#at 2014

[archive-idium]

I realized I’ve been practically roleplaying for 10 years (in general) and just wow

[myuniqueposts]

Kyary getting emotional at her concert

[eccogardin]

All the feels, with this video of the final summit of Katahdin.

[betraverse]

Views in Vermont (and some Massachusetts)

[betraverse]

The 32 Mile Day

4:05 am. I take out my earplugs in anticipation of my 4:15 am alarm. Why I thought I could wake up this early I’m not sure. Not wanting my alarm to wake everyone else in the camp, and convinced I’ll get up, I switch all 3 off. Of course I continue to lay there and accidentally fall back asleep. I wake again around 5:15 am. ‘Okay, time to actually get up. You have to do this.’ I thought as I continued to lay in the warm hammock. ‘It’s now or never. I’ve just got to do it.’ It was Friday morning - the day I was finally going to hike my own hike. 

The night before, Buzz, Mio, & Jukebox had discovered there was an AYCE Chinese buffet 3.7 miles from the shelter that opened at 11 am. They all immediately decided to sleep in until 9am, hike to the buffet, stuff themselves full of food, then complete 16 miles to a shelter just before Bennington, VT. Absolutely nothing about this plan appealed to me - I can’t eat large quantities if food at once, the idea of Chinese made me nauseous, and this plan would eliminate any chance of seeing soccer at 3 pm Sunday. The only place to watch the final match was in Manchester Center, VT - 60 miles away from out current location. Though a stretch to make it already, this AYCE plan would make it impossible. 

The last few days of worrying about everyone else’s plans and desires had finally worn me out. How am I supposed to hold together a group of people who have such different paces? I could tell I was reaching my limit by how snappy I was becoming with people. I was tired of stressing over everyone else’s needs for 4 months. It was time I took a few days to hike how I wanted, when I wanted, and as far as I wanted, even if that upset anyone else. Over the last month I’d come to realize the only way to do this was to just leave. So, finally, I quietly packed up, ate a quick breakfast, and I left.

The morning was cool and calm. I made great time while listening to RadioLab podcasts and reached town by 7 am. Here I hesitated. This was where the boys would be going for AYCE, and this was the point of no return. Once I hiked past this town, I would really be by myself for the first time in 4 months. I stopped and started a few times, before finally crossing the bridge and heading up the next hill. I’d made my choice and I was going to make the most of it. 

4 miles further I reached the MA/VT border and ran into Pippin & DFI. We all chatted and snacked while looking upon the large wooden sign signifying the state line and describing the Vermont Long Trail. The sign looked relatively new and nicely engraved, and I saw it as a sign (pun intended?) that Vermont was going to have beautifully maintained trails. My hopes were quickly smashed, as the trail immediately turned into mud. The mud was awful and wet and deep. It covered long distances and made it impossible to walk on the trail in places. Dodging and balancing on logs, I made my way through the mess. ‘Welcome to Vermud’, I thought. ‘This is 10x worse than Rocksylvania.’ 

My Brooks trail runners at this point were destroyed. I’d been hiking the last 70 miles with a huge hole in the side of one and missing half of the rubber sole. Everyday I told them ‘just x more miles, you can make it!’ I’d already pushed them to take me over 900 miles even though their lifespan is supposed to be 500 miles. A brand new pair of shoes was waiting for me at the Bennington, VT post office, so I didn’t feel bad about decimating this old pair in the mud. The 14 miles flew by (or sloshed by) as I continued to listen to RadioLab. I reached the road into Bennington (21 miles in total) by 2:30 pm. After debating which direction town was for a few minutes, I finally crossed over to the other side of RT9 and began to try to hitch. 

10 minutes or so passed before an older woman pulled over for me. We chatted as she drove the 5 miles to the post office. The town looked cute and I spotted a coffee shop where I could charge my devices. At the post office, the woman mailed off a package while I picked up my shoes. She then took me over to the Dollar General to resupply. When we were done, she offered to drive me back to the trailhead. This offer took me by surprise but I accepted. I wouldn’t be able to charge my phone but I also wouldn’t be stuck in Bennington, possibly struggling to hitch a ride out. 

I didn’t want to hold her up, so I quickly pulled off my old shoes and put on the new ones. I grabbed the trash from my bag and went over to a dumpster behind the store to toss it all. As I walked back to her car, it hit me. I hadn’t pulled the insoles out of my old shoes to put in the new ones. ‘SHOOT!’ I said, confusing the woman as I jogged back to the dumpster. It was mostly empty, so I jumped up and leaned over the side. Balancing with one hand on the hot metal edge of the dumpster, I stretched my other hand in as far as I could to try to reach the shoes. I pulled one shoe out, got the insole, and reached for the other. It was just barely too far away, so I leaned precariously further in. I eventually rescued insole #2 and returned to the car. ‘Well, now I can add dumpster diving to my repertoire.’ I joked to the woman. ‘My mother would be so proud.’

Back at the trail I ran into Ragnar, Scout, Pyro, Pippin, and Zacksquatch. The latter 3 hiked on and I chatted with Scout and Ragnar who told me about a free hiker BBQ the next morning at 11 am. While I was tempted to go back into town & hang out til the free food the next day, it was only 4 pm and too early to stop. If I waited there, I would be back with Buzz & Mio & Jukebox, and I wasn’t ready to be done hiking by myself yet. Glancing at the map, it was all uphill, but I stood up determined to keep hiking. 10 miles more and I’d be at a fire tower where I could catch sunrise the next day. With that goal in mind I set off. 

The hill was challenging, but as always the challenge felt good. I reached the top of the steep section and refilled water. I felt myself already growing tired, and the fact I’d run out of new podcasts was disappointing. Guess I’d forgotten to snack as I hiked because I suddenly realized how hungry I felt. I pushed on another few miles before sitting down at a view and devouring an entire pack of Twizzlers. ‘I could camp here,’ I thought, ‘but it’s still too early. What would I do for the next few hours by myself? You can do this - you can still go further.’ I again made myself get up and keep going. Already 6 pm, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it the last 5 miles. 

Luckily I caught up with Pyro and Zacksquatch, who were also pushing on to the fire tower. I walked and talked with them, distracting myself from my tired legs. We all made it up to the top just in time to see sunset from the tower. The views were breathtaking. The landscape was beautiful and mountainous, and the full moon glowed opposite the brilliant setting sun. I ate dinner in the tower and chatted with the guys before heading to bed. We all planned to wake up for sunrise in the morning, and after a 31.8 mile day (my longest yet with a pack), my body was more than happy to get some rest. 

[betraverse]

[betraverse]

Ignorance is Bliss

'Coffee! So excited for coffee!', I thought as we crossed two lanes of highway to get to the Visitor's Center in the median. The center was closed when we arrived the night before, so we stealth camped nearby in order to get our soda & coffee fix in the morning. Inside, after discovering they had no coffee then rediscovering the cashier was keeping it behind the counter, I looked around the tourist trinket filled room until my eyes fell on a map. Upon further inspection it was an overview map of Bear Mountain, the area we would be hiking through that day.

I traced the AT on the map with my eyes, sipping my coffee, and soon discovered something. When the AT reached the base of Bear Mountain, it went all the way over the peak then back down, almost rejoining the exact spot where it had gone up the mountain. ‘So, basically the AT magicians who designed this trail just want us to climb this giant mountain for the view? This seems so silly and unnecessary. They’re supposed to be sending us to Maine - can’t they ever just do that somewhat efficiently?’ I said to Mio.

Finished with our coffee, we headed out to tackle some mountains & cross Mile 1400 along the way. I hiked ahead to think quietly to myself & enjoy the morning views. The first climb was definitely up but nothing brutal. From the overlook, I could see the spot where we’d been camped far below. ‘Pretty neat,’ I thought as I walked on, ‘but now to hike towards this silly Bear Mountain. I could totally hike that 0.25 miles or whatever around it to where the trail connects.’ At the next overlook I could see Bear Mountain and all it’s large glory. I noticed a stone tower on the very top, and mentally told the mountain I’d be there soon.

I passed more than a few day hikers as I grew closer to the base of the mountain. The roots & rocks soon subsided to a paved trail. ‘This is nice’ I thought. I followed the path until the white blazes signaled a turn. On my left were what appeared to be endless stone stairs up the mountain. On my right the paved path continued to what I knew would be the continuation of the AT (only skipping 2ish miles). I stood, trekking poles in hand, considering my options. ‘Damn that cashier woman and her map. If I hadn’t seen it this morning, I would have just continued to blindly follow the white blazes.’ Standing there, I reflected and realized I had no intention of skipping sections of the trail, especially such a major mountain. I turned left.

As I climbed stairs on stairs on stairs, I thought about my fellow hikers who might have made a different choice. These hikers blue blaze, yellow blaze, aqua blaze, and even bike blaze sections of the trail. While AT purists would frown upon these actions, its never bothered me. I still consider these hikers to be thru-hikers, simply hiking their own hike in their own way for their own reasons. As someone once said of hikers who don’t white blaze the entire 2185 miles, ‘Just because your neighbor cheats on his wife, that doesn’t invalidate your marriage.’ These hikers who don’t hike every mile of the trail but submit for ‘2000 miler status’ at the end of the year in no way lessen my AT hike experience. Heck! They usually have some of the most interesting personalities so I’d say they enhance my hike.

While I’m no purist, I’ve also not intentionally skipped any of the trail. This Bear Mountain dilemma was the first time I had a real opportunity to bypass some of the AT. It was a test of my personal identity as a thru-hiker. I made the conscience choice to continue to hike every bit of it. As much as those stone stairs sucked, it felt good to finally know where I draw my line.

'When I cease to desire to conquer huge mountains and see amazing views. When I start taking the easiest route and cutting corners, then I'm just walking.' I reminded myself as I pushed myself up the hill. As it turned out, just past those stone steps was a beautifully manicured gravel path. And this well maintained trail continued (somewhat) leisurely up the entire mountain. Like, this path and the trees were ridiculously beautiful. I climbed and climbed, passing SO many day hikers, until I reached the top!

When I arrived, I was a tad sad to discover a parking lot that allowing drive up access. It felt so touristy - packed with fancy cars and loud motorcycles and bicyclists. The day hikers were everywhere. I followed the AT as it passed that tower I’d seem from so far away. I left my pack at the bottom and climbed the stairs to the top. The only other man in the observatory type room was gabbing loudly on his phone to a friend about a hibachi restaurant. Thankfully he soon climbed down and I had the tower to myself. I looked at the panorama view and the spot where I’d stood that morning across the mountains. ‘I did this. I climbed up here. I’ve walked all the way here from Georgia. This is beautiful.’

I spent the next while wandering through the nice cars and jean clad women. Children ran around and the beautiful weather seemed to make everyone happy. Heading over to the vending machines I found Buzz, Mio, Jungle Jim, and Mosey drinking Cokes. I bought one, considered my mixed feelings about how New York was spoiling us with constant soda, and sat down to enjoy the sweetness and caffeine. We sat on the top of Bear Mountain enjoying our earned sodas. Mile 1400 was just down the hill, and I was glad that when I crossed it, I would know I hiked every one of those miles.