Day 61 - Rest Day At The Goose (31/8/2016)

This was a nice easy day, though I still struggled for the last few miles. You know you're tired when 11 miles feels as tough as 18. (Then again, you know you're fitter when 11 miles used to be a big day, and now it's a rest day.)

Upper Goose Pond is every bit as amazing as I was told it would be. The caretaker has a big white wolfhound named Falcor (to go with a small brown mutt named Bella). After pitching my tent, I took a canoe to an island in the pond for lunch. There I had a cup of tea, some lunch, and listened to music on my phone. Truly serene. When I got back, I found out that Uncle Mickey had bought hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone, so I immediately had dinner. Then I went up to my tent to make real dinner (yep, three consecutive meals in a few hours), and met Jellybean and Pooh Bear. They're both former army, and were on their first recreational backpacking trip - and discovering that trail walking with big packs is harder than they'd expected.

We had a great chat, and I gave them lots of reassurance that, indeed, trail walking with big packs is hard. Then we chatted about army life, and Germany (Pooh Bear had been an army brat there as well). They left me with a really delicious hit sauce (Puerto Ricans don't mess around with that).

Canoes, dogs, grilled burgers, and good conversations. It's really hard to explain how much I needed them that day.

Also, at the end of the day, Littlefoot showed up! I feared we'd lost him to the 12 Tribes, so I'm glad he's remained in society (sort of). I also found out that Eskimo, who'd gone to hospital with suspected giardia, was back on trail (and also not a member of the 12 Tribes). Good news abounds!

Start: Cookie Lady's

End: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

Distance: 11.1 miles

Day 60 - in which wallaby's legs get tired. (30/8/2016)

After 70 miles in 4 days, my legs are due for a break. Tomorrow I head to Upper Goose Pond Cabin, where there are bunks, canoes, and pancakes. Fortunately it's only 11 miles away, so I can take it slow and give my body some rest.

Today while walking through Dalton, MA, I came across a house flying the American flag (no surprise) alongside the Canadian flag (much more rare!) I called out to the woman on the porch that I liked her flag, and that led to a conversation. Not only was Suzanne Canadian, but her father lives 20 minutes from my parents (and thus me, I suppose). In fact, he had been the police chief in my parents' town! It's a long trail, but a small world.

She somewhat grudgingly let me take a photo before forcing me to carry a large zucchini the rest of the day. Nothing without its price.

It was a tough, dry, final 7 miles today so it's time for bed. Zzzzzzz

Start: St. Mary's

End: The Cookie Lady's yard

Distance: 18.5 miles

Day 59 - A Visit from Legs (29/8/2016)

Another day that started low but ended high.

It poured last night, so I had to pack up my wet tent this morning, load up Pouch with far too much food, and trudge out of my lair slowly. I struggled through, eventually finding myself at the summit of Mount Grey lock, which had the nicest views I've seen since the Whites.

With a Powerade in hand, followed by coffee,

I'd just checked Facebook to find someone chatty, 

when out on the terrace there arose such a clatter. 

I sprang from my bench to see what was the matter. 

Away to the window I flew like a flash, 

when what to my wondering eyes should appear, 

but Legs! And Foggy! (sadly, no reindeer) *

I hadn't seen Foggy since the 100 mile wilderness, and thought Legs and friends were well ahead of me. Timber and Pinky Purple followed. The meeting of friends once again rejuvenated me, and I managed the next 7 miles at a better than 3 mph pace.

Now I'm bunked down in the Parish Hall of a Catholic Church in Cheshire.

‎

Start: My secret lair

End: St Mary's, Cheshire‎

Distance: 15.6 miles‎

* To the descendants of Clement Clark Moore: I'm sorry.

Day 58 - Wily Wallaby (28/8/2016)

So I've now finished Vermont, and entered Massachusetts. Vermont started with beautiful gentle terrain, and descended into a muddy hellscape*. I had my rainiest experience there, but also my biggest miles. The people were the nicest, but also the craziest. Here's a list of conspiracies that featured in my interactions here:

• Contrails
• Fixed elections
• Bigfoot

And my personal favourite:

• Lyme disease is because of chemicals the government is putting in the water

Massachusetts from Vermont

So far, Massachusetts has been like someone flipped a switch. The mud disappeared as soon as I crossed the line, to be replaced by piles of rock reminiscent of New Hampshire. Definitely the most abrupt change across state lines that I've experienced so far.

Vermont from Massachusetts

My plan had been to get to North Adams as early as possible, get dinner and food resupply, then camp down. It turns out that most of the trail near town is in the watershed, so camping is prohibited. I camped down illegally about a mile in from the road. I found dinner and food, and then, under cover of darkness, I slinked back to my tent.

 To the list of "hard things" I'll add "finding a bear hang in the dark".

My next stop will be Great Barrington, where friends will collect me for a weekend in NYC, and then some hiking in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

* hellscape might be an exaggeration ‎

Start: VT 9

End: my secret lair

Distance: 17.5 miles

Day 57 - Trail Training (27/8/2016)

Still really focused on miles. I have to get to the other side of Massachusetts by the 2nd of September, so it's all go, all the time now.

I've been thinking a lot about how my running background contributes on the trail. You might think that it would make me relatively fast. The thing is, running gives you good cardio, but it doesn't prepare your body for 8-12 hours of walking on rough terrain with 25-40 lbs on your back. Cardio is useless if your muscles, tendons, and joints can't keep up. This is why a lot of runners find themselves with overuse injuries on the trail.

That said, I have noticed a few benefits (I think).

1. Injury detection and prevention
   Running has taught me how to know that a problem is forming and when to ease off. Between my running injuries and physio, and my crossfit years, I have a pretty good arsenal of stretches to help head off injuries before they get serious.
2. Mental vs physical weakness
   Some days, it's hard to put in miles. Sometimes that's because I'm physically exhausted and my body genuinely needs a break. Other times, it's more psychological and I'm really just being a weenie. Training for runs seems to help me know which is which.
3. Willpower
   When I'm just being a weenie, you just have to get over it and get the job done. Treating training as work has helped me get through the weenieness 90% of the time. (The other 10% of the time is ok - sometimes you need a mental break too.)

Just some random thoughts as I put in miles. I haven't been immune to injuries, but I think running has helped me deal with them.

Start: Story Spring + 1.5 miles

End: VT 9

Distance: 16.6 miles

Day 56 - The Brown Carpet State (26/8/2016)

Vermont went from being a beautiful carpet of red pine needles, to a messy bog of mud on the trail. Admittedly, it just rained, but it seems that southern Vermont is very different from northern Vermont.

Since I've been so focussed on miles lately, there haven't been a lot of great interactions. Either that, or the great interactions are beginning to feel commonplace. In any case, I thought I'd take this opportunity to tell the apple story.

Way back in the 100 Mile Wilderness, most of us were craving some real food pretty badly. Being a week from any chance at a hamburger will do that to a person. Most people craved burgers, pizza, that sort of thing. Not me. Me, I craved a tomato. Or an orange, or something fresh, fruity, and juicy.

So on this day, I was walking in the rain and generally just thinking about tomatoes. I came upon a sandy beach, and went and looked out over a pond on a misty, rainy day. It was really very serene. Glancing up the beach to my left, I noticed something round and yellowish red at the edge of the water. "Taipan," I said to myself (since I was still going as Taipan then), "that appears to be an apple."

I looked at it for a long, long time. I eventually decided that I should at least go and throw it in the bushes so that it didn't sully the wilderness feel of the beach. I wandered over and picked it up. In my hand was the most perfect apple I had ever seen. It had a small bruise less than the size of my thumbnail, and only lightly brown. This imperfection only highlighted how perfect a piece of fruit my eyes were gazing upon. I looked at it for a long, long time again. "Taipan", I said to myself, "this is a perfectly good apple that someone has just accidentally dropped, probably moments ago." And then "Are you really going to throw this away?"

And I looked at that apple for a very long time. And I brushed away some small sandy pebbles that the beach had decorated it with.

And that was the most delicious apple I have ever, or will ever eat. I refuse to apologize for eating a dirty beach apple, for it would have been an insult to all of the apple, nay all of the FRUIT, kingdom, had I simply tossed it in the bushes for the worms. That apple ended its existence as nobly as any apple ever has.

And apparently that story has become well enough known that my name is now synonymous with being the "apple guy."

Start: Spruce Peak + 1 mile
End: Story Spring + 1.5 miles
Distance: 19.5 miles

Day 55 - Bear Safety (25/8/2016)

When I mentioned this project to a lot of people, they usually started out asking me about bears. Bears are a serious concern on the AT, no question. As a result, I'm kind of a stickler for bear safety:

1. I always hang my food, including cookware, at least 60 yds from my tent.
2. A good bear hang is 10' above the ground, 5' away from any tree trunks, and 5' down from a branch that would not support the weight of a bear.
3. My cooking area is 60 yds from my tent and also 60 yds from my bear hang.
4. Toothpaste smells like food to a bear, so it goes in the bear hang as well.

I do as many of those things as I can, as carefully as I can.

When it's dry.

When it's raining hard, my rules become more like this:

1. I haven't seen a bear in a couple of days. That one isn't near here. Probably.
2. Bears probably hate the rain too.
3. I've smelled like pepperoni before, so if bears were really a threat I'd be dead already.
4. Bear hangs are a stupid idea. If the food is with me, at least I have some chance of defending it.
1. Don't get wet for stupid ideas.
5. If toothpaste were food, hikers would already have eaten the whole tube.
6. Having dinner inside your tent puts a barrier between your food and the bears. Besides, bears know how stupid it is to eat in the rain, so they won't bother you. Don't be dumber than a bear.

Tonight it's raining, and it turns out macaroni makes a nice pillow. Like a bean bag.

Start: Bromley + 1 mile

End: Spruce Peak Shelter + 1 mile

Distance: 4.8 miles (with a stop in Manchester Center)