Day 9 - Winged Flight (10/7/2016)

Got up this morning to a day of rain walking... again. Joey (ex military guy now known as Slip 'n Slide) and Trout caught me after about 5 miles and and they were planning to do the full 20 miles into Monson. I didn't think I could handle that, but just before we all set off Slip 'n Slide offered me a caffeine pill.

Holy F---.

It was like someone gave me wings. All the pain in my legs and feet disappeared, and I drove forward like the roots and rocks were there to help not hinder the walking.

I held with them until the hills and descents got the better of Trout and we had to stop. We were well-short of the 20 miles when we stumbled on Cole (young native guy who accidentally ended up with the very un-PC trail name Eskimo) camped down for the night at Little Wilson Falls. We camped down as well and had a nice evening to warm us up for a chill 7 miles in the sun to Monson in the morning. No rain means I'll take it easier and get there when I get there.

Start: Cloud Pond
End: Little Wilson Falls
Distance: 13.7 miles (22 km)

My right hip is getting worse, so I might look into a physio in Monson/Greenville.

Day 5 - "be in the moment" (6/7/2016)

After the rough day that ended well yesterday, I'm adopting a new attitude of "be in the moment." This part of the trail is beautiful, so rather than chasing miles I'm going to find nice places and stop and see how far I get. It'd be a shame to get so caught up in making progress that I spend too much time looking at the map instead of the scenery.

I'm also formally adopting the name Taipan as my trail name. Only Beef Jerky and Kangapard know me as Supple Leopard, and I doubt I'll see them again. Those old timers have way more seasoned walking legs than me. Kangapard will be sad I didn't take her suggestion of FlexCat if she ever hears.

On the recommendation of Squirt and Sweetpea from Kentucky I stopped at a beautiful beach on Nahmakanta Lake, where I met Lost & Found, a 72 year old (!) who was completing her last section of the trail after 20 years of section hikes.

Also passed Nathan and Duke, two guys who are carrying 65lb (30kg) packs, because of too much food. They were hunkered down trying to gorge on double and triple rations to lighten the load. Nice to know I'm not the only one whose planning didn't play out as expected.

Today has alternated between threatening rain and blue skies. Should be a warm night, but I'm putting up the fly just in case.

Started: Nahmakanta Stream
Ended: Jo Mary Road
Distance: ??

Day 3 - Fourth of July (4/7/2016)

Spent the day walking "with" Beef Jerky and Kangapard.

It's a consensus view that Supple Leopard is out. I think I want to take a piece of Australia with me on this trip so maybe I'll go with Taipan.

The last two miles today were excruciating. I don't think the terrain was so bad, but I hit the wall pretty badly. Then trying to make dinner went sideways when my filtration pump stopped working. Water is pretty important as a rule, so I started planning what happens if I don't have a reliable filtration system (hint: There's no answer that can be described as a win). I can treat up to 24L of water with tablets after which I'm down to boiling every drop. It's hot. I'm going through a lot of water. There's no way to finish the 100 mile wilderness that way.

It turned out that cleaning the filter solved the problem. Luckily the rasp on my Leatherman is perfect for the task, but I'm starting to see why no one else is using pump filtration anymore.

I have to admit I am starting to reconsider this project on Day Two of real hiking. On a scale of 1 to 10, Day 3 gets a 3.


Start : Hurd Brook
End: Crescent Pond
Distance: 15.7 miles ( 25 km)

Day Two - Into The Woods (3/7/2016)

[These journal-style entries will be posted whenever I can get a chance to queue them up, but they will be delayed from th actual dates]

This is my first real day on the trail after the slackpack up and down Katahdin yesterday. Now it's 7-10 days with nothing but me and my pack.

Despite cutting a huge amount of food, I'm pretty sure I have too much. I've decided that in a few days I'll hang a really low food bag as a sort of bear piñata.

It also turns out that the word Supple is not as widely known as I'd thought, so the trail name Supple Leopard is really not working. I'll have to rethink or get a new one.

I'm sleeping in a shelter tonight with Beef Jerky and Kangapard, two older hikers who are doing a flip-flop (they hiked north from Georgia to Harpers Ferry, and are now hiking south from Katahdin). Nice pair, lots of experience and Kangapard and I bonded over our affection for Oz.

Start : Daicey Pond
End : Hurd Brook Lean-to
Distance : 11 miles (17.6 km)
[Ed. note: Apologies for typos, I'm doing this from my phone because the hostel I'm at has terrible wifi.]

Intro

I'll use this site to track my progress through the Appalachian Trail. For the most part, I imagine it will just be information for those who want to keep up with where I am, how things are going, etc... Any serious blogging will probably happen after I leave the trail and have some time to transcribe any writing I do.

First up, I'm picking a trail name. Honey Badger and Badger were tops on my list until I discovered that both have been pretty popular trail names over the years. So instead, I'm going with Supple Leopard. Yeah, it's ironic (as my physio, and CrossFit pals will tell you). It's also a nod to Kelly Starrett's work and book "Becoming a Supple Leopard", which I've used a lot in the past to deal with mobility.

Mostly I just think it sounds good.

I don't know if that will be of any use to anyone but who knows. Maybe I'll meet someone on the trail who blogs an embarrassing story about me. This way you can all find it.

Image from Keven Law.