In which Wallaby heads home (part 1)

After months of being off the trail, and recently seeing both Trout and Foggy start their PCT journeys, I've been absolutely itching to get back into the woods. Conveniently, I've also found myself in Australia visiting friends again for three weeks. This meant time for a little bit of a bushwalk in NSW for possibly the last time.

Me, showing off

Years ago a fellow Sydney Bushwalkers Club member (also Canadian) had told me that the Castle Track and around through the Monolith Valley was one of the best hikes he'd ever done here. It had always been on my list to try and get to it, so I figured this was as good a chance as was ever likely to come along. Sadly, Pouch has retired to my parents' basement, so I sewed the proof of my hiker credentials onto my smaller pack, borrowed a friend's mum's car, and set out for Morton National Park and the Budawangs.

Things I was about to try out:

1. no cook hiking: with only a 32L pack, space is at a premium so instead of bringing a stove and fuel, I thought I'd save some real estate and try eating only cold food.
2. the patch on my mattress: Near the end of the AT, my mattress had sprung a slow leak. A few weeks ago I patched it, but still hadn't had time to test it out.

Originally I'd planned for three days, but heavy rains on the first day forced me to shorten the trek to two days. The goal was to drive the 4 hours to the trailhead, and then make my way 7km to the Cooyoyo Creek camping area, possibly summitting The Castle on the way. The next day, I'd hike out through the Monolith Valley, past the Seven Pinnacles, circle around Mount Cole and cross through between Cole and Mount Owen, then make my way back along the Castle Track to the car. This would be around 15-20km.

Day 1

For day 1, I figured 7km was no more than 2.5 hours of hiking, so this should be easy.

I was wrong. 

The Castle Track, while not particularly difficult, is slow going. It's a long steady uphill with narrow track, tonnes of roots and rocks to scramble over, and lots of false tracks to lead a wallaby astray. It took me a solid 4 hours to get to the campground - partly because it was slow going, and partly because I'd assumed it would be faster so I wasn't pushing it. By the time I got there, I was worried about getting up to The Castle and back before dark. I knew there were some more treacherous climbs, and am not a fan of descending rock scrambles in the dark.

There were, however, some nice rewards along the way.

I think that's Pigeon House in the distance, but it's not on my map, so I can't be sure.

Sometimes nature tells you its time to take a shower.

Near camp, I met a group of hikers who were planning to go watch the sunset from the Castle. This seemed like a brilliant idea. We could go up without packs, and the track back to the campground was easy to follow, so hiking in the dark wouldn't be so bad.

Wrong again. It turns out that trying to summit The Castle from the east side requires a very steep, difficult rock climb without ropes. I'm not the most agile of climbers, but one of the girls was obviously very strong (and she recognized my AT patch!). When she decided it wasn't safe, we all abandoned the cause and headed back to camp. If time permitted, I figured I'd attempt it again from the west side on my way back the next day.

One of the things that I'd thought after hiking the AT was that cooking meals was unnecessary for the most part. You never go more than 4 days without hitting town, so you can get hot meals pretty regularly. Going a few days without one didn't seem like it would be that difficult (at least during the warmer months). In cold weather, or for longer sections (say the 100 Mile Wilderness), it might be tougher. But for a quick two day hike in warmer temperatures, I really didn't miss a hot meal at all.

... in which Wallaby proves that thru-hiking the AT does not require skill.

It was now about 6pm, and dark (it's autumn here). With a lot of hours to kill, a fire seemed in order - and it would have been. Except that I had forgotten to buy a lighter. And I hadn't brought my flint. And I only had one, broken, storm match left in my emergency kit.

So it's 6pm in the dark, and I have exactly one chance at making a fire after a heavy rainfall. People think that if you've done a lot of hiking like the AT, you must be skilled. This is not true. AT thru-hikers are merely persistent. On the AT, you rarely make fires, or do anything that actually requires a learned skill. I met many, many thru-hikers who didn't know any knots, or how to make a fire, or how to navigate/trap food/find water/etc... We are not survivalists.

So here I am with only one match and wet fire making materials. Suffice to say that the light breeze rapidly did away with the small flicker of a flame that I was able to make.

So now it's 6pm, dark, and I have no chance of making a fire. I supposed this meant it was time to go test the mattress.

(Part 2 to follow)

Day 116 - Dog Days of Autumn (25/10/2016)

Coldest morning to date. Temperatures dropped to 2 Celsius, which would have been colder at elevation. The wind didn't help. Between that and the start of an illness (a cold, of course), it was a slow start. And an odd one.

Around a half hour into my walk, I saw a motionless lump in the middle of the trail. Now, the trail here was narrow, and with a steep ascent on my left, and a steep drop on the right. I thought maybe someone had dropped a piece of gear. Until it lifted its head and i realized it was a dog! Clearly a family pet, since it had both a collar with a bell on it, and either a bark collar, or an invisible fence collar. In any case, I tried to get her to come to me but she was very wary and immediately started down the trail. She'd go up a but, stop and look back, then when I got too close she'd move on again. Eventually I lost her at a fork in the road where I think she took the side trail.

Too bad. I'd built up a little fantasy where her owners didn't want her back, so I had her join me all the way to Springer. In any case, I hope her family finds her soon.

The day ended in Glasgow, VA when I (and 3 other hikers) waited over two hours for a hitch into town. It turned out there was a nice town-provided shelter with power and a hot shower. That and the chance to have some wine and play gin rummy was enough to keep me in place.

Start: near Saltlog Gap

End: Glasgow VA

Distance: 8 miles

Day 102 - Into the Virginias (11/10/2016)

This is my last day of slack packing, so I decided to go for another big day. Papa Wallaby dropped me off in Harpers Ferry, WV (yep, another state done) and I headed north. The fog on the river created a stunning view as I crossed the bridge.

Day 101 - The Dalmatian of Days (10/10/2016)

I decided on a more modest day today, in part for logistical reasons and in part because I'm still a bit tired. I ran into all of the usual suspects. I'm really beginning to like this cohort of SOBOs. Shakespeare and Flatland, and BXE are too fast for me, but I hope to get more time hiking with Cinderella and Waterboy. So far I've only ever met them while NOBOing.

By far the coolest wildlife experience I've had was today. On the trail, I noticed a large bird on a branch just 30 or 40 yards down the trail. I stopped and tried to get my phone out to take a picture. Just as I was pulling it out, the bird (I think an eagle) flew from the branch and directly at me! It passed with it's wings fully spread out, no more than a foot from my waist, and soared on into the forest and out of sight.

Papa Wallaby tells me that's a good omen. I wish good omens weren't so close to being attacked by a large bird of prey.

Also, I finished Pennsylvania. So that's 8 of 14 states down.

Just as I was ending my hike, I ran into Pancake who had twisted her ankle and was struggling. I offered to give her a ride to Walmart for a resupply, so she and Papa Wallaby met and Papa Wallaby got to play Trail Angel!

Start: Wolfville Rd, Maryland
End: Old Forge Rd, Pennsylvania
Distance: 17.6 miles

Day 99 - The Wayne Gretzky of Days (8/10/2016)

Back to that NOBO life! I headed out for a 30 mile day this morning. I wore my running shoes, which was mostly fine except that my feet have clearly gotten bigger by about a half-size. I even ran for a few kilometers (in the wrong direction for part of it. sigh.). Papa Wallaby spent the day doing Papa Wallaby things (it involves a huge chocolate bar from the Hershey's factory). NOBO ing was just as much fun again - ran into BXE, Pancake, Trout, Chef, Cinderella, Waterboy, Shakespeare, and Flatland. I only just made it before dark.

Most remarkably, I hit the midpoint of the trail! The miles I have left are now smaller than the miles I've done!

Not the real midpoint anymore, but the most impressive sign.

Start: Old Forge Rd.

End: Pine Grove Furnace

Distance: 30.1 miles

Days 94 & 95 - Hiker HIITs & Duncannon (3-4/10/2016)

Off trail, there were two things I loved: running and high intensity interval training (HIIT). I'd been missing those, so I decided to create a sort of hiker version. The idea is to walk at a really fast pace (3-3.5 mph) for 60-90 minutes, rest, and repeat. Doing that, I managed around 20 miles yesterday, which meant that I caught up to Pancake again (she'd done a big day the day before).

Trout is doing big miles these days, so he's well ahead at the moment.

Today we headed into Duncannon. I can best describe Duncannon as a Trump-loving shit hole. We camped for $5 beside a train track, Pancake got herself thrown out of The Doyle for daring to visit with Trout, and we generally just had a great time in a small conservative town with friendly people. I won't be sad to leave, but I'll remember it fondly.

I'm also having serious problems with my phone these days. I'm pretty sure it's about to die.

Start: around 1005.8
End: 1041.5
Distance: 35.7 miles (20.6 + 15.1)

Day 91 - Hamburg, Home For Hikers (9/30/2016)

Another wet day. Rains fell until noon or so, and then cleared a bit. Trout and I went into town for a quick resupply. The Hamburg area may have displaced Hanover NH as the most hiker-friendly town:

• The trail passes by a barber shop where we could sit, have some coffee and cookies, and charge our phones.
• At Walmart, I accidentally put Pouch in front of the power supply for the motorized carts. When I came back to them, the staff were apologizing *to me*, and bent over backwards to find me somewhere else to plug in my phone.
• As we were stuffing our bags with our resupply, a random stranger came over and handed us Powerades and several Mountain House and AlpineAire meals, saying he just liked to help out hikers when he saw them. We saw another customer give some hikers fresh fruit.
• While we were walking over to Cabela's, a red car pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride. Not only did he drive us to the door, but he gave us some beer and then told us to message him when we were ready to get back to the trail and he'd give us a ride. I'm 90% sure he sat in the parking lot waiting as we visited...

THE LARGEST CABELA'S IN THE WORLD

It almost made me wish I was a hunter/fisherman, so I could enjoy it more fully.

On our way back to the trailhead, we found Pancake and SC again, and are now all camped out near Port Clinton.

Start: Eckville Shelter

End: Top of hill outside Port Clinton

Distance: 15.9 miles

Day 90 - Home is where the bunks are (29/9/2016)

Rain. A lot of it. Then mist.

Pouch hangs out outside of Eckville.

Per last night's plan, I set out to do 18-20 miles to get close enough to Hamburg to resupply in the morning. On the way, I popped into the Eckville Shelter because a) it was supposed to be really nice with power, a shower, and real porcelain toilets, and b) because it shared a name with the town of my birth. It really was worth the visit, with padded bunks and a fully enclosed bunk house. Far and away the most luxurious shelter I've seen. I took a quick nap, then headed back on the trail only to run into Trout arriving. He offered to spot me some lunch for the next day so that I could stay at Eckville, which I did. Pancake joined us and we had another good evening followed.

Here's hoping the rain backs off soon, though it is nice to see running streams again.

Start: New Tripoli Campsite
End: Eckville Shelter
Distance: 13.8 miles

Day 89 - and then there was one... (28/9/2016)

North Side Trail

Tim made us all an amazing Mexican breakfast of eggs, refried beans and tortillas then dropped us back at the trail. The three of us (Pancake, Trout, and me) met up at the next shelter, where Trout and Pancake were both feeling pretty down (Trout for illness, Pancake for fatigue and a general malaise). I took a side trail Tim had recommended, and had some beautiful views to carry me through to the next shelter where Pancake and Trout decided to call it a day. I took care of some phone stuff while I had a signal. I had to overcome the draw of a warm fire and Pancake and Trout's campaign to keep me there to get going, but it felt wrong to call it so early without Pancake and Trout's reasons.

Rain and rocky terrain made it slow going, so I only did a few more miles before finding a campsite for the night. At dinner I discovered that I only had one more day of food left... which means a big day tomorrow to make it to Hamburg for a resupply. :(

Start: PA 284
End: New Tripoli Campsite
Distance: 12 miles

Day 88 - Trail Angel Tim, Take 2 (27/9/2016)

It rained all night, making it tough to get out of bed. I headed out to the shelter where I hoped to find Pancake and Trout, and have a quick coffee before braving the wet. They were there, and Pancake and I chilled a bit while hikers came and went. I saw Crunchy for the first time in a long time, and then on my way out I saw Beef Jerky! He'd been off trail for a wedding, and was just getting back.

While I was sitting around, I realised that I was now in the area that Tim from PA had said he could help me out if I needed it. I gave him a call and he offered to pick the three of us up, give us dinner, showers, laundry and a warm place to sleep.

Yep, that's right. Another night off trail. I could get used to this kind of hiking.

The only catch was I had to do 19 miles in about 7 hours, so off I went. Pennsylvania is pretty much as rocky as they say it is, but I was motivated by food and Tim. I was happy to get within a mile of our destination, right until I discovered that most of that mile was one of the more treacherous rock scrambles I've had to do this trip.

Still, I made it, and Tim took us out for dinner, took us to a grocery store for resupply, gave us showers, laundry, and a sampling of his various flavoured vodkas, and then packed us off to bed. All in all is was a great night of examining Tim's ax collection, chatting about travel and hiking, and generally enjoying some good company.

Start: Hahn's Lookout
End: PA 284 (Le High Gap)
Distance: 18.7 miles

Day 87 - Rain. Rain! (26/9/2016)

I needed fuel today, so I popped in to Wind Gap for a brief resupply and battery recharge. Pancake and Trout continued on, and I was hoping to catch up to them. Sadly darkness arrived to early, and the rocky terrain makes night hiking tricky so I camped down. The forecast is for a lot of rain tonight, and over the next few days - which is bittersweet: on the one hand, it means wet camping and walking, on the other it means cooler temperatures and better water sources.

Start: Mt Minski Peak
End: near Hahn's Lookout
Distance: 12.8 miles

Day 86 - Pouch and Pennsylvania (25/9/2016)

This morning, I packed Pouch up to rejoin me on the trail. Pancake's friend Carla (who had done the 100 Mile Wilderness with her) agreed to drive us to the trail and do a day hike with us to Delaware Water Gap. Trout and I were pretty excited to meet her since Pancake had been talking about her for months.

On the way we gave her a trail name that is unfit to print, so I started referring to her as SC. Which seems to have stuck.

The best part of today, though, was crossing into Pennsylvania! NOBOs have been telling us that Pennsylvania was hellish for months. All sharp rocks and dead shoes. I'm dreading it.

SC and Pancake cross into Pennsylvania!

Start: Mohican Outdoor Center
End: Mt Minski peak
Distance: 15.5 Miles

Days 83 through 85 - That NOBO Life (22-24/9/2016)

For the last few days, I've been walking in the reverse direction to my usual southward wandering. On the first day, we picked up Trout (!) and he joined us slacking and relaxing at Pancake's place. Being a NOBO, I kept crossing paths with a whole bunch of SOBOs that were either a bit behind or a bit ahead of me. Every day I'd pass Ducky, Bunchy, Cinderella, & Waterboy, and now I'm hoping to hike with them all more (could be tough... most of them are faster than me).

The best part is that we were able to do 60 miles in three days, and I've got a new "biggest" day: 22 miles.

One of the more embarrassing things, though, is the amount of food we've been eating at McDonald's. My meals have been a Big Mac Meal with a 6 McNugget Happy Meal and an apple pie. On the plus side, I've now got two superheroes attached to my pack to keep me company: Wonder Girl and Super Girl!

Start: NY 17A (sort of)
End: Mohican Outdoor Centre
Distance: 68.3 miles (including about 8.4 yellow-blazed)

Day 54 - I've been discovered (24/8/2016)

Trout seemed a little off this morning. We walked together a bit, but eventually he got ahead and I didn't see him again all day. I hope he's feeling better.

I was only planning around 14-16 miles today, since I needed to pop into Manchester Centre for some resupply and mail. That meant a lot more resting than yesterday, which was good. During one rest stop, a group of young hikers came through and one asked me if he could take my portrait! I saw no reason to say no, and then before I knew it he was taking a light measurement off my face and had whipped out a medium format camera! I think I'm part of an art project. I did have some pretty awed kids at both being a thru-hiker, and then knowing about the light meter and medium format camera.

If only my off-trail friends were so easily impressed!

If I'd been smarter, I'd have asked him to send me a copy and then taken a picture of him. Sadly, I was too tired to think of it at the time.

Today was mostly about recovery from yesterday.

Start: Big Branch
End: 1 mile past Bromley Shelter
Distance: 15.9 miles

Day 53 - Miles to go before I sleep. Many, many miles. (23/8/2016)

I found Trout!!

We've been within a few hours (or sometimes less than that) of each other for ages, it seems, but we could never quite find ourselves in the same space. After an early start this morning, I found him at the next shelter! He had 17 miles planned today, and I figure I'd stick with him. Turns out that if I did that, I'd do my first 20 mile day.

It was great to catch up with him. Apparently a few people he's mentioned me to have exclaimed "Is that the apple guy?!" One day I'll blog about why, but for tonight, I need to sleep off a 20 miler.

Start: 501 mile mark or so
End: Big Branch Shelter
Distance: 20.6 miles

Day 32 - Trail Wizardry (2/8/2016)

After a rest day in Gorham, it's time to hit the White Mountains. I don't know what to expect at all. NOBOs almost look shell-shocked when they talk about it, but all agree the views are spectacular. So far, though, I've found everything to be exaggerated: Nothing is as hard as people say, or as easy.

The toughest thing is the sleeping arrangements. There are many, many rules about camping in New Hampshire, and all official sites involve paying (and are often very crowded). There are huts, where one can do "work-for-stay." I guess I'll just have to figure it all out as I go along. Tonight I'm bedded down in the Wildcat range between two peaks.

The thing that worries me most is hitting the NOBO "Bubble" (a very large group - hundreds - of NOBOs all travelling within a few days of each other). It seems likely I'll hit them in the Whites, so I may take some time off in Lincoln, NH to see if I can let some of the crowd pass me by. The bubble also has a bit of a party reputation, which is not really what I'm after on this trek.

On the plus side, the day started with so much trail magic I'm beginning to think I'm a wizard: free breakfast from a guy who picked me up hitchhiking, pop/soda at the trail head, followed by beer and soda about a half-mile in.

Trail Magic

I also ran into Timber, Legs, Trout, Littlefoot, Eskimo and Papa Eskimo (E's parents are in town to celebrate his 18th birthday). All of them were slack packing the Wildcat range in reverse so I got lots of advice about what was to come. None of it consistent. As usual, I have no idea what's coming.

Day 27 - Money, Tickets, Passport (28/7/2016)

I had a late start out of Andover this morning, so I pushed for 8 mile to get ove at least one ridge before the forecasted thunderstorms hit. Most of these ridges are long sheets of bare rock that are nice and grippy - when dry. When wet they become a hard, bumpy, painful slip 'n slide.

I managed to get to Bald Pate and settle in. Met a German woman living in New Jersey named B-Hiker and had a nice chat about the trail, but decided to turn in early. In my tent I went looking for my journal notebook whence I noticed a missing zip lock bag. A zip lock bag containing:

~$50 cash

1 mobile phone and battery 

1 credit card

1 debit card

1 driver's license

1 Canadian passport

And people thought bears would be the worst thing that could happen to me on the trail.

I begged kindness from B-Hiker who was heading into Andover and promised to call in at the hostel to see if it was there. She also gave me $20 to hold me over in Gorham. With any luck one of the PELT crew saw it and have packed it in for me.

Eep.

At least I still have my whiskey, because tonight I need a drink.

Start: Andover ME

End: Bald Pate

Distance: 8.0 miles

Day 26 - Andover (7/27/2016)

Woke up this morning to find that Trout had hiked a marathon (over 26 miles) to catch up, only to arrive under dark with me already asleep. It was good to hear his voice in the morning, though. We had a short day planned into Andover, where I was planning to take a night and deal with some mail things. Legs and Timber were just coming in for food and then heading out. Trout, Eskimo and Littlefoot were all staying as well.

Surprisingly, Pancake showed up too! Her ankle has recovered enough to keep her walking. I hope to catch up to Timber and Legs in Gorham, but it'll be fun to have the PELT group around (Pancake, Eskimo, Littlefoot and Trout).


Start: Hall Mountain
End: Andover (East B Hill Road)
Distance: 5.4 Miles

Day 25 - Reflection (26/7/2016)

Today was uneventful - we climbed a bit, descended a bit. I have some blisters under and between my toes, which is really the first time I've had foot issues. I think it's time for a quieter day.

There no available tent sites last night, so we crammed a shelter full. It's not easy to sleep with eight full grown men on camp mattresses, shifting around, snoring, dreaming, reading, etc... I woke up unrested, my clothes still wet from a rainfall, and under cloud cover promising another wet day. When I set out my mood was a bit low. For the first time I genuinely thought that I probably wouldn't finish the trail (not that I meant to leave any time soon, just that I was unlikely to enjoy this for four more months).

Things brightened a bit when Legs and Timber caught up. I still don't have a "Georgia or Bust" attitude, but the people out here have a way of making you want to stay on the trail.

I guess time will tell.

Start: Bemis Mountain
End: Hall Mountain
Distance: 12.8 Miles

Day 21 - Moose of Old Age (22/7/2016)

Three weeks on the trail now. I woke up to a light rainfall, but I just waited it out in my cozy sleeping bag. Lots of "Happy Birthdays" as I emerged, and Timber (whom I'd met with his dad on Day 1) gave me a cherry pie. Legs and I shared an early morning shot of whiskey (Canadian Club), since they were heading on further than the party. I hope to catch them again some time.

It was a good day of hiking, and I got to see my 3rd moose. A buck this time who was in the trail as I turned a corner. Trout's beginning to resent my luck, and Pancake thinks I'm a moose diviner.

Camp brownies (omg so good), and scotch with new found friends. I miss my off trail buddies, but this is definitely a memorable birthday.

The brownies are burned into my pan a bit, which means everything will taste like that now.

Totally Worth It.

A great day.

Start: Spalding Mtn
End: Poplar Ridge
Distance: 8 miles (12 8 km)