Looking for some context as to what this post is about? Check out Part 2 here and Part 1 here
“No plan survives first contact with the enemy”
~Helmuth van Moltke
If there’s anything that thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail has taught me, it’s that it doesn’t matter how thoroughly you prepare for something…it doesn’t matter how many x-factors you take into account…and it doesn’t matter what you think is going to happen.
What ultimately happens is always different from anything you planned for, and you have to understand that it’s just part of the trail. Honestly, it’s just part of life. The sooner you can make peace with this, the more enjoyable the journey becomes.
That’s the way it’s been with me for the past two weeks on the AT. More specifically, that does a pretty good job of summing up the current situation I’m in.
Right now, I’m sitting in the passenger seat of my car, my dogs fast asleep in the back seat. I’m typing up this third blog while my wife drives us from her parents’ house in New Jersey down to my parents’ house in Pennsylvania so we can celebrate my mother’s birthday. Tomorrow, according to the current plan, we’re driving back to where I currently stand on the trail…mile marker 639.9 just east of Lee, Massachusetts…so that I can start a two-and-a-half week push to Pennsylvania just as long as my left quad muscle heals itself properly. This is not a scenario I saw myself being in when I left off on my last blog past in Hanover, NH. But again, as Herr van Moltke said, “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”. So it goes.
That being said, here’s what transpired in the last 2 weeks…
DAY 37 – August 16, 2019
Food. Resupply. Laundry (if you feel like it). More food. Move on. Ashli told me a while ago that there’s a beauty in the simplicity of trail life. While there are always things you have to worry about out in the wilderness n the trail, I pretty much just listed all the things you have to worry about when you’re in a town. So it was when I finished up my blog post in Hanover. I grabbed some last-minute supplies from the co-op store in town (chatting with a section-hiking NOBO named Mr. Grinch in the process), picked up a new pair of shoes that were shipped to the post office (thanks, Mom!), grabbed a pizza at Ramunto’s with Just Melanie, Larry, and a couple other NOBOs, then I decided to walk all the way to another state!!! Yup, just 1.5 miles away.
It was pretty odd, and honestly a little uncomfortable, that for a whole 1.5 miles, the trail followed a sidewalk next to a major road, with blazes dotted along the telephone poles. The trail does this from time to time, but considering I’m still used to the wild woods of Maine, this still seems really weird to me. Towards the end of my short stretch along the road, I walked across a nice bridge spanning the Connecticut River and at the midpoint was a granite plaque that said “VT|NH” indicating I had crossed south into Vermont. With a smile of satisfaction, I stopped at the Norwich Inn (now that I was no longer in Hanover, NH and was now in the town of Norwich, VT), had a beer, and called the Norwich Hostel for a ride so I could spend the night there. 30 minutes later, I found myself chilling on a couch in a simple house with Strikeout and a couple other NOBO’s watching “The Core”. It was pretty much a zero day, but I was in a new state, and ready to start crushing it tomorrow. Once again, I was really enjoying the simplicity of things.
MILES COVERED: 1.5 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 443.6 miles
DAY 38 – August 17, 2019
“Pain is normal, even after a zero day” is what I remind myself of when I get out of my bunk bed in the morning. At a certain point, when you’ve hiked enough miles on the AT, you’re just going to be constantly sore. Your knees will feel rickety, the bones on the bottom of your feet will feel like they’ve been ground to dust, and stairs…well…stairs are just awful. However, as long as it’s just soreness and not genuine pain from an actual injury, then it means you’re good to go. You put on your shoes and before you know it, you’re back in the woods crushing miles. There’s a certain level of masochism to all of this.
At 7:30, after getting a lift back to the trail from the hostel, I was starting to bag my first miles in Vermont in the midst of heavy drizzle and fog. As I hiked, I realized that the NOBOs I had been talking with the last few days were completely right…Vermont really did feel like paradise compared to Maine and New Hampshire. I found myself most of the time walking on soft pine needle beds, often hiking through fields instead of forests, I was climbing gentle rolling hills instead of lung-busting mountains, and there were even sections of the trail where right there, in the middle of the wilderness, was a little library stand where you could take and/or leave a book!
After about 8 miles, just before I reached the town of West Hartford, I stumbled across a ton of trash scattered across the trail. About 8 pounds worth. “Ridiculous. Stupid kids,” I thought to myself, “this stuff is getting packed out.” Strapping my trekking poles to my pack, I scooped up the trash into the two large and partially ripped bags and carried the bags about two miles into town where a nice gentleman offered to throw them out for me. “Maybe this makes up for when I littered on Mt. Garfield”, I thought to myself (See part 2).
In West Hartford, I decided to do a quick refill of my water bottles and have a snack at the tiny local library/post office. When I got there, I found I had a bit of cell service and saw I had a text from…color me surprised…Marc and Angie! My trail angels from Day 1! Turns out they were passing through Vermont that day and if I was in the area they were in that afternoon, they would love to take me out for dinner. I got back in touch with them and found out if I could bag about 14 miles in about 6 hours, I could be at a road crossing close to them. With thunderstorms in the forecast, this could be true trail magic! So, without wasting another second, I bounded out the door of the library and began basically running the 14 miles I needed to finish. I found my time to be GREAT on the soft terrain of Vermont. I even had time to stop at a house just 100 yards off the trail at one road crossing where they were giving out sodas and small snacks to thru-hikers.
By 5:00, I indeed found myself just north of Woodstock, VT, and just 10 minutes later, I was riding with Marc and Angie into town for an unexpected dinner and hotel stay!! To make things even better, just as we reached Woodstock, the sky opened up and a MONSTROUS thunderstorm started. I could have been sitting in my tent that night getting pummeled by rain, thunder, and wind. Instead, I found myself eating tapas with Marc and Angie and sleeping in a warm motel bed that night. I was truly a lucky man that day.
MILES COVERED: 21.7 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 465.3 miles
DAY 39 – August 18, 2019
Up at 6:30 in a hotel (I even got to watch an episode of SpongeBob!), and Patrick (owner of the Sleep Inn Woodstock Motel) gave me a lift back to the trail. A super nice guy who is running the motel as part of his retirement, and a guy who loves thru-hikers, he gave me a little treat by taking me on the scenic route back to the trail. This included driving me past an open field of art sculptures called SculptureFest. On top of that, there was a fine fog hanging over the field, so it gave an eerie, almost dreamlike appearance to the art. It’s little treats like this that really stand out to me and become the things I know I’ll truly remember when this whole thing is over.
By 8:00, I was back on trail hiking through tall grass fields (and getting a nice bath in the process since everything was soaked from the rain the night before). By 10:30, I had reached “The Lookout”, which was a really cool 4-walled cabin with a crow’s nest where you could get a panoramic view of the Green Mountains. When Ashli thru-hiked in 2014, her and her trail-family had a great birthday party at the Lookout for one of her friends. Since I had cell service, I texted her a picture so she could take a ride down memory lane. In response, she asked how far I planned to go today, and I told her I was going less far today since yesterday was a big day. Ash’s response was to challenge me to try and bag ANOTHER 20-mile day just a day after doing over 21 miles. Back-to-back 20-mile days was something I had never done before, and I was a little nervous at the prospect, but grudgingly, I accepted Ashli’s offer. So…off I went…and by just 5:00…I had indeed done another 20+ mile day! In just two days, I had bagged over 42 miles! Nice! That evening, I found myself camping in Gifford Woods State Park, soaking my legs and feet in a stream, and eating a dehydrated beef stroganoff. I felt tired and sore as hell, but man, did it feel good to know I was hiking distances that were impossible for me a month ago. Getting stronger, baby!
MILES COVERED: 20.6 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 485.9 miles
DAY 40 – August 19, 2019
There’s been a real spring in my step. Not just because I know I have my trail legs under me, but also because on Friday, just 4 days from now, I’m going to get to see Ashli for the first time since I started the trail! I had 50 miles I needed to cover in a 4-day stretch, and considering I had banged out 42+ in just the two days before, that was going to be cake. So I decided I would take some time to check out the town of Rutland and the trail-famous “Yellow Deli” that so many NOBOs had told me about.
The Yellow Deli, for those of you who don’t know, is a deli and hiker hostel in the town of Rutland, VT that is run by the Twelve Tribes Spiritual Community. I figured a couple days, including a slack pack over Killington Peak, while based out of the Yellow Deli, would be a great way to bang out some mileage before seeing Ash and also have a lot of fun at the same time. With the sun just starting to rise, I hiked out of the state park and in just an hour and a half, I was at the crossing of the highway heading out of Killington, VT and heading towards Rutland. From here, I got a hitch down to Rutland, but honestly, I wish I had taken a different ride. While I appreciate anyone who is willing to give a hitch, the guy who gave me a lift was genuinely terrifying. Halfway through the ride, as we were talking about each of our lives, he started ranting and screaming about how awful of a human being his landlord is. This rant included a lot of steering-wheel banging and slight swerving of the vehicle towards the oncoming lane. By the time we reached the Yellow Deli in Rutland, I couldn’t say ‘thank you’ and get out of the car quick enough. Thanks for the ride, buddy, but…whew…please talk to somebody.
The reception I got upon walking into the hostel was pretty much the exact opposite of the hitch…warm, relaxed, and welcoming, and it felt so nice to feel so welcome as a thru-hiker. The hostel at the Yellow Deli operates on a donations-appreciated basis rather than fixed-price, so I made sure to help out throughout the day via donating some cash and also doing some work such as doing dishes and folding towels in the common area. I arranged a slack pack for Killington Peak (the 2nd highest mountain in VT) for the next day, and spent the rest of the day gorging on leftover breakfast and lunch foods that were provided by the deli. That night, I went out for drinks at a local British pub with a NOBO named Broadway, then shuffled my way back to bed slightly buzzed and ready to get back out to a trail whose butt I’m really starting to kick.
MILES COVERED: 3.1 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 489.0 miles
DAY 41 – August 20, 2019
Slack-packing is the absolute best. It really is. BUT, in order for it to be the best, it has to be something you do sparingly. This would be my first slack-pack since Kinsman, so I was super excited to see how this round would go. After a complimentary breakfast which I paid for by washing dishes, and after hanging out briefly with Falcon, Pterodactyl, Valu-Pak, and several other hikers, I hopped on a bus back to Killington and by 9:00, I found myself effortlessly bounding up the slopes of Killington Peak with just an 8-pound pack instead of my usual 35 pounds. I felt like if I started flapping my arms, my feet would lift off the ground!
Along the way, I met Funside, a super cool hiker who, along with her dog, has thru-hiked the AT, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail, thus completing the “triple crown” of thru-hiking in the United States. Here, she was merely in the middle of a thru-hike of the Long Trail, which is a ~280-mile trail that runs the length of Vermont from north to south. By 11:00, I reached the summit of Killington and I paused to enjoy the amazing views in the clear weather. Just like Mt. Washington, there is a gondola to the top, so I met a lot of people in T-shirts and flip-flops who looked incredulous at the fact that someone actually walked to the summit.
On the way down from Killington, I had one of my favorite moments on entire AT. At this time of year, there are a ton of college pre-orientation groups that are out doing weekend hikes. Such was the case here on Killington. On my way down the opposite side of the mountain, I walked past a group of about 10 girls in what looked to be their late teens or early 20’s and they were all motivating each other to try and finish their last push to the summit by singing “I’ll Make A Man out of You” from Mulan. The problem was that they were all out of breath and so they were struggling to sing the words loudly and happily. So me, all full of oxygen from starting my descent, quickly whipped around (since Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies) and sang in my best voice “LET’S get DOWN to BUSINESS!” The desired effect took place, and the girls all burst into cheers and smiles and started hiking more eagerly. With a smile, I continued down the mountain. I met another college pre-orientation group at Gov. Clement Shelter and for a moment, I felt like a celebrity as they all eagerly asked questions to this “seasoned” 33-year old thru-hiker. By 5:00, I had finished my slack-pack and was able to get a hitch back to the Yellow Deli from a really nice family of 2 moms and 3 children who were out doing some swimming at one of the many lakes in the Green Mountains. I found to my delight that Cowboy (now Nitro), Spud, and several other thru-hikers who had been a day behind me had now caught up and were also staying at the Yellow Deli that night. We shared dinner and stories and then headed off to bed around 10. Another fun day in the books.
MILES COVERED: 17.7 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 506.7 miles
DAY 42—August 21, 2019
I was only 32 miles away from Manchester, VT at this point, and I had a total of three days to get there to meet Ashli. Considering how strong I had been feeling the last few days, I decided I only needed two days of hiking and so I would take a zero for the day. Also, the weather forecast for the day was pouring rain all morning and severe thunderstorms all afternoon, so that made the decision to zero even easier. The rain started within an hour of me waking up in the morning, so I REALLY knew I was making a good choice today. I decided to help with breakfast again by getting downstairs early and working with the staff of Yellow Deli by baking all the bread (including an amazing Jalapeño Cheese bread) for breakfast, and doing a large chunk of the dishes at the end. As always, the staff of the Yellow Deli were super friendly and accommodating, but also encouraging me to move on the next day so that there would be plenty of room for other hikers who would want a chance to get out of the rain. Upon hearing this, I came to the conclusion that it really was time for me to start opening up my hike. Over the past 42 days, I had taken 8 zeros. While I don’t really regret any of those zeros, I knew that I was really handicapping how far down the trail I could be if I wasn’t taking so many rest days, so I made a vow to myself that I would not take any more zero days that weren’t absolutely necessary and I would instead try to make TONS of miles each week. Little did I know at the time that this decision would come back to bite me in the butt within the next week, but I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, though, it was a great and relaxing day with friends. I ate a whole Domino’s pizza for lunch, then walked across the street to the movie theater to watch “Hobbs and Shaw” with Super, Nitro, and Bunkhouse (it was EXACTLY as entertaining as I had hoped). Finally, upon getting back, I grabbed a burger and beer with the gang at Moose Brewery next door, then pretty much went straight to bed. “I’m really happy that I’ve decided to not take any more zeros for a while”, I thought, “I really miss the trail on these zero days, and I don’t want to be off the trail for any longer than I have to.”
MILES COVERED: ZERO DAY IN RUTLAND!
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 506.7 miles
DAY 43—August 22, 2019
Up bright and early on a beautiful and sunny morning. Me and Whoo-bee were able to hail a cab early and get a lift back to the trailhead where two days earlier I had gotten a hitch from the nice family. Whoo-bee is a really cool NOBO from north Georgia (not too far from where the trail ends for me on Springer Mountain), so we swapped info before going our separate ways. From 7:15 to 5:00, I was able to walk 22.3 miles. However, this was actually less than my original goal for the day. Tomorrow, I was going to see Ashli for the first time and I needed to cover 32 miles in that stretch, so I wanted to get as far along that distance in a single day as possible…preferably at least 25 miles. However, I decided that 22.3 was just fine for me at the end of the day because water and shelter around the 25-mile mark was scarce, and at 22.3 was Peru Peak Shelter, which was right next to a nice roaring stream. It felt right to stop there. The day overall was pretty uneventful with really flat terrain (other than the fact I got some water at Lost Pond Shelter with some nudists, but no real need to go into detail about that). However, my evening at Peru Peak Shelter was really nice. I met several nice NOBOs and LT hikers (including seeing Funside again) and was able to swap more stories/tips about the Whites with the NOBO hikers. I’m really happy at this point that I can bang out 20+ mile days routinely. Now it’s all about seeing if I can just cut down on my zeros and replace them with nearos. Sure, I have one more zero coming tomorrow, but I think it’s justified 🙂
MILES COVERED: 22.3 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 529.0 miles
DAY 44—August 23, 2019
Up with a smile by 5:30 and bounding down the trail with a smile by 6:30, fog hanging in the air and my breath easily visible, but I don’t care about the cold! I get to see my wife today for the first time since leaving back on July 9th to fly to Maine. Between me and Manchester where I would meet Ashli were two mountains…Peru Peak and Bromley Mountain, but honestly and with all due respect to Vermont, I don’t really call those mountains. I think they’re more like “large hills” and I was able to fly up and over them with ease. Bromley was especially fun to come down because it’s a ski resort and for about a half mile, the trail actually goes right down the middle of a ski run, so you have nice sweeping views of the mountains around you as well as Manchester down below. By 10:00, I had reached the highway (only the second time on the entire trail that I had bagged 10 miles before 10:00!) and in no time, I had successfully gotten a hitch to the grocery store in town. Ash wouldn’t be arriving for a few more hours, so I figured I could get all my town chores done first. Manchester is a trail town, but it’s also a pretty fancy resort town at the same time, so I have to admit that I was getting some pretty weird looks from the locals both when I was in the grocery store and also when I was sitting outside on the curb dumping mac and cheese into ziplock bags while also wolfing down a large salad and sandwich. One employee even asked me to move a little further away from the store because some customers said they thought I was a homeless dude. Whoops.
I also made sure while I was in the store to grab some flowers for my sweetheart, and from there, I was able to grab a hitch to the hotel in town that Ashli and I would be staying at for the day. Just as I was able to change to grab a shower and change into less smelly clothes, I saw the wonderful sight of our 4Runner pulling up to the hotel room and my wife and our two large dogs jump out. The reunion with the dogs was sheer bedlam and to be honest, the reunion with my wife felt almost…surreal. It was so weird to be able to finally see each other after over 6 weeks, and it was weird that this time I was the one who had been a long time hiking the trail instead of her. That being said, it was absolutely WONDERFUL for us to see each other again.
As we spent the rest of the day together, Ashli noticed that I was a tiny bit thinner than before and that more importantly, there seemed to be a greater sense of calm to me…that I was quieter and more relaxed than before. Honestly, this made me really happy to hear. This is something I’ve been going for, and I hope I can continue that trend even well after the trail is over. The rest of the day with my sweetheart was amazing: dog park with the dogs, some shopping at the local outlets, grabbing some tacos and beer together at the local taco shop, and overall just enjoying being around each other. The trail makes me happy, but nothing makes me happier than my family.
MILES COVERED: 10.1 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 539.1 miles
DAY 45—August 24, 2019
Today, I would get the entire day with my wife and we were also going to go all the way down to Hartford for a party with her family! Today was going to be an interesting experiment. It would be the first time that I would be heading really far away from the trail and back into “normal society.” Ashli warned me before that there would be a “rubber-band effect” when I first got far away from the trail and was still in the middle of completing it. Basically, the further I would get from the trail, the more resistance I would feel and the more I would feel like something was wrong and that I should be back hiking again. When she first told this to me, I thought she was crazy and this idea was super weird. But sure enough…halfway to Hartford, I started genuinely feeling like something was wrong and I even started getting anxious. Ashli, proven right, couldn’t help by smile.
Ash and I got into Hartford mid-afternoon and did a full pack shack down. I was able to drop another 2 pounds of weight, including switching over from my Osprey pack to the same Gossamer Gear pack that Ashli uses on backpacking trips. The difference was immediate and I could tell I was going to be able to bag even more miles now with the lighter load. After devouring a large helping of food, I headed out with Ash to the party and again, it felt super weird to be back in civilization. I got some weird looks from most of the crowd at the party and many questions over the long beard and the fact my feet looked positively screwed up, but I was happy with hearing mostly either “you’re crazy” or “you’re awesome” for trying something like this. The party was great and it was a very nice day off the trail.
MILES COVERED: ZERO DAY IN HARTFORD!
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 539.1 miles
DAY 46—August 25, 2019
Woke up just a bit hungover from the night before, but I didn’t care. I was going to be getting back to the trail today! It made me super happy, but also quite sad because this meant it would be the first time that I would be leaving Ashli and the dogs behind while in the middle of a thru-hike. I have to admit that as hard as it is to leave my wife and dogs behind at the start of my thru-hike, I knew that leaving them behind to continue hiking after a weekend together was going to be even more painful.
But to my wonderful surprise, Ash and I decided that we could make it work so that we could get another day together! She could just slackpack me and we could then go back to the same hotel in Manchester for another night! With a quick glance at the map, we found a dirt road about 17.5 trail miles away from where I jumped off in Manchester to go see her two days earlier, and by 12:30, we found ourselves away from Hartford, back at the AT and sitting at the trailhead where I would start the slackpack. This meant I would be starting a 17-mile slackpack at 12:30 in the afternoon. The idea of starting this late would have made me very nervous in the past…”what if it gets dark? What if the terrain is bad? What if Ashli can’t make it back to the trailhead to pick me up?…but I found myself completely devoid of worries. I trusted my hiking legs, and I also knew if anything came up, I would be ready for it. There’s a solution to EVERY problem.
With this confidence, I kissed Ash and the dogs good-bye, said “see you tonight!” and happily bounded down the trail to crush this slackpack. The terrain was the best terrain I had hiked on the entire AT and over the entire slackpack, I only went over one mountain…Stratton Mountain…and it was possibly my favorite mountain on the entire AT so far…super gradual climbing on a nice soft pine bed. On top of all of this, the weather the entire time was fantastic. The rest of the slackpack after Stratton was nothing but flat terrain that wound past some lakes and through amazing forest. It got a little muddy at spots, but what did I care? By 5:30, just 5 hours after I had started, I had already covered the entire 17.5 miles! My fastest stretch yet! Ash and the dogs happily picked me up at the end of the slackpack (I was also super motivated to hike fast because it meant I could see them again sooner) and the evening was a repeat from two nights prior…tacos and family time in a nice hotel room. THIS is heaven. Trail and my family at the same time.
MILES COVERED: 17.5 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 556.6 miles
DAY 47—August 26, 2019
NOW I would actually have to part ways with my wife and dogs today. No more slackpacking today because Ashli actually has to work and make money unlike a certain lazy bum who’s just walking in the woods every day 😉 Since Ash had a long drive back to PA, we had to leave the hotel at 5:00 and be back at the trailhead at 6:00. Being up this early helped me understand how quickly it was getting colder up here in New England by the day. Winter is coming.
Ash, the dogs, and I said some sad good byes at the trailhead, and off I slowly plodded into the woods again as Ash drove off. That may have been the most demotivating moment for me on my entire thru-hike so far. At that moment, 6:15 in the morning, as I turned to head back into the woods with a full pack and I turned again to watch Ashli and the dogs drive off down the dirt road, there was nothing I wanted to do less than hiking, and there was nothing I wanted more than to be back in that car with them. It didn’t matter where we were going, I just wanted to be with them. It was a rough moment, and everything Ash warned me it would be. As a result, I hiked with absolutely zero energy and I basically just slowly trumped through the woods. My typical pace of 2.8-2.9 miles per hour on the trail was down to about 1.2-1.3 miles per hour for the first 2 hours of the morning. However, as I got further along, ate some food, and caught up with some friends who were staying at a shelter just 3 miles into the hike and were about to start hiking for the day, my spirits started to pick back up again. I felt like I was back in my element, and the weather was gorgeous yet again.
By Noon, I found myself striding along happily again and chatting with hikers as they came and went. On top of that, I got some great views atop the fire tower on Mount Glastenbury and I was even able to catch up with some Long Trail hikers that I had met at Peru Peak a few days earlier. They were hiking a little slower, so I was able to overtake them even after a day off trail! We all decided to stick together at the Neuville Shelter for the night, and it was a great evening of friendly banter, swapping food and stories, and just enjoying each other’s company. It was a really celebratory night for all of us because tomorrow, the Long Trail hikers would be hitting the end of the Long Trail and the AT hikers would be entering the state of Massachusetts!
MILES COVERED: 21.0 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 577.6 miles
DAY 48—August 27, 2019
Keeping up with that point I mentioned yesterday about how I feel like I’m running from the cold of New England, I had to spend the entire night completely zipped in my sleeping bag to keep my teeth from chattering overnight. It made me feel even more motivated to hike faster so I could get further south. Well, that, and the fact that today I was entering another state! This time, Massachusetts!
By 7:30, I was on my way and by 8:30, I was already coated in sweat despite the crisp cool air because I had a crazy climb up from the highway that led into Bennington, VT. But after that, it was easy cruising all the way to Massachusetts. Right before I hit the state line, I was able to catch up back up again with Funside. She had successfully reached Massachusetts and the end of the Long Trail the day before and she still had an extra day to kill, so she was hiking back north again a few miles just to spend more time in nature. I found that very admirable and a little crazy at the same time. “I would be in at a buffet by now”, I thought with a laugh.
By 2:00, I had reached the Massachusetts state line (while playing Dropkick Murphys on my headphones to make sure the mood was right), and by 3:30, I had hit my stopping point for the day…the town of Williamstown, MA. In a span of just 3 days, I had covered over 58 miles of trail…the best 3-day stretch of hiking I have ever done. Tomorrow, I would push even further…14.6 miles over the summit of Mount Greylock (the highest point in Massachusetts), and then I would have bagged over 72 miles in just 4 days! The race to the south is on!
MILES COVERED: 20.0 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 597.6 miles
DAY 49—August 28, 2019
I woke up in my hotel bed super excited to keep moving and to bag another 14.6 miles. On top of that, I was going to be able to hike over a really cool mountain (Greylock) and I was going to be able to do most of the hike with MARC! Marc and Angie the day before had arranged to see me at least one more time before I hiked out of New England and so we figured a hike over the summit of Greylock would be just perfect. So both these things were lining up to make today another great day. And for the most part, the day was great.
I met Marc halfway up the mountain, we hiked up about 4 miles to the summit together and enjoyed an INCREDIBLE view that included views of 5 states and views of tons of mountain ranges such as the Green Mountains, the Adirondacks, and the Catskills. From there, we had a nice lunch in the lodge that sits on top of Greylock (thanks for bringing the Subway wraps, Marc!) and then continued on a few more miles before Marc had to turn around and head back to his car. THAT part of the day was fantastic. But towards the end of that stretch and as I continued on, the day began to deteriorate as a small problem that didn’t even really bear mentioning began to become a BIG problem.
You see, from doing so many miles in the last few days, my legs were taking a beating worse than anything they had experienced on the trail so far, and while my trail legs are strong, at a certain point, the muscles will start to give when you push them too hard. That’s exactly what happened to my left quadricep muscle. By the time I had finally reached the bottom of the other side of Greylock, my left quad felt like every single time I took a step on it, someone was plunging a red-hot knife into it, and it was AWFUL. I knew I had to stop somewhere to rest it for the rest of the day, but there were no ideal spots in the section of woods I was in, so I decided to push on another two miles into the town of Cheshire (another town which the AT goes directly through) and set up my tent on the lawn of a church that allows free tenting.
I’m not sure if going those last two miles was the best thing to do, but I felt if I could just relax in a town, everything would feel right and easier again. As I sat on the lawn of the church popping Advil and trying to massage my quad while chatting with a NOBO named John Wayne (who was also nursing an injury…we’re all walking wounded on the AT, it seems), Marc (Marc!), who knew I was aiming for Cheshire that day, pulled up to the church and hopped out with some food and drinks for us. Truly the greatest of trail angels. Marc even gave me a bag of ice when I told him about my quad. The extra food, the ice, and the company definitely reduced the pain, but I knew a night of rest, and a possible full day of rest tomorrow, were going to be the key element in healing.
“Injuries happen”, I kept telling myself, “it’s not the end of the world.” The mantra, though, really wasn’t working for me that night. I was really worried that I had badly injured my quad muscle and that this was going to either dramatically slow me down…or worse. “Let’s worry about it tomorrow,” I thought to myself, “and just focus on what you can do tonight” as I popped another round of Advil while propping my leg up on my pack in my tent.
MILES COVERED: 14.6 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 612.2 miles
DAY 50—August 29, 2019
Rain pelted the tent most of the night, but I woke up to a foggy and otherwise sunny morning. My first thought was to see how my leg could do over the course of a 5-minute walk. The start was actually pretty good and my quad muscle felt completely normal, but by the time I reached my tent at the end of the walk, I was already feeling the familiar pain rocketing through my leg again. Not good. Not good at all. I don’t think I’ll be able to go anywhere today without seriously injuring myself.
As I gingerly pack up my tent and all my gear, I take breaks to sit down and eat some food while thinking about some options. The church usually only allows one night of camping, and there are no other real lodging options in town without dropping a boatload of money. A quick look at the map, though, reveals in the town of Dalton, just 8.7 miles down the trail, there are a lot of cheap motels where I could crash for the day. Unfortunately, that means I would have to cut 8.7 miles of trail by hitching a ride into Dalton from Cheshire. In other words, I would have to “yellow-blaze” for the day (Yellow-blaze is the term for riding in a car up and down the trail rather than hiking it).
Yellow-blazing is considered a great sin in thru-hiking because you’re cutting sections and not genuinely hiking, thus “tarnishing” a true thru-hike. But the bottom line is that pretty much everyone has to yellow-blaze a small part of the trail at some point due to things like injury or illness or a prior commitment. And also at the end of the day, “hike your own hike!” I pushed the negative thoughts aside and knew I had to do this to give my muscle a needed day off. So by 9:30, I found myself being dropped off at a hotel in Dalton and getting a room for the whole day and night.
The guilt of yellow-blazing began to diminish as I chatted with a couple NOBOs who were also staying at the hotel (turns out I missed a hornet’s nest on the trail by yellow-blazing, so there’s some good news) and I got myself into my room where I was able to grab an ice pack. I soon found myself watching movies and cartoons and icing my leg while also elevating it and popping Advil. Overall, it turned out to be a pretty good day of chowing on junk food, resting/icing/compressing/elevating my muscle, and popping Advil. On top of that, for the first time ever, I washed my clothes in a hotel sink and stole toilet paper from the room (Hiker Trash intensifies). Not much else to report on the day, and I went to sleep early to give myself some extra rest. Hopefully, one day off was all I needed for this muscle. Hopefully…
MILES COVERED: 8.7 miles (Yellow-Blazed)
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 620.9 miles
DAY 51—August 30, 2019
I woke up and my quad muscle felt the same initial good that I felt when I first woke up the day before. “Hopefully, this will last for 5 hours and not 5 minutes like yesterday”, I think to myself. I quickly packed my bag and got out the door to get on a cab and back to the trail. As I stepped outside, the chill of the air reminded me that I’m still running from the end of summer and trying to follow the warmth to the South. Hopefully, I’m not too slow.
By 7:30, I was back on trail and I went super-slow, doing everything I could to minimize impact on the quad muscle, and constantly self-checking to see how the muscle felt. For 8 miles, I was successful and felt like I could keep moving without problems. Then, at around mile 8.5, the pain started again. “Oh no…come on…” I thought to myself, and I began to panic. What does this mean for the rest of the trail? Where do I stop for the day? How do I heal my leg up tonight? Where do I go tomorrow? Over and over, I had to keep calming my mind and remind myself that for every problem, there’s a solution.
I decided to go about 3 more miles very slowly, and then stop at October Mountain Shelter to take the rest of the day off. I was there at 12:30, so for 6 very boring hours, I rubbed Icy Hot on my muscles, took more Advil, stayed off my feet, and sat in a shallow, cold, and slightly stagnant puddle of water to try and help the muscle heal. I also saw a black bear for just the second time on trail, skulking around about 50 yards from the shelter before realizing I was there and taking off into the brush. All day, over and over again, I tried to decide where I would go the next day, and what I would do. By the end of the day, I had 5 different options ready for the next morning depending on how quickly my leg healed. Just at that time, two large groups of section-hiking college freshmen arrived at the shelter and we were able to enjoy the rest of the evening together. For a moment, I was even able to forget about my leg pain and all the emergency plans I may need for tomorrow…
MILES COVERED: 11.8 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 632.7 miles
DAY 52—August 31, 2019
“Oh boy”, I thought, “here we go.” Nervous thoughts plaque my mind as I set out again from October Mountain Shelter on a quad that felt OK again (like it does at the start of every morning), but I’m genuinely worried about the pain that I feel is inevitably coming at this point. Ashli is worried as well since I’ve informed her about the problems I’m dealing with and she wants me to keep her updated as I move along for the day. I let her know I also have some backup plans depending on if/when my quad quits on me. “I’ll be OK, I have plans for what to do”, I keep reminding myself.
Once again, I’m feeling OK for the first few miles, and then I start to descend down Mount Becket towards US-20 and I-90. For those of you who hike and run, downhill work is TORTURE for your quad muscles, so imagine how much worse it is when you have an injured quad. By the time I finally hit US-20, after just 7.2 miles of hiking, tears are in my eyes. This time, the tears are from the sheer amount of pain my muscle is in. A white-hot knife plunging into the muscle with each and every step. I’m hurt. I need time off the trail to recover. This absolutely sucks. I had been crushing the trail for the better part of two weeks now, and I was excited to take down states like dominos, but now it’s going to happen because I’m injured.
I frustratingly limp down US-20 to a small lodge that’s just off the trail. There, I hobble my way into a sitting position on the grass and go with my first bailout plan…call an Uber to take me from US-20 into the town of Lee just to the West, then get a lift down to Great Barrington (another 30 miles of mile-blazing!) to hole up in a hotel for a few days to let the muscle completely heal. It sucks, but it’s necessary. I also text Ashli and let her know what’s happened…and immediately, my day takes a great turn in the most wonderful of ways.
Ashli proposes an idea that never even occurred to me. If I’m going to need to be off the trail for 3-4 days, and since I’m now in southern Massachusetts, and since she happens to be visiting her parents in northern New Jersey, why doesn’t she just come get me and I can spend a few days healing with her? “No plan survives first contact with the enemy,” I think to myself again, this time with a happy smile. All the circumstances came together so well. The Uber driver was willing to drive me halfway through New York (thanks, Isla!) and Ashli met me halfway in a grocery store parking lot. A few hours later, I was sitting in the new apartment of Ashli’s parents icing my legs, drinking a soda, and happily talking with people who I have missed so much in the last 7 weeks. I’m frustrated that I have to take time away from the trail, and I again feel the “rubber-band pull” of the trail, but I know it’s for the best to heal.
MILES COVERED: 7.2 miles
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 639.9 miles
DAYS 53 and 54—September 1 and 2, 2019
Probably worth rolling two days into one at this point. On the 1st, I got to spend a great day with Ashli’s family. We played with the dogs, I took turns giving my legs both a hot bath and an ice pack treatment, we had a cookout where I ate enough food to kill a small country, and basically just got to enjoy my time with an awesome family. On the 2nd, Ashli and I were able to swing down into Lancaster, Pennsylvania to see MY family for the evening, and it just happened to coincide with my mother’s birthday! All the while, I continued icing my muscle, doing short walks to let the muscle stretch, popping advil, giving a heat treatment, and doing everything possible to get the muscle back to 100%. Each day, it feels better than the day before, so I’m really thinking this is just what I needed…
MILES COVERED: ZERO DAYS IN NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA!
TOTAL MILES COVERED ON THE AT: 639.9 miles
And now here I sit in on the 3rd in my parents’ living room (I know, I said earlier that I was typing this up in the passenger seat of the car, but this blog takes more than one day to write!) I just did a mile-long walk with my dogs and the muscle feels great. Early this afternoon, Ashli and I will pile back into the car and head back up to Great Barrington, MA. On the morning of the 4th, I plan to jump back on trail and keep going. Short miles and slow pacing will be the order of the day, but I’m confident that the muscle is healed and I can finally get back to it. At the end of the day, though, I just have to remember to accept whatever the trail gives me and to understand that “no plan survives…” Well, you know the rest!
Thanks for reading everyone. Another update will hopefully be coming in two weeks. In the meantime, pray for a healthy quad, and hike on!
~Shanty
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