Allen's Adventures

Sunday, 7/26

AT Miles = 18.4 / 1600.5
Other Miles = 0.4 / 54.0
Total Miles = 18.8 / 1643.6

Miles to Katahdin = 577.8

After two days of easy slackpacking, I was back in harness today. It rained last night — surprise, surprise — and it was heavily overcast this morning, with everything still wet from last night. With all this rain the trail is ridiculously muddy, and slogging and slipping through all that mud seems to make the hiking twice as hard.

My original goal when I set out this morning was Congdon Camp, 14 miles in, but I got there around 2:30 and I started thinking about the descent down to Rt 9, fouir miles further north. The trail goes down a long set of rock stairs coming steeply down., and knowing that it was almost certain to rain tonight I knew I'd be coming down some very wet rocks in the morning. Rather than do that, I decided to push on to the next shelter, a couple miles north of Rt 9. Then, while hiking, I realized that when I crossed Rt 9 I would be just a few miles from Bennington VT, and its motels, and restaurants, and stores selling ice cream. Next thing I knew I was standing on the shoulder of Rt 9 with my thumb out, and soon after I was in a nice hot shower getting ready to venture forth in search of a nice dinner. Such is the life of a thru-hiker!

Seriously, I have been feeling a lot better after four days of eating good meals, and while it will surely make this hike more expensive, I am vowing to spend more nights in town and eat as well as I can.

I've just perused the map and guidebook, and my plan is to hike the 19 miles to Story Spring Shelter tomorrow, then on Tuesday up and over Stratton Mountain, down to Stratton Pond, and on to Spruce Peak Shelter, about 18 1/2 miles. That will leave me positioned for a 3 mile nero into Manchester Center on Wednesday.

I feel like I need to make some real progress northward this week, and this will be a good start.

Did you notice I just passed 1600 miles today?

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Saturday, 7/25

AT Miles = 14.4 / 1582.1
Other Miles = 0.4 / 53.6
Total Miles = 14.8 / 1624.8

Miles to Katahdin = 596.2

Another day of slackpacking. After a hearty breakfast Jodi dropped me
off back in Cheshire and I hiked up to the summit of Greylock as the
sun burned through the clouds and fog. I got my first view of Greylock
on this trip when I was a mile or so south of the summit. Greylock is
usually visible from multiple spots in Connecticut and southern
Massachusetts, but the weather has been so wet and cloudy that I have
had no views at all.

It was really nice making the climb from 974' to 3491' (highest point
in Massachusetts) without my heavy backpack. I didn't even have to
carry my lunch as Jodi met me at the summit of Greylock with a big fat
grinder (hoagie, sub, spukie, po' boy) and a soda. She also brought a
bagful of sweet, delicious oranges and some grapes, which we shared
with some of the other hikers we saw there.

I finished my hiking day by hiking down the north side of Greylock
until the point where the trail crosses Rt 2 in North Adams. I will
start there tomorrow morning, with my full backpack this time, heading
for Vermont only 4 miles further north.

It has been really great slackpacking these last two days, and I will
be really sad, for multiple reasons, to leave Jodi tomorrow and watch
her drive off heading for home.

—
~~~~~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Friday, 7/24

AT Miles = 8.9 / 1567.7
Other Miles = 0 / 53.2
Total Miles = 8.9 / 1610.0

Miles to Katahdin = 610.6

So, slack-packing. Sa-weet! I coiuld definitely get used to this.

Jodi dropped me off in front of Tom Levardi's house in Dalton, which
is where she picked me up[ on Tuesday night, at 11:15 this morning.
The AT follows roads through town for a mile or so, and then turns off
into the woods. Since it just stopped raining this morning, there was
plenty of mud and wet rocks to contend with. But without a heavy pack
on my back, felt like I was flying. I covered the 9 miles to Cheshire
in under 3 hours, and at 2:10 I was walking the road into downtown
Cheshire and calling Jodi to come pick me up.

We headed back to the motel in Williamstown that Jodi had found for
us, showered, put on clean clothes, and were off for a nice dinner and
a martini. Now this is thru-hiking on the deluxe plan! Salad, fresh
bread, a couple of lamb chops and a baked potato, some fresh sauteed
vegetables, and some mud pie for dessert. All accompanied by a couple
of Sapphire martinis. Ahh!

Tomorrow Jodi will drop me off where she picked me up in Cheshire
today, and I will hike the 14 miles up and over Mount Greylock and
down to Rt 2 in North Adams. And since thwere is a road to the summit
of Greylock, Jodi can even meet me there with a nice lunch tomorrow!
How cool is that?

Unfortunately, this luxury can't go on forever. Come Sunday morning I
will be putting the backpack back on and hiking the last few miles of
Massachusetts and crossing into Vermont, the 12th of 14 trail states.

But for right now, I sure am enjoying my currently 'luxe existence!

~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Does this make you want to get out in the woods or what?!

From www.wunderground.com:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forecast for Northern Berkshire

Updated: 5:02 am EDT on July 24, 2009
No Active Advisories (US Severe Weather)
	Today Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. A chance of thunderstorms…mainly this afternoon. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall this afternoon. Highs in the mid 70s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent. » ZIP Code Detail
	Tonight A chance of thunderstorms in the evening. Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall in the evening. Lows in the upper 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
	Saturday Partly sunny. Highs around 80. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. » ZIP Code Detail
	Saturday Night Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.
	Sunday Partly sunny with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning…then mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. Humid with highs in the upper 70s. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent. » ZIP Code Detail
	Sunday Night A chance of thunderstorms in the evening. Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows in the lower 60s. Chance of rain 50 percent.
	Monday and Monday Night Partly cloudy. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s. Lows in the upper 50s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
	Tuesday and Tuesday Night Mostly cloudy. Highs around 80. Lows in the upper 50s.
	Wednesday Mostly cloudy in the morning…then becoming partly sunny. A chance of showers. A chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 70s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
	Wednesday Night and Thursday Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 50s. Highs in the upper 70s. Chance of rain 30 percent.

As I think I mentioned before, Jodi brought my new camera when she met
me in Kent before we went to New York City for a few days. I took a
bunch of photos while we were in New York. Here are some of them:

http://picasaweb.google.com/affreeman1959/ATNewYorkCity#

—
~~~~~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Tuesday, 7/21

AT Miles = 19.7 / 1558.8
Other Miles = 0.9 / 53.2
Total Miles = 20.6 / 1601.1

Miles to Katahdin = 619.5

Well. I was up at my usual 5:45 in the morning. And as usual, a swarm
of mosquitoes was buzzing around my hammock, underneath the tarp and
just outside of the mosquitoes netting. God bless whoever invented
mosquito netting!

As usual, I struck camp as quickly as possible, to avoid exposing
myself to the mosquitoes any longer than necessary. I had gone swimming
the previous afternoon in the pond, and my shorts and shirt had dried
very little overnight, so I got to enjoy the pleasure f pulling wet
clothes on first thing in the morning. Ah! That’s got to beat a cup of
hot, fresh brewed coffee for waking you up in the morning!

The best part of staying at Upper Goose Pond Cabin is that the
caretakers cook pancakes for everybody every morning. I sat at the
table long enough to eat four before giving up my place to the next
shift.

When I let it was obvious that rain was imminent, so I rigged my pack
for rain. Since it has been so humid I haven’t washed my socks in
several days — I can’t wash them when they won’t dry for days and
days — so I was wearing damp, dirty socks. Yuck!

About 2 miles after leaving the cabin the AT crosses the Mass Pike,
and then almost immediately Route 20. Just after crossing Rt 20 there
was trail magic in the form of a cooler of soda chained to a tree and
a bucket of goodies like oatmeal cookies and Yodels. I stopped the
chug a cola — yeah, I know, it was right after breakfast. So? — and
put some cookies and yodels in my pocket to eat as I walked —
mosquitoes, remember? A couple minutes later the rain started, and it
rained all day.

Shortly before reaching October Mountain Shelter I saw my third bear
of the hike as he or she ran off crashing through the undergrowth.Just
a few minutes later I passed a trio of southbound section hikers. As
hikers often do when traveling together, they made quite a bit of
noise chatting with each other. I told them about the bear just ahead
of them thinking that they might want to hike quietly in hopes of
catching a glimpse, but they responded by telling me they would be
sure to make plenty of noise as they hiked. Oh well. Their loss, I
guess. I also saw a pile of moose scat today, the first I’ve seen on the trail.

I took a break at October Mountain Lean-to, chatting a bit with Dixie
Dawg who was already there. It was cold sitting around in my wet
clothes and it soon looked like the rain was tapering off (though that turned out to be so very wrong!), so I set off again, bound for the Cooke Lady’s house located just off the trail
in Becket, Massachusetts. There is a couple who own a house very close
to the trail who let hikers fill their water bottles and, if they are
home, offer cookies to every hiker that stops by. If you ask
permission, they will even let you camp in their yard. I stopped there
to fill my bottles with water that didn’t need to be treated, and I
stood in their open garage and ate the cookies offered and chatted for
a while. I even plugged my cell phone in and charged it up a bit, and
ate most of my lunch in their dry garage. Then I headed back out into
the downpour.

From here my day went downhill fast. I had cooled down a lot while
standing around at the cookie Lady’s house, so when I left I was
wearing my rain jacket over my already soaking wet clothes. Well, I
just got colder and colder, it rained harder and harder, I slogged
through mud several inches deep, I climbed up and down wet rocks, and
eventually I took a tumble and smacked my knee on a rock pretty hard.
Now I was cold, dirty, wet, and could hike only very slowly. Hiking
slowly meant I was not generating much heat, and my personal misery
quotient was hovering dangerously close to the red line.

I talked to Jodi on the phone several times yesterday and today, and
we agreed that she would drive out to Dalton and meet me this
afternoon. Unfortunately her job went way longer than expected and she
couldn’t leave Boston until nearly 7:30. When it rains, it pours, you
might say. On the other hand, if she had been able to leave early she
would have been stuck in Dalton waiting for me, as I didn’t manage to
reach town until 7:30 myself. By that time, with the heavy rain and
all, it was pretty dark in the woods and I could barely see where I
was going. There is a guy in Dalton named Tom Levardi. who for some
inexplicable reason just likes hikers and opens his home to them. By
the time I arrived there he had a houseful of hikers but I told him I
just needed a place to wait for my wife to arrive with the car and he
welcomed me in. Whew! It was so nice to be warm and dry for a change.
A couple of hours later Jodi arrived and we were off headed back home
to Quincy for a couple of days.

It is Thursday now. I made a trip to REI yesterday and bought a new
pair of hiking poles to replace the pair that, after over 1500 miles,
finally died on me. I also bought a new pack rain cover which
hopefully will be more waterproof than the one I had, and a new pair
of socks to replace a pair that now has gaping holes in the toes.
Tomorrow morning we will drive back out to Dalton. It is ten trail
miles from Dalton to Cheshire, and after stopping at the Dalton post
office to pick up my mail, Jodi will drop me off and I will slack pack
— hike with only a day pack — the ten miles to Cheshire, then Jodi
will pick me up in Cheshire and we will retire to a motel somewhere.
On Saturday Jodi will slack pack me again as I climb up and over Mount
Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. Since there is a road up
Greylock, Jodi can even meet me on top with a nice lunch! I’m hoping
by doing this I can continue to give my feet a bit of a rest, yet
still continue to make some miles. I will also be able to eat better.
I feel like I have been getting really run down lately, and that my
body is getting weaker and starting to break down on me. With the
Whites and the rough trail of Maine facing me, that worries me a lot.

By the way, Jodi and I cycled Greylock one weekend back in 2005:
http://www.allenf.com/mount_greylock.htm

619.5 more miles to Katahdin.

—
~~~~~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Wet. Muddy. Cold. Feet are a mess. Fell and hurt my knee. Hiking 1 mph.

Heading home to sleep in my own bed for a day or two and try to regain some perspective.

"I shall return."

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Monday, 7/20

AT Miles = 15.8 / 1538.2
Other Miles = 0.5 / 52.3
Total Miles = 16.3 / 1580.5

Wow! The mosquitoes were something else last night. Right after dinner I climbed into my hammock intending to read my book, but the swarm of mosquitoes just outside of the netting was amazing. Even the noise they made was very distracting. So I gave up on reading and listened to my radio with the earbuds. With my eyes shut, I could neither hear nor see the vicious little bastards as they flung themselves against the netting in their attempt to suck me dry of blood.

I didn't even try to eat breakfast before leaving camp this morning. I shoved a Snickers bar and a granola bar into my pocket and took off, eating as I walked. I hiked the 16+ miles to the cabin here with only one break, which I took when the trail crossed a field at the top of Pine Cobble just before Tyringham.

With the lack of breaks I made it here in record time, but I was exhausted when I got here. Upper Goose Pond is a beautiful pond, and the cabin here is great. It was not built as a trail shelter, but rather used to be a private cabin that is now run as a hiker cabin. There are volunteer caretakers here and for a small donation ($3 for camping outside, which I am) you get the run of the cabin, spring water carried from across the lake in a canoe, and a pancake breakfast in the morning. There is a bunkroom upstairs in the cabin, but I chose to set up my hammock outside as I know I will sleep better there.

I took a swim in the pond after I got here, and I do feel better for having done so. Unfortunately the weather looks like we are likely to get a storm tonight. When the weather is wet I can't wash my socks, since they would never dry.

The mosquitoes are taking a toll. My ankles are an ugly mess of scabbed over mosquito bites. Why my ankles? I've no idea. I theorize that they nestle down in my socks where I can't see them, and suck my blood at their leisure as I hike along.

I expect to be in Dalton early on Wednesday morning. If I can find a place to stay there, I will take a zero day and catch up on laundry and other chores. My clothes haven't seen a washing machine since Vernon, NJ, back on the 4th of July.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Sunday, 7/19

AT Miles = 19.7 / 1522.4
Other Miles = 0.2 / 51.8
Total Miles = 19.9 / 1564.2

Whew! Finally, I made some miles. I guess I can thank the mosquitoes! They were unbelievable today, and the only way I could cope was to hike full speed ahead. Once the trail came down off Jug End, it crossed a big low lying, wet area before climbing back up ibto the hills. The trail was fairly smooth, thankfully, and I could put the hammer down and try to outrun the hordes of mosquitoes. It seems that whenever I let my pace slow below about 2.5 mph, the swarm would descend. With negative reinforcement like that, I kept my speed up! I cranked out the first 7 miles, to where the trail crosses Rt 7, in a bit over three hours. There I stopped at a garden center type place that has some cold drinks and snacks for sale, and is friendly to hikers. I spent a half hour there drinking a cold Pepsi, eating chips, candy, and crackers, and availing myself of the luxury of a flush toilet. Then I filled my water bottles and headed back out to do battle once again with my pesky little opponents. Th
ere was a sign where the trail left the road saying that the trail was sometimes flooded and dangerous and if so describing a detour to use. Well, that's useless information. Tell me if the trail is currently flooded and if I need to use the detour or not.

As it turned out the trail was fine, and I again hiked at top speed and made the next 7 miles to Tom Leonard Shelter in another 3 hours, at 2:00PM. Here I stopped to eat lunch, and left a long entry in the shelter register for the Boy Scouts I shared camp with last night, as I knew they were bound for Tom Leonard today. I hope they coped with the mosquitoes okay. I really enjoyed their company last night.

Tomorrow I will be heading for Upper Goose Pond Cabin. I have been looking forward to this since I started my hike. At Upper Goose Pond Cabin the caretaker cooks blueberry pancakes for breakfast every morning. Yummy!

Have I mentioned the camera dilemma yet? I think I did tell you all that I killed the display on my old camera back in New Jersey, when I let the camera sit in a few incles of water. So Jodi bought me a new camera and brought it with her to Kent last Sunday. While we were in New York City I charged up the battery and played with it a lot while checking out all of the features, and I took a bunch of photos while we were in the city. Then when I got back on the trail I used it some on Wednesday, and when I next tried to use it on Thursday the battery was dead. I should have thought to recharge the battery after playing with it so much in NYC, but I didn't. Duh! Yet again, I am the victim of my own stupidity. I won't be able top charge the camera battery until I get my bounce box in Dalton on Wednesday. So of course now I pass something I want to photograph at least a dozen times a day.

Oh, Jodi told me that Alberto Contador won the first mountain stage in the Tour de France! Good going, Alberto! I must admit it would be nice to be sitting on the couch in front of our 60" plasma TV watching the Tour in HD with Jodi at my side. Ah well, choices must be made, and with choices come consequences.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Saturday, 7/18

AT Miles = 10.0 / 1502.7
Other Miles = 0.4 / 51.6
Total Miles = 10.4 / 1544.3

It rained last night. A lot. Again. Pretty much as soon as I got all my stuff hung out to dry, the clouds rolled in and the first of several storms came through.

I was up and out early this morning. There were too many mosquitoes to stand around eating breakfast, so I took off at 6:15 and ate breakfast when I got to the summit of Bear Mountain, where there was a bit of a breeze and therefore fewer mosquitoes.

Today presented a bit of a dilemma. I could either hike 10 miles, or 25 miles, but nothing in between. In between is a big low lying swampy area full of mosquitoes, so guerilla camping in there was out of the question.

I was thinking I was going to do the 25 miles, but I forgot how tough the three mountains — Bear, Race, and Everett — are. And with all the rain, all the rocks were wet and super slippery. So, it was 10 miles for the day.

By late morning the clouds were finally being burned off and the sun was breaking through. I stopped on the summit of Everett and just hung out in the sunshine for a while, chatting with a group of Boy Scouts from Rhode Island out for a weekend backpacking trip. While I was there Early Bear and Little Dipper showed up and we chatted a bit.

When I left Everett, since I was almost at the days destination, I took a small detour to Guilder Pond to swim. Early Bear and Little Dipper were there as well, as also were a few locals. There was a big rock ledge that sloped down into the water, and after taking a quick swim I lazed about in the sun long enough to get a bit of a sunburn on the back of my neck.

It is now a bit after 4:00 and I have set up camp, washed myself and my socks, and hung everything out on a line to get rid of some of the dankness. The Boy Scouts are here as well tonight and I look forward to some nice conversation.

Tomorrow I have a 19 mile day planned, so hopefully I will start getting in some miles again.

Oh, I passed the 1500 mile mark today. Only 675 miles left; a cake walk!

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Thursday, 7/16 & Friday, 7/17

Thursday:
AT Miles = 19.1 / 1485.2
Other Miles = 1.5 / 51.2
Total Miles = 20.6 / 1526.4

Friday:
AT Miles = 7.5 / 1492.7
Other Miles = 0 / 51.2
Total Miles = 7.5 / 1533.9

So, where to start? Yesterday was an okay day; lots of up and down, lots of humidity, lots of mosquitoes, lots of miles. There was a road walk of about 3 1/2 miles yesterday afternoon. A bridge the AT crosses is undergoing construction this summer and the vtrail has been detoured. The state even put up a whole series ofd those refective detour signs with a white blaze on them to denote the route. That was pretty cool, but road walking basically sucks. It really wears on the bottom of your feet.

I was in a pretty bad mood all day. I've been having a hard time mentally ever since New York. Then I got down to Limestone Springs Lean-to last night, which is way down in a swampy hole with swarms of mosquitoes, and my mood took a turn for the worse. I managed to get camp set up, do all my chores, and eat my dinner. Then we heard the rumble of approaching thunder and soon the first rain drops started to fall. That's when I crawled into my hammock with my book for the evening.

Soon after the real storm hit. Yowee! Rain; lots and lots of rain. Wind; lots and lots of wind. Then, just to mix things up; hail. Small hail. Big hail. Some of the hail chunks hit my little silnylon tarp so hard I was afraid they were going to rip right through it. There was so much rain the ground was just running with water everywhere. I am So glad I deon't use a tent. I surely would have been swamped. The storm finaly ended and my nest was still intact, so off to sleep I went.

When I woke up this morning it was warm, still, and 100% humidity. If mosquitoes ran the world this is the weather they would create every day. I almost took off wityhout eating breakfast, but decided had to eat so did so while walking quickly in circles to try to avoild the swarms of mosquitoes. Then I wasoff heading for Salisbury.

I passed Old Goat and Check Six on the way to town. While walking the road into town I passed the White Hart Inn, which had a sign outside proclaiming "Breakfast Lunch and Dinner Served Every Day". Yes!

The White Hart Inn is a rather fancy place that caters to New Yorkers with money that come up to the country on the weekend, and I was sweaty and dirty and stinky, so when they asked if I preferred to eat inside or on the porch, I chose a table outside on the porch. Just as I was sitting down Old Goat and Check Six came by and decided to join me. We had a wonderful breakfast that was a bit pricey, but worth every penny.

By the time breakfast was done, it was somehow almost 10:30. I left the Inn and continued my walk into town where I went to the grocery store and shopped for the next 5 days to Dalton, MA. After packing all my food away in my pack, I sat down and ate a pint of Ben & Jerrys New York Super Fudge Chunk (1200 calories, a great mid-morning snack) that I had also bought.

By now it was almost noon, and I headed back out of town and back on the trail. From Salisbury the AT climbs to the summit of Lion's Head, the southernmost summit of the Taconic Range. A bit north of Lion's Head is Riga Lean-to, with a nice view to the east over Twin Lakes and the hills beyond. When I got here there was a nice breeze blowing, and I decided to set up camp and dry my stuff out. Well, I did that, but now the breeze has died away to nothing, and the bugs are getting a bit nasty.

7 1/2 miles today is pathetic, but I want to relax and enjoy the afternoon reading my book. I hope my head gets back into this hike soon, or I will be facing trouble. So, I didn't even make it out of Connecticut today, but I will tomorrow. Massachusetts, here I come!

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Hanging in my hammock listening to an approaching thunderstorm. Hopefully I'll get a chance to catch up tomorrow.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Wednesday, 7/15

AT Miles = 10.2 / 1466.1
Other Miles = 0 / 49.7
Total Miles = 10.2 / 1505.8

This morning I woke up in mid-town Manhattan — at Lexington and 51st Street — and tonight I am going to sleep at Silver Hill Campsite on the AT in Connecticut. Quite the transition!

After three wonderful days of good food, good drink, jazz clubs, Central Park, harbor cruises, Times Square, and etc., I am now back on the trail. It was really hard to say goodbye to Jodi this afternoon and watch her drive away. The urge to go with her was powerful. I was actually looking forward to there being some other hikers at the campsite so I would have company to keep me occupied, but alas I am here alone tonight. I started reading "The Monkey Wrench Gang" while we were in NYC, so once I finish my chores and get camp squared away for the night, I will crawl into my hammock away from the pesky mosquitoes and lose myself in the adventures of Doc and Bonnie as they level billboards along the desert highways.

I used to bring Anju camping here quite often when she was young, so this place holds many sweet memories for me. Anju, you remember camping at Silver Hill, don't you?

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Here are some statistics for North-bound hikers, compiled by the ATC,
as of July 9:

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805579/k.DA92/2000Milers_Facts_and_Statistics.htm

2009 Hiker Counts (updated JULY 9)

Northbound (Georgia to Maine)

Springer Mtn., Ga.
1425

Neels Gap, Ga. (30 miles)
1325

Fontana Dam, N.C. (160 miles)
N/A

Harpers Ferry, W.Va. (1,000 miles)
637

Katahdin, Maine (2,176 miles)
6

—
~~~~~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Photos for the section from Delaware Water Gap to Kent CT are available here: http://picasaweb.google.com/affreeman1959/ATDelawareWaterGapPAToKentCT#

—
~~~~~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Friday, 7/10 – Sunday, 7/12

Friday:
AT Miles = 12.9 / 1447.4
Other Miles = 0 / 49.7
Total Miles = 12.9 / 1487.1

Saturday:
AT Miles = 8.2 / 1455.6
Other Miles = 0 / 49.7
Total Miles = 8.2 / 1495.3

Sunday:
AT Miles = 0.3 / 1455.9
Other Miles = 0 /49.7
Total Miles = 0.3 / 1495.6

Friday was a gorgeous day, and I had only a short hike to get across
the state line into Connecticut and on to the campsite at Ten Mile
River, where I was to meet a couple of long time hiking friends from
the CT GMC. I was at Ten Mile River around 1:00, and I found a nice
spot to hang my hammock. I washed up and did my laundry, then put up
my bear line as a clothesline and hung everything out to dry.

About 3:30 Dick showed up, carrying snacks and beer along with his
camping gear. A few hours later Jim joined us. We had a great evening
chatting and reminiscing.One of the pleasantestr days I've had on this
whole trip.

On Saturday Jim had to head back home as he had work and family
obligations awaiting his attention. Jim and Dick spotted Dick's car
just past Mt Algo leanto, then Jim dropped Dick back at Bulls Bridge
and Dick and I started hiking north, up and over Schagticoke Mountain
and north to Mt Algo Leanto. It's funny how no matter whether the day
is 8 miles or 18 miles, the last mile always seems to take forever.

Just after starting the hike this morning I came upon two deer in the
woods. They stopped and stared at me and I did the same in return.
Eventually the lead deer apparently decided I posed no threat and
resumed browsing, slowly moving obliquely closer and closer to me. The
2nd deer was having none of it and remained on high alert. The 2nd
deer surprised me by snorting a warning. I've never seen that happen
before. The 1st deer looked at me again, but again decided I was
harmless and continued browsing. A few moments later deer #2 snorted
loudly three times, stamped her hoof, and turned and fled. Finally,
deer #1 looked back, decided to folow, and fled as well. That was
something to see!

When we got to Mt Algo Papa Kiwi was there. He was taking his zero day
in Kent by staying at the Leanto andf walking into town when he needed
to. Later that evening a bunch of thru-hikers showed up, including
MD3, OG, Joker, FlyBy, and a bunch of others.

On Sunday morning Dick and I hiked the .3 mile to the road where his
truck was parked, then Dick dropped me at the diner in Kent and he
left for home. After a big breakfast at the diner, I hung around for
about 45 minutes before walking over to the IGA and buying a pint of
Ben & Jerry's ice cream for dessert. (You eat ice cream with
breakfast, don't you?). Then I settled down with my book to wait for
Jodi to arrive around 11:00. Finally, we waited for some of my family
to arive and join us for lunch. There was a mix up and we never did
connect with my brother Dana. We did see my daughter Anju, her
boyfriend Drew, my ex-wife June, and Anju's godfather Henry.

Once the little family reunion was over Jodi and I left and drove to
New York City, where we are spending a few days living the high life.
It sure is different than the trail and the small towns I usually
spend time in. I remember gettinbg my hair cut in Tennessee, where it
cost $7. I got my haircut yesterday morning and it cost me $25! $25
could buy a lot of gorp or Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

I will be back on the trail sometime Wednesday afternoon. Until then,
Jodi and I are having a wonderful time living in the lap of luxury.

—
~~~~~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Thursday, 7/9

AT Miles = 16.8 / 1434.5
Other Miles = 0.9 / 49.7
Total Miles = 17.7 / 1474.2

This afternoon I soaked my feet in Nuclear Lake. Tonight I will check to see if they glow in the dark.

Another day of nothing special. There were a couple of local views early this morning, then I mostly just walked through the woods all day.

I did take a side-trip down the road when the trail crossed NY52 this morning, to get myself a quart of OJ, a toasted bagel with cream cheese, and some other junk food from a deli.

And a bit after lunch time I came upon a group of about 30 girls out for a day hike with one or two adult "leaders" who had absolutely no idea where they were. I took a few minutes to show the leader where they were on the map, but even after asking her several times where they were trying to go, all I got was that they were headed to some lake. Exactly what lake, I never learned. It's rather scary to think that someone in charge of such a big group of kids would be out in the woods with apparently no clue as to what she is doing.

I met a father and son team of southbounders a bit later, and I asked them to be as helpful as possible if they were asked for information. I was thinking maybe the woman leading the group was uncertain if she could trust the info I gave her, but if it were reinforced by someone else she might be more inclined to believe it.

I had plans to meet a GMC friend here tonight, and I was greatly looking forward to that, but he had to cancel at the last minute.

The weather has been quite strange. The wind is out of the northeast, which around here usually spells trouble, and it is quite chilly. It certainly doesn't feel like July. Also, I have noticed that whenever it gets the least bit chilly I feel the cold very quickly. That probably has to do with how skinny I've become. I feel a bit foolish wearing my down sweather in July, but I do it anyway.

I will be meeting another GMC friend tomorrow afternoon at Ten Mile River. I used to take my daughter Anju camping there quite often when she was little, so the place has many pleasant associations for me.

Anybody know why Nuclear Lake is called Nuclear Lake? Maybe somebody could do a bit of googling and find out for me, as I am quite curious. I sort of remember reading about it many years ago, but I can't remember any of the details.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Wednesday, 7/8

AT Miles = 18.8 / 1417.7
Other Miles = 0.4 / 48.8
Total Miles = 19.2 / 1456.5

There really isn't a whole lot to say about today. It was a nice enough day, but I just walked through the woods for 9 hours. There was one view where the trail climbed to a ridge overlooking Canopus Lake, and that was it.

There was at least one more thunder storm last night, and everything was wet when I got up this morning. The sky has been partly cloudy all day, but it hasn't rained. Since the woods are wet there are plenty of mosquitoes out and about, doing their mosquitoey best to make me lose my temper. Sometimes they succeed.

I will be at Telephone Pioneer Shelter tomorrow, 16.8 miles from here. I know I have been kind of erratic on trying to figure out where I will be and when as I go throuigh Connecticut, but here are my present thoughts:

I am trying to get my family together for lunch in Kent on Sunday. I don't know yet if that will come to pass or not, as I haven't heard back from my brothers yet. It is all last minute, as it was impossible to be certain when I would reach Connecticut until the last day or so. But, assuming we meet in Kent on Sunday, that means I will have a very easy schedule until then. From Telephone Pioneer Shelter I will hike to Ten Mile River on Friday. That is only 12.7 miles. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can enjoy myself kicking back at Ten Mile River. Then on Saturday I will hike the very short 8.4 miles to Mt Algo Shelter, which is just outside of Kent. Then on Sunday I have the entire morning to walk the 1 mile from the shelter into town. Jodi will meet me in Kent, and after lunch we will be off to New York City to live the high life for a few days.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

all I wrote previously about CT still holds, except that I will be leaving sometime on Sunday to go to NYC with Jodi. Because of a change in her work schedule, the NYC trip had to move from Tuesday to Sunday.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

My hammock set up in the soccer goal at the ball field of Graymoor Friary.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

So, I will be coming through Connecticut this weekend. If all goes according to plan I will be at Telephone Pioneer Shelter on Thursday night. That is just 10 miles short of the CT border at Hoyt Road.

If I go full speed through CT, I would be at Mt Algo on Friday night, Pine Swamp on Saturday night, and up on the Riga Plateau on Sunday night. I need to go into either Kent or Salisbury on Saturday or Sunday to resupply.

But there is no reason why I need to go through CT full tilt. If anybody wants to come out and see me, or even hike with me, I would be thrilled to take it easy and do a couple of short days.

I could stop at Ten Mile River on Friday, and do a couple of short days. That would still get me to Kent in time to resupply.

So, if anybody has any inclination in this direction, please let me know and we can work out where / when to meet up.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Tuesday, 7/7

AT Miles = 15.3 / 1398.9
Other Miles = 0.4 / 48.4
Total Miles = 15.7 / 1447.3

Whew! An eventful day!

Early this morning I had to cross the Palisades Parkway during morning rush hour. This was like a game of live-action Frogger, only without the reset button. At the time I thought that was going to be the highlight — or lowlight — of the day.

A few hours later I made it to the summit of Bear Mountain. A motorcyclist asked me if I had hiked all the way from the bottom. I said "I hiked all the way from Georgia." This lead to a conversation which I really enjoyed. He is a just retired cop from New Jersey and we talked about his many cross-country motorcycle trips and his plans to ride to Alaska. We also talked about hiking and bicycle touring. When it came time to leave he told me he was also a pastor — which I had figured since he had a well-thumbed bible sitting next to him as we talked — and he asked if he could pray for me, which I happily agreed to. Many of you know I am not at all religious, but it always touches me when people who believe in God's power are moved to try to share that power with me.

After leaving the summit of Bear Mountain I made my way down to the bottom where the AT goes through the Bear Mountain Zoo. This is a sad little zoo with desultory animals stuck in tiny little cages. I took no pictures as it was nothing to celebrate.

After the zoo, I crossed the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge. This seems like a huge milestone to me. It was fun walking across the bridge and being able to look up and down the river at my leisure. The Hudson is a huge river here, but I remember hiking in the Adirondaks and stepping across the highest head-water of the Hudson, which is a little brook draining a swampy area just below the summit of Mount Marcy.

As I was crossing the Hudson I noticed storm clouds building in from the west, and once I was on the east side of the river I had to stop and put the rain cover on my pack as a few raindrops were falling. Soon I was back in the woods and climbing the side of a mountain, when I heard thunder to the west. A few minutes later it sounded like a freight train was coming through the woods behind me, and I was hit by a wall of wind. The trees bent over, all the leaves turned inside out, and leaves and bits of branches — most small but a few rather big — were flying through the air and hitting me. I wasn't sure what to do so I found the fattest, sturdiest looking tree I could and stood in its lee. My thinking was that the tree would hopefully stop any large branches from hitting me directly.

Well, it was all over in ten minutes or so, but it felt like an eternity while it was going on. When I heard sirens going off in the valley below it only added to my anxiety. Once the worst was over I felt an incredible elation. Living removed from the comforts of home sometimes subjects you to discomfort, but it also exposes you to euphoric moments. I have been smiling all afternoon since.

So right now I am sitting in the pavilion at the ball field of the Graymoor Monastery. There is a shower, though it is cold, a sink with running water, electricity, picnic tables, and a porta-john across the field. Since it is a ball field I wasn't sure how I was going to set up my hammock, but I solved that dilemma by setting it up between the steel uprights of the soccer goal. It turned out to be the perfect size for my hammock.

—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Sunday, 7/5 & Monday, 7/6

Sunday
AT Miles = 17.1 / 1364.0
Other Miles = 0.4 / 47.4
Total Miles = 17.5 / 1411.4

Monday
AT Miles = 19.6 / 1383.6
Other Miles = 0.6 / 48.0
Total Miles = 20.2 / 1431.6

My apologies yet again for combining days. The last couple of days have ended with me just exhausted. I am not sure why. I'm not doing huge miles that I've never done before or anything like that. Maybe I am just getting worn out and need a few days off. We'll see.

Anyway, I left New Jersey and crossed into New York yesterday. Soon afterwards I was atop the ledges of Prospect Rock eating my lunch while looking down on all the boats on Greenwood Lake, with the Manhattan skyline just visible in the far distance. That was pretty darned cool!

Whoever laid out the trail in New York really likes scrambling around on huge rock ledges, and goes out of the way to route the trail over every chunk of rock to be found. It's fun for a while, but it gets old fast. I don't even want to think what it would have been like if it were raining!

Yesterday was Jodi and my 3rd anniversary! On our anniversary last year we were cycling from Boston to DC. This year Jodi was out in Denver visiting friends and I was hiking the AT in New York. Gosh, I miss Jodi! The single biggest negative about hiking the trail is being separated for so much time.

Today was more up and down hiking. We haven't had to do so much up and down since probably way back in southern Virginia, and it makes a huge difference in how tired my legs feel at the end of the day.

Right now I am less than 10 trail miles from the Hudson River, which I will cross tomorrow. That seems like a huge milestone to me. Tomorrow night I plan to camp at the Graymoor Monastery, just outside of Peekskill, NY. The monastery provides camping, a covered pavilion, water, privy, and shower for hikers, all free of charge. In the past they even invited hikers in for dinner with them, but they no longer do that. Since there is a 31 mile gap with no trail shelters, the monastery's generosity solves a huge logistical problem for hikers.
—
"Home is where I hang my food bag"

Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com

Saturday, 7/4
Happy Independence Day!

AT Miles = 6.5 / 1346.9
Other Miles = 0.1 / 47.0
Total Miles = 6.6 / 1393.9

Wow, the campsite was crowded last night! Only a few thru-hikers but a
lot of people out for the long holiday weekend. Someone set up their
tent so it was actually partially under my hammock tarp!

I was up early this morning, and not particularly caring if I woke up
my too close neighbor while packing. Yeah, that’s a bit cranky of me,
but that’s the way I felt. I had less than 7 miles to go to reach NJ
94 from where I would hitch into Vernon, and I knew I’d be getting
there early. It was a really nice morning’s walk, which included a bit
of skirting through some neighborhoods with back yards visible through
the trees, but was highlighted by the Pochuk Boardwalk, which is a
boardwalk through a swampy area that goes for about 3/4 mile. It was
really beautiful in the dry morning air and alternating sunshine and
shade.

Since most of the walk was flat this morning, I was at the road by
9:15. After double checking my map and guidebook to make sure I was at
the correct road (a little sign identifying roads as the trail reaches
them would be really nice!), I stuck my thumb out in hopes of a ride
to town. In some places it is really easy to hitchhike, and in some it
is not. This is one of the ones that is not. For one thing the road is
narrow with no shoulders, and the traffic is reasonably heavy and
fast, so it is a tough place for a driver to stop. So I stood there
for quite a while trying to look as respectable as possible, but with
no luck. I finally decided that I would keep trying until 9:45., and
if I hadn’t gotten a ride then I would start walking the 2.4 miles to
town. That would be well under an hour of walking, but walking on the
road is brutal on the feet, and my feet already hurt badly enough.

Well, at 9:43 I got a ride! Just in the nick of time. The driver
apparently wasn’t a local, as he had NY plates on his truck and he
didn’t know where the church was in this little town, but he was
patient enough to drive around a bit and we asked directions and
finally he dropped me just across the street from the church.

One of the recurring stories you hear on the trail is of hikers
hitching somewhere and when they get out of the vehicle the driver
takes off not realizing that a backpack or hiking poles are still in
the back of their vehicle, so whenever I hitch I always leave the door
open when I get out, then I go get my stuff out of the back of the
vehicle, then finally I go back, stick my head in the door and thank
the driver again, then close the door. Just a little bit of insurance.

The hostel here is quite nice. There is a big room with carpeting on
the floor, a computer, and a TV with cable. There is a kitchen which
they allow hikers to use. There is also a clean batroom with a shower,
plenty of soaps and shampoo and towels, and a washer and dryer. Heck,
they even have a printer hooked up to the computer. I did the clothes
I hike in every day, and all my nasty socks, in one load, putting on
my long pants. which I rarely wear now that it’s warm every day, after
my shower. Then when the first load was done I put my hiking clothes
back on, and washed my other clothes, along with all my socks again —
they can surely use two washings — and a load of dirty towels that
were in the hamper from previous hikers staying here last night. So
every bit of clothing I have is now clean and dry. Quite an
accomplishment.

I’ve made my foray to the grocery store, and I have stocked up with
enough food to get me to Kent, CT. Wow, it’s hard to believe I will
soon be back in my native New England! I’ve checked the forecast for
the next week, and it looks about as good as one could possibly hope.
Maybe some rain showers one night, but mostly sunny and warm but not
too hot, all week.

I ate lunch at Burger King on the way to the grocery store, and had a
pint of Ben & Jerrys ice cream right after shopping, so I will try to
find something a bit healthier for dinner tonight. It loosk like there
is a diner of some kind open around the corner. Maybe I’ll try that.

Since there are no bunks here, and since I don’t carry a sleeping pad
since I don’t need one with my hammock, I am planning to sleep in the
reclining lounge chair here tonight. I hope there aren’t too many
other hikers coming, as that could mess up those plans!

I know the Tour de France started today, and I was hoping to get to
watch it on TV, but apparently they don’t get Versus here. Darn!

Oh, one last thing. I toasted my camera the other day. I had my
backpack on the ground under the eaves of the shelter at Rutherford
Shelter when that thunderstorm rolled in, and I thought it was safe
and dry, but the water was rolling in on the ground and my pack, with
my camera in the left hipbelt pocket, was sitting in several inches of
water. That water seems to have destroyed the display on the camera.
So I have Jodi doing a bit of research on a new camera. Hopefully I’ll
get it replaced soon.

The atatched picture is of the main room here at the hostel. The blue
chair in the middle is the recliner I plan to sleep on, maybe while
one of the videos they have here plays on the TV. Do women sleep with
the TV on too, or is that mostly a guy thing?

Here’s hoping everyone is having a Fabulous Fourth. I am certainly
enjoying mine. While I was at the A&P shopping, I was thinking about
just how much fun I was having doing that simple chore. Such an array
of food to choose from! If I could only eat it all.

—
~~~~~
Allen F. Freeman
allen@allenf.com
http://www.allenf.com/
allenf.blogspot.com