Hi folks!
I know it may seem like I would have all the free time in the world out here, but my goodness is it hard to find time to write up these posts! Still, I owe it to y’all to keep up to date with what I’ve got going on!
I last left you in New Jersey, where the rains were driving us mad. In response, we bailed the trail for a few days of excursion into New York City! I know, this is an Appalachian Trail blog, but maybe think of it more of a total blog if my adventures this summer! 😁
I took this trip to NYC with Zero G, where her mom (trail name Dirty D) was visiting her from the west coast! It was super nice of Zero G’s mom to host the trip. She was a ton of fun. Highlights of the trip included showtimes, jazz, and Italian food in Greenwich Village, a somber visit to the 9/11 memorial museum (seriously, what a powerfully emotional visit that was…), numerous trips to delicious bagel shops, bicycling in Central Park, and just having a generally awesome time. Also, I know the NYC subway system catches a lot of flack for being dirty, but what a super efficient way to get around!! I loved it. Overall, my NYC visit illustrated the stark contrast between the people and places of this country. The fact that two dirty, unshowered hikers could step straight from the beautiful AT right into Times Square reinforced to me a lot of the reasons I love living here in the US!
After a great visit to NYC, I left Zero G and her mom to give them some time between just the two of them, feeling like I couldn’t third-wheel their whole visit. I hopped on a nauseating bus ride back to the trail to pick up where I left off. It was near this point that I realized that I like the northern states of the trail (so far) a lot more than I enjoyed the southern states. Don’t get me wrong, the southern portions of the AT are great, but in a different way, I think. I will explain…
I think the southern AT is great because of the culture of the trail. For many, it’s where you first learn to backpack, it’s where you meet multitudes of new friends, and experience a world entirely new to you. There are plentiful homey hostels, and trail towns used to hordes of hikers. But, if we face facts, many people give up or leave the trail before they reach the north, leaving the culture to feel entirely different. Meanwhile, the landscape of the southern Appalachian mountains has a lot of the same feel to it through and through, with some notable exceptions (Roan and Grayson Highlands, and the VA triple crown, as great examples).
Starting right around New York, though, the trail has started to feel a lot more dynamic from a landscape standpoint. I feel like the mountains and views are becoming more striking, and the forests more varied. I know it’ll only continue to shift, too, as I enter the alpine wilderness of NH, and the rugged forests of ME.
All this to say, I think the trail of late has been stunningly beautiful. Sure, there may be less people, and the trail towns may be a bit more expensive and hiker inaccessible, but I think it’s been great. Seriously, as a dirty thru hiker walking through one of these CT towns, I feel like an old penny amongst diamonds. These little New England towns are fancy and flowing with money!
Connecticut is not a state that I hear people talk too much about on the AT, but I found that despite having little over 50 miles of trail, they took a step up in difficulty. There were a lot of steep ups and downs. I just finished CT yesterday, passing on into Massachusetts, where I’m writing to you now from a laundromat in Great Barrington, another New England town supercharged with charm.
Along the way, there have been some gear upsets (surprise!). Unfortunately, my tent, once again, has an issue for which I’ll need to be sending it in for. I’ll send her off today, hopefully for the last time… My electronics also got wet, which rendered my power bank useless. Luckily, I was able to pick up a comically oversized battery bank from a tiny CT town. Seriously, this thing is so large that it comes with a leather strap, probably so that it can be used both as a battery for charging or assault.
Let’s talk for a moment on timing. My thru hike is going to be a late one; a late one in the sense that when I tell people on the trail that I am heading north with the intent to finish at Katahdin, they say something like “You’d better hurry up!”. Those folks don’t know me, apparently. I am getting this done! Still, it is becoming cooler, a gentle reminder that winter is coming. To that end, I have had my cold weather gear shipped to me for pickup near the Vermont border. I anticipate I’ll have an October finish. That will almost assuredly mean seeing some snow in New Hampshire, but promises beautiful New England fall colors, too!
Yesterday, I met up with some old friends that you may recognize from the four state challenge: Minion, High Five, Hot Foot, and Calorie Man (plus their new friend Rogue!)! I spent the night with them, somehow squeezing all of us into a Quality Inn room, where I got to spend the night under the table, on the floor! I did get a shower out of the stay, though, and some great trail friendships! I got my trail chores done in Great Barrington, MA yesterday, as well as visited their great farmer’s market! After that, I left my old friends behind to hike on, where I met a super kind family at the next shelter! Seriously, they said I looked hungry, and gave me a bunch of food they said they didn’t need! They were so kind.
Today’s adventure brought me to Goose Pond, where there is a free cabin for anybody to stay. There are a lot of folks staying here for Labor Day weekend. Discussing food we wished we had at the moment lead to a crazy plan to hike to the nearest highway to pickup a pizza delivery. Mind you, that meant that we hiked 2.5 miles out of the woods to meet the delivery driver, and then hike four large pizzas 2.5 miles back up the mountain. Needless to say, we were heroes.
Alrighty folks, sorry I can’t furnish more detail, but for now, here’s a huge photo dump! I’ll try to post sooner next time!
Also!! Congratulations to my new niece Madelynn for being new to the world!! I can’t wait to see her when I get back!
Tingo Hikes! 