Paralympic Flashback

My post for August 6th in the White Mountains was titled More Of Same. Here's the whole post, reproduced for you:

Not much to note today really, except that I dodged two rainfalls by hanging out in huts where I met lots of nice families. Unfortunately, I left my map at the last one so I'm now mapless until Hanover.

That's it. I didn't get into any details, even though, in many ways, this was one of the most interesting days on the trail.

I think I was just too tired to get into details.

But today, a year and a half later, I'm going to fill one of those details in.

What I didn't mention is that one of the families I met and chatted with at length at one of the huts was Dannelle Umstead's. Her kids were wearing Australia green and gold caps, and when I asked about it they explained that it's because their mom travels a lot.

She travels a lot because she's a visually impaired Paralympic skier. She skied for the US Paralympic Team in Vancouver and Sochi and has three paralympic medals to show for it.

And today, she skis again representing the US at the Pyeongchang Paralympic Winter Games.

So I've decided to revisit that blog post just to say how cool it is that I met a paralympian. As much as I love the Olympics, I find the Paralympics about 10 times more inspiring. All olympic and paralympic athletes achieve levels of athleticism that most of us can only dream of - but paralympic athletes do it toiling in relative obscurity and with a tiny fraction of the financial support that other olympians get.

So I'll be watching the Paralympics again this year, and though I'll obviously be cheering for the Canadian athletes first - I'm also looking forward to seeing Danelle at work.

And just because I didn't include a photo last time, here's one I took that day:

Day 78 - Prost! (17/9/2016)

Today I woke up determined to get 20 miles in. No. Matter. What.

I was short water, but there was a visitor centre around a mile away with a spigot and (I hoped) coffee, so off I went. At the visitor centre I filled up on water, had a coffee, and caught up with Broadway, Troll, and Ser Blue. Turns out the shelter I decided not to sleep at had a beautiful view of both the harvest moonrise and the NY city skyline at night. So I was kicking myself for not staying there.

In any case, I had 19 more miles planned, so I went to head out. I car pulled up and as the driver exited, he said "are you a thru-hiker?" I shook his hand and said I was, whereupon he said "do you want to come to an Oktoberfest?"

20 miles. No. Matter. What. 

"Yes. Yes I do." I replied.

He extended the same offer to the three Floridians, and we all agreed. It turns out Tim sells solar panels, and had a tent at this festival. I spent a beautiful day chatting with some of his prospects, browsing booths, eating German food, and drinking beer.

By the end of the afternoon Tim asked if, instead of going to the trail, we'd like to come over to his place, shower, do laundry and sleep comfortably. In fact, if we wanted we could join him for a Bluegrass festival the next day. Peak Freak and Eskimo had joined us by now, and all 6 of us said yes... which meant piling all of us into his Jeep, with Broadway taking a seat in the trunk space.

It's hard to entirely capture how amazing Tim and his family are. Tim is a Renaissance man with backgrounds in acting, filmmaking, photography, guitar making, bench making/woodwork, parks management, among others I've probably forgotten or never knew about. He also has a detailed knowledge of, and love for the history of his area.

His partner Kim is a pilates instructor who used to be an actress, including appearing in Star Trek Generations with Shatner and Patrick Stewart, and in Star Trek: Voyager. My inner nerd was over the moon.

His eldest daughter (Isabella Rose) is studying singer-songwriting and has an absolutely outstanding voice. I didn't get to talk much to his youngest daughter Piper, but I can only begin to imagine what talents lie there.

So instead of 20 miles, I got 1. And that one will do.

Start: West Mountain Shelter

End: Palisades Parkway

Distance: 1.1 miles

Day 77 - New York. New York. (16/9/2016)

Another day, hiking in New York. I do not heart it. I spent a chunk of the day trying to resupply in Fort Montgomery, which has virtually no resupply options.

Start: Hemlock Springs Tentsite
End: West Mountain Shelter
Distance: 9.2 Miles

Day 76 - The Miles that Don't Count (15/9/2016)

Today was a bit of a navigational disaster. Without a guidebook or maps, I feel like I'm walking a bit blind. (I do have photos of some of the guidebook thanks to Half-fool, but using my phone drains the battery so they're emergency use only for now.) At one point I went off-trail for 10 feet, then when I got back on, promptly headed down the trail in the reverse direction. After about .75 miles, I ran into a group of hikers I'd passed going in the other direction. Everyone looked confused, no one more than me.

Later, Half-fool had caught me and we were walking together when suddenly he said "have you seen a white blaze in a while?" I hadn't at. Not in a long while. In fact it turns out that we hadn't seen a white blaze in almost a mile. So another 1.5-2 miles later were back on trail. We set up camp near the top of a ridge that promised some nice views. Half-fool suggested we grab our food and eat with the sunset, so off we went. There was no view. Anywhere. We limped back to our campsite, realising we'd walked another unnecessary mile.

In the end we only got 13 miles that counted.

Start: Dennytown Rd.
End: Hemlock Springs Tentsite
Distance: 12.8 miles (+ around 5 that don't count...)

Day 75 - Mail woes 2: the return of mail woes (14/9/2016)

Still no package, and for some reason the USPS has sent it to New Hampshire for processing. I tried to call USPS, but as is the case a lot these days, it's impossible to talk to an actual human and there was no option for reporting lost mail.

I debated squatting on the post office property in protest, but figured I should get some miles instead. This meant that I'd be walking with no map, and no guidebook for the next little while until my mail drop made it to me. I hit the trail mid-afternoon and it was hot and humid. I decided to keep my clothes on this time, and attempt a new strategy: sleep through the heat and walk at night. I napped for a bit on the forest floor and started hiking, aiming to do 15 miles or more. At the 5 mile mark I stopped at RPH shelter for dinner, where Half-fool caught up to me and decided to join me for the night-hike. It was a great evening - we had some nice moonlit views of lakes from the ridges, had a snack on a beach at night, and I got to meet my first copperhead snake.

We managed the 15 miles around 1 AM and set up camp on a nice little site.

Start: Stormville, NY
End: Dennytown Rd
Distance: 15.3 miles

Day 74 - Mail woes (13/9/2016)

Today I was hoping to pop into Stormville and pick up my missed mail drop.

Today I popped into Stormville for nothing.

I'm sleeping behind a deli with Eskimo, Broadway, Troll and Ser Blue hoping the package will arrive tomorrow.

Start: Nuclear Lake
End: Stormville, NY
Distance: 8.3 Miles

Day 73 - The Origin of WallabyMan (12/9/2016)

I felt much better today. Sleeping on a beach next to a river and waking up cold was a nice antidote to the last few days (that's right, COLD!!). I made coffee and headed out. There was a deli about 10 miles into today's walk, so that was the goal for lunch.

Instead of the deli, I ended up at a Garden Centre that offered an outdoor showerhead (with roughly zero privacy), cold drinks, ice cream, and power supply for charging devices. I stayed on their porch for a couple of hours to eat my own food and lighten my pack, and charge my phone.

As usual these days, I headed back on the trail with no idea where the next water source would be.  It turns out that the answer was Nuclear Lake. I'd been warned not to touch the water here, and my trail guide notably did not include it as a water source. That said, there were no warnings about water or fish toxicity posted anywhere near the lake. Ponds aren't my favourite water source, but these days I'm not very picky. I did what I usually do when faced with a substandard water option - take some with me, but don't use it unless it becomes necessary.

It's a good thing I brought it, since there were no other water sources around. I may be radioactive, but at least I'm not thirsty.

Besides, maybe this is going to be my origin story.

Start: Ten Mile River
End: South end of Nuclear Lake
Distance: 16.2 miles

* At some point today I crossed into New York. New York must just assume we'll feel the difference, because there were no signs.

Day 71 - My Kingdom for a Glass of Water (10/9/2016)

Another morning where putting the pack on hurt. A bit of rain made the morning temperatures bearable, but I fell hard for the first time since New Hampshire, Pouch's rain cover is now torn, and the tip on one of my trekking poles is broken. I've been walking in the same socks for 6 straight days, lost one of my camp shoes, and messed things up so I won't be able to make my next maildrop. The rain also didn't last and we were back to hot, humid, and water-less. To try and help stay comfortable I spent most of the afternoon walking in just my underwear. I still ran out of water before coming on a really sad source where I fought frogs for access. I called it a day and camped down there.

I have to say that the best parts of the last few weeks of hiking have been the days I wasn't hiking. I'm not sure how much more drought I can [or want to] endure. No one who attempted the Connecticut challenge today made it.

Start: Pine Swamp Brook
End: Skiff Mtn Road
Distance: 14.2 miles

Day 70 - Snake Safety: A cross-cultural study (9/9/2016)

Another slow start today. Long breaks make it tough to get going. Still, I fought the through. The weather is hot and humid, and water remains scarce which means carrying a lot more than I'd like. The word is it'll be like this all the way to Maryland, so if I'm honest, I'll be really glad to get the hell out of the mid-Atlantic.

On the other hand, I'm seeing a lot of new SOBO faces. Who knew there were so many behind us!

Also some familiar SOBO faces! I found Pancake! It's been three whole states since our paths diverged, so it was really cool to finally cross paths again. We'll likely see each other for the next few days/weeks before she takes some time to visit and hike with friends in her home state (New Jersey).

Today also resulted in an exciting first: my first rattlesnake! Here is how I deal with coming face to face with a venomous snake:

Australia: give the snake a very wide berth, and hope that snakes don't have a good memory for faces.

North America: get my camera out and try to get a good picture until it finally rears up into a strike coil and rattles its tail.

I couldn't get a good shot, but trust me: rattlesnakes are kind of ugly.

Start: Streams under Lion's Head
End: Pine Swamp Brook
Distance: 17 miles

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 52 - Tribes by the Dozen (22/8/2016)

I think I might have forgotten to mention that I saw my first bear the other day. A young one, running away (as they usually are).

Today was a good day. I wanted to hit the library before heading out on the trail, so I found myself with 45 minutes to kill. This meant I could chat with the barista at the Yellow Deli, and find out a bit more about the community. I can't say that I learned all that much, really, except that they are quite fond of Yeshua (Jesus), and aren't all that Judaism inspired after all. He did pique my curiosity a bit though, so I'll try to visit the other Yellow Delis as I travel the trail and learn more.

I'm back to chasing miles today. I did about 13 in 6 hours, including hitting the 500 mile mark! (That would be more impressive if I wasn't supposed to be at 744.) Still, setting mileage targets and hitting them seems to be what I need right now. I'll get back to being "in the moment" when I'm more caught up.

Start: US 4
End: around the 501 mile mark
Distance: 12.6 miles

Day 51 - The Red Carpet State (21/8/2016)

This morning I woke up determined to cover the 12 miles to Rutland in a reasonable amount of time. I set out with the goal of keeping 2 miles/hr including any rest time. It turns out that Vermont made this easy. Vermont is essentially a long, soft, red carpet.

The Red Carpet State

My only real delay was for some trail magic (hamburgers)!

Tonight I'm staying at the Yellow Deli & Hiker Hostel. Yellow Delis are run by the 12 Tribes, which is a religious community (read commune/cult). I'd hoped to spend more time finding out about them, but when you have to resupply and you've already lost a few days in Hanover, it's hard to fit some anthropology into your day. I did, however, have dinner at the deli, and I can say with certainty that they make amazing sandwiches and the fruit salad was impressive.

Also, despite being a commune, they are very welcoming and inclusive. Here's the label on the deli bathroom doors (note that they do segregate men and women in the hostel, which is unusual):

 And this card was in my "welcome basket" on my bed:

And everything hostel-related is by donation or work-for-stay.

So whatever else you might hear about them, they are genuine in their desire to support people.

Start: mile 475
End: US 4, near Killington
Distance: 13.4 miles

Day 50 - People of the half century (20/8/2016)

I've been having real motivational problems lately. THis morning I couldn't get myself started until 9AM after making myself some coffee (which I haven't done yet on the trail - thanks Evergreen). Then I made it 15 mins before pausing for a long conversation with a NOBO.

The good thing about those conversations is that they usually inspire me to start walking again. Of course if you need an hour of conversation for every hour of walking, you don't get far. But I hit the trail reenergized and made it to a shelter for water. Then lunch. Then a nap. When I got started again it was 2PM and I'd walked around 3 miles, with little interest in doing more.

I forced myself 2 miles and ran into Passport. Passport had done 900 miles of the PCT earlier this year and was doing a section of the AT now. We had similar world and hiking philosophies and so another inspiring chat ensued. By the time I left there, it was 4PM and I'd done 5 miles. I managed 5 more before camping down.

I need to find a way to keep walking without taking 4 hours of rest every day.

Start: VT 12 + 1 mile
End: around the 475 mile mark
Distance: 10.5 miles

Day 49 - Zzzzzz (19/8/2016)

I'm exhausted today. Captain Stash lives on a train line near a road. Had some great magic and convos. Here's a bullet list:

• Linda and the Trail Magic House: Two blocks from Stash's is a large blue barn with an AT symbol an free breakfast.
• Evergreen: a great guy I met during a break who gave me coffee crystals since he had a resupply coming.
• Puddle: a U Waterloo alumnus!
• Honey Bear and Sunny: Two hikers slacking themselves for a bit. They had a veggie burger, onion rings and wine for me.

There was a field of cows that if I wasn't so tired, would make for a funny story. Another day perhaps.

Start: Stash and Cathy's

End: VT 12 + 1 mile

Distance: 13.8 miles

Day 23 - No Worries (24/7/2016)

A lazy morning was followed by a short hike to the road into Rangeley. I managed to hitch a ride almost immediately with a navy vet whose son had done the trail in 2001.

My goal today was just a quick resupply and some real food before hitting the trail again. One of the grocery staff told me about a cafe with good coffee and reliable wifi. I ordered a latte and a chocolate croissant, but before I could sit down, a friendly bearded fellow started up a chat. I turns out he was doing the trail too, but following yellow blazes on his BMW bike (yellow blazes are trail speak for road lines). We had a great conversation about nomadic life and lucky meetings, traded details, and then I went off to deal with blog and other digital needs.

As he was leaving he popped over and left me a pin with two worry dolls on it.

That was only the first cool thing to happen today.

[I just had to interrupt this because while writing it I just heard three very large, loud splashes in the pond I'm camped next to. I couldn't see anything, but I'd guess it was either a large animal (moose?) splashing into the pond, or a beaver felling trees. I'll take a closer look tomorrow if I can... Which is a nice segue into the second cool thing.]

When I got to my site this afternoon I found a canoe with a paddle and some PFDs! I finally got to be on the water again. I dropped my pack and took the least rickety looking canoe and spent 20 mins just wandering around (after relearning how to use a paddle).

I thought I'd have the site to myself, but then Legs and Timber showed up so they had a paddle, and we had dinner together.

Start: Piazza Rock
End: Little Swift River Pond
Distance: 6.6 miles + a detour into Rangeley

Upcoming Mail Drops

I now have several packages chasing me down the trail since it turns out that anything from Canada or abroad takes 8-14 business days to get to me. I'll try to start posting addresses further down the trail from now on.

My next locations will be:

Serje Robidoux (trail name Wallaby)
c/o Hiker's Welcome Hostel
P.O. Box 25
Glencliff, NH 03238
ETA: 12/8/2016

Serje Robidoux (Hold for Hiker)
c/o General Delivery
50 S Main St,
Hanover, NH 03755
ETA: 15/8/2016

Serje Robidoux (Hold for Hiker)
c/o General Delivery
2046 Route 4
Killington, VT 05751
ETA: 18/8/2016

As always, if you send something please let me know by email (and include a tracking number if you have one). That way I can bounce things forward if I outrun them. From Canada, XpressPost seems to be very fast (but I assume expensive).

Day 22 - The Thing Family (23/7/2016)

I parted ways with Pancake for the time being this morning. Her ankle is going to slow her down for a while, but hopefully it heals quickly and we meet again down the trail.

I kept finding blueberries and beautiful views over the ridges today. I kept 1/2 a cup for breakfast. :)

At camp, I met the Thing Family. This is me under Piazza Rock with Things 1 & 2, who were on their very first overnight hike. We had a great time climbing rocks and exploring caves before sharing gummy bears and marshmallows at camp. A great 40+a day.

Thanks to veggieguy (who sounds like Alan Alda!) for this photo.

Start: Poplar Ridge
End: Piazza Rock
Distance: 8.3 miles (13.5 km)

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)

Day 20 - 39 for one more day (21/7/2016)

After a pretty uneventful day and evening in Stratton, we headed out late today fully re-supplied. The challenge was to cover 25miles in the next couple of days to catch up to Trout and Eskimo to celebrate my 40th.

We're fully stocked for a party - Pancake bought brownie mix and a bottle of 12 year old Glenlivet (she wouldn't let me buy them). She's packing the whiskey, I'm packing the brownie. Probably because she knows better than to trust me with fine scotch.

I got to camp to find Trout and Eskimo there. Pancake's ankle has been injured so she's trailing behind a bit. She doesn't expect to make it to the first campsite, but she'll make up the distance in the morning. To make sure she's there, we decided to move the party 4 miles earlier. By nightfall we gave up on seeing her, and just hoped her ankle was ok.

Then she showed up! No headlamp, under cover of dark, she hobbled into camp just as most of us were about to crawl into bed.

Today was a good day of hiking. I got to know Littlefoot a bit better. He's a smart, positive and adventurous teen. I think he'll do some amazing things. I hope to walk with him a lot. Also spent a bit of time with Legs, who is another academic struggling with the uncertainty of Postdoctoral life. All in all a great day, though my hip is acting up again.

Start: Stratton
End: Spalding Mountain
Distance: 12.5 Miles (20 km)