Day 97 - Mudville (July 14)

I got a late start out of Willamsville this morning. I had to go to the post office and then resupply at the grocery store. I was probably not back on the trail until 12:00 noon. I have yet to hitch hike. I tried briefly, and then quickly gave up. Hitching is how everyone gets around off the trail.

Redeyes was one of the best hitch hikers. He always had confidence and a smile. I think you could tell he would be a friendly talkative passenger.

I made it into Vermont today, but I think Mudville is a more appropreate name. It is so muddy that I fell three times today. I landed on a large rock on one fall, and cut my knee. I think the problem is your shoes get coated in mud and the rocks are wet so friction can be unexpectedly low at times. I'm at the Congdon shelter tonight. Everyone here says they too had fallen several times today.

I'm camping with a family with a nine year old boy and the boy's grandmother. The grandmother has section hiked a lot of the trail over the last 10 years. She was telling me how she fell in the White's and broke her nose. I think much of the trail was made to be hard and dangerous just for the sake of making it hard and dangerous. You will know what I mean when you see some of the pictures.

I saw some trail statistics on Mount Greylock yesterday. Apparently, only about 10% of those that attempt a thru hike complete a thru hike. The statistics for completing a hike would probably be from self reporting to the ATC.

If you discount the yellowblazers, the percentage of those completing a thru hike would probably be closer to 7 or 8%. Most yellowblazers do not admit to yellowblazing unless they are questioned about being someplace they should not be. One of the most blatant of the yellowblazers is EZ Does It who claims to have completed 4 or 5 previous thru hikes. As near as I can tell, he might only walk 50% of the trail this year. He is hitching the rest of the trail.

I gave myself only a 1 in 3 chance of finishing the trail this year. If I had known how low the actual completion rate was, I might have considered those odds to be too high. I thought I miight have had a slightly better than average chance because I was expecting an ordeal rather than a vacation. Even now I would only give myself no more than a 2 in 3 chance of finishing. While I do not think I will quit, the trail is very dangerous. I am always surprised and greatfull at the end of the day not to be injured or sick.

I met Rockameme today. She is the only other thru hiker I saw today. She said she was off the trail for a month because her dad died. She was behind me earlier in the summer, and remembered seeing my name in the shelter registers.

My tent is still wet from last night. The rain fly no longer leaks after I sprayed a sealant on it in Kent. However, the rain fly does not cover all of the sides of the tent. Rain enters at the bottom inch or two on one side and by my feet. It would have just took an inch or two more fabric to pevent this leakage.

Day 96 - Williamstown (July 13)

I did about 23 miles to get into Williamstown this afternoon. I started the day walking with Pine Knot into Cheshire. She used to work doing security background checks on people in Boise, but could not stand it any longer. Now she is on the trail. She started March 21. I think nearly everyone else I've been hiking with started in early March. Pine Nuts and I split up at lunch when I wanted to get lunch in town and she wanted to eat from her food bag to lighten her load.

I need to learn to hitch hike soon. This is one of the last towns were walking is an option. I should have hitched a ride because it was a 2.6 mile walk.

I met Ram (I think that's his name) at the Goat Mountain outfitter. We are camping in the back. Ram is a bicyclist who is going to California to meet his girl friend who is going to school there. Ram has a mechanical engineering degree, but quit his job because he wanted to avoid cube life and the rat race. We drank some beers out back until it started to rain.

I have less than 600 miles to go. If I average 20 miles a day, then this is my last month on the trail. I think it might be kind of hard to do 20 mile days in Maine. My goal is to be in Maine this month. I hear Maine has really crazy trails with ladders built into the rock. I've seen stuff like this already, and I'm not looking forward to more.

Day 95 - Tom's House (July 12)

I did about 21 miles today to get into Dalton, after eating 12 pancakes at the Goose Pond Cabin. Flatlander and his wife Mama Lipton were the caretakers who made the pancakes. They seemed to be impressed with my ability to eat pancakes. I told them that their pancakes are the new standard for goodness in the world.

It was a rather nice walk into Dalton. It was not too rocky or marshy, and the mountains were not too steep. I got into Dalton around 2:00 PM. I heard about a guy who owns the Shell gas station and takes in hikers. His last name is Bird so they call his house the Bird Cage. You are supposed to ask at the Shell Gas Station for directions.

I wasn't paying much attention as I walked through a residential neighborhood in Dalton until someone called out to me. I failed to notice about a dozen hikers on Tom's front porch. Tom offered me a place to set up my tent and a shower all for free. I could not pass up that offer.

Tom said he was taking in hikers since 1979. He said he offers what he would want if he was doing the trail. It was really nice hospitality. He even drove me and Pine Knot to the laundry.
I met Top Hat, Snake, and White Fish at the local bar. Later, Pine Knots stopped by. Snake claims to be a boarder line alcoholic. He may not be boarder line at all. I heard them later talking about not being served at another bar because they already had too much to drink. They were driving Tom's bikes to the local bars.

I was talking to a Southbounder today about Maine. It sounds like Maine is going to be hard and slow going.

Day 94 - Upper Goose Pond Cabin (July 11)

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Day 93 - Tom Leonard Shelter (July 10)

I did 20 miles to get to the Tom Leonard shelter. I crossed the 1,500 mile mark in the morning. I met RJ at the ice cream store on RT 7. We camped together a couple days ago. He was hiking with ATV who is a section hiker. Also here is a group of high school kids who volunteered to do a week of trail maintenance. They said they signed up online. I don't think any are local.

The trail to the shelter was poorly marked. There were many places the trail split into two or more directions. These new trails would develop when people would walk in one direction for a while looking for a white blaze and establishing a new trail for others to mistakenly follow. Then they would turn around and take another trail until they finally found a white blaze. I did this several times myself. What makes it worse is there were so few white blazes, you had to go down these side trails quite a distance before you knew you were not on the trail. I always worried about finding my way back to the trail.

I find that I'm spending more than I did the first half of the trail. RJ thinks groceries are more expensive here. I was noticing that too. There are also fewer hostiles and motels are more expensive. I'm also eating at least three times what I would normally eat. I spent 15.50 dollars yesterday on ice cream and sodas, which was about 2,500 calories. That's probably not a bad price for that number of calories.

Day 92 - Greetings frm Massachusetts (July 9)

I did about 23 miles today to get into Massachusetts. I'm camping at the Sages Ravine Brook campsite about 0.2 miles past the state line. I did not see any signs welcoming me into the state. Maybe Massachusetts doesn't like hikers, and only welcomes cars.

I started the day with Kanati. He was nearly packed when I left the shelter area around 6:00 AM. We were supposed to meet for breakfast at a dinner near the trail. I waited a couple hours, and Kanati did not show up.

Later, I met a father and son from Canada. They knew Kanati, but had not seen him today. I asked them about Canadian history. What I wanted to know was how many British colonies were in North America before the revolution. They did not know, and were not sure if Canada was a colony like the 13 colonies that became states. Its interesting how we interpret history looking backward. We don't as often put ourselves in the past and look forward.

If you ever go on the trail, make sure you bring a trail name. Otherwise, you might end up with a name like Meat Hook like one of the Canadians. There are lots of random poorly chosen names like that on the trail

I went into Salsbury today to resupply. Salsbury was a very pretty town. My pack is extra heavy now. My next resupply is Dalton in about 75 miles.

The terrain was easier today. There were higher mountains today. I think it might be easier to do sections with long ups and downs rather than lots of short ups and downs. Should be in some higher elevations soon. I'm hoping to get in some cooler temperatures too.

I can't believe none of my bones have snapped yet. The climb down from CT's highest point felt dangerous. It was a steep decent on wet bedrock outcroppings. It is so hot and humid today that the rocks are wet. The rocks were a little slimy in places too most likely because groundwater was coming out of the rocks. I wonder if a Parsons safety person would sign off on a JSA for hiking the trail today.

My spirits are higher today than the past couple days. I'm in less pain with my new shoes. I noticed that your body will often put your mind in a bad mood when you have too much pain and fatigue.

I think that I'm also just realizing how long the trail really is. I expected some burnout being on the trail so long. I was beginning to question why I was doing this.

I actually thought about burnout before I started the trail. I expected to feel it earlier in the trip. I wanted to know what long distance traveling by foot was like. The boredom and burnout are part of a trip like this. Understanding and accepting that makes me feel better. Understanding and accepting actually makes the boredom and burnout nearly go away. I still miss everyone and I still look forward to going home.

Day 91 - CT is Rugged (July 8)

This was a very hard and hot day. While CT does not have a lot of high mountains, the day was filled with lots of 500 to 1,000 foot climbs with many very rugged trails going up and down. I only did 17 miles (not counting the miles to get back to the trail), and I'm beat.

I think we are all beginning to realize just how long the trail is. I have only just finished two thirds of it. The good thing is we should be seeing some interesting stuff like the Whites and the Green Mountains within two to three weeks.

I stayed at the Fife and drum last night. It was nice to sleep with air conditioning. My tent is always hot.

The mosquitoes and biting flys were swarming today. They always are when its hot and humid.

My new shoes are great. For the first time in days, my feet do not hurt. They are still a little bruised from my old shoes.

I hiked with Kanati about half of the day. Kanati is a retired GE engineer. He wants to finish the trail on his 62nd birthday on August 21. I suspect I will be seeing a lot of him on the trail.

Kanati told me about meeting Brian and Liz, two fanatical ultra light hikers in their 20s. I mentioned both in previous posts. I met Brian the first week. He had a 5 pound pack not including food and water. He was also very cold at night, and planned to walk back to GA this season. I met Liz the first night at the hostile. I heard that they were a couple by Uncle Johny's in Erwin, TN. I heard the Brian was walking with feet so badly blistered that they looked like they were burned. Kanati told me today that one of his former hiking partners texted him about a woman who meets Liz's description. This woman was hiking with blisters that got infected, and the infection turned into tench foot. She was reported to be still hiking while taking antibiotics.

Day 90 - Zeroing in Kent (July 7)

I went back into Kent to do laundry and go to the local outfitter. I did my laundry with RJ who was at the shelter last night. RJ and I then did lunch. I then stopped for 2 pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream on the way to the outfitter, and met Getty-Up there.

The rain fly of my tent is leaking. The outfitter had a water proofing spray that needs to air dry for 72 hours before folding and one that needs an hour in the dryer. I chose the one that needs an hour in the dryer.

I met Dan aka Day Hiker at the laundry mat. Dan is in his 60s I would guess. He was on the shuttle to Springer with Sonic and I. He said he skipped about a 500 mile section of the trail. He is hiking with Alf from Australia. The three of us decided to get a 136 dollar motel room, drink beers, and zero.

It feels good to zero. I have not had time to just sit out and enjoy a few good beers. I bought a six pack of Guiness that I'm sipping as I write. Alf is drinking Budweiser, which he thinks is a good beer. I want calories tonight, and can think of nothing better than Guiness. I will go back to the bar for 30 cent chicken wings tonight.

I'm not sure how much weight I can lose before I lose my strength. Even other hikers say I'm looking like a heroin addict. There are few of us averaging over 20 miles per day. I think that with the mileage I'm doing, there is no way not to look like a heroin addict. I can look at someone and tell if they are doing lots of miles per day.

My feet really hurt. I have new shoes, which should help. They really cushion the ground. I normally take a size 12. I started the trail with size 13 so that I could wear thick socks. It only took until the Snokies before those shoes were too small and I needed thinner socks. I'm now between a 13 and a 14. My new shoes are a 13, but they feel a little tight. I'm hoping they break in. Otherwise, I will need to buy another pair soon. I read about people's feet getting larger on the trail. It will take a few months after the trail for feet to return to their normal size.

I also lost a lot of feeling in my toes and feet. I read that this too is common. Many other people on the trail say they have the same problem. The feeling is supposed to return to normal after a few months off the trail.

Kent is a nice town to zero. We are sitting on the porch drinking beers and watching the town while discussing shoes and foot problems. This is a common topic of discussion on the trail. I can't believe there have been people who have done the trail barefoot.

The following pictures have been added by Heather and may or may not be places that Joe has seen.

Legend of Sonic

I met Dan aka Day Hiiker in Kent today. Dan was on the shuttle to Springer Mountain with Sonic and I. He asked about Sonic, and I told him she did the first 100 miles through wind and snow without a complaint while keeping up with the thru hikers. Dan said he heard that Sonic blew away the thru hikers with her blazing speed. Sonic seems to be a legend on the trail this year.

Day 88 - Telephone Pioneer Shelter (July 5)

I had a very wet night last night. My tent started leaking. Its good that the leaks happened here rather than when the temperature was in the 30s or 40s. I have a down sleeping bag. Down loses its insulating abilities when wet.

The pain in my knee is less today, but I have significant pain in my feet. My shoes need to be replaced. I was able to walk on rocks coming out of Delaware Water Gap. They either wore down or the rubber failed in the last few days. I feel every single rock now almost as if I were bare foot. I should be able to find new shoes in Kent. My feet are in incredible pain right now.

I stopped for a pizza this afternoon. I met several hikers who were at the Hosner Road Fourth of July party. The party was put on by a former thru hiker. It was about 10 miles further than I could go. None of them went to the Telephone Pioneer shelter. I think they all started around March 1st. This is another group I hiked past.

Filadeldia called me. I don't know how I passed him yesterday. He will be going to NYC tomorrow so I will probably not see him again.

I met a trail angel at the RPH shelter. He shuttles people. He was telling me about a guy who made it to MA before quiting this year. This seems like such a long way to go, but when the time to leave the trail is here, one should leave.

My feet really hurt. I can't wait to get new shoes.

Day 89 - Greetings from CT (July 6)

I crossed into CT today. Thiis state was way too far away to ever imagine. I can't believe I'm here. There are only 53 miles in CT so I should be in MA in a few more days.

My feet are in siignificant pain. My shoes have worn out. They were fine one day, and not fine practically the next day. I can feel every rock. My feet are really bruised. I need new shoes soon.

I made it to Kent today. I think I'm at the Algo shelter or lean to as the shelters are now called. My book is in my pack so I can't look it up now. I'm in my tent now after night hiking back from Kent. It got dark sooner than expected. I don't mind night hiking in the woods, I just don't want to do it over rocks.

My phone and internet connection is not working at the shelter, but worked fine in town. The signal must be getting blocked by the mountains. I noticed that this happens quite often. I nearly always write my daily posting before going to sleep. Its just not always easy to find a signal to post.

Nearly everything was closed in Kent so I have to go back tomorrow morning. I had dinner at a bar. I know I ate a lot, but it still feels like I was ripped off.

Day 87 - Fahnestock State Park (July 4)

I lost Filadelfia on the way to RPH shelter. With our late start, it was unlikely that we were going to make it to the shelter. This shelter was 31 miles from the last one and 25 miles from town. I had to repack my stuff, and Filadelphia said he would go ahead because I walk faster than him and could catch up. That was the last time I saw him. Somehow I got in front of him. I might have passed him in the zoo.

I actually did not cross the Hudson River until this morning. I thought we were shuttled across the river yesterday. The trail went through a zoo and then across the river.

My left knee started hurting today. There is some kind of pain every single day. I'm hoping the pain is just from doing the 28 miles yesterday over the very rugged terrain. I will find out tomorrow if this pain is an indication of something serious.

There were several areas where I walked on an old rail road bed. Someone said the railroad was built in the Civil War. The amount of physical work required to build something like this is amazing.

I'm camping at the Fahnestock campground. Thru hikers get to camp in an overgrown patch of weeds and forest. At least I have a place to camp, and its free. There is one other tent here, but I've not seen or heard its owner.

As for Caryn's comment about every day being a weekend, every day is more like a physical ordeal. I'm pushing myself to the limits of my endurance on most days. I'm doing this trip because I wanted to know what it's like to travel a long distance by foot. I was not interested in a long term camping trip. I like walking, and have been doing considerably more distance every day than most people.

When you see a picture of me, you will know that I'm not exaggerating about the physical ordeal. I lost so much weight that I look like a heroin addict. I can not eat enough.

I have very little free time. I spend most of every day walking. I'm often up by 5:00 AM, and walking by 5:30 PM. I often walk to 8:00 PM or later. Its a very simple life. I can not tell you how much I appreciate the little things like good friends and cold beers in the refrigerator.

Day 86 - Hudson River (July 3)

I did an incredibly long 28 miles today to get into the West Point area. I caught up to Filadefia by late morning. The terrain was incredibly difficult especially in the morning.

The trail went straight up and over every single outcropping. The morning was filled with plenty of scrambles and actual rock climbing. There was one section where we had to take our packs off and rock climb about 7 or 8 feet. I passed the packs up to Filedelphia before starting my climb.

It was hot today, and I drank about 7 or 8 liters of water. This is more than I drank during the heat wave.

I spent last night at the Wildcat shelter. There was someone tenting who did not come out of his tent even once. He was in his tent at 3:30 PM when I arrived, and he was still there at 6:00 AM when I left. A couple other people arrive at dark when I was already in my tent. I did not meet them.

I briefly met an old lady named Baggins. Filadelphia camped with her last night. He said he met her two years ago. She spends as much time on the trail as a thru hiker, but only goes about 5 miles a day. She is so small that she wears children's clothes.

I lost even more weight. I look like a heroin addict from the waist up. I'm feeling really good, but I think I'm going to need to zero for a day or two soon so I can put on some weight.

I'm staying with Filadelphia tonight at the Econo Lodge near West Point. I'm almost at the 1,400 mile mark.

Day 85 - Greetings from New York (July 2)

I did a really short day today to get to Wildcat shelter. I was feeling some abrasions on the bottom of my left foot. I could not seem to stop the rubbing so I decided to stop early and rest my feet. I was averaging almost 23 miles per day since Harpers Ferry.

NY is another beautiful state. There are lots of igneous or metamorphic outcroppings, and the trail goes to the top of every one. It was very slow going. The rocks contributed to my foot problems.

The trail was really rugged again today. Doing this section in the rain could be extremely dangerous. There were lots of scrambles up and down steep slopes and a few short rock climbs.

I'm at the Wildcat shelter tonight after doing only 12 miles. I walked with Filadelfia Greenberg all day. He decided to do a few more miles today. I will probably see him tomorrow or Thursday.
I'm in my tent now trying to escape the mosquitoes that are buzzing around me.

Three day weekends are great!

Just thought I'd say hi! Nothing like a three day weekend to look forward to! But for you it's probably always the weekend now. How many candles are you up to on the welcome home cake (1 for each mile, or maybe one for every 100 miles, so we don't burn the place down).

Day 84 - Mayor of Unionville (July 1)

I missed staying at the mayor's house last night. I heard that the mayor takes in all AT hikers, gives them dinner, washes their clothes, and even gives them beer. I've heard nothing but good things about the mayor.

Larry at the coffee shop at Culvers Gap is the opposite of the mayor. I knew he was a jerk as soon as I walked in and greeted him. I later asked if I could plug in my phone while I ate food I bought from him. The answer was no. Several other hikers told me about similar bad experiences they had while buying stuff from him. Filladelphia Greenberg told me he heard that a hiker called the cops on Larry for assault, but the local cops would do nothing because Larry was a retired cop. I think law enforcement attracts jerks like Larry.

I've been hiking with Filedelphia Greenbeg today. Filledelphia is a professional actor about a year out of college. It was fun talking to him about theater and film. He is also a playwright.

NJ really is a beautiful state. I saw another bear today. I should be in NY tomorrow, and should cross the Hudson River the day after.

Day 83 - NJ Bears (June 30)

I saw two bears this morning on the trail. They ran off before I could play with them. I heard that there are a lot of bears in NJ now. A guy I met near an AT&T tower told me there are so many bears that they are getting in people's garbage.

The trail in NJ is incredibly beautiful. It goes along the Delaware River. You don't see much development. Its actually a much nicer section of the trail than PA.

I'm at High Point shelter tonight. I walked 20 miles. I was thinking of doing 26 to a hostile behind a bar. The terrain is kind of rugged and is very rocky. My feet were starting to hurt from the rocks so I decided to stop early.

I'm camping with Caveman who just found out his Friend, Tender Foot, is off the trail due to an injury. Apparently, Tender Foot slipped going down Calvers Gap and hurt his shoulder. It is so easy to get hurt and be off the trail with one wrong step. I'm grateful for every day I spend on the trail uninjured.

Caveman told me he built a canoe, and canoed from NY state to New Orleans last year to see his daughter. He was going to walk the roads home when he heard about the AT.

Day 82 -Greetings from New Jersey (June 29)

I crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey this morning. It was nice to leave Pennsylvania. No one was enthusiastic about PA. There were few views and lots of rocks. Other states also had lots of rocks, but there were good views in previous states.

New Jersey is a surprisingly beautiful state. Many of the mountain tops are open with rocks and shrubs. There are surprisingly few houses or roads to be seen from the mountain tops.

Its been very hot and buggy. There are lots biting flies and mosquitoes. I hear the buzzing of mosquitoes all around my tent. I'm very happy to have a bug free environment to sleep.

There are also sounds of thunder in the distance. There was a light rain much of the day.

I think I lost more weight the past week. Its been hot, and I have not been snacking as much. I've been spending a lot of money in towns eating. There have not been any fast food places in the last few towns. Those give you the most calories per dollar. I had to go to diners and pubs. I've also made it a habit to eat two pints of ice cream when ever I'm in town.

I walked about 25 miles today to get to the Brinks Road shelter. The only other person here is Couch King who is hiking from Harpers Ferry to Maine. I already passed everyone I met yesterday.

Its surprisingly easy to hike alone. Hiking alone was my greatest fear before I started the trail. I meet and talk to people along the way, but I rarely see the same people again. I occasionally meet people I really enjoy hiking with like Vachon who I was hiking with about a week ago. However, I enjoy talking and spending time with everyone on the trail.

There doesn't seem to be an internet connection here, but I have a mobile phone connection. I will post this when I can.