The whole ball game

June 3, 2014June 3, 2014 / jim fetig / 6 Comments

Green Mountain House Hostel, Manchester Center, Vt. AT NOBO mile 1,647.2, Monday June 2, 2014 — Plunk yourself down in a living room just like your own and turn the TV to the Red Sox game. What could be better than that?

Well, for one you could be cooking up a juicy steak with a tossed salad in a sparkling fully equipped kitchen. Did I mention the Cherry Garcia ice cream in the fridge?

About now you’d be thinking the hiker life is good, and so do I. If only the Sox were ahead of the Indians… Oh well, they ARE the Red Sox.

Last night at Stratton Pond was fascinating. We shared the shelter with two middle age couples who were on their maiden camping trips. It’s safe to say it was a humorous night.

Here are a couple of highlights. Nobody could believe we hiked the same distance in three hours that took them all day. One of the women refused to use the privy. It was too gross. Neither couple brought sleeping pads or air mattresses.

Needless to say, sans insulation they suffered an uncomfortable and icy cold night in spite if their adequate sleeping bags. Little did they know, as we explained when everyone got up, that insulation underneath is more important than what’s up top.

At least these folks were out there learning the same lessons we’ve all learned. I mean, who am I to talk. I’m the idiot who forwarded his sleeping bag ahead to Hanover, NH. Bo May know baseball. I know cold. 🙁 The over night temps haven’t been above 40 F since I put that sucker in the mail.

We reached town around noon and worked our way through the usual town chores after a trail magic ride from a local emergency room nurse who takes care of two shelters and some trail. Thanks Marge for all you do!

Tomorrow in light of heavy rain in the forecast, Jeff, the owner of Green Mountain House, is going to slack pack us 18 miles forward. We’ll hike southbound back to town and spend the night here. It’s safer on the slippery rocks and in the mud to walk with lighter loads – snacks and first aid kits.

There’s another reason. Green Mountain House has the best hot water on the trail! Can’t get enough of that. P

The Mountain!

June 2, 2014June 2, 2014 / jim fetig / 3 Comments

Stratton Pond Shelter, Vt., AT NOBO mile 1,636.6, Sunday June 1, 2014 — From the top of a fire tower a mighty inspiration was born.

From the Stratton Mountain fire tower Benton McKaye became the father of the Appalachian Trail. From one singular and magnificent view he envisioned a trail threading together the peaks of the Appalachian range all the way from Georgia to Maine.

Of note, McKaye never thought thru hiking was a good idea. I’ve put off reading is biography until the end of my hike because I thought it might mean more then. I hope to learn more about his logic. I suspect it was a different day and age , unlike ours where extreme sports and big accomplishments grab all the attention.

I do know from skimming the book that his shelter design and spacing have held up.

The vista from at atop the Stratton fire tower on a clear day is stunning. The horizon seems to stretch forever. Nature’s magnificence is on full display, dominated by verdant wilderness as far as the eye can see.

The immediate horizon encompasses Mt. Monadnock in NH to Graylock in Massachusetts. Some say Canada is visible on a clear day.

On days like today, this long walk has been worth every minute and all the effort.

Note: bandwidth from now on is extremely limited. Most blogs will be posted during town stops.

I’m goon to add the photos from the “Vermud” post. My phone says they’re up. The email says not. Sorry for the confusion.

From Stratton Mountain the world is endless and so are the possibilities.

Vermud?

May 31, 2014June 2, 2014 / jim fetig / 2 Comments

Goddard Shelter, Vt., AT NOBO mile 1,617.2, Saturday May 31, 2014 — New York had mud. Connecticut had mud. Massachusetts had mud. It was all warm up. Vermont has mud, real mud.

Vermont reminds me of northern Minnesota. The forest features firs and birch. The glaciers cleaned off the soil. Now there’s bits of soil that becomes black goo slathered on smooth bedrock when it gets wet. The water has no place to go, so you get mud and mosquito breeding habitat until the water evaporates.

It wasn’t long before mud became Vermont’s middle name. That said, the deepest I’ve found is eight inches. It also so far hasn’t been as terrible as predicted. The trail crews use rocks, corduroy wood and duck boards to mitigate the mud’s impact. There’s a lot of Vermont left, so time will tell.

We’re 30 miles from a real treat – a stay at the Green Mountain House hostel in Manchester Center. It’s the third jewel in the hiker hostel triple crown which also includes Woods Hole and Bears Den. Jeff, the owner, sent me an email saying he’d welcome a visit, and I cannot wait.

Meanwhile the temp dropped into the mid-30s last night. My feet got cold! Should never have switched to a quilt. This is not a normal spring/summer transition. I’ll survive, a wiser man for the experience.

Vermont!

May 31, 2014May 31, 2014 / jim fetig / 4 Comments

Congdon Shelter, Vt., AT NOBO mile 1,602.8, Friday May 30, 2014 — “Green Mountain Leader, this is Green one-five. I have hiker bandits at my three o’clock. Permission to engage, over.”

“One five, this is leader. Permission granted. The flight will follow you in. Green Mountain Flight, this is leader. Turn to two-eight-five. Bandit hiker. Attack.”

The engine whine of a WWII Japanese Zero reached my ears just as the first flight of Vermont mosquitos closed within range. The first wave scored some hits, but I managed to apply Deep Woods Off! before the second could come round.

Thanks to the chemical warfare, the second and third waves took their share of casualties. Thereafter the mosquitos were watchful but kept their distance.

It’s funny. We hadn’t seen a mosquito for our last two days in Massachusetts. Two feet into Vermont they attacked with a vengeance.

This could be an interesting state. A porcupine showed up to take a look, but the cool weather has kept the black flies under cover. This is the first time on this entire hike that I’ve wished for continuing cool weather. Everybody who’s ever met a black fly knows why.

The bigger climbs are returning as the trail runs northward. Yesterday a good glimpse of what’s ahead appeared on the horizon from Mt. Graylock.

We’re joined tonight by the Knoxville folks and three Vermonters out hiking the Long Trail which runs the length of the state. The AT shares the route for the first 105 miles to Rutland where we will bear right toward Hanover, NH.

</a

Happy ending

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 / jim fetig / 3 Comments

Wilber Clearing Shelter, Mass., AT NOBO mile 1,585.7, Thursday May 29, 2014 — At one point, I thought today was going to be a bust, but the ending far exceeded one minor disappointment.

Let’s start at the beginning. I marched out of Dalton at 7:30 am. The temp was a balmy 38 degrees. The objective was Cheshire, Mass. just eight miles across Crystal Mtn. There I would be able to buy some gear at a nearby outfitter, scarf a milkshake and stay at a hostel in the Catholic Church.

Well, both the milkshake and the outfitter boxes were checked by noon. Now what to do? Fortified by a high octane milkshake it was on to Mt. Graylock of course.

Graylock is Massachusetts’ tallest mountain and the site of its veterans memorial and Bascom Lodge. Bascom is a hotel, but also features a highly rated hiker hostel as well.

Best of all, Bascom also has a restaurant. Visions of hamburgers were dancing in my head.

We reached Bascom at 4:30 pm only to find that it doesn’t open til this weekend. There we were, all dressed up in our finest expectations and no place to go except to the next shelter three miles further on. (22.5 miles on the day with a 2,100 foot climb thrown in.)

As we pulled into the shelter area we realized that it was jammed with college age kids. Just our luck, I groaned to myself.

We asked if there was any room for a couple of old tired thru hikers, obviously playing the sympathy card.

It worked! Turns out the students were from nearby Williams College in training to be freshman orientation leaders. They’d realized that all 13 of them weren’t going to fit in the shelter anyway, so they gave it to Swayed and me.

Just after that three young women from Knoxville, Tenn., fresh out of high school, rolled in chaperoned by one of their dads, hiking from Lee, Mass. to Mt. Katahdin. Their hike is in celebration of their graduation.

The context is this. Swayed is a highly successful businessman from London. American young folk haven’t made the best impression so far. Recall the Beavis and Butthead stereotype.

The young folks we’re with tonight have turned that stereotype on its head. These are just like the students with whom I worked at Georgia Tech. You’d bet the farm on them, and I’m delighted Swayed gets to see the difference.

All I have to say is this: Thank heaven Bascom was closed.

On the money

May 28, 2014 / jim fetig / Leave a comment

Dalton, Mass., AT NOBO mile 1,565.2, Tuesday May 27, 2014 — Trick question. Guess where the paper for U.S. currency is manufactured? That’s the white rag paper with the red and blue fibers imbedded in it. Right here in Dalton of course.

We figured that out (from a sign) on the way into town foowing an hour’s easy hike.

Unfortunately the ice cream parlor didn’t open until 4 pm and it was 9:30 am, but the coffee shop was open and we settled in for a quick latte and a banana muffin.

Town stops are pretty mundane, comprised mostly of house keeping chores such as collecting boxes as the post office, grocery runs, laundry, showering, and pigging out.

Today we were the beneficiaries of some trail magic when Laura, the Shamrock Inn’s manager, took us along on her run to Price Chopper. We treated her to ice cream in return.

We’ll stay one more day to rest our battered feet. Then it’s on to our next town stop in Manchester Center, Vt.

The Cookie Lady

May 27, 2014May 27, 2014 / jim fetig / 2 Comments

Kay Wood Shelter, Mass., AT NOBO mile 1,562.2, Monday May 26, 2014 — The trail is full of treats. New Jersey had its delis, Upper Goose Pond had its pancake breakfast and hot coffee this morning, and today we met the Cookie Lady.

The Cookie Lady lives less than 100 yards off the trail and has been baking free cookies for hikers for decades. Nearly all the hiker biographies mention her warm welcome, free water and opportunity to buy a coke or an ice cream bar.

Tomorrow the town of Dalton features Tom Lavarty who has been welcoming hikers to tent in his yard for free.

These are true trail angels, people who give of themselves to make the trail a special place. Without them, this hike would not be such a special experience.

Today’s weather was sunny and pleasant. The trail was nearly flat and rock free. The forest was verdant and inviting. It almost sounds like a prayer, but that’s the way it was.

We broke for lunch at October Mountain Shelter with Dennis, a section hiker from Florida. Life was good.

Midnight raid

May 26, 2014May 26, 2014 / jim fetig / 6 Comments

Upper Goose Pond Cabin, Mass., AT NOBO mile 1,544.6, Saturday May 25, 2014 — As darkness slipped its velvety cloak over the woods last night, the stars twinkled in a clear sky for the first time in three days.

The six of us at Tom Leonard Shelter drifted off to sweet dreamland shortly after hiker midnight with joyous anticipation of a clear day and dry rocks. It doesn’t get better than that out here.

Our sleep was shattered by ominous scratching noises. Now mind you that being inside a shelter is akin to the sound chamber of a guitar. Everything sounds loud.

These were loud. First thought: bear! Second thought: Why would a bear be scratching the walls of the shelter? That’s not where the food is. So we listened and turned on our headlamps.

Nada. We couldn’t see a thing, yet the persistent noise continued. Edgar Allen Poe couldn’t have scripted it better.

Enough already! I slipped my shoes on to go take a look. In the process I made some noise and the Poe-etic sounds ceased.

As my light swept the area around the shelter, the south end of a northbound porcupine could be seen as it waddled away. Mystery solved and drama over, we all returned to snoozing.

The porcupine sighting also explained a number of divots chunked out of the picnic table, the edges of the shelter bunks and the leading edge of the front platform. It appears they like the salt human touch leaves in the wood.

It was a long 20+ miles into Upper Goose Pond where an two story cabin offers hikers safe harbor, swimming and a free pancake breakfast. It’s run by volunteer caretakers and the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Tomorrow will end just short of Dalton where my bruised feet will get a much needed day of rest. The weather was fabulous today and the walking worthwhile.

Small victory

May 24, 2014May 26, 2014 / jim fetig / 8 Comments

Tom Leonard Shelter, Mass., AT NOBO mile 1523.5 Saturday May 24, 2014 — Yesterday we got caught in a cloudburst a mere .4 miles from the shelter. We ambled in looking and feeling like drown rats. Of course nothing dried out overnight.

Today the rain held until five minutes after we reached the shelter. Score one for the good guys. I even had time to fetch water before nature’s tears of joy washed over our obscure encampment.

It was nice to eat under cover while the rain pelted everything around us.

Memorial Day weekend has drawn out the expected crowd. So far we have five at the shelter including a young couple who live in NYC who are tenting. It’s early so more may wash in before the night is over.

Ironies of ironies, everybody but Swayed claims a Maryland connection. Seems we are a crabby but convivial crowd tonight.

After two days of rain, I’ve only got one pair of dry socks besides the ones in which I sleep. The wet socks have generated some nasty rubbing under my toes.

The weather is supposed to be sunny tomorrow, so I’ll wear my last pair of dry socks and hang the wet ones all over my pack to dry out. Let’s hope this is the last of the foot issue.

Massachusetts continues to display stunning scenery and trail bed featuring slick slab rock. This stuff is slick when dry let alone wet. The rains also muddied up the trail a lot. Guess that’s good training for the next state – Vermud as it’s known on the trail.

We also passed the site of the last battle of Shay’s Rebellion.

Early next week we’ll resupply in Dalton, MA where my badly worn boots will be replaced by the ones I wore all winter. The new pair has been sent to Hanover, NH where the real hiking begins.

Thinking of my comrades and all of those who have fallen fighting for our country.

Another state.

May 24, 2014May 24, 2014 / jim fetig / 2 Comments

The Hemlocks Shelter, Mass., AT NOBO mile 1509.1, Friday May 23, 2014 — The best thing that happened today was crossing into Massachusetts. Everything else was wet.

We met two women of a certain age at the shelter last night. They were up and moving at 0430 which is really early. Later when we passed them on the trail we realized why. They were slow, really slow, but at least they were out here.

The rest of the day was marked by slick wet rock. Toward the end we has two steep climbs in Mts Race and Everett. The climb up Everette was especially brutal – vertical slab rock most of the way.

Both Swayed and I practiced our John Wayne bite the dust impressions several times. It was slow going. We’d planned to reach this shelter by 5 pm. Instead we showed up at 7:30 pm.

I sent my rain jacket and gaiters to Hanover, NH from Kent. I received substitutes, but guess what? They aren’t good enough. Live and learn, yes. Add a week’s worth of rain to the mix and I will learn a hard lesson. My sleeping gear, sans Sleeping bag is working just fine.

A fork in the road

Yogi said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." So I'm following the white blazes.

Adventure