at home

I'm finishing up a little break back at my parents house, heading back onto the trail this morning at Max Patch, north of I-40 since I-40 is closed and all. Looks like there should be mostly good weather for the Smokies, only 250 miles left! Should be done in 2 weeks or less.

Virginia

So here I am, 4 states away from the end of my hike... granted that the one I'm in right now is 550 miles long or something. A good quarter or more of the whole trail. Turns out Virginia with its being a big state and unnecessary amount of switchbacks takes up more than its fair share of miles. But hey, from Rockfish gap there's 850 miles to go, which seems substantially less than the 1330 I've already done, and I'm still having a lot of fun. Who knows what will happen when I get back home anyway? Still haven't heard back from the peace corps... perhaps applying for grad schools will be in order?
But for now I'm more concerned with the troubles on the trail than after it. You know, rain, sore feet, angry cows, black bears falling from trees, hikers with severe emotional and mental issues, tourists, but most of all high voltage.
This is a shot of a typical hiker shelter along the trail. I'll be using these for 3 or 4 days seeing as how my tent (which I conveniently put back in my pack after deciding it was worth the weight somewhere back in vermont), had some pole malfunctions. So, add mice to the list of trail issues. Or rats that apparently steal people's socks and shoe insoles? Dunno, I did not stay at that shelter. Bears do apparently frequent some shelters though, as I found out one lonely night after getting into camp at about 8pm (dark.) I had a black furry visitor come by every few hours to check on me and see how I was doing. He seemed undeterred by my yelling and clapping, but fortunately disinterested in my lack of food (thanks bear bag.) I saw one bear my entire trip before entering Shenendoah National Park (not coincidentally the day before), and over the past 3 days I lost count, but I would guess around 20. They are everywhere. One fell off a tree in attempts to run away from me. Pretty hilarious.

After hiking through almost all of the Shenendoahs, my roommate (center) Charles from last year picked me up, and we headed back to crash at his place. He's going to grad school in Charlottesville now. The next day we headed out and finished the remaining 12 miles of the AT to Rock Fish Gap. Hiking 12 miles without my backpack on felt pretty amazing. Tomorrow I imagine I'll hike much further with a pack fully stocked on food. I do like food though.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for all the letters back in Duncannon, I was pretty astonished when the post office lady handed me the stack. Next stop is Pearisburg, VA, then Damascus, VA, then Tenessee??? That sounds disturbingly close to home. Perhaps some of you North Carolina folks will have to come do some walking with me soon?

Post office stuff;
Pearisburg, VA 24134, ETA Oct. 14th
Damascus, VA 24236, ETA Oct. 24th

Oh, and thanks to the Chamberlains in Harper's Ferry for the place to stay and food and everything. Things like that make the trip.

Anyway, looks like it is waaaay past my bed time, hiker midnight is 9pm. 'night

post offices

Duncannon PA 17020
ETA Sept. 22nd

Waynesboro VA, 22980
ETA Oct. 5th

Still alive and hiking!

So after 30 minutes or so of posting pictures up, I seem to have accidentally deleted the entire post by trying to add this one more picture. At least its a good one. I'm in Unionville, NY, having an awesome time, excited about hiking through New Jersey and PA. I'll post more later I promise. Right now I'm kind of frustrated at the internet.

Vermont/Post offices/ect.

Post Offices:
Williamstown, MA 01267
ETA 8/25/09

Kent, CT 06757
ETA 9.4.09

So I just rolled into Rutland VT this morning, after camping out in the parking lot of a Pub. Pretty excellent except for the guy who was also camping there who insisted on playing NPR really loud until 6am. I don't really understand that. But the Pub was pretty sweet, delicious Guiness, and the guy poured it so that there was a clover in the foam. I thought it was impressive.

Anyways, no pictures now cause I'm not sure where the cord is and I only get 30 minutes of internets at this library, but VT is really pretty. Not as intense as New Hampshire, but lots of rolling green hills, open meadows, blackberries, and little stores to get coke and ice cream from. Also, for the first time since the very beginning of the trail, there are extended flat easy sections. Its pretty fantastic. I've hiked 42 miles in the past 2 days, and don't feel too sore. There are a lot of yellow jackets though apparently. Three guys I was hiking with yesterday stirred up a nest right after we left this lake we were swimming in. I was still putting my shoes on after floating on my backpack in the pond for a little while. One of the guys bet me 20 bucks that my back pack wouldn't float me because everything in it is in a water tight dry bag. So I got 20 bucks and didn't get stung by bees. Kind of makes me feel bad though.

Computer time is about out... peace

Post Offices

Richard S. Ianniello
General Delivery
Hanover, NH 03755
Hold for A.T. Hiker ETA August 14th

Richard S. Ianniello
General Delivery
Rutland, VT 05701
Hold for A.T. Hiker ETA August 19th

Richard S. Ianniello
General Delivery
Manchester Center, VT 05255
Hold for A.T. Hiker ETA August 24th

Still hiking!

So I guess its been a while since I've had reasonable internets to put something up on here. Last one was... Stratton? That was like, 200 miles ago. I think.

The trail has been awesome recently. Lots of big mountains, excellent views and cool people. My sickness is all healed up, and I'm already halfway through New Hampshire. The White Mountains are beautiful out here, despite the rather thick crowds of tourists.

Southern Maine was definitely a difficult section of trail. Whenever I feel like this whole AT hiking thing gets hard, I keep saying 'its just walking,' but as it turns out, sometimes its not just walking. This became apparent on a particularly rainy day heading through the Mahoosuc Range. The Mahoosuc notch is often said to be "The hardest mile of the AT." However about 2 miles before I got there, I had to go down the Mahoosuc Arm. This particular section of trail the MATC (Maine Appalachian Trail Conservancy) decided would best be made by following steep rock slabs down the mountain, where water would pour over them when it rained. That way if you slip and fall, you keep going 6 or 7 feet, maybe more if you pick a good spot. I managed this section by holding trees on the side, pretty much the entire way down.

The Mohoosuc notch itself is actually better described as the funnest mile of trail on the AT. (at least so far). Kind of a rock jungle gym. Climbing under huge boulders and up over the other side, was pretty awesome, even in the pouring rain. I went through in about an hour, which is apparently really quick, at least relative to the current record holder, who took 8 hours to get through, stopping to cry halfway in between. I guess climbing over and under rocks is more fun for some people than others?

After getting through the notch, I met up with Jedi and Runner, 2 Georgians SOBOing the AT. We hiked into Gorham NH together through the rest of Souther Maine, and then slackpacked our first section of the White Mountains. This is where you hike from one road to another, and stay at the same hostel, so you don't carry your pack. It made the 21 mile day way easier.

I left them the next day to climb up Mount Washington with some beautiful weather, staying at the Lake of the Clouds hut. They have this hut system in New Hampshire where these huts provide dinner, breakfast, and beds for customers who pay 100 bucks a night. Pretty ridiculous. Fortunately, AT thru hikers can do 15-30 minutes of work, get fed, and sleep on the floor or table in the dining area. Works well for me. After a beautiful day of hiking above tree-line, free food and shelter was pretty nice.

Yesterday started out fairly exciting, with a big thunderstorm with heavy rain and hail. Fortunately I was down in the trees, 1 mile before I got to Franconia Ridge, again up above tree-line, and very exposed. The weather cleared up just as I got on top where there were maybe arond 50mph winds, enough to where I had to lean into it as I hiked.

I got into Lincoln NH yesterday afternoon, and spent the night at Chet's house, a really nice guy who has turned his garage into a bunk room for hikers. I went to the post office, ditched some gear so I can be more light weight. Cause who needs a tent, really. I'm heading back on the trail sometime this afternoon, looks like another beautiful day.
Oh, and thanks to Megan, Sophi and Will for the letters/food and everything.