Author: jeff

8/11 – We finished the day about 5 miles out of Maine. We have a climb tomorrow of Mt. Success. Then Maine.
Today we had some beautiful views. We also got to enjoy a lot of blueberries and raspberries! Nom!
Tomorrow we have the hardest mile of the trail, Mahoosuc Notch. I’m so stoked for this and hopefully will have lots of pictures. There are spots in the notch where there will be ice due to the sun never touching those spots! I am so excited to feel the differences in temperatures! I’m also excited for the strain and difficulty!
8/12 – We climbed Mount Success starting the day. It was a tough climb but we had such a good time getting to the top of success. Our next stop, Maine.
And we made it to Maine. About…. Half a mile in I was climbing down a ledge when I started sliding. Fell forward. Jaw right into a rock.
Busted open jaw. Throat feels like it was punched and is sore. I think I hyper extended my chest. It was rough but nothing I can do but keep moving. Took the remainder of the day extremely slow.
In one of the alpine bogs, I was walking around a big mud pit. I got to a rock, put my right foot up on it and my left onto the mud thinking it was fine.
Nope. My whole leg went into the mud! All I could do was laugh. Just a mess of a day.
I got to the shelter right before Mahoosuc notch and everyone else was chilling. It was getting late and we decided to stop and chill. Tomorrow we’ll tackle the notch. Apparently that single mile will take at least 90 minutes but it’s taken most two hours!
I’m still excited but now a bit nervous for my chest. We’ll see how it goes!
8/13 – Mahoosuc Notch was. Amazing. An hour and 26 minutes for the mile. It was like a jungle gym for adults! Then we climbed Mahoosuc Arm. It was basically straight up.
8/14 – We had a short 8 mile day. We are officially out of the AMC grounds. The AMC sucks worse than the government. I never thought I’d say that about any private entity. But. Got. Dang. They. Suck.
We went to human nature hostel and had an amazing sunset!
Only 250ish miles left. I. Am. So. Excited!

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Starting to just note the dates rather than try to go with the yesterday’s and todays.

8/9 – We finished the presidentials yesterday and ended the day in Pinkham Notch. We went into Gorham NH for a resupply and got a hotel room. It was nice to just kick back and relax.
This morning started slow as we recovered from last night. We grabbed McDonald’s and a resupply and hitched back to the trail.
We climbed Wildcat Mountain today which was a tough but rewarding climb. That seems to be the common trend in the Whites.
It’s funny. I was extremely intimidated by the idea of the Whites, especially after NY. But they are doable and because expectations on mileage is lower, there’s no hurry to move on from the views. They’ve been thoroughly enjoyable!
8/10 – Today’s hike was okay. Pretty rough downhill today. There was a race on the trail and it was annoying constantly getting over for them.
8/10 – We had a 2 mile hike to hitch in town. We resupplied at the last Walmart near the trail! We’re doing another 11 miles and ending right before Maine!

8/6 – We started the day downhill going into a notch and hitching to a general store for resupply. Not a good experience. They weren’t hiker friendly at all and prices were super high. We got out of there as quickly as possible and moved on to start our climbs today.
We climbed Mount Webster and Mt Jackson. All views today were incredible. We had a dead on shot at the presidentials up to Washington.
We made it to a Hut and did a work for stay which includes dinner, breakfast, and allows us to sleep in the dining area floor.
The weather is going to be bad the next two days so we’re going 4 miles to the next Hut then zeroing to climb Washington on Friday. That’s assuming everything goes as planned.
We can’t hike Washington in storms because it’s a 12+ mile hike above tree line.
8/7 – We decided to go ahead and make it up to Mount Washington. It’s a beautiful mountain and a beautiful climb but it’s cloudy today d therefore not the best views. I think of it like the Empire State Building… It’s cool to be on it but the real picture to take is of the building. That’s kind of how I have to feel about this mountain.
We experienced some rain during the hike down but nothing big. I did find out that I left my pack cover at a hostel 40 miles back. Oopsies.
We were basically on rocks the entire climb down. It was tough and mentally tiring. We finally arrived at the Madison Springs Hut and got to do a work for stay.
The huts are nice but kind of weird. They are supported by the Appalachian Mountain Club and guests basically pay $150 a night per person for accommodations similar to a hostel. The first Hut we stayed out made us sit outside until everyone was done with dinner and breakfast before we could go in. The second one let us come in because of the nasty weather. The guests have been asking questions about the trail and the crew are super nice. However, I still feel almost… Second class or looked down on. Maybe it’s my smell!

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This post is going to be oddly phrased. I’ve been writing over several days so “todays” and  “yesterdays” are going to be off. Also, I seem to have service about a quarter of the time as my hiking mates. Assuming the older phone is the problem. :/
A few days ago, I was about a mile from the planned camping site and it just started pouring down rain. That’s the mountains I guess. I walked for about 20 minutes getting soaked and made it to a shelter where everyone was huddled up. The rain stopped about an hour later. Only 3 others stayed in the shelter so I called it a night and stayed in there as well.

The next day was beautiful! I caught up with the group at the summit of Smarts Mountain. We got an amazing view of the Whites as well as Vermont mountains from a fire tower on Smarts Mountain. My favorite part was all the wild blueberries along the way! So nom.
The next day we tackled Mount Moosilauke our first of the 4000+ foot mountains in New Hampshire. That sight was incredible! The climb down was right by a waterfall the whole time. It was really really steep and a slow descent. We continued on and went into Lincoln where we stayed at a donation-based hostel owned by a thru hiker, Chet. He’s a super nice guy!
We crossed 1800 miles meaning we have <400 miles to go!
Two days ago in the morning I got to hold a mammoth fibula or tibia. Then got back on the trail and hiked 8 miles. It’s a shorter day but that’s expected in this area. We have exactly 100 miles left of NH.
Yesterday we started some of the presidentials and climbed Lincoln and Lafayette yesterday. It was a tough climb but an amazing view from the top. We had 3 miles on the ridge above tree line. So. Amazing. Sunset was at 8:12 and I arrived at a stealth camp spot right at that time. It was a really cold night but thankful I was really comfortable.
Today (8/5) we climbed Mount Garfield. It’s been a hot day but nice with the elevation! Starboi was lying on rocks and said, “I can see why reptiles do this all day.” I can’t explain the beauty out here. Pictures do not do this justice. It’s so huge. Amazing. Majestic. Words can’t describe the beauty out here. I thought you could see forever in Texas because of how flat it was… But out here, you truly can see forever. I ended the day picking blueberries as I hiked to find a stealth campsite.
One thing that is annoying is being half way up a mountain and looking up to see you’re only half way up after climbing for an hour plus…. But the hard work is so. Freaking. Worth it.
I have a pet peeve on the trail. Dogs not being leashed. It’s a respect thing for hikers. It’s also a safety thing for the dogs… There was a woman at a hostel who told me about how her dog ran off out of sight; they expected that she was chasing a squirrel or chipmunk. After a few minutes they called out to the dog. No response. They then heard the poor pup squealing and screaming. The dog got her backpack caught on a log. As they approached, she was still squealing. They looked up and but a few feet away was a bear. They’re lucky they didn’t lose that dog that day and a leash could have prevented all of that from happening. A comment was made that they had hiked so many miles without a problem. I replied that it only takes that one mile to lose your dog… /rant

I entered New Hampshire today. Just two states left. It’s very unreal.

New Hampshire contains the Whites which is the most difficult terrain on the trail. These next 450ish miles won’t be easy.

These last few days have been great. Some pretty steep ups and long days (26.2 miles on Saturday).

Yesterday we were walking to a little stand for food and we got stopped by a guy offering coffee. The guys name is Dan Quinn and he operates a secret hostel on the trail. After several cups of coffee, he took us to a breakfast joint. He tried to keep us from moving forward but we needed to do some miles.

I got some Vermont maple syrup which was delicious. Also… Basil cream cheese spread on strawberry pancakes. So. Good.

We made it to a house yesterday that allows us to camp. We also jumped off a bridge into the White River. I froze last night trying to do it but this morning I jumped!

We climbed over Mount Killington which is apparently the second highest mountain in Vermont.

Today I made it to New Hampshire and we’re staying in Hanover which is where Dartmouth is. Super nice looking college.

Andddd I think that’s been the past few days!

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It hasn’t felt so long since my last update. Time on the trail is weird.

We’re in Vermont right now like 60 miles away from New Hampshire. I hiked through Massachusetts in the past week as well.

Massachusetts was okay. It was very hot for the weather. We stopped in a town called Great Barrington and spent time at a brewery. Easy hitch in. Easy hitch out.

Dalton was a nice little town that the trail goes through. There is a trail angel that let’s hikers camp in his backyard but I opted to split a cheap hotel room with two other hikers.

The next day was hot. Really hot. I walked through a town called Cheshire and crossing the road, I saw a dollar general. I decided to get myself a soda and Gatorade. As soon as I stepped in, it started raining! I was stuck there for an hour or so waiting out the rain. Finally, I left and made it into Vermont as well as the 1600 mile mark.

Mount Greylock, in Massachusetts, is usually a really nice picture but it was super foggy that day for me… Boo!

We also did some cliff jumping which was a blast!

Vermont has been awesome! I went into a town called Bennington on a whim because I was tired of the heat. Something about so much sweat and everything being wet I think was mentally draining me. While in Bennington, two trail angels, Jim and Thalia, offered to take myself, Siren, and Pretzel to a beach the next day. We went and decided to take a zero. The motel was full but Thalia offered her house. We stayed with them and had an amazing time! Extremely sweet people! And what an unexpected trail magic!

More hiking.

Rocket’s dad’s cousin picked us up to go to Rutland. She and her husband, Mike, bought us lunch at the Yellow Deli. We stayed at the hostel as well. It is a deli owned by the Twelve Tribes. It was really nice!

Last night, we went to a pavilion to enjoy the evening and kicked a soccer ball around. I got a little too into it and my shoe slipped out from under me while juggling the ball. I’m thankful I didn’t land on my head but now have a really nasty pain in my lower back. Need to hike on!

Today, we are having zero luck with a hitch back to the trail and have been working for one since 9:30. We initially had one but another guy walked up and said the guy would get a ticket. The guy said he didn’t want to butt in to our business… Yep. Good job, jerk.

Anyway, too many pictures for the photo gallery again. So here’s the link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZoN86Df9CPoKhbUt5

Wow. It’s not felt like it’s been this long since I updated…
Let’s see. First, New Jersey was a beautiful state on the trail. Decently easy terrain with some beautiful views. Not too much happened… The AT does go by the tallest point in the state (the tower on the mountain that I’m doing Eiffel Tower picture stuff). We went into this town called Unionville, NY (cross the border to get there) and stayed at a Presbyterian pastor’s house. He had just moved to the town after working in North Carolina. He thru hiked the trail two years ago (I believe) and wanted to contribute back to the trail. When the church had this opportunity, he took it. He moved to Unionville three months prior and is setting up his house as a hostel. He’s super cool and passionate about both growing the church in the town and making Unionville a bit more of a hiker town.
The next exciting thing in New Jersey was a drive in theater that let’s hikers set up in the back and provides radios for free to us to watch the movies. All for free. It was very cool. I ended up taking a zero there. The next day, I crossed over into New York.
On top of a mountain I could see in the very very far distance New York City. I called my sister Anna from that mountain and I decided to go into the city. Carlos and Anna became trail angels that day as Carlos helped me with a hotel room. In the city, I sat next to Anthony Weiner during brunch. I didn’t recognize him but my buddy, Adam, did. He’s the closest I’ve been to a famous figure. Unfortunately, it was Anthony Weiner…
The Pride Parade was that weekend as well. According to the news something like 1.5 million people traveled to NYC for the parade. As much as I wanted to go, I couldn’t imagine being surrounded by that many people. I sat on a bench and listened to two crazies instead. Less fun. But still entertaining.
That night, Adam, a friend from elementary school, let me stay at his girlfriend’s and his place in the upper west side. It was super nice and we enjoyed the time to catch up.
The next day, Rocket and company got into town. Her dad let us stay at her place in Mount Kisco, a 45 minute train ride north. The house was really nice and her dad was great! We watched the Women’s World Cup at a bar in Brooklyn. Cosmo and Starboi came… I haven’t seen them since Virginia. We ended up on a rooftop apartment area in Brooklyn that overlooked Manhattan. It was a moment where you ask yourself, “How in the world am I here!?” In a good way.
The next day we went to Soho to go to the 4th largest rei in the nation. It was pretty cool but I was ready to be back on the trail. We got back to Warwick NY at around 8 and decided to go back to the drive in. Finally, back on the trail the next day.
I’ve been hiking with Cosmo, Shaggy, Starboi, Plug, Rocket, Which Way, Airborne, Air Bud, and Gummy Bear. Gummy bear has been sick recently so he’s behind. I’ve been hanging out more than I should admit so Air Bud is ahead. But I’m truly enjoying the hike. Lots of reflection recently.
Anna met me in Peekskill to discuss if I could make it to my cousin’s funeral (he passed away earlier this week) . It’s just not a doable thing right now. I’ve felt a lot of guilt about it. Like, a lot of guilt… And I was really worried that family would be really disappointed in me. It’s been the exact opposite. They’ve been extremely understanding and that’s been an amazing stress relief. I’m planning to stop on Saturday during the funeral hours to pay my own respect as well as visit on my way home.
My shoes were absolutely destroyed… I didn’t realize how bad it was impacting my step until I got my new pair. They were shipped to a town called Pawling. Which Way has friends in Pawling area who hosted us for the night. Carol Ann, Michelle, and their daughter, Julia. They have the most adorable dog, Canoli. They treated us to an amazing dinner, beer, and the hospitality of opening up their house to 9 random, stinky hikers. Quite an amazing show of love.
Today I picked up my new pair of shoes and we got to hiking. We got into Connecticut!

The terrain post NJ has been tough. Lots of ups and downs. We were really spoiled from Virginia to New Jersey in the sense of elevation change. It’s really been kicking my butt. Legs need to get used to it again. The heat hasn’t been a terrible hindrance to me I think… But it’s definitely impacting the group.

Glad to hit this terrain right now and get my legs under me before the whites though.

The album for this post is too many images. So click the link!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/D9ZHLjQaUms6HMfU9

One of my favorite Bible verses comes from Romans 5:1-5.

Therefore, since we have been justifiedthrough faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b]boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings,because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

I like the verse as a reminder that suffering builds us. On the trail I have gone through mental and physical struggles. Most recently in my knee.

I’ve had to relearn how to walk and walk with intent. Every step I focus on how I’m stepping, what muscles I’m using. Especially in Pennsylvania, I’ve had to make sure my step is stable on the rocks. I think that’s my biggest issue with PA… I’ve not felt confident in my steps. Lots of moments where you aren’t sure of you’re about to twist your ankle.

Walking with intent started in Georgia when my knee initially started to hurt and it’s just expanded since.

Wow. What a week…

Pennsylvania… a great state with lots of love and help with trail magic… but probably the worst state on my body.

It definitely deserves it’s name, Rocksylvania. We had scrambles where we crossed areas of large rocks. We also had basically large enough rocks to mess up your steps but small enough so you don’t recognize it until after it’s too late. It’s like 250 miles of walking on legos.

This past week…. dang.

We had some highlights. Air Buds aunt and uncle hosted us for two nights near Philadelphia. I’ve never been there before. What trail angels!! They hosted us, fed us, and gave us a tour of the city. Amazing individuals. Can’t thank Lisa and Ike enough for their love and hospitality. The town Delaware Water Gap is a very cute town as well. Attending the Presbyterian service today.

We also had some rough spots. Lots of rain this past week. The rocks get to you. And a major climb. It allowed for some amazing views but it was a tough climb.

We caught up to a group of three that we hiked with before I left for the wedding, Sandwich Child, Updawg, and Redneck. Good group of people.

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A few days ago I got a ride from Cook Doctor and company to go to the Wal-Mart in Fayetteville, PA. Cook Doctor has a good (or bad?) Sense of humor. In the parking lot, he hit his e-brake and it sounded like he hit a car in the lot. I was worried but I guess the look on my face was anger. Definitely not, but I understand.

When I said I was more worried, Cook Doctor said, “That rings in a therapist’s head, ‘Control freak. Control freak.” Cook Doctor continues with a 4 word sermon given to him about control. “You don’t have any.”

We got back to the trail but had to play catch up and I hiked ahead of Gummy Bear and Air Bud. Alone, I got to reflect.

I’ve had a very regular life up until recently. I didn’t realize how this trip has impacted myself and others… starting the trip, friends would comment about how much of an inspiration I am.

Why? I’m just walking…

At a hiker feed, a trail angel gave a very powerful speech about how thru hikers put their lives on hold and change the speed at which we live for this trail. And that’s extraordinary. I never thought of it that way.

Anyway, reflecting on life I’ve always thought that I was a product of my choices. I led myself down this path. Raised a Christian, I believe that God had impact but ultimately, I made my decisions bringing me here.

Cook Doctor’s sermon made me think about how I’m not ever in control. Not fully. I can control my actions, my reactions, and my emotions (sometimes) but no one else’s.

How can I carry that into my life at home? Where can I improve my understanding of others’ pasts to be a better steward?

As I press forward on the trail, I plan to reflect more on this. Right now my thoughts are kind of jumbled just typing on the phone screen so I’ll probably journal it and update this post.