Musings from inside a four-walled structure.

I finished the Appalachian trail on November 17th, 2011. Meeting me a mile from the end were my parents, who came to walk Springer mountain with me. After taking a few photos at the top I jumped into our van waiting at the bottom, and scarfed down three pies... I had made it, and just in time too - my friend Chrissy's wedding was on the 19th in Florida...a great way to celebrate the end.

I figured I should finally give the answers to the poll questions that have been on the right side of the screen for so long.

Total weight loss: 31lbs (I've already gained half of that back)
Time taken to hike the entire 2,181 miles of the AT: 4 months 10 days.

I'm back home now enjoying home-cooked meals, living in a four walled structure, and walking only when I feel like it. It took a while, but my body has finally healed to the point where I can wake up and get out of bed without first planning where I'm going to place each limb in a way which minimizes pain.

For now, I'm working at Gordon College on the moving/setup crew. I'm just beginning to face the inevitable truth that I need to start looking for employment. Before that happens, I hope to do a bit of writing - ideally, that would entail writing about specific events that took place on the trail, as opposed to attempting to scribe the whole journey in one huge text. It's nice to have an abundance of source material for once - it makes the creative aspect of story writing much easier. If nothing else, the trail has gifted me with personal interactions and dramatic elements that will continue to mold and enhance my writing. Now that I've actually had close run-ins with bears and snakes I don't have to fabricate what that encounter would look like - I've lived it. When it comes to enhancing the way you communicate, there's no workshop or class that is going to teach you quite like living out your life does.

I was often frustrated with the limited time I had to write while hiking, or the quality of work that I was putting together. Hiking with a deadline wasn't exactly the Shangri-La of writing situations that I thought it might be. If I was even able to keep my notebook dry on a given day, it was a good day. When I set off on this journey I thought "I'll write a book about this when I get back!" And I still might...but for now I need to work on cementing the memories I have in written form piece by piece before they fly away to be replaced by basketball games and whatever information comes along with a hectic job search.

You haven't heard the last of 9 Lives, a guy who went totally unprepared into a maelstrom, the most difficult challenge yet experienced in his 22 years on this earth. Stories will be written, and you can say you were there, following along as it happened. And I thank you for that...

Here's a few more goodies from the last days down south to send you on your way.

The Great Smokey Mountains

Although most of the trip was spend walking through a tunnel of trees, there were more than enough jaw-dropping moments to make it worth it.

I got the opportunity to see a lot of "old America" that is being swallowed up by nature.

One of the last of many animal encounters on the trail.

By the end my boots were freezing at night.

RightClick after we stumbled upon a plethora of apple trees...and this ridiculous hat.

9 Lives and Framework, nearing the end.

The further south I went, the lazier they got...or was it friendlier...?

Alien landing pad on top of a mountain?

My final landing pad.

- 9 Lives, signing out.

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

7 days, 160 miles left to the summit of Springer Mountain. I just completed three days in the cold, icy Smokey Mountains, and now mere hills (ok, some of them are 5,000 feet) stand between me and my goal.

For those of you left wanting more from the last post, here's the rest of the story...

Before even reaching the center of Damascus, VA, a hiker named Broomstick picked me up and took me to the farm at which he worked. I was cold, wet, and had just hiked 16 miles that morning in a freezing rain. The farm belongs to a hiker named Mountain Man. I took a hot shower, cleaned my clothes, we went out to eat, and when we came back - a pig was dropping babies fast. After helping transfer the piglets to a new pen that had just been constructed, it was time to get momma pig in there with them. The two pens were on opposite ends of the yard, and unfortunately for us - this was the meanest pig in the history of the world. You might think that after giving birth to several piglets she would be tired, or at least a little maternally inclined. Not so with this gal.

We tried food. We tried dragging her with a rope. We tried cornering her towards the new pen. We tried herding her with a trained dog. This lady would not budge. My job was to not let her get past the house. Not only did I fail horribly at this task, I learned something new about pigs that day. They are extremely agile - even for a hiker in the best shape of his life, I was no match. For about twenty seconds she put on a series of complex moves that I kept up with until she put on a move so quick, so clever - that I fell in a heap on the ground. This is what it looked like (Allen Iverson as the pig, and the defender as me). It's actually spot on. 2 hours later we finally had her in the new pen - and she eventually calmed down enough to feed her piglets. It was a blast though and I was glad to get some "farm experience".

I'll post another entry once I finish and get home, but this will be my last "on-trail" post. A big "THANK YOU!" to all who have been reading, praying, encouraging - I couldn't have done all this without you. It's not over yet! 7 days. SEVEN DAYS! I'm pretty excited if you haven't noticed. I don't think I can eat too many more freeze-dried meals...

God Bless!
9 Lives

Soooooieeeeee!

Wilbur, Babe, Porkchop, Bacon, and Esteban.

A long and funny story found me delivering these five piglets tonight. Fill ya'll in later, but I just had to share quickly!

God Bless!
-9 Lives

P.S. For all those craving beard update shots...and I know you're out there...

5 States – One Blog Post …because I owe you.

 New Jersey

The one thing every thru-hiker hears about New Jersey before arriving is its abundance of bears. Apparently there is a bear every square mile along the New Jersey section of the A.T. By the time we get there every hiker knows three key points of proper bear encounter conduct.

1.     The worst possible combination of bears to encounter is a mother and her cub – mothers will kill to protect their young.

2.     NEVER startle a bear (make enough noise that they know you’re coming first).

3.     DO NOT travel alone in New Jersey.

So I cross the border – extremely excited to be out of New York. The past couple weeks have been rough after the torrential rains from Irene and Lee have turned hiking into a nightmare, and for some reason I thought that crossing an imaginary border line would bring about positive change in this regard. With an upbeat attitude I strode confidently into the rocky New Jersey terrain. Sixty seconds later I was frozen solid as a mother black bear and her cub stalked fifteen feet to my right – completely oblivious to my presence. They had come out of a group of bushes, not giving me time to alert them of my presence. I held my breath, not twitching as dozens of bloodthirsty mosquitoes ripped into my arms, neck, and face. Better to lose an ounce of blood than all of it. A minute later and the bears had passed out of range (I have not since seen one). Unfortunately my experiences with mosquitoes were far from over. New Jersey is filled with the most ravenous, aggressive mosquitoes I have ever met. DEET does not deter them. We (my buddy Framework and I) would hike twenty-something miles without stopping, grab water from a stream, set up our tents, eat, and go to sleep. There was simply no way to exist in the same world as these minions.

Pennsylvania

A while ago I posted a picture of a stick bug and someone eating a sandwich. Yes, the connection was that someone ate a stick bug. It was awesome. One of the funniest things I have seen happen on the trail. It had a roomful of twenty-something-year-old hikers jumping around like a group of girls at a Justin Beiber concert.

While in PA I went to the world’s largest Cabela’s, dined at a restaurant in my long underwear (Framework donned an elegant towel – our stuff was in the laundry), lost a pair of shoes to the sharp rocks/an out of control bonfire, and passed through more cornfields than I care to remember. PA is also the state in which I met the current group of guys that I am hiking with – so it will always be dear in my heart.

Maryland

I wore a Yankees hat on the last day of the MLB regular season. The Red Sox lost. The Yankees blew a 7-0 lead to the Rays, eliminating the Red Sox from the playoffs. I burnt the Yankees hat.

West Virginia

We had planned this for weeks – our entrance into West Virginia was going to be special – epic, even. The night before we went through the lyrics over and over – Roarshach plucked along on his Ukelele. So on September 30^th, 2011, six men crossed the Pennsylvania/West Virginia border – belting out the only song that would have been appropriate – Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver. I had verse two. What we didn’t know was that directly on the other side of the bridge was a school group on an historical field trip. Well, they got a little more than they bargained for, and as our song came to a conclusion we were not without our share of fans – or fan, rather – as one lonely child out of all the confused field trippers ventured a painfully slow clap that will remain in my mind forever. We never performed again.

WV is the mental “halfway point”, although the actual mark is a hundred miles or so north of Harper’s Ferry. All of us attempted and completed the “half gallon challenge” which saw us each devour a half gallon of ice cream. We then had our picture taken for the picture book in the ATC headquarters, which keeps track of  how many thru-hikers have made it that far. I was SOBO number 79. At the time 800 NOBO’S had already passed through. By my mathematical calculations that means there are about 10% as many NOBO’s as SOBO’s out there this year. No wonder the SOBO completion rate is so low.

Virginia

Big state. Big mountains. Big views. With 550 miles of Appalachian trail running through it, Virginia is by far the largest state I will pass through. Completing Virginia alone means you have finished over a quarter of the entire AT.  Virginia is a state blessed with amazing views, and the Shenandoahs have easily been one of my favorite sections. The cooler weather has finally arrived, which makes for great hiking – although recently it has been so cold that the rain has turned to sleet/freezing rain. At these times all I can do is put my headphones on and listen to my iPod. Thankfully, Kristen recently updated the songs on it, so I can listen to great hiking hits such as “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus and “We’re All In This Together” by High School Musical. All joking aside, The Climb” is actually a perfect song to think about while hiking…

”There’s always gonna be another mountain” – check.

“I’m always gonna wanna make it move” – yes.

“There’s always gonna be an uphill battle” – you bet.

“Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose” – well…hopefully not, but you get the picture by now. It’s the most topical song I own (was given – thanks K).

On a side note, the best song rhythm-wise for my stride? - “Miami” by Will Smith. Who knew?

I have 615 miles left. Six-one-five. It doesn’t seem like much, but with less than a month to finish, it’s going to be one wild ride. Which reminds me, I’ve been told that there are wild horses in southern VA, just miles away from here. Maybe I’ll try to tame and ride one…

And lastly…one more entry of  THINGS THAT MAKE ME SHAKE MY HEAD ON THE AT…

-                   ----People that go to campgrounds and buy bags of sticks at the camp store. They’re sticks, just like the ones you find on the ground. If this is some sort of rising market that has somehow avoided the recent economic turmoil – count me in… I can sell sticks. I can be that guy.

Thanks for reading, and until next time…God Bless!

1330 down, 850 to go...

It's been a while, I know. I apologize. I also apologize for the lack of photos in this post. I haven't been able to successfully transfer any of my pics from my camera to a computer in weeks. I have all my photos and continue to take them, I just can't share them until I figure this out.

As you can see in the title, I've been making some good progress. This is mostly thanks to the beautifully maintained trails in the Shenandoah National Park, which have been like candy to my feet and have allowed me to walk 150 miles in the last six days. There's still a loooong way to go, but I feel like I'm in a groove now - and unless something unexpected happens, I should be able to make good time the rest of the way. It's getting colder now, and harder to get out of my sleeping bag in the morning. The cool weather is perfect for hiking, and the weather in general has been stellar, giving me spectacular views from the tops of the Shenandoah peaks. The cold weather has also aided my cause in the bug department. The mosquitoes are almost non-existent, allowing me to ship my tent home and rely solely on shelters for sleeping. This is a bit of a risky move, but it will allow me to move faster and carry more food (-: Also, the spider webs, a.k.a. "invisible walls" have diminished greatly, which is a bigger deal than you might think. There were times in the mid-atlantic when I would literally have to stop and peel spiderwebs - along with the distraught web-makers - off of my face and neck. The trekking poles help - I look like a lunatic waving my poles in the air as I walk - but nothing really protects you from something you can't see until it hits you. I've never felt happier to see perfect strangers walking towards me in the woods, because I know that however far they've hiked is now free and clear of webs. The taller they are the better. I've actually thanked and high-fived hikers (they're as happy as I am) before moving on.

I've benefited from the hospitality of many friends and family along the way. Last week I got picked up by my aunt and uncle in Frederick, MD and was treated (along with hiking-buddy Framework) to a smorgasbord of amazing foods every meal. I'm currently at the house of friends Seth and Cari McCormick in Waynesboro, Virginia. I brought another hiking buddy, RightClick, with me this time, and we've had fun going out to eat with these guys and getting much needed rest at their wonderful home. Seth told us today that he's going to hike with us today and tomorrow! Today's hike will be short as we're carrying way too much food, but we hope to cover 20+ miles tomorrow before cranking into high gear again for another push towards Georgia.

I appreciate all the prayers and help from various friends and family, and continue to be thankful for all the blessings I have received along the way. I continue to hike, and until next time - God Bless!

Mini Update from Duncannon, PA

I am no longer alone in the least. I recently caught up to a bubble of southbounders that rolled into Duncannon together. Last night we filled up the Doyle Hotel, a hundred year-old hotel that is definitely showing its age. We stuffed a double room with five guys last night which made the price an astounding $11 per person. Walking alone has its benefits, but I'm having a blast with this crew - when I have more time I'll be able to share some absolutely outrageous stories. I've caught up with some of my original buddies from the beginning of the trip, Moose and Easy - five weeks later. My pace, though slowed a bit by the recent festivities (We are calling this assemblage of SOBO's in Duncannon "SOBO Palooza 2011"), has remained steady enough that I should be able to make my goal of finishing the trail before Thanksgiving. If I have to eat Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant...I don't know what I'd do - but that's not going to happen!

A typical shuttle to the grocery store. (From left: Easy, Denim Chicken, Framework, Rorschach, and Moose)

I have so many stories to tell, but there are people waiting to use the computer at this library that is only open twice a week for a couple hours. I will write a much more substantial update when I get to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Frederick, MD in six or so days! For now, I will leave you with these two pictures (they are related - connect them as you see fit!) Just a teaser for the longer post to come!

A stickbug.

  

Phenix eating a sandwich.

God bless!
-9 Lives

Floods, Snakes, and James Earl Jones

I am officially out of New England. I'm hanging out with my cousin Paul, his wife Wendy, and their kids - Rebekah and Justin. I'm taking an official "zero day" today - swimming in the pool, jumping on the trampoline, and even hitting Texas Road House for a Texas sized lunch! Life doesn't get much better than this. After wading through the remnants of the Irene/Lee tropical tag-team for the past two weeks, this break was well deserved - if I do say so myself. A fire in the fire pit is still on the docket for tonight and I can't overlook another night in a comfy bed (I pulled into town last night). Three nights ago I didn't think I was going to make it. I was stuck in a downpour at night when my headlamp died. After using my cellphone to fix it (receiving a text in the process saying I had picked Peyton Manning in a fantasy football auto-draft), I finally started moving again only to slip on a rock and fall into a mud puddle. Picking myself up, I took a few steps and jumped from a ledge onto a pile of leaves. It was in every way a safe landing, other than the fact that underneath the pile of leaves was a nest of rattlesnakes. They shot out one direction and I in the other, none of us in the mood for a confrontation, luckily.

For the most part I've spent the last few weeks alone. There are almost no northbound thru-hikers left, at this point they probably couldn't make it to Katahdin before the cold weather rolls in. Every once in a while I'll run into another southbounder, but hiking speeds vary and I rarely see them for more than a day. By myself, in the rain, with no views or mountains to see them on - you might think I'd be losing my drive right about now. Fortunately, I have been blessed with a flow of animal encounters that have made the hiking well worth my while. In southern Massachusetts I ran into a bunch of beavers and almost stepped on a porcupine on the same day within twenty minutes of each other! I have videos of both, which I will try to post in the near future (been having some picture/video posting problems which has tempted me to move the blog to another site). Connecticut and New York have been full of White-tailed deer sightings - I've probably seen forty or fifty in the two states combined. I unknowingly came up behind one and scared it pretty badly - OK, we both jumped, but at least I didn't scream (yeah, deer scream, they sound like velociraptors from Jurassic Park). I don't think that deer get the proper respect or admiration that they deserve. I'm not ashamed to say that from a young age the deer has been one of my favorite animals. If you think about it, how many large animals do you see literally launching themselves through the air on a regular basis? Unless you count Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch, or are in Australia, I'm guessing not many. You hunters out there are thinking, "Yeah, but they taste real good." Maybe, but so does beef, and last time I checked, they aren't doing anything cool. And I don't have any pictures of the deer I've seen, because they're way too fast...

No, I didn't personally meet James Earl Jones. But I almost kind of did, in some sense. By walking through Pawling, NY, I walked the same streets JEJ walks every day (assuming he's an avid walker). A couple hikers just ahead of me met him in the post office - unfortunately I wasn't expecting any packages there so I didn't go in. This made me think about what I would do if I met him personally (you'd be amazed at the things I think about after eight hours of walking). I finally decided that I would have to ask him if I could record him saying, "Remember who you are!" from his voiceover work in the Lion King. Then I realized I haven't really seen too many JEJ movies. I could only think of Star Wars, the Lion King, and Field of Dreams. I know he's been around a long time and has done a lot of work (according to IMDB, since 1963 he's worked on 179 films). How did I forget the Sandlot? Or the Hunt for Red October? Anyway, this makes for a great poll question: Outside of the already mentioned films, how many JEJ films can you name off the top of your head (we're on the honor system here). You have just experienced an example of a thought tangent that frequently accompanies my walk. This might have been the most "normal" of them all...

Here are some pictures (hopefully movies coming soon...)



Did you know that THIS is at the top of Mount Graylock???



At a zoo, but still...regal.

 

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Walt Whitman and I sharing a view.

Thanks for reading, and more to come soon! God Bless!

Hurricane Post!

Today I spend my first (official) zero day on the trail in the town of Bennington, VT. Obviously the rain alone of Hurricane Irene has made the rivers and streams of the forests impassible. I am blessed to be able to spend the duration of the storm in the home of Glenda, a friend of my friends Matt and Aislinn. She cooked up a huge breakfast for me this morning and has graciously opened her house up to me. This came at a perfect time for me as I have been losing a  lot of weight recently. It's so hard to keep weight up on the trail. When you walk twenty miles a day with a pack over mountains, you really can't eat enough. I end up atoning for on-trail weight loss by eating as much as possible at restaurants in every town I pass through. I know it's time to head into town when I can look down and see ribs I never knew were there before. 

Since I have almost completed the AT section of Vermont (15 miles left till the Mass. border), I guess I'll give a short recap of the past week.

Immediately upon entering Vermont on the first day I walked by a man bathing the pond outside his house, completely nude. This wasn't a backwoods location, but centrally located on a public town road. I thought "OK" and kept walking. The next day I was walking (in the woods this time) and a man walked toward me in the northbound direction. We both plodded past each other, exchanged "How's it going?"s and continued on. Two or three steps later it hit me that he was completely naked, and was holding a pair of shorts in front of his "upper thigh region". By the time I recovered enough to ask him if he was OK he had already disappeared into the foliage. At this time I was about to go onto a side trail that led to a shelter about a hundred yards into the woods to take a lunch break. There were loud noises and uproarious laughter emanating from the direction of the shelter. I stopped, thought about it for a second, decided I really wasn't all that hungry yet, and left the possible origin of the naked man's nudity behind me. 

I had a big day planned for Thursday. I was going to get up early, hike ten miles into Manchester Center, eat a cheeseburger, resupply, get out of town as soon as possible, and hike ten more miles to put me in good position to be in Bennington for the weekend - all by 8PM. The first part of the day went flawlessly: I made great time over a couple mountains and hitched into MC by 12:30PM. I had an angus cheeseburger (This is for you Uncle Alan and Aunt Nancy!), had two ice cream cones at MacDonald's (VERY underrated for their ice cream, $1.25 total for two cones!), resupplied at Price Chopper, and prepared to hitch out of town when a guy comes up to me and offers me a ride. I gratefully accepted and jumped in his truck. Another tiny elderly man, either his father or father-in-law was in the passenger seat and I was in the extended cab seat. This is the conversation that followed from Price Chopper to the trail head, edited for appropriateness of course.

Driver: You don't have a piano wire with you do you? 

(All three occupants laugh)

Me: No, left it at home.

Old Guy: By the time he got that thing around my neck I would have shot his head off.

(All three laughing, as I peak around the seat to see if he's actually packing heat - he's not, as far as I can tell) 

Driver: Where should we put this one, in the back yard with the other hikers?

(Front-seaters laughing heartily, I chuckle along as I start thinking about which pocket I left my knife in)

Old-guy: We're starting to run out of grave space, you know.

(front seaters continue along this line of conversation as I remember I left my knife in my backpack - which is in the bed of the truck)

Old-guy: You know, I'm an avid hunter.

Me (trying to keep things light): Well, I have a bright orange rainjacket, so don't shoot me out there.

Old-guy: I shoot anything that moves that I can eat.

(I spend the rest of the trip with my hand on the door handle - prepared to jump at any time.

Now obviously nothing happened, and they weren't being serious. But if you ever pick up a hitch hiker (which you shouldn't unless he's a 6-2 hiker with a reddish beard and dashing good looks), don't bring up any of the stereotypes of disastrous hitches or any possible negative occurrences while he or she is in the car. It was the most uncomfortable car ride of my life. I wish I could say that the day got better from there, but I can't. By 10:30 that night I was stuck in a bog at the bottom of a mountain and my headlamp went out. I had batteries in my backpack, but it took an hour for me to find my cellphone to find the batteries, to figure out how to open the headlamp, and get the batteries in the right way. Then I had to hike a few more hours.

This all sounds so negative, but this only made up one day of my time in Vermont which I have otherwise totally enjoyed. Whether it's walking out of the woods into the middle of a cow farm, or passing by farm stands between mountains, it has been a great state. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. 

A typical mountaintop field.

The largest, furriest caterpillar I have ever seen!

They're really getting creative now...

A pig at a farm that I actually got to stay at for a night!

Farm stand where I ate a strawberry-rhubarb pie.

Me and Phyllis. She was not pleased to be there.

The AT runs along with the LT for about 100 miles - this is for you D. Moore.

Sunset from the top of the Glastonbury fire tower.

I was there, too.

Thanks for reading, God Bless, and I hope everyone stays safe in the storm!

Belated Pictures, Movies, and So Long New Hampshire!

Other than finishing the state of New Hampshire (in 14 days for those who were wondering), not a ton has happened that I would declare as newsworthy, so I figured I'd put up all the pictures that help tell the tale of the past 14 days. Starting with an epic animal encounter...

Yes, there she is. The full "discovery" film can be found on Facebook.

As usual in the Whites - no views.

The "Ice Cream Man" - with brother and creepy cat doll.

Sometimes it's all about the air flow.

I walked out of the Whites and into a field of wildflowers - a great welcome into kinder terrain.

 

 

The AT, where mountains become "mountains".

So, in summation. I ran into a moose, I ran into a week and a half of bad weather, I ran into a man who was giving away free ice cream, and finally I hit easier terrain. I'll be putting up a video on facebook from the last White mountain, Mt. Moosilauke. I went up there during a bad storm and got knocked around by winds that I estimate were close to 100mph. Don't forget to vote on the VT poll! God Bless!

At a Truckstop Diner Just Outside of Lincoln...

Fine, I'm actually in the Lincoln, NH public library, but I couldn't decide on a title that summed up the last week because there were far too many to choose from, so I just went with a line from a country song. I guess I could have referred to the hiking of Mt. Washington and the Presidentials, or the unexpected run-in with forest wildlife that I can't tell you about yet because I can't download pictures or movies for some reason! So basically this is going to be a very boring check-in. In fact, if you want to stop reading because there are no pictures, please feel free - I would if I were you. I'm paying $4/hr to use this computer, and over half of that has been spent trying to post pictures and movies on the blog and on youtube, but apparently this computer isn't set up for that. So safe to say this will be short.

I have approximately twenty miles left of the White Mountains, which would be a sad thing had I enjoyed any views whatsoever. For the most part my summits have been clothed in fog and rain, and the only good pictures I was able to take (other than of said wildlife encounter) was going up and down Mount Washington. For some reason it was one of the easier mountains for me to climb - I may have been somewhat fueled by the promise of food at the top (not something that usually happens while reaching a summit). While the climb was awesome, the Disney World-esque frenzy at the top put me in a daze. I sat down at the cafeteria with my heaping tray of food and watched as families piled off of the train, rushed through the museum, plowed through the food line, bought matching t-shirts at the gift shop, yelled at each other, took pictures with the summit sign, then jumped back on the train for the thirty minute ride to the parking lot. An actual fight broke out between a mother and daughter at my table, which finally convinced me I had stayed too long. It was such a weird concept for me to understand in light of my hike - I was just so happy to have made it to the top and to be there that I couldn't understand why these people weren't amazed at where they were. I know some people's only chance of seeing that kind of view is taking a car or train to the top, but I almost wish it wasn't there - any of it. I probably wouldn't have said this before I became a "hiker", but if you don't earn it I guess you can't enjoy it. For me it will remain a blur of noise and activity in an otherwise mostly serene and beautiful journey. 

Just went past 1 hr, so I guess this means I might as well use up the next half hour that I'm already paying for anyway. As I said earlier, only twenty miles left in the Whites. My knees need to get out, that's for sure. Sometimes it takes me a full minute in the morning to go from crouching at the entrance of my tent to a full standing position. Another benefit of getting out of NH and into VT is that the climbs get easier - or so I'm told - and thus I can finally start to rack up more miles per day. Then when I get to Massachusetts I can really start to crank it up. I've been averaging maybe 13 or so miles per day over the Whites, so hopefully I can get into the 20's with no ginormous rock faces to scramble up and then fall down. Ok, I'm going to use my last ten minutes or so on the internet doing something other than writing. If you've read all the way through, thank you and God Bless! And don't forget to vote on the new poll at the top! And last second shout outs to my parents for sending my supplies to different towns along the way, and to the folks at the White Mountains Hostel for sending me my journal, Bible, and Guidebook that I had left behind! Ok, I really need to stop writing now...

Hit the Road, Maine! I Ain't Comin' Back 'Cept by Train or Boat or Car or Plane!

Yes. I have completed my first state of the Appalachian Trail - all two-hundred eighty-one point-something miles of the moose poop-laden, rock-filled, root-knotted, and sometimes head-scratching Maine "foot path". And it was awesome. Every wipe out, ankle roll, and blister surgery (yes, scissors included) was worth the wealth of summit vistas, friendly conversations, and trail knowledge that I collected along the way. For those of you keeping track at home, I completed Maine on the morning of the 23rd day of my hike, placing me comfortably within the 21-25 day range for the poll responses. For those of you who answered correctly, you may choose between: the blue shirt I wore through the entire state of Maine (I'm throwing it out otherwise), an autographed photo of me and the "Kennebec River Ferryman" (unfortunately he wasn't giving autographs at the time), or maybe you'd rather just give yourself a pat on the back...

Maine is no more.

Yet, barely a dent has been made.

With me for this crossing of state-lines was my extremely brave sister, the one formerly known as Kristen. Whenever you see or call her now, you must refer to her by her trail name "Squirrel". You might think that she received this name due to her uncanny ability of scrambling around rocks and trees, or for her foresight of packing food for a rainy day (much like squirrels store up acorns and nuts for the winter), and you would be right in thinking so. However, this name was given her based on her snacking tendencies while on the trail. It seemed like every time I looked back to check on her she was pulling a small stash of trail mix out of the side pouch of her backpack, or stooping down to pick blueberries and raspberries on the tops of mountains. She wanted a trail name. She got one.

Squirrel in rock-climbing action (notice food pouch on right hip).

Food anecdotes aside, she really was a trooper. Through no design of her own, she set aside this past week of her summer to hike what is known by many as the most difficult section of the AT - The Mahoosuc mountain range which includes Mahoosuc Notch, a labyrinth of boulders and ice caves. If you don't believe me, watch this movie.

Mountain hiking/climbing isn't an easy thing to just pick up and start doing, let alone in the middle of a tough section of trail. My sister kept right up with me, and owned the downhill sections so well that I made sure she led every time. Downhill on the AT doesn't mean strolling down a gentle slope, it means picking your way down roots and rocks which are often covered in a coat of slime or rain. It was awesome having her along for the week, and I hope she had as much fun as I did (although she did say someone would have to pay her 5,000 dollars to do that section again). The fact that none of my "Summercamp" buddies caught up to us after a week of hiking is a testament to how well she really did.

As for other occurrences of note, I have continued so far to live up to my name of "9 Lives". With Squirrel watching doubtfully, I attempted a crossing of a wet, rotten log 3 to 4 feet above a perfectly manageable piece of trail. I don't know why I tried it, but it looked like a very attractive option at the time. Of course I fell off and luckily landed in a little tree that held me back from falling the rest of the way down the mountain. I think I was too happy to be alive to take a picture. Another time I was trying to catch up to my sister who had taken off in front of me, downhill. I began to practice what I thought to be good "trail running", which to me was "running as fast as I could down the trail". Didn't see the wet rock face drop off waiting for me - so I continued to "ski?" my way down the rock, pulled off a complete 360, and somehow landed on my two feet. This is not skill, people. This is God watching over me. If you read my journal you'll find almost every night without fail, "STOP DOING DUMB STUFF!" or "NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL!" written somewhere in the entry.

Instead of telling complete stories of what happened in the past week and a half, here are some pictures...

The hardworking volunteers that keep the trail running. They asked if they could take my picture, so I told them it would cost them one too.

Pumped to be on a mountain with no view.

Can someone (an ornithologist?) please identify this bird for me??? They jump out at me from the trees and yell at me. But they're fat and can't seem to fly too well...

A typical AMC shelter.

Again, these boulders were ridiculous.

As for the hike overall so far, I'm really enjoying it. Other than a few cuts, bruises, and losing just over twenty pounds, I feel pretty good. I find I can consistently get myself up mountains without stopping for a break, and at times I can pull off 20 mile days if I really need to. If I'm having an off day, and getting to a peak seems out of the question, I repeat Isaiah 40:31 over, and over, and over until I find myself at the top.

Everyone out here is in the same boat, so it's easy to get to know people through their stories and struggles. Not many people know why they're out here doing this, and sometimes neither do I. I never doubt that what I'm doing is a good and valuable thing, but sometimes I wonder what it is exactly I'm getting out of it. And although I don't have a distinct answer, I usually come to this conclusion: That a lot of what I'm doing with my life and thinking about, I do because it is what I think someone my age is supposed to be doing and thinking about. Not that going to college and getting a job are the wrong things to do (they're not). I just needed to distance myself from the flow and examine my options from afar. I don't need to come up with a blueprint of what I want to do with the rest of my life, I just needed a little "hitting of the brakes" to allow myself to slow down and think a little (and pray a lot). I guess I don't want to do anything for the sole sake of doing "something" because it felt like the right thing to do and made sense. I always come back to this prayer when I think I'm becoming too much a part of this world and start to settle just because it feels natural:

Prayer of Sir Francis Drake
--------------------​------------

Disturb us, Lord, when We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love. 




If only there was something about hiking in there everything would be perfect, but I did "find the stars". Last night I "cowboy'd" it and slept under the stars with nothing but my pad and sleeping bag. I felt absolutely tiny with the whole forest around me and the universe above, and I even got to see a bunch of shooting stars (one seemed so bright that it could have landed a few miles away). I'll be taking a week off from the trail to head to Camp-of-the-Woods with my family for our annual vacation, but I'll be back in Gorham before I know it to finish the next 110 miles of New Hampshire and 1,800 of the Appalachian Trail. Thank you everyone for your texts and comments! They give me something to think about or laugh at when deep pondering has run its course for the day. Thanks for reading and until next time, God Bless!  

New Friends, Surprises, and Terrible Photography.

So a lot's happened since my last update. I took off from Monson a day ahead of my "Summercamp" friends - it was too early in the journey for me to take a zero (no hiking) day. Hiking the trail by yourself is a different experience. Instead of throwing thoughts back and forth between a friend, you find yourself with no one to complain to, which makes for a very quiet hike.

It would be quiet, I guess, if it weren't for the symphony that accompanies a hike in the Maine forest. I'm not talking about the songs of the birds, the soft breeze through the evergreens, or the movement of a playful deer. I'm referring to a much closer orchestra - the low drone that constantly surrounds your head. First you have the black flies (deer flies). These gems of the forest are by far the most loyal of your winged companions. They will never leave you unless:

1. You end their life with a headache-inducing swat.
2. They achieve their goal and fly away with a piece of your scalp.
3. They leave you for a juicier, less jittery target.

The trick that I try to use (although useless when hiking alone) is to yell out to whoever is hiking in front or behind you, "Did you see that?" Then when they stop to follow where my finger is pointing in the woods I stand real close to them, wait until the fly has locked onto their head, then disengage to a safe distance. "Oh, I thought I saw a deer. Sorry."

Then there is the common mosquito. Until this hike I never appreciated the speed with which a mosquito can travel. Even at a light trot downhill I can look over my shoulder and see a cloud of the bloodthirsty trumpeters in hot pursuit - never further than six inches behind me. And maybe it's just Maine mosquitoes, but apparently they have developed an immunity to deet. Three nights ago I decided I was too tired to set up my tent and slipped into an empty lean-to; trusty bug-spray can at my side. After a few minutes of relentless attacks I brought out the can, spraying a wide perimeter of deet around my head and sleeping bag... It was like squeezing ketchup on a burger. Suffice it to say, ten minutes later I promised myself never again would I be too lazy to set up my bug-proof tent.

And lastly, the assortment of mini-bugs that are to blame for the majority of accidental ingestions and inhalations. These guys will make a direct route to the inside of you ear canals, nostrils, and eyeballs. Even when I have my headphones in they will fly as hard as they can into some part of your ear then ram the headphones trying to find a way in.

With all this going on I've learned that the best defense against this relentless host of attackers is ignorance. I pull my hat low, put in my headphones, keep my mouth closed, and my eyes down. They aren't going anywhere so I might as well learn to coexist. 

Which reminds me...I haven't yet introduced my hat. Besides, we haven't had a picture in a while.

I know...classy.

All this and I haven't gotten to any of the title topics. I can't believe I just wrote five paragraphs on bugs...

So quickly, two days after leaving Monson I ran into this guy named "The Rock". After talking a while I agreed to "walk" with him for the day. This was the biggest mistake/best decision so far on the trip. The mistake was that he was an ultra-marathoner, and trying to keep up with him nearly ended my life on several occasions (luckily I have 9 to spare...). The guy ran up and down Katahdin for crying out loud! The reason it was also the best decision of the trip was that he is a really cool guy and invited me to his parent's hunting cabin located less than a quarter mile off the trail. His mom drove up and made us steak, ribs, potato salad, and the best molasses cookies I have ever eaten. We swam, had a bonfire with s'mores, then fell asleep to Air Force One playing in the background. Rock's nephew came up and in the morning we all set off to hike Bigelow Mountain (after a huge breakfast of course). We called his nephew "Ice Breaker", after he told us he hoped to meet a girl on the mountain. 

The Rock, Ice Breaker, and 9 Lives

Those two decided to spend the night on the mountain, while I continued to hike to a campground near the bottom. We met again in Stratton, from where I am currently writing. Although Rock will be flying by me shortly, on pace to finish in 3 months, hopefully we can keep in touch. I am forever grateful to both he and his parents for their humbling hospitality and kindness shown to me.

I'll end this post with a segment I like to call Things that make me shake my head on the trail.

1. Finding moose scat on the tops of mountains. Seriously. When does a moose find time in its day to hike a mountain?? Isn't it busy doing important moose stuff like avoiding hunters and cameras? There's absolutely nothing for them to eat up there, and don't tell me they need their exercise. This never ceases to astound me.
2. The trail-makers. Imagine yourself walking along a beautiful lake. Nice, right? Unless you're on the AT. In this case you will go back and forth between walking next to the lake, then hiking away from it to go up a random hill a couple hundred yards away, then hiking back to it - in a zig-zag pattern. There's plenty of open woods to make the trail go straight if you're going to follow the lake anyway. I guess they just needed to stuff more miles onto the trail. Not bitter, just confused.
3. The Roaming Dude. Dude carries a 55 pound pack, has three mobile devices (all with backup chargers), and carries his food sack in his hands...which he throws in front of him. He doesn't filter his water, but he is on facebook, twitter, and youtube.
4. Fire-tower Arsonists. C'mon, there's no reason to do this. 

     5. My inability to capture on camera any semblance of life faster than a toad. A moose, a deer, a fox, a rabbit, several squirrels, numerous snakes, and an owl. I'm so disappointed I'm not even going to show you the toad.

I'm sure to have more of these by next time...

I was going to do a whole post on Northbound and Southbound hiker relations, but that can wait for another day. I also want to detail my gear at some point but for now, I'll end with a few pictures...

Me and the Kennebec River ferryman. When I asked for his name he responded, "Kennebec River Ferryman".

Yes, I am hiking mountains, too.

One way or another...

I'll leave you with a "live-update" video I made last night. Mind you, I was a little out of it when I made it...well, you can probably see for yourself. For those of you who made it all the way through this, Thanks! God bless!