Kent, CT

Well, yesterday was a new state day again. I've been moving pretty fast so far, and am taking my first zero day here in Kent, Connecticut. The last two days of hiking have been very good! Monday I hiked with the older couple who I met the previous night, Tic-Toc and Cookie. It was a 20 mile day that I took at their pace instead of mine, which was a nice change. It was extremely hot and humid that morning, and my glasses where continuously foggy. I like wearing glasses instead of contacts, but the drawback is they are hard to clean when hiking. None of my fabrics are cotton, so wiping them off just smears the fog and whatever else is on them, and my hankercheif is usually not the cleanest of things. Anyways, It was nice to hike with someone. The time goes by a little faster when there is someone to talk to.

They've got me in the habit of waking up early, around 4:30 or 5. Waking up early is great because I can get high mileage days in, and hike when it's cool outside. Since Monday was taken at a slower pace, and we finished early in the day, I was ready to hike big miles the next day. Tuesday morning, I was on the trail by 5:30, and had 20 miles done by 1:00P! The weather was great, cooler and less humid, so I didn't sweat as much and was able to hike more. I finished the day by hiking 9 more miles into Kent, and sleeping on the lawn of a very gracious church here in the town. The town has an outfitter that I scoped out right away. In the back there was an ice cream shop, and guess what...Tuesdays are buy a milkshake-get a hot dog and popcorn! And they had the Mighty Ducks playing on VHS; it was obviously a stop I had to make. Afterwards another hiker, Josie, and I went to this restaurant where I had some Mango Thai Shrimp, and a fortune cookie that read "Be careful or you could fall for some tricks today." So, I carefully walked back to the lawn, and had a restful nights sleep in the low 50s, starry night.

Today I'll be here in the library, doing laundry, resting, going to the bookstore and grocery, and maybe staying the night in a room here in Kent. I only have around 40 miles left in Connecticut before I reach Massachusetts, then another 90 miles and I will be in Vermont! How exciting. Bigger elevation changes are coming soon. Connecticut has Mt. Everett which is 2,600 ft. This will be the highest mountain so far of the hike. Everything is holding up well, and so am I. Thanks for the support and encouragement! My phone will be on all day today, so maybe I'll talk to some of yall soon. Thanks again!

The Kid

Trail kindness

Yesterday I hiked in heat, and it was a long afternoon. I was by myself, and there were no shelters so I would be camping trailside. I was coming on my stopping point and my shirt was drenched in sweat. I enjoy company in the evenings, so I wasn't looking forward to camping by myself. I was also worried about my pack ripping near the hipbelt, so I was trying to carry more weight on my shoulders to take stress off of my hipbelt until I could get somewhere to repair it with heavy duty thread, which I did not have.

I arrived at my stopping point after 20 miles, and hit big trail magic - a cooler full of ice! The iced drinks were soooo good and sooo unexpected. Shortly after that, a couple who had started in Georgia came to the campsite, so I was glad to have company. On top of that, the couple had some heavy duty thread and the woman repaired my pack. Life is good and the trail is full of wonderful folks.

Making good progress

I just crossed the Hudson River in New York. I left the Mayor's Out House Hostel Friday Am and got in my first 30 mile day. The Mayor cooked a great breakfast and had coffee, so that gave me a great start. They did laudry for hikers, there were 8 of us total. A great guy who gave us a pep talk on finishing the trail. He has not hiked any of it, he just wanted us to acheive our goals. What a neat guy. I passed a farm where I was able to get some fresh fruit, it was really good. I've seen a few more bears, I have officially quit counting them. I also saw a huge turtle in the trail, with a shell about 15 in long. I've run into some interesting folks. A few scout troops. I like weekends because I see more people. Most recently, a father/son out for a backpacking trip that had run out of water. It was the 15 year old son's first trip, and his dad was not handling the situation well. I gave decided to give them 2 liters of water and hike to the next shelter where I could get more water. Saturday was a 23 mile day, so I've covered quite a bit of ground (141 miles) this past week. It has been fairly flat, so I'm expecting the pace to slow some as I hit some climbing. Harriman State Park in New York was a beautiful Park. I've left most of the people that I was hiking with, and I'm one day behind a large group that I met early in my hike when I was doing shorter miles. I hope to catch them soon. I passed a road on Friday that had a sign that New York City was only 36 miles. West Point (US Military Acedemy) was not far from where I crossed the Hudson today. I hope to catch them soon. The body is holding up great other than feet blisters and some scratches and bites.I have noticed my backpack (a Six Moons Designs Starlite) is beginning to tear on the hipbelt, so that could cause problems. I hope to be able to repair it soon, it is thick material so I will need a heavy duty needle and thread. Everything else is working well.

Several have requested the ability to post comments. This feature was not activated when I set up my blog, because I knew I would not be able to reply often or at all. After several requests, I have activated that feature, so you can now leave comments. Thanks for your interest and encouragement!

Thoughts on the Trail

Hey everybody! I am currently at 'The Out House' Hostel in Unionville, NY with Internet access. 'The Out House' is the run by the former mayor, and is quite the stop! Bunks, shower, laundry, dinner, breakfast, and Internet for $10. What a deal! Dad updated the blog for me about 30 minutes ago, but I wanted to put down some general thoughts while I have the Internet available.

I've been very surprised by the frequency of towns along the trail. It is so easy to hike from restaurant to restaurant, or hostel to hostel. The last several days I've been able to eat burgers, spaghetti, onion rings, etc... I'm not at all complaining. When food is available I'm going to eat! Two days ago I had a fully loaded cheeseburger between lunch and dinner. It feels like I'm never full most of the time. Since hiking I don't feel as though I've lost weight, but I'm now 5 lbs lighter than when I started. So, all of this is to say that recently I'm a bit tired of being in-town all the time. Currently I'm stocked for 4 days of hiking (foodwise), and I'm hoping to not visit town for at least 3 days.

I've also been surprised by the amount of noise created by cars and trucks on the road. At times I can hear the interstates and highways 3 miles before I cross them. I guess we get used to the noise and don't know just how loud it is most of the time.

That is about all that I have at the moment. I might get on later tonight and put some more stuff down. Thanks everyone for the interest! - The Kid

bears and stinky socks

I hiked 14 miles to Unionville, NY today after a long three days of 22, 24 and 27 miles. I didn't intend to hike 27 miles yesterday, but the shelter I was going to stop at had a large trail crew, and bedtime would have been too late. I decided to go to a shelter 3 miles up, but some locals were having a beer party there. So three more miles, which made a long day given the heat. The delicious homemade cookies in my mail drop box today are a great treat. The new Teva sandals will also feel good at the end of the day. There has been A LOT of wildlife. Yesterday I saw 8 bears. The first one, about a 300 lb grown bear, was only about 50 feet ahead of me when I noticed it.I slowly backed up as I reached for my camera. There were three bears total at this location, pictures may be fuzzy since the camera was shaking for some reason. I'll upload pics whenever I can, I've not had access to a computer to do so yet. The second set of bears included a mom and 3 cubs. The cubs climbed a tree when they saw me. Really cool things to see. I need to wash socks badly. They have only been hand washed since Duncannon on 6/14 and they are bad stinky and crusty. The NJ trails have been great, with lots of views. Feet have blisters but are not slowing me down, all else is good with the body. I get tired quicker with heat, it has quite a bit hotter lately. I've used the bug net at night since the misquitos are getting bad. My stove got wet, and I had to take it apart and clean it. It worked after my repair, so I feel good about that. I'm still on my first fuel canister, but it is getting low and it may be 100 miles to get another. Probably should have gotten one last chance I had, but I'm sure it will work out. Thanks for reading!

New State

June 22 I arrived in New Jersey. The last two days have been 23 mile days. New state days are fun, and I'm glad to be out of rocky PA. My shoes have taken a beating in PA, there is an outfitter in 150 miles that I will stop at to get new shoes. Monday night I went to town and saw Toy Story 3 with some other hikers. It was a great movie. It was over about 9pm, and I got a ride back to the trail. I night hiked for about 2 miles - no flashlight needed since it was a full moon and clear. I ran into a group that I previously hiked with, so I camped with them off the trail. It was a great nights sleep, but I woke up with slugs all over the place. YUK. On my socks, on my tarp, all that slimey residue. Tuesday I got 13 miles in early, and stopped by the Presbyterian Hostel in Delaware Gap and took a shower and got some food. They also had some Shoe Goo to patch up some shoe issues. I weighed myself, and seem to be down about 5 lbs. No laundry facilities, so I hand washed some socks. I plan on hiking another 10 miles Tuesday and camping on the trail. The hostels and towns are very frequent so far, but I'm looking forward to spending more time away from them staying in the woods. I'll get through New Jersey quickly, and arrive in Unionville, NY Thursday PM. I'll get my first mail drop of the trip from home - new Tevas (my old ones were well worn and don't protect the feet from rocks very well), cheese grits that I have been craving, and some homemade M&M cookies!

The Kid

I now have a trail name - The Kid. Several of the people I've been hiking with thought I looked younger than I am. Also, we went to a restaurant last night to have dinner and a beer and I was the only one carded. When the waiter returned with the bill he had written "The Kid" on the bill. So, of course all the other hikers thought that was a great trail name. I'm in Palmerton, PA staying at the Jail house hostel. Had one of the best showers of my life because it had been seven days since the last one. Hiking is going well and it seems like my trail legs have finally arrived. Bought food today, but had three great dinners to eat that Longhaul gave me when he had to leave the trail due to back problems. I spent 20 minutes on the trail picking fresh blueberries in a zip lock and got a sunburn because I took my shirt off. It was worth it, they were great. I'm very happy to be out here still. 230 miles down - 30 miles until NJ - 1948 total to go. Thanks to all who are following me!

Port Clinton

Hiked 9 miles to Port Clinton today and had a big breakfast with bacon, eggs and the whole works. I met up with a group of 8 other hikers that I had been with previously, and we went to Cabelas (via shuttle they provide) to restock. Headed back out to the trail, will be in Palmerton in a couple of days. After a pit stop in Palmerton, I'll be off to Delaware Water Gap which will take 2 to 3 days, which will put me in NJ (Yea)!!!

Berries and Bears

Things are going great! I'm hiking with an older gentleman named Longhaul, now on my way to the 501 shelter. I hiked 25 miles yesterday, which was suprisingly easy. Today I'm hiking 18 miles. Already I have come across trail magic (treats left by others), cold sodas and freezy pops. Also saw a black bear while hiking today. I've been enjoying cherries, mulberries and blackberrys along the trail. Everything is awesome here!

The Doyle

I'm in Duncannon, PA right now. Stopped in to see the famous Doyle Hotel, which has catered to thru-hikers for a long time. I also have stocked up on food for the next 2.5 days to make it to the next town. The trail is getting rockier, and will continue to get rockier until I get out of PA. I'm hoping to finish PA in 10 days or less; have 145 miles left in the state, so we'll see.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy trails

I'm in Boilong Springs, PA right now. The weather is great, and so is the experience thus far. Had a 17 mlie day yesterday, where I hiked into pine grove furnace sp and got some good food. This was also the place of the new AT museum, very cool! I'm hiking with thre ppl from TCU who call themselves the horned frog three. The day before that i had a 6 mile day to recover from the fast start. Today we did 12m to this place called the Allenberry resort and playhouse. It's a very nice place with a hiker discount, and a pool! Its hard to type a whole lot on this I-pad I'm using in the lobby right now...yeah, an iPad in the lobby...ridiculous.
The shelters have been super nice, and are maintained by the patomac at club...PATC. We hiked through some wheat fields today which was a nice change of pace from the woods. We've hiked a couple peaks but not many views on the top. The water is some of ten best tasting ive ever had!
The body is holding up well, minus a few sore muscles and stretched tendons. Other than that, life is good here. Thanks for the support and interest! Oh, and still no trail name...hopefully soon!

New State Day

Well - Sam crossed into PA yesterday! Everything is going awesome. Great trails, good views and vibrant nice people (all his words)!
He didn't say how the weather was, but by the tone of the text it must be OK. Sam's days have been 10, 21, 18 and 12 miles for the four days he has been out.

Sunday

As of Sunday at 10 a.m. - Sam is ready to go at the AT office. Pictured with Sam is Rocky, who has been anxiously awaiting the trip. Sam will be texting me (Mom) messages so that I can update his blog - as he is able to send text messages or call.

Leaving

It's morning of, and we are off to Harper's Ferry today. Tomorrow I will start hiking hopefully making it the 10.4 miles to Crampton Gap Shelter. My pack base weight (weight without food and water) is around 16.5 lbs. That's pretty good, but I'm hoping to get that weight down some as I hike. Food and water is weighing around 14-16 lbs for 4 days, so the total is somewhere around 30 lbs starting. Like I said, the hope is to get that weight down over time to an ideal 25ish or even lower lbs. Food weighs a lot for me now, but as I begin hiking longer distances I will be able to carry less. Anyway, thanks for keeping track and being interested. Until the next post..

Welcome!

Hey Everybody! Welcome to the blog I'm keeping as I hike the Appalachian Trail. I'll be updating it throughout my hike to keep everyone informed on where I am , whats going on, etc. I am not sure how frequently I will be posting; that will just be hammered out on the trail.

My plan is to hike the entire trail in a flip-flop fashion. I'll be starting in the middle, hiking my way north to Katahdin in Maine. Then I will journey back to the middle and hike south to Springer Mountain in Georgia. I'm hoping to finish early November, for a total of around 5 months. After finishing in Maine, I will be home visiting for a week or so. That will be in early September, then I will be heading back to Haper's Ferry, WV, where I started, to finish the rest. For some background on the trail, just google it. A couple short facts; its 2178 miles long stretching from Springer Mountian in north Georgia to Baxter Peak, Katahdin in Maine; it passes through 14 states.

The weather forecast calls for thunderstorms on the first day of hiking, so I'll be wasting no time pulling out the raingear! Packing has been a task, but I can never complain about getting so much new, cool gear. I'm anxious to start. It's been a long time of anticipation and planning, so I'm ready to get on the trail.

Some of you have also had the privilege of meeting my mascot, Rocky the flying squirrel, who has been strapped to my pack for the past several years. He will be on my pack this hike too, so that's the with Rocky part of the title.