there in Georgia" - you don't say... Amos is going to have fun avoiding him for the next few days.
• We reached Atkins later than expected but with a full rainbow marking the long & tortuous path we had just taken... !!
• The best part of my day was when Half-brew told me that he also thought that section of trail was rough - this little nugget may seem insignificant to some but it made me feel a thousand times less lame about being so unbelievably wrecked from the hike. Though he did give me the honorary nickname "Hurts," which should provide some visual as to how out of sorts I was by the end of the day.
• Camped at the parking lot where the trail meets Va. 42 - in for a cold & rainy night.

[slak-pak]...

4/14/08 - Slackpack, verb 1. To hike a section of trail without a fully loaded backpack.

• 'The Plan' was to slackpack 26 mi... Money would be exchanged for a ride 26 miles north of the city. Hearts would be dropped off & hike back SOUTH toward Damascus. More money would be exchanged for another ride back up the trail to resume hiking Tuesday morning. So... many miles could be covered (because his gear would stay behind) & a warm bed would be waiting at the end of the day!
• Let me fast-forward... rain, wet snow, sleet, hail... plethora of precip in Damascus meant all kinds of snow in the mountains & nobody willing to brave the storm. Instead - he had to take another zero day.
• Pizza buffet, post office, pineapple phone (??), lots of cards with the fellas (Spades - go figure).

• OH! & Naked Ron showed up at The Place last night - out of nowhere!!

4/15/08 - Finally done with Damascus - time to move on!

• Started the day with Snoopy & hiked 15 mi by 3 pm to Lost Mountain Shelter.
• Decided to go a little further & setup tarp for the night...
• A little further wound up being higher in elevation...
• Higher in elevation meant lots of snow...
• Lots of snow meant nowhere to camp...
• Nowhere to camp meant pushing onward an additional 13 miles to the next shelter...
• Night hike: Arrived at Thomas Knob Shelter around 9:45 pm!!
• Today's total = 28 miles! (Prompted really bad shin splint in right leg.)
• Trip up the mountain reminded him of the winter wonderland he & Isaac hiked in the Smokys. Someone even built a snowman - which I was told he had some fun with (curious to see those pictures...).
• Found a thermometer that read 20 degrees right before (what he described as an incredible) sunset... and then he climbed an additional 1,000 ft. - brrrr!!
• So, he's in store for probably one of the most bitter nights of his life... Slackpacking seems so silly now. No need for a warm bed when a three-sided fort on the eastern flank Mt. Rogers will do...

Treerific timing...

3/4/08 - Woke-up in a big converted barn.

• 17.5 mi today.
• Hiked up Little Hump & Big Hump and into 60 mph winds on both mountains... blustery.
• Spent the remainder of the day below 3000 ft & strolled along Elk River for a good section of trail - which was a lovely change in pace... & scenery!
• Lots of "hillbilly" trash along the road again today, but no goats...
• Dinner: Chopped up wild onions to "ramp-up" instant mashed potatoes - mmm good move!
• Stayed at Mountaineer Falls Shelter.

4/5/08 - It poured all night.

• Woke up & hiked first 8 mi or so with Spock & Twiggy - started calling Twiggy "Hammer Pants" because her winter pants are a little big... that's ok - she's been calling him "Mary Poppins!"
• Change in plans: FINALLY had cell phone service around noon. Just in time to learn that Scot was on his way down & would be there around 2:00! A fierce desire to boat with Cody MUST have consumed him because he jogged the remaining 7.5 mi to Kincora Hostel and wound up getting there a half an hour before Scot & posse!
• As he reached Dennis Cove Rd. he looked back & a HUGE tree fell right where he had just been hiking!!
• Passed fellow thru-hikers Kerbie & Ken. They were all meandering down a trail headed into town when Amos looked back up the hill right as Kerbie tripped & fell... & then continued to fall for roughly 25-30 yards... straight down! It took another big tree to bring Kerbie to a stop! Amos (jokingly) told him he wasn't allowed to cheat & that he had to go back up the hill & hike back down... he did!!
• Boating for the next few days but should be back to AT around mid-week.

Up up and away...

4/3/08 - Crazy guy DID ride his Harley & lawnmower around this morning just as crazy lady predicted... at 5 am!! Lots of benchmarks today:

• Climbed Roan Mountain which rose over 3,000 ft in a span of only 3 mi!
• Last time over 6,000 ft until Mt. Washington in New Hampshire - good news.
• Less than 1800 mi to go!
• Last day walking the line between NC & TN and last night in North Carolina altogether!
• Day was described as such: Cold WIND WIND WIND WIND cold & rain... and then some more rain wind & cold. All in all not much fun.
• 14 AT mi to Overmountain Shelter - really cold & desperate to get warm under his quilt.

April showers...

4/2/08 - Bring soggy hikers - 6 days in a row with rain! Can't a guy catch a break!??

• Don't count on it. It's supposed to rain Thurs, Fri & Sat, too...
• Long day - 20 AT mi (+1 extra mile down an old forestry road). Especially since he & his new bunkmates (Half-brew & his dog, Spock & Twiggy) stayed up till midnight the night before giving each other relationship advice. Twiggy's a psych major who wants to be a marriage counselor someday - free help!
• Hiked with Half-brew part of the day & had lunch with him (& his dog) on top of Beauty Spot. It was a grassy knob flooded with sunshine - very peaceful.
• Climbed up Unaka Mtn. & then back down.
• Left shin started hurting really badly today - maybe the early onset of shin splints... Also, legs are getting more & more tired earlier & earlier in the day. Knees are: "Predictably sore. It's the new stuff I don't like" - Amos said.
• Staying at the Greasy Creek Friendly - owner seemed to be a peculiar elderly woman (with lots of cats...) who forced Amos wash his hands 3x in the span of 2 hours and has grand plans of making her own thru-hiker reality tv show! (Lyn - I'll get you her digits!) She mentioned having or wanting to use a web cam, too... Someone get the Google search started for any raw footage that might be out there of Amos brushing his teeth...
• Something to look forward to: The equally eccentric hostel owner claims her neighbor is "schizo" & HATES hikers! Apparently he owns a few vicious dogs & revves his Harley on his way to get his morning paper & after breakfast he rides his lawnmower around & beats on the hood to wake them up!! Should be an interesting rise & shine...

Sip & slide...

3/28/08 - Goal was to hike 8 mi to Hot Springs & relax... maybe visit the springs...

• Made it there by noon.
• Spent 4 hours resupplying, playing on the Internet & eating lunch. Ate & drank 2 beers with a old friend he met at the beginning of the AT.
• Once his drinking buddy left (to take a week off & visit home), he quickly became bored & decided to keep on keepin' on...
• In haste to make it the additional 10 mi to the next shelter - forgot to restock his water supply (bad because he was SUPER thirsty from the two pints - as close to drunk-hiking as he's come all trip) & had to bum drinking water off a family on the trail!! (I feel like mooching food & water off of families has become so commonplace it should become its own blog label...)
• Managed to find his own water at the next gap.
• Got to Spring Mountain Shelter (which was bursting at the seems with people) at dark. VERY nice to be around fellow hikers after not seeing anyone for the last 2 days!
• Pitched tarp outside as it started to rain. Must have been a quick pitch (some might say haphazard) cause he wound up sliding a few feet down hill while he slept & the bottom half of him got soaked!

3/29/08 - Woke up wet and to another rainy day ahead.

• Hiked down to Allen Gap & came across a sign that said "Trail Magic to the Right!" - OF COURSE he followed it & it led him to a Christian couple (also former thru-hikers) who had opened up their kitchen to serve the masses: waffles, stew, and an assortment of deserts (banana splits, brownie-fudge sundaes, and cherry pie a la mode)! Hearts went for the chocolate : )
• Here's the twist: Before he made that rather tasty right-hand turn, a man from the Hemlock Hollow Hostel tried to dissuade him from going by spouting something like, "You don't know what's in that food." Amos warned the trail angels of the hostel-owner's attack & a BIG confrontation of the two groups ensued with Amos smack-dab in the middle! I guess the hostel-owner thought the trail angels were killing his business & Amos wound-up arguing in favor of the Christian couple and their trail magic... awkward!
• Back to the trail & up up up 5 mi to the top o' the hill where he encountered a youth group from KY passing out scripture-wrapped Snickers!! Amos took 8 - 8 Snickers.
• I don't know about you but to me this trip seems like it's been inordinately laced with goodies. In my mind walking the AT is like playing a life-sized game of Candyland. This morning, he drew the purple card & moved ahead 5 spaces to hang-out with Gloppy the Chocolate Monster... perhaps tomorrow he'll meet Gramma Nut or The Gingerbread People... yeah, hands-off Princess Lolly the skinny Viking with the sweet-tooth's mine!
• 15 and a half miles today.
• Jerry Cabin was full. One fellow hiker took up 2 spots with his dog so Hearts had to pitch the tarp... again.
• Unusual occurrences: some guy who likes to hike at night wound up walking in circles around the camp in search of a missing food bag - he got lost in the fog - & a frog jumped on Amos' face!

3/30/08 - Wet. Cloudy. Cold. Windy.

• The dense fog that shrouded the mountains all morning lifted part-way through the day, but EVERYTHING he has is wet. Go figure, the fog tends to seep in the cracks & crevices unlike a more reliable rain.
• Devised a way to dry his sleeping bag by wearing it like a cape the latter portion of the day. (It's almost dry!) Who wouldn't kill to stumble across Superhearts on the trail!!?
• 17.5 mi. Camping about a mile and a half past I-26. In hot pursuit of The General - maybe 2 or 3 miles behind him?! Not bad for taking almost a week off!

Home is where the Hartford is...

3/17/08 - 14.5 mi to Double Spring Gap shelter. Caught 2 FANTASTIC 360 degree views back-to-back! One at Rocky Tops (which was ironically a big grassy peak w/ a small pile of rocks at the wee top) and the other at Thunderhead Mtn.

• The 1st and last 2 miles were BEAUTIFUL but the middle 12.5 were fairly uneventful.
• Some dad made his kid begrudgingly give Amos his chocolate covered pretzels (Amos of course gladly & quickly accepted)!
• REALLY windy, foggy, misty, cold so Hearts made a fire in the shelter.
  

3/18/08 - Started hiking around 5:30 am to catch the sunrise at Clingman's Dome - hiked in the dark & said it was one of the creepiest things he's ever done... especially cause his headlamp was near death the entire time - his back-up plan was light by cellphone...

• Trek up to Clingman's was EXTREMELY foggy & the clouds were "whipping past him at 80 mph"!!
• At Newfound Gap an "Ultra-Republican-Southerner" gave him snacks and a drink on the stipulation that Amos not vote for Obama.... (little did he know, Amos already voted for Obama, and I LOVE that Amos momentarily set aside his deep-seated, ultra-liberal political viewpoints for a lemonade)!
  
• I got there around 1ish & took Hearts & Spruce down to Gatlinsburg - my favorite part of the car ride was when Spruce learned Amos' real name!!
• Ate some mexican, napped at the base of the Smokys in the sun, drank $2 pints at Smoky Mountain Brewery with Isaac, and housed a pint of "Everything But The..." ice cream (Ben & Jerry of course).

3/19/08 - No miles... no miles for the next few days. Staying with Isaac in Hartford. The brother(s) will start hiking again on Easter (this Sunday). Knee needs a break. I need a break.

• Crab rangooon for breakfast, stopped to visit Isaac at work, went grocery shopping (took FOREVER), drank wine, ate peanut butter fudge (which wasn't "peanut-buttery enough" says the man who eats like 8 oz of straight-up peanut butter a day), played rummy (I lost royally, 545 to 355), tossed around football, ran Big Creek with Isaac, power outage, drank some more wine - good relaxing rainy day.
• Thrilled not to be soaked to the bone in the upper Smokys!