Appalachian Trail Hiker -- The Appalachian Trail -- www.ATrailHiker.com

Night 46: Hard Times In Hanover

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Tuesday July 20, 2010 23.4 Miles, 1737.3 Miles to Springer, 441.8 Miles Hiked My iPod alarm sounded at 4:15, 4:25, and 4:35 A.M. I woke up on the last of these. I set it early hoping to catch the sunrise, but I was under the false assumption that the sun was still rising as early as it was at the start of my journey in Maine. I got out of my sleeping bag and looked out the windows of the tower. The clouds were rolling by the windows and the wind was rushing all around the tower made it feel like it was swaying. I couldn’t see anything with all the clouds up here so I crawled back in Read More....

| Posted in Appalachian Trail | 1 Comment »

Night 45: It’s A Small Trail After All

Friday, December 30th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_1715" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Riverdog and Me in front of the Hiker's Welcome Hostel In Glencliff, NH"][/caption] Monday July 19, 2010 21 Miles, 1760.7 Miles to Springer, 418.4 Miles Hiked I got up early to hike the one mile distance from the shelter where Bishop and I slept to the post office in Glencliff, NH. I wanted to make sure I was there right when the post office opened . The plan was I’d be waiting at the front door, walk in at opening, grab my package, take what I needed, throw out what I didn’t and be on my way. I was a Read More....

| Posted in Appalachian Trail | 2 Comments »

Night 44: Pink Wine At The End Of The Whites

Friday, March 25th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_1670" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Pink wine at Jeffers Brook Shelter"][/caption] Sunday July 18, 2010 6.9 Miles, 1781.7 Miles to Springer, 397.4 Miles Hiked Today’s hike would be my shortest in a while as my schedule was going to be dictated by the United States Postal service. My sister Caitlin had sent a package for me to the Glencliff post office which was just over seven miles away, unfortunately post offices aren’t open on Sundays so I would hike 6.9 miles to the shelter just before Glencliff and walk into Glencliff early tomorrow Read More....

Tags: adventure, Appalachian Trial, bishop, black lab pit bull, cloudy, first pasture land, foggy, Grace and Glory, Green Mountains to the west. remnants, hiking, hot dogs, Jeffers Brook, Jeffers Brook Shelter, Mount Moosilauke, muddy water, pink wine, Prospect House, puppies, ruffled potato chips, Thrasher, thru hike, thru hiking, trail magic, Turkey, Walking Man, white mountains to the northeast, wilderness, windy | Posted in Appalachian Trail | 3 Comments »

Night 43: Night Hiking Mousilauke and Dreaming of McDonalds

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_1653" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="McDonalds In Lincoln New Hampshire With My Tricycle Outside"][/caption] Saturday July 17, 2010 17.8 Miles, 1788.6 Miles to Springer, 390.5 Miles Hiked I slept sound after a day of emotional highs (McDonald’s Hot Fudge Sundae, Sarah’s texts, being alive) and lows (Thinking I was going to die, being frustrated with this whole endeavor, feeling like what I was doing wasn’t worth the risks, the solitude, the sacrifice.) that had broken me into a million tiny pieces. I felt better this morning. In fact I Read More....

Tags: AM/FM radio, appalachian trail, Appalachian Trail Hiker, Appalachian Trail Murderer, Appalachian Trail murders, Beaver Brook Shelter, big mac, black bears doing tricks, Clark's Trading Post, Dartmouth Outdoors Club, Eliza Brook Shelter, fear, hot fudge sundae, Kinsman Notch, lightning, Lonesome Lake, Lonesome Lake Hut, mcdonalds, McDonalds Big Breakfast, Moosilauke, Mount Moosilauke, night hiking, North Kinsman, parking lot, thru hiker, thru hiking, thunder, trained black bears, Whale's Tale Water Park | Posted in Appalachian Trail | 2 Comments »

Night 42: Ink Smudges Lie and Hot Fudge Sundaes Can’t Fix Everything

Monday, March 14th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_1632" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Fog on top of South Twin Mountain or North Twin Spur"][/caption] Friday 7-16-2010 20 Miles Hiked, 1806.4 Miles To Springer I woke when my watch alarm sounded at 4:45 A.M. Bishop woke too. It was still dark as we started reloading our packs. I grabbed some coffee and gobbled down the giant sugar cookie one of the crew members had given me last night and tossed two Advil down my gullet. I took out my good book and my permanent marker and wrote down the mile markers for the day on my forearm. With my pain meds down, my map Read More....

Tags: adventure, appalachian trail, appalachian trail thru hiker, blind, broken glasses, eclipse, Elvio's Pizza, falling, Franconia Ridge, Galehead Hut, Greanleaf Hut, guide dog, guide dogs, half wolf dog, half wolf half german shepherd, Haystack mountain, hiker, hiking, lightening, Lincoln, Moose tours, Mount Lafayette, Mount Lincoln, musty basement, new hampshire, poor service, text messages, the traveling circus, thru hiker, thru hiking, thunder, thunderstorm, twilight saga eclipse, washing machine, wheel chair, wind gusts | Posted in Appalachian Trail | 3 Comments »

Night 41: Four Priests Are Walking Through The Woods…..

Sunday, March 13th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_1622" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="The view of Mount Washington from Zealand Falls Hut."][/caption] Thursday 7-15-2010 18.8 Miles Hiked, 1826.4 Miles To Springer I left the hut just after six this morning and watched the sunrise as I hiked my first mile of the day over Mt. Franklin and on through some of the most beautiful mountains I could recall. It was a clear morning and I felt alive, beyond alive, I was hiking with a vigor I hadn’t had since the first days when this whole venture seemed so worthy, so worthwhile, so important to who I would be Read More....

Tags: abraham, adventure, adventure of a lifetime, appalachian trail, bishop, Catholic priests, falling, feeling safe, fleas, hydroelectric power, mosquitoes, mountains, moving forward, oat meal bugs, pabst blue ribbing oat meal, thru hiker, thru hiking, worms, zealand falls hut | Posted in Appalachian Trail | 1 Comment »

Night 40: Mount Washington

Sunday, March 13th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_1576" align="aligncenter" width="461" caption="Me at the summit of Mount Washington, and I'm alive!"][/caption] Wednesday 7-14-2010 7.1 Miles Hiked, 1845.2 Miles To Springer I met a NOBO hiker the previous night named Nefus, his name had something to do with being in the Air Force. He was great company and we were the last two thru hikers to leave the hut as no one else was interested in staying for breakfast, or more accurately, no one else wanted to wait around for the guests to eat so that we could then eat and then do dishes and then get back on the Read More....

Tags: appalachian trail, cog railway, crazy people, death, fear, fight, food, girlfriend, hung up, lakes of the clouds hut, lightning, lost, love, mount washington, mount washington observatory, pizza, sleep, storms, thru hiker, thru hiking, thunder | Posted in Appalachian Trail | No Comments »

Night 39: Thank God For Madison

Saturday, March 12th, 2011

Tuesday 7-13-2010 13.7 Miles Hiked, 1852.3 Miles To Springer After the guests had been fed breakfast I got to eat the leftover cheesy scrambled eggs, cinnamon corn bread made in a cast iron skillet and oat meal with canned sliced peaches. Did I mention these hut people really knew how to fucking cook. When I finished I did all the dishes and then Mac, the man in charge of the hut handed me the bleach bucket, yes the one in which the mouse was killed the night before and the rag that had been in the bucket during the mouse murder and he told me to get to work wiping down the pantry Read More....

Tags: adventure, appalachian trail, bad weather, cairns, clouds, crotch, death, eating scraps, fear, fog, lost, madison hut, mount madison, presidential mountain range, storms, the hut system, thru hike, thru hikers, white mountains | Posted in Appalachian Trail | No Comments »

Night 38: Carter Hut Angels & Ghosts

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Monday 7-12-2010 15.2 Miles Hiked, 1866 Miles To Springer I woke up early and ate a pop tart and some oat meal and watched an old episode of Boy Meets World. It was the one in which Corey and Topenga get married. In the wedding episode, Sean, Corey’s best friend and best man says in his toast that he knows he and Corey will never be best friends again and that’s the way it should be because from now on Topenga is Corey’s best friend. It made me think how once people get married all the friends and acquaintances that once meant so much kind of just fade into the Read More....

Tags: abraham, advetnure, appalachian trail, bear, beer, bishop, bleach, boy meets world, carter dome, carter hut, carter mountains, cog car crash, corey, giggles, jeeves, kindness, lake of the clouds hut, marriage, mary ann, monkey, moose, mount mariah, mouse, night raids, outdoor, pantry, pissing, power raids, red mac, shower, the hut system, thru hike, thru hiker, thunder, topenga, trail angels, trail ghosts, trail models, turned away, uli | Posted in Appalachian Trail | No Comments »

Night 37: Did I Piss The Bed?

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

Sunday 7-11-2010 0 Miles Hiked, 1881.2 Miles To Springer Before I went to bed last night I searched through the junk in the lower level of the barn to try and find something I could soak my ankle in. I found an old styrofoam cooler filled with dead bugs and cob webs. I rinsed it out and filled it with the ice I bought from the gas station across the street and soaked my foot in it. It was so cold it hurt to keep my ankle submerged. After about a half hour of soaking I pulled it out and my ankle no longer throbbed or looked as swollen, but it felt like a joint in my knee had been tightened Read More....

Tags: adventure, appalachian trail, canned soup, coin operated shower, dresses, family, frustration, help, hiking, hostel, lifeguarding, mcdonalds, music on the radio, phone calls, pissing the bed, pool, rain, short shorts, shower, single mother, soup, spain versus netherlands, swimming, the barn, the white birches campground, thru hike, thru hiker, urine, world cup, world cup 2010, world cup championship | Posted in Appalachian Trail | 1 Comment »

Appalachian Trail Hiker