Finito.

He's done. Finally, done. Amos went back to hike the remaining 150 miles between Bennington, VT and N.H. 25 these past two weeks. Tupperware, Spock, and Twiggy came along for the last week for his return to the grand outdoors. Oh yeah, and he came home with Lyme's disease... again. (Moral of the story: DON'T HIKE THROUGH Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Connecticut during the last 2 weeks of JUNE!! Unless you're dying for your own spinal tap & a mildy entertaining case of Bell's palsy.)

Here's his late-spring/summer packing list... in case you're crazy enough to embark upon your own AT adventure.

Pack: Golite Quest
Pack Cover: Medium Etowah Gear
Sleeping Bag: Golite Adrenaline 40 degree with stuffsack
Sleeping Pad: Therm a Rest Prolite 4.75 length
Tarp: Granite Gear
Stakes: 6 Sierra Designs Titanium
Tarp Lines: 3 small parachute cords
Ground Cloth: Tyvek Homewrap
Trekking Poles: Komperdell Hike Antishock Light
Hiking Shoes: The North Face Hedgehog Trail Runners
Camp Shoes: Crocs
Water Bottles: 2 plastic quarts

Cooking:
Cookpot: MSR Titanium
Stove: PBR alcohol stove with chicken wire pot stand
Windscreen
Spork: Titanium
Lighter: Mini Bic
Stove Fuel: Heet 6-8oz. in sturdy plastic bottle
Stove stuff sack

Clothing:
Socks: 2 lightweight synthetic hiking, 1 lightweight wool camp
Underwear: 2 synthetic boxer briefs
Hiking Shorts: The North Face synthetic cargo shorts
Camp Shorts: gym shorts
Hiking Shirts: 2 polyester/spandex t-shirts
Long Underwear: 100% polyester long sleeve shirt and long pants
Bandanna
Lightweight/Breathable REI Rain Jacket
Waterproof Outdoor Research clothing stuff sack

Miscellaneous:
Water Filter: Katadyn Hiker Pro with stuff sack
Cell phone and charger
Camera and charger
Ipod/Headphones and charger
Head Lamp: Petzl Tikka Plus
AAA Batteries: 3
Bug Spray: non Deet
Unfiltered Water Bottle: Platypus 1 Liter bag
Pocket Knife: Small Swiss Army
Stamps
Envelopes
Paper
Pen
Journal
Guidebook/Map: AT Thru Hiker's Companion
Sunglasses/Hat

Food:
Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner meals
Drink mixes
Condiment packets
Seasoning salt
Multivitamins
Food stuff sack

Toiletries:
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Toilet Paper
Hand Sanitizer

First Aid:
Ibuprofen
Glucosamine
Sunscreen: Waterproof 30 SPF or higher
Mole Skin: Dr. Scholl's
Gauze Pads: 2
Band-Aids: 5
Antibiotic/Pain Relief Cream: Neosporin +Pain Relief
Anti fungal Cream: Lamisil AT
Adhesive Tape: Latex Free/Waterproof
Antacid
Lip Balm: Burt's Bees
Waterproof first aid stuff sack: Sea to Summit

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...

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.

Pure Imagination...

6/25/08 - Woke up in the cemetery to people walking their dogs & staring at the two crazies sleeping in the cemetery...

• Went into Salisbury to resupply at the IGA and then back to the trail to tackle Lions Head.
• Snack time at Riga Lean-to then up Bear Mtn. - which used to be the highest point in CT - now it's not. But it did have some of the best views they'd seen in a while!
• Down a giant hill into Sages Ravine... over a creek... and into Massachusetts!!
• Climbed over Race Mtn where they (Hearts & Tupperware) picked and ate an obscene amount of blueberries.
• Then way down & way back up Mt. Everett.
• Walked along MA 41 into S. Egremont but it was late and everything was closed... luckily local hospitality wasn't...
• Lady driving a Prius (let's call her Lady A) stopped and asked the boys if they needed a ride. They declined but stuck around to chit-chat. Another lady (Lady B - who Amos described as someone who 'could not be more hippie') pulled up an offered to cook them dinner out of her car... which she lives in and which runs solely on fry grease. Lady A then countered with an offer for them to stay at her house for the night.
• It's decided that a combination of offers will suffice. Lady B agrees to cook at Lady A's house. (It's best to keep in mind that they don't know each other from Adam!)
• Back at Lady A's house they (Amos & Tupp) took turns taking showers while Lady B cooked up some 'weird hippie food' which was described to me as a salmagundi of any and everything that came straight from the ground & was edible mixed with noodles - which were really the only distinguishable item. It was also mentioned that there seemed to be a bit of a love-connection between Lady B & Lady A as they did A LOT of hugging & also a few awkwardly placed pecks on one another's cheeks... bouw chicka wow-wow!
• Anyway, they all ate, talked, and then went off to bed. (I know nothing of Lady A & Lady B sleeping arrangements - so don't ask - goodnight!)
• 18.5 mi.

6/26/08 - Lady A gave the two a really early ride back to the trail.

• Instead of going directly to the trail they walked down US 7 into Great Barrington to eat breakfast at a local diner then back MA 23 to find the trailhead.
• Along the way, Tupperware had a #2 emergency and relieved himself in some guy's backyard... I can't believe I just typed that.
• Once they got back to the trailhead they took a break & ate lunch - then found themselves faced with a 1000 ft climb right off the bat - up to The Ledges.
• Then they took a big break at Beartown Mtn. Rd and had about an hour-long contest to see who could pelt a little sign with rocks the most (no clear winner). Entertainment should come so easy to the rest of us stuck out here in the real world...
• Back on the trail between Beartown Mtn. Rd and Jerusalem Rd it was EXTREMELY mosquitoey -loads & loads of them- most they've encountered on the AT!
• Walked along Jerusalem Rd into Tyringham where they bought brownies and soda from the Cobble View B&B and then caught a ride down to the town pavilion where they settled in for the night.
• 23 mi.

6/27/08 - Hiked back up the main road and started with another 1000 ft climb up to Webster Rd (still REALLY bad mosquitoes).

• Arrived at Upper Goose Pond about a mile before the shelter & decided to walk around the whole pond.
• Hiked into Upper Goose Pond Cabin (about a 1/2 mile off the trail) - Amos said it was a 'sweet' cabin and because they were the 1st ones there, he got to choose his bunk 1st!
• Met the caretaker, Nancy, who informed them that she would be making blueberry pancakes in the morning - score!!
• Wandered down to the pond & waded around then Tupperware hiked out to meet his parents in Lee.
• Right after Tup left, Meltdown rolled in with his "friend" Evan. Followed by Maggie & Furniture and then Memphis Tim (who Amos hasn't seen since the Smokys)!
• They all decided to go swimming at the pond. So they swam about a quarter mile out to the island where they were met by Furniture who came & picked them up in a canoe!
• Played some cards, cooked some dinner & then off to bed.
• A leisurely 8.5 mi day.

6/28/08 - Awoke to the promised blueberry pancakes & coffee! Packed up & hiked out.

• Down to US 20 where Tupperware's parents showed up with lunch food because Hearts ran out. Tupp's mom brought everything but the kitchen sink - coffee, cookies, fruit, sandwiches, chips, you name it! Wound up packing-out between 7-10 lbs of food!!
• Of course now that he was good'n fed and completely weighed down, he was immediately faced with a daunting climb up Beckett Mtn.
• Took a break at October Mtn Lean-to where the mosquitoes were bad with a capital 'B' and the logbook claimed a moose sighting the night before!
• Eventually made it to Washington Mtn Road which is known for the Cookie Lady's House!! Turned out not to be a lady at all - her husband was there to pass out chocolate chip, walnut (yum!!) cookies. Amos played with their puppy - the one in the photos and the one he describes as being the cutest dog he's ever seen in his life! (now THAT's a distinction!)
• Hiked up Warner Mtn & picked more blueberries. (I think if Amos were a character in a movie, he'd be the little American girl who ate the Three-course-dinner gum & turned into a giant blueberry - except he wouldn't be a little girl [of course] and he wouldn't incessantly chomp on a wad of gum - yeah, he'd just be a big blueberry.)
• Walked into Dalton with Meltdown & man-friend, Evan, Maggie & Furniture. Headed toward the Shell Station where they called Rob Bird (an infamous trail angel and pseudo-hostel owner in town) who picked them up to stay at his house - The Bird Cage.
• Bird Cage had showers, laundry & free beer in the fridge!
• It was there where he met someone Isaac worked with last year (can't remember his name) and where he slept on the couch with Rob's dog.
• 20.5 mi.

6/29/08 - Walked back down to the convenience store with Meltdown & Evan for breakfast.

• Met a 'slightly disturbed' woman with the BRIGHTEST neon green shoes imaginable on his way out of town. Said she would not stop talking to him and that he had a really hard time getting away.
• Hiked up Crystal Mtn and past a troop of Boy Scouts who looked like the were having the most miserable time.
• Stopped for lunch on top and then walked around Gore Pond where he spotted moose poop & tracks! Then up to The Cobbles which had a good view of Cheshire.
• Down into Cheshire to snag an ice cream cone from Diane's Twist. On his way out of town, he felt a random craving for potato salad so he stopped at a nearby convenience store to pack a container out... boy, I remember the good 'ol days when they used to pack-out beer!
• Once he scored the potato salad he was faced with a good 2000 ft ascent to Mark Noepel Lean-to where he spent the night. (Free Hugs showed up and cooked corn on the cob.)
• 13.5 mi.

6/30/08 - 1st to leave the shelter in the morning.

• Passed the 1st legitimate south-bounder on the trail who spent a good portion of their chat spouting off about how awesome he was...
• Climbed Mt. Greylock - 1st time over 3000 ft since Virginia! Sadly, it was cloudy so there were no views and everything was closed up top due to nearby road construction.
• Started the long long long, very steep descent into North Adams. Once he arrived, he hit up the Price Chopper for a birthday card and then headed next door to stuff himself silly at the Chinese buffet!
• Then back to the trail and onto a 2000 ft climb with an extremely full belly - quickly found out that immediately mobilizing after an MSG gorge-fest was a bad idea...
• Met Meltdown - who seemed a little melancholy because he had just said goodbye to his boyfriend in North Adams - on Eph's Lookout.
• Crossed the MA/VT state line with Meltdown and took their first few steps into the exceptionally muddy and horribly maintained section of trail that runs through Vermont - go GMC!
• Slept at the Seth Warner Shelter with the Unknown Hiker (know-it-all) and another guy that had just started hiking the Long Trail and was carrying with him a full sized blow-up mattress!! zowie!
• 16.5 mi day.