My 2008 Appalachian Thru Hike Journal

One year ago today I stood on the summit of Mount Katahdin. One year ago today I completed a 2,176.2 mile walk through the Appalachian Mountains. One year ago today I completed my through hike of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

I can't believe it's already been a year.

Finding closure for the journey that was has been a rather difficult experience. One year later, I still think about the trail as if I just finished yesterday. One year later, I still long to be placing one foot in front of the other with the simplistic objective of walking through the Appalachian Mountains. One year later, I have an overwhelming desire to be back on the trail.

One year later, I may have finally found closure.

Two days ago, I once again climbed Mount Katahdin. While most of the time I climb mountains to be able to say, 'Yeah, I've climbed that mountain', this trip was different. I climbed for remembrance. I climbed for reflection.

I climbed for closure.

And then I reached the summit. I paused for a moment to gaze at the faded wooden sign. I paused for a moment to understand where I was standing.

I paused to understand exactly what I completed one year ago today.

Grasping the affects that the Appalachian Trail has had on my life has been rather difficult. Conveying what my through hike means to me has been a rather daunting task. I often find myself speechless when people ask me how it was. Summing up an AT through hike into a short statement to answer such a question is not something I can do.

One year later, I am preparing to move forward.

One year later, it's time for one last good bye. I will never forget my through hike. I will never forget the people I met, the places I saw, and the memories that were created.

I will always remember the Appalachian Trail. Always.

Ga>ME 2008.

Yes, this is a real disease, and yes, I have it. It's what happens the spring following a NOBO thru hike. I'm sitting here right now knowing that everyday hikers take off from Springer in hopes of making it all the way to Maine. It's painful. It's unrealistically painful. It's so painful that I can't stand it. It's so painful that I'm thinking of ways to hike on the AT down south this Spring: I need to hike.

I have not hiked since I finished last summer. It's been extremely painful.

You know the feeling I'm talking about. It's listening to your gut rumbling, urging you to hop on the next plane to Georgia and to leave all your worries behind simply to walk.

It's the feeling you get when your depressed, but it's not a bad depressed. It's the depression of knowing that this time last year you were laying on your sleeping pad in a shelter thinking about the journey ahead, still trying to adjust to this new found lifestyle.

It's the feeling that comes with knowing you'd rather be there and not here, knowing that instead of thinking about the homework you need to do this weekend you could be thinking about what you want for dinner.

Springer Fever has no known cure, except to hike as soon as humanly possible. It's gut wrenching beyond rational comprehension.

It's knowing there is a simple world out there, and for five months you immersed yourself in it. It's knowing that the trail does not care if your young or old, male or female, it will treat you all the same.

All I had to do was walk, I worried about nothing else. You know life is good when the toughest decision of the day is whether to eat oatmeal or a cereal bar for breakfast. You know your living a great life when you don't think about anything in the real world, that the trail is all your focused on.

All I had to do was walk.

Ga>ME 2008.

It's now been four months since I stood on the summit of Mount Katahdin. Four long months.

It has not been easy adjusting to life back in the "real world." Everything is about moving as fast as you can. Why walk to work when you can drive? Why walk to the car when you can run? Why take the stairs when you can use the elevator?

It has not been easy adjusting life back in the "real world." Life is a lot more hectic here. Between school, applying for college, two college courses at my local university, a private swim club and my high school team, I don't have time for, well, nothing. If I'm doing nothing, chances are there's homework to be done, applications to be completed, college papers to write, or time to think about how I'm going to shave another second off my 50 yard freestyle.

It has not been easy adjusting life back in the "real world." My sense of distance has forever changed. It used to be that walking to/from school was a waste of time, now it's something I look forward to doing from time to time. It seems it's the only time when I can let my thoughts run free and rationalize everything going through my head. It used to be that 20 miles was nothing in the grand scheme of the world, but now it's a daunting distance. 20 miles was a full day on the trail. In a car it takes all of 15 minutes.

I am constantly reminded of the trail. I was recently on an orienteering trip my my outdoor leadership class. For the trip, we went to a LL Bean course in Freeport. All of the orienteering was done on established trails, marked with different colored blazes for different trails. One of the trail was marked with white blazes. Suddenly, everything came rushing through me, many memories unfolded within my head.

If you ever see me sitting in a room staring at a distant point for no apparent reason, chances are good that I'm thinking about the trail. I don't do it purposefully, it's second nature at this point.

Just as the trail was starting to fade away from me, I received my 2,000 miler patch and certificate in the mail. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was. There's something about that patch that, on some level, confirmed what I had known to be true: I actually did walk the Appalachian Trail.

I don't for-see myself being able to move on anytime soon, either, not that I'm trying to. Everyday when I walk into school, I see a poster of the entire trail hanging in my school, forever reminding me of the trail.

The most frequent question I receive is, "How was it, Kirby?"

How was it? I try with all my might to find a one word answer, what they most likely are looking for, but it's not easy. I most frequently reply "good", but that does not even begin to scratch the surface. It was amazing, it was torture. It was easy, and the hardest thing I've ever done. It was steep and flat, rocky and smooth. I had some absolutely amazing moments out there, and I had ones I hope to never remember. I met some amazing people, and I also met people whom I never wish to see again. I laughed, I cried. I walked, and I ran, I jumped and I stumbled. I lost things, and I found most of them as well. I remain the same, and I've changed.

I though-hiked the Appalachian Trail.

Ga>ME 2008.

There’s a spot on Mount Katahdin’s famed Table Lands called “Thoreau’s Spring”, named after Henry David Thoreau, who once roamed this plateau in his summit bid. The sign marking the spring it simply declares “Baxter Peak: 1 mile.” I turned to my hiking companion, Cookie, and said “One mile, that’s it? It’s over in one mile.”
        He simply responded “Yeah, it really is.”
        One mile to go. After walking 2,175.2 miles, there was only one to go. After traversing the Appalachian Mountains through 14 states by way of the Appalachian Trail, there was only one mile to go. After fighting through powerful winds, being chased by thunder and lightening on an exposed ridge, after walking through torrential down pours and unbearable heat, there was only one mile to go. After climbing to above 6,000 feet, and dropping to as low as 124 feet, there was only one mile to go.
It was time for me to complete the task, to walk that final mile. It was time for me to stand on that famed summit. The final mile was an emotional one. I was attempting to rationalize what it meant to me to actually see the summit, to know it’s no longer a distant goal but a visible objective. Then it hit me, there would be no tomorrow. Tomorrow I would not wake up and walk 20 miles. Tomorrow I would not wake up and complete the never ending array of town chores to prepare for the next stretch of trail. Tomorrow I would not wake up and wonder what America’s Footpath will throw my way next. Tomorrow it would really be over. Wait, it would really be over in less than a mile. A tear rolled down my face, containing my emotions was no longer necessary.
When I was a measly 1/10th of a mile from the summit, I finally saw the sign marking the end. I paused for a moment to regain my composure, and I glanced over at Cookie. He said to me in his southern accent, “There it is, Kirby.” I remained silent for a moment, and immediately broke down in tears.
        I turned to Cookie and said, “Yeah, there it is. Go on ahead, I’ll meet you at the end.”
        Seeing the sign was a powerful realization. I now realized that I would actually finish this trail, that I would go home victorious. I found it hard to believe I was actually standing where I was, considering everything it took for me to get that far.
        I slowly started to walk towards the summit, passing the final white blazes that have guided me this far. With each step, the sign became that much closer. With each step, I shed another tear.
        And then there it was, the famous sign marking the most powerful summit on which I’ve ever stood. I stood there for a moment, gazing at the faded wooden sign that was emblazoned with the simplistic yet powerful words:

                                        Katahdin
                                       Baxter Peak-5,267
                          Northern Terminus Of The Appalachian Trail

It was actually over. There were no more mountains to climb by way of America’s Footpath, there were actually no more white blazes to follow. I finally stood on that famed summit.
I through-hiked the Appalachian Trail.

Ga>ME 2008

This is it, my last night on trail. It all ends tomorrow. It's hard to describe what's going through my head right now. After everything I've been through, this is what it all comes down to. One more mountain: One more day on trail.

It truly is hard to say good bye to this trail. This has been my life since March 1st. Nothing but the trail. I will be home the day after tomorrow, that's way to soon. I think I might need to go into hiding.

I'm having a very difficult time writing this entry right now, it's hard to put into words how I'm feeling at this moment in time.

Please forgive me, I need to collect my thoughts and keep my composure. I don't want this to end.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It's hard to describe how I'm feeling at this point in time. The Appalachian Trail has an odd effect on people. This has been the journey of a life time, something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

It's been a long, hard journey since March 1st, when I stood on the summit of Springer Mountain. For four months and three weeks I've marched through the unforgiving mountains of Appalachia to reach this point. I've marched through snow, sleet, rain, thunderstorms, lightening, and sunshine in the name of one mountain: Katahdin.

But it's not about the mountain, it truly is about everything in between. It's about how you've changed, how you've become a better person. Most people I met this year were not out here because they wanted to climb Katahdin. Most are out to rediscover themselves, and to help shape the rest of their lives. If I wanted to climb Katahdin, I'd simply climb Katahdin and go home. There is a greater purpose than that, there is truly more to it than meets the eye.

The journey has had its high points, and its low ones as well. The trail has tested my physical and mental endurance, and this far I've won the GaMe. Hiking the Appalachian Trail is a feat like no other, it's a stand along accomplishment. Think about it. There are six billion people in this world, and I'm one of only 10,000 people who has thru hiked, that's a small club.

What you must remember is that the trail is 2,176.2 miles long, and you have to earn every mile of it. No mile is given to you. While some are definitely easier than others, you still need to put one foot in front of the other.

What I'm also grappling with is how to re-enter the real world, because I know most won't get it.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with my Dad when I was in Front Royal, Virgina, mile 950 of the trail. I had just told him where I was on the wall map:

Me:"So that's where I am"

Him:"Wow, you have a long way to go".

First of all, I love my Dad and hold him in the highest regard, but this outlines my point. You tell people you are have walked 500 miles, and they say "you still have 1,600 to go". It's as if they can't step back and think for a second "wow, 500 miles, that's a long way".

The plan for tomorrow is to stay at "The Birches" in Baxter State Park. This is the long distance hikers site in the park.

The GaMe is almost over.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today was a day to remember on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. Why? Well because it was relatively flat, a first for the finest state in the Union. Life is good.

I was walking north at 6:20AM. The trail was smooth and flat for an extensive period. For the first time since before entering the Whites I was able to hold a stride for an extended period of time.

It's very easy to feel isolated in the Maine woods. You can look to your left and right and see nothing but a never ending forest. The only comfort you have is the white blaze guiding the way in front of you.

At Antler's Campsite I made an attempt to call my day, but that failed. For those of you wondering, this is one of the few spots in the 100 Mile Wilderness where you can find cell phone reception.

The only note worthy climb of the day was some PUD leading to Potawadjo Spring Lean-To, where Cookie and I took our mid-morning snack break. About ten minutes south of the shelter I bumped into a SOBO named Hillwalker. This is the man who spearheaded a trail maintenance trip during Trashgiving 2007 that I participated in. It really is a small world. He is heading to Springer Mountain, GA.

I should note that Potawadjo lean-to has one of the nicest water sources I've seen, take a look if you ever in the area.

North of the lean-to I came to a sign that stated "view of Katahdin", with an arrow pointing towards the nearby lake. There she stood, tall and unobstructed. This represented my first good look at Katahdin on the entire trail. After everything I've been through, I can now see the mountain, and I mean really see it. It really is almost over.

Tonight I'm at Wadleigh Stream Lean-To with Cookie and Time Traveler after completing a 21.5 mile day. When i got here I found Rocket Dog taking a break, he intends to do 12 more miles. It was 3:30PM at the time.

This may also be my last night in a shelter with Time Traveler. Tomorrow I'm aiming for Abol Bridge, while she intends to stop at Hurd Brook Lean-To. She has to wait until the 25th to summit, while I'm on target for the 23rd. It's been great hiking with her.

It ends in 38.2 miles.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

My mind is still trying to rationalize how I should be reacting with the end of the trip so close. I'm excited I'm going to finish, yet I'm not looking forward to the grand adventure being over. Just another conundrum to settle out while I walk north.

The summit of Barren Mountain was wind swept and afforded a nice view of some of the surrounding ridges.

On my descent of Fourth Mountain I bumped into Time Traveler and Warpaint, Whom I ended up spending the rest of the day hiking with them.

As we were traversing the Barren-Chairback range we talked about what we we're looking forward to at home and what we'll miss about the trail. It's something I need to think about at this point. It's something all NOBO's think about at this point.

By the time we rolled into Chairback Gap lean-To for lunch it was raining, it's always nice to have a dry spot to eat lunch. Mid way through Cookie rolled on it. We all agreed it was a cruddy day on the AT. Cookie noted that on the uneven footing of todays trail it's hard to maintain any sort of rhythm, and he's 100% right.

On the summit of Chairback I took some photos and enjoyed the silence of the summit. None of us were talking, we just simply looked around at each other and at the cloud we were in. I realized I may never have a moment like that again on this trip. I may never share an open mountain summit with Warpaint or Time Traveler ever again.

After a persistent descent I rolled into the West Branch of the Pleasant River, a ford was in order. As Cookie rolled through I essentially asked him if he was going to go into crocs, he responded by saying "Let's take a look", and proceeded to charge right through the river, not even thinking twice about the question at hand. Since Time Traveler already charged through, Warpaint and I were left to decide. Seeing as we did not want to be left behind, and we did not want to be shown up by a female(not intended in any way, shape or form to be sexist) and a 55 year old(who shows me up on the trail everyday anyway), we charged right through and met them on the other side. The funny thing is that on the other side Cookie proceeded to take off his shoes to remove a pebble. Warpaint and I simply chuckled at the irony of the situation.

On this side of the river I met Pop Tart once more, who I also met on the Chairback summit last year. He is the caretaker for the Gulf Hagus area.

The five mile climb to the shelter was treacherous due to all the slippery rocks. It also did not help that it was pouring out, but this rain came in bursts. It would poor, I would start to dry out, then it would pour on me again. Over and over and over and over again all the way to the shelter. About 100 yards before the shelter, I partially fell into a stream, which made me a very angry person when I rolled into the shelter.

At the shelter I was completely soaked, my shirt stuck to my chest and back. I was moving as fast as I could all afternoon in hopes of staying in the shelter, but it was not to be. This shelter was over taken by SOBO shelter hoppers. As I was setting up my tent I made it very clear to Time Traveler that I was not happy with the situation, and I was doing in a very loud and sarcastically angry voice.

I should also note that the zipper on my rain jacket is now dead, along with the zipper to the bug netting on my tent. Everything seems to be falling apart with less than 80 miles to go.

Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To tomorrow. It's looking like I'll summit on the 23rd if the weather is good.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

There is a certain sense of comfort that comes with following the white blazes. As long as there's a white blaze in front of me, I know I'm not lost. As long as there's a white blaze in front of me, I'm found.

It was time to walk on this morning, when I woke up and finished packing up, I went downstairs to drink coffee and wait for breakfast. I spent this time talking with Rocketdog and Warpaint about their interpretations of Middle East relations and what a long distance hiking trail through Russia would look like.

I went with "4" for breakfast. This means I had 4 blueberry pancakes, 4 pieces of bacon and sausage, 4 over-medium eggs and a scoop of home fries. I left the table at a perfect fullness level.

At 7:45AM I got a death defying ride back to the trail from Landfill. I was preparing to walk north at 7:55AM.

I first took a look at the sign which declares the start of the 100 Mile Wilderness. Apparently I should have ten days of food with me, while in reality I only have 7.

It felt odd to stand in this trail head parking lot once more. Last August I did the 100 Mile Wilderness for a shakedown section. Memories came pouring back to me as if it were yesterday.

It was painful to start walking due to the fact that my pack weight was right around 6.9 tons, 7 including water. I spent the morning talking with Cookie about random things.

My mind was so absorbed in finally being in the homestretch of what will no doubt go down as the greatest experience of my life when I return home.

Cookie and I ate lunch at Big Wilson Stream then proceeded to ford the stream in our crocs. Time Traveler went before us, so we had our cameras ready in case shell were to fall down. The cruel sense of humor of a thru-hiker.

I rolled into Long Pond Stream Lean-To around 4:15PM. After claiming a spot in the shelter I walked 1/10th south to go swimming with Cookie and Warpaint in Slugundy Gorge, which was absolutely amazing. I then spread myself out on a rock in the sun to dry out.

It's fitting I'm sharing a shelter with Cookie, Time Traveler, and Warpaint tonight. I first met them and shared a shelter with them in Fontana Dam, just before the Smokies. I never really thought then I would be in their vicinity almost 2,000 miles later.

I now have only 99.4 miles to Katahdin. Less than 100 miles to go. A 2,175 mile journey has been reduced to less than 100 miles. Think about that for a moment or two.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I spent a lot of time today thinking about life after the trail, mainly focusing on my transition back to reality. A lot of people have contacted me recently and informed me they would like to meet with me when I return. I've thus far managed to avoid making any firm plans with anyone.

My eyes are now firmly set on Katahdin. The journey has been long and hard. No one ever said thru hiking was easy, it never has been and never will be.

The most frequent question I receive these days is:"Are you excited about finishing?". My response:"I'm excited knowing there's a realistic chance I'll finish this thing". Once I'm home, I know I'll be wanting to be out here.

Life on the trail is so simplistic. My task every day is to walk north.

Monson is my final town before completing the Appalachian Trail in one journey. It's looking like I'll be home the day after I summit. Knowing I'll be home within 8-9 days is scary and exciting at the same time.

I'm curious to see how I've changed. I've put a lot of effort to fixing my flaws and to becoming a better person in general. I've made a lot of silly decisions in my life, and my hope is that this trip has allowed me to close the chapter on that phase in my life, to allow me to start anew.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the end.

It'll be hard to say goodbye.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I have come to the rational conclusion that I was not coming down with Giardia last night, I hope. I'm feeling 100% right now. In fact, you might say I'm 'Fired up and ready to go!'.

I had Monson on my mind when I hit trail this morning, I'm ready for the pending zero tomorrow. The trail was once again poorly maintained with mind boggling amounts of mud on the trail. Cookie and I did our best to avoid the slosh pit.

The first significant task was to ford the Bald Mountain Pond outlet. This required putting on my crocs and hanging onto a poorly attached piece of rope across the stream. Cookie fell in the moment he grabbed onto his rope, I laughed once I confirmed he was OK. When it was my turn, I learned from his mistake and was sure to carefully enter the water and glide across, which I did while continuously swaying back and forth due to all the slack in the rope.

Oh, but then it was time to march through some more slop. By this point in time Cookie and I did not even bother trying to avoid the slop and proceeded to march right through it. Some good trail maintenance happening on this stretch of trail.

In their defense, the trail was fairly level today. The trail spent most of the day following a river as it weaved through the valley.

The west branch of the Piscataquis river posed an interesting fording scenario. The part where the trail crosses is where two rivers become one, which left an island in the middle. My objective was simple:Cross the first river, celebrate on the island having not fallen in, then march across the second river, celebrate on the other side of a successful ford. Everything went according to plan. One problem is that Cookie is always in th lead, which means he reaches the oppose shore about five yards in front of me. This gives him ample time to deploy what ever tactics needed to ensure I completely fall down in the water. My goal is to never make eye contact with him while fording.

About 15 minutes from Horshoe Canyon Shelter I asked a SOBO how far to the shelter, she replied "not far, 1 to 1.5 miles at most". I made a comment to Cookie after stating "I know we have to be closer than that". I was right, and we were.

Horshoe Canyon, where there's a shelter junction, is an interesting spot. There's a waterfall crashing into a deep gorge that looks like a Horshoe, hence the name. Cookie turns to me and says "Did you happen to bring a kayak?".

For the home stretch to the blue blaze junction I was in high gear, which meant running at times. It felt absolutely amazing to be able to run full speed with a pack, I was the happiest man on the face of the planet at that moment in time. At one point during my running I lost trail and continued on an old snowmobile trail, but then discovered that the trail would rejoin it. Why it left the snowmobile trail in the first place is beyond me. I rolled into the Monson blue blaze at 12:20PM.

After getting lost due to poor blazing and refinding the trail, we rolled into Shaw's at 1:00PM.

When we entered Shaw's we were greeted by Landfill, who is essentially bumming around claiming to be helping out, but a lot of hikers seem to be annoyed with him. In the living room down stairs where hikers gather he always has the TV on, and tells everyone to be quiet when in the room. Hiker interaction is a key part to not going insane out here. Trading stories is a past time passed from AT thru hiker to AT thru hiker that dates back all the way to Earl Schaffer(sp?), the first person to ever thru hike the Appalachian Trail.

Technically, I've now completed the Appalachian Trail, one continuous path from Springer to Katahdin.

The deed will be done in 114.5 miles, then I shall return home and begin my transition.

There's a good chance I will avoid contact with everyone I know once I return. There's a particular coffee shop in Portland I'm quite fond of that no one I knows goes to. Going from The trail to Portland will be a culture shock, I'll need time.

Tomorrow is a zero, right now is time to end the day.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I have come to a startling reality about my hike: I only have a maximum of ten days left on trail. That's it, ten days until the grand adventure is over, ten days until I have to return to the real world.

Cookie and I were walking north this morning at 6:10AM. We were in no particular hurry seeing as we had three hours to cover three miles. Along the way we took a blue blaze loop to Harrison's Pierce Pond Camps to collect some water. We rolled into the Kennebec River at 8:15AM.

We were forced to kill 45 minutes on the river bank, the ferry service does not start until 9:00AM. At 9AM the canoe pulled up and after signing a liability waiver and strapping on a life jacket we were on our way. Canoing across a river is completely different from anything I've done before on this trip.

We were walking north once again at 9:10AM. The trail today was muddy beyond comprehension. Cookie and I both come to the conclusion that the Maine Appalachian Trail Club has been apathetic, at best, in its maintenance of the trail it oversees. Bog bridges are few and far between, tree blow-downs seem to be rarely removed from the trail, and erosion prevention techniques need to brought to modern trail standards. I am starting to wonder if giving them money will really do any good for the trail. I'm sure I'll hear about this from many people, but it needs to be said.

we took our 10AM snack break at 11:20AM today at Pleasant Pond Lean-To. Here. we met a flip flopper who started March 20th at Springer and on July 1st flipped up to Katahdin from Bear Mountain, NY and is now SOBO to Bear Mountain.He flipped up because he wanted to avoid the "cold weather" in Maine in late August. Mind boggling.

Where did the trail go next? Well straight up of course. During the ascent Time Traveler decided to make me feel like a snail and zoomed on by as if I were standing still. I was not going to stand for this, so I kicked it into high gear and followed her the whole way up the mountain. I practically passed out on the summit.

Up, down, up, up, dooowwwnnn. The trail never seemed to level out, it never does these days. The ATC seems content with sending the trail over every hill made, and I mean everything. If there's a mountain to be climbed, the Appalachian Trail will find it.

I rolled into Bald Mountain Lean-To at 4PM with full intention of walking 4.1 more miles to the next shelter. The climb up Moxie Bald Mountain was long and straight. Cookie was full speed ahead, and quickly left me in his dust. The summit was quite nice. Mountains all around and a slight breeze in my hair. I felt like I was posing for an LL Bean catalog.

By the time I rolled into Moxie Bald Lean-To I was feeling cruddy, I am starting to think I might be coming down with Giardia. Uh oh.

Monson tomorrow, sleep now. It's 7:15PM.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

This is the trail that never ends, it just goes on and on my friend. It's long for contemplation, and narrow for chosen company. This trail is as daunting as it is exciting. The Appalachian Trail is a life changing experience of epic proportions.

I was up and moving at 5:20AM this morning. I purposefully made a lot of noise to ensure all the people in the shelter were awake. I hate shelter hoppers, especially ones going SOBO. I could tell they were bitter that I woke then up so early. Gosh darn shame.

The first task of the day was to complete the rolling ascent to the summit of White Cap. Please note that all the climbs today were steep and slick due to a combination of rocks, roots, and rain. The three "R's" of evil.

Gulf Hagus, West Peak, and Hay Mountain all had no potential for any sort of view. I would not have had any view anyway due to the cloub I was walking in with Cookie.

The summit of White Cap, on a clear day, would be absolutely amazing. There's normally a breath taking view of Katahdin, second only to the one seen from Abol Bridge. Not today. I was in a cloud, I did not know I was on the summit until I was five feet from the summit sign. It was a fitting final summit before Katahdin. I've spent a lot of time in a cloud on this hike, and today would not be any different.

A little later we rolled into Logan Brook Lean-To, where we proceeded to have a snack break. Time Traveler was already there when we arrived, and a SOBO rolled in part way through as well. It's nice to talk with SOBO's, they are fresh with hope and are excited about the journey ahead.

That's how I was in GA. I was giddy with joy, excited about every aspect of my hike, ready for tomorrow. I remember GA, it was all just starting. Katahdin was months, not days, away.

A little later in the day we rolled into East Branch Lean-To, where we had lunch. I stayed at this shelter last night, and this is where I met Robo, whom i ended up hiking with all the way to Katahdin.

After the long and tedious climb up Boardman, it was smooth sailing to Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To, where I shall stay tonight. Also here are several flip floppers who know me from my Trail Journals. I completely forget their names(sorry), but one in the group is younger than me.

Cooper Brook Falls Lean-To is easily the nicest shelter on the AT in Maine, there's a great stream in front for swimming, and the area is just nice in general.

I should mention that Warpaint is now ahead of me, and most likely for good. He has to pull a couple 30 mile days to meet his family at Abol Bridge. I first met him in Fontana Dam at the Hilton, and I've been bumping into him ever since. I was with him in Damascus, I was with him in Catawba, I was with him in Harper's Ferry, and I was with him in part of Vermont. In other words, Cookie and I have been seeing him for a long time. It's almost certain I won't see him again, seeing as this adventure ends soon. Everyone has planned based on summit dates, so everyone is moving at a certain pace.

59.7 to Katahdin.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I could have easily done 9.7 more miles to the next lean to, I could have been there by early evening. Instead I was forced to stop at 1:10PM at this lean to due to the hours of operation for the ferry service across the Kennebec River. The terrain was so favorable today, and I've been told the next ten are just as easy. Quite a frustrating situation. The trail today was quite muddy. I took one fall that involved my entire left hand being overtaken by a thick pile of mud. I'll be honest, I spent most of today not really paying attention to the trail. I spent today thinking about life after the trail, and how different my life will be. I've been told this trail has the ability to dramatically change a person. With only 155.2 miles to go, I'm starting to wonder how I've changed. I do believe that I will notice some difference when I return to the real world. Ahhh...the real world. The horror, the drama, the news: The race for the Presidency. Oh how so much has happened since I began my walk over four months ago, oh how so much has changed. But time moves on, things change: I've changed. The trail is a new kind of change agent. Life after the trail will not be easy, I'll be going from the most simplistic lifestyle to a city within 48 hours. I just returned from gazing at Pierce Pond for a while. Ahh... the simplistic quietness of watching a pond. It's not something enough people in this country appreciate or enjoy. It seems that we have become so absorbed in our day to day lives that we forget to enjoy the simplistic things nature has to offer. Tomorrow I shall cross the Kennebec River VIA the canoe ferry. 23 miles is on the docket for tomorrow. Here it is: My first declaration of a two day summit window. July 23rd-24th is my current projection. Only 10-11 days left on trail. This has been the most amazing experience of my life, one that I will never forget. The beginning of the end is upon us. KirbyGa>ME 2008.

These mountains are relentless beasts with no sympathy for weak souls. These mountains will break those who wish to be broken. These mountains will rebuild those who wish to be rebuilt. These are the unforgiving hills of Appalachia.

My wake up call each morning is Cookie, when he gets up is when I get up. This morning it was at 5:20AM.

My challenge for today was to ascend and traverse the Bigelow Range, which was a daunting task.

As I ascended to Horn's Pond I began to remember everything from my last assault on this range with my friend Joel last summer.

Being the egotistical hiker that I was at the time, I convinced my friend that we could easily traverse the Bigelow Range and Little Bigelow in one day. What and idiotic idea that turned out to be. Even with a extremely light day pack this range is a beast. It also did not help that we each ran out of water, and to add to the problem we could not find any water. It was a reality check for me at least, you'd have to ask Joel what he thinks about the trip.

It was a great experience though, and it gave me new energy as I headed to school in the fall to begin my campaign to execute a full year of work in 2/3 the time.

When we rolled into Horn's Pond we chatted with the caretaker while taking a small break. At risk of alienating myself from the Maine hiking community even further, I will not express my opinion of this caretaker, I was not very pleased though.

The next task was the oh-so-steep ascent to the summit of the south Horn. I should mention that at Horn's Pond I broke my only functioning Leki Pole, so I was forced to complete the death defying ascent with no trekking poles. Quite a deed.

The summit of the South Horn offered a view of the surrounding mountains, including the Bigelow Ridge in front of me. After descending a bit and walking the ridge I ascended West Peak.

This summit offered me my first glimpse of Katahdin. It was a surreal feeling that after having walked almost 2,000 miles, I can actually see the end. For so long Katahdin was a distant goal, and now it's a visible objective. I might actually finish this thing.

After descending to Avery Memorial campsite I ascended to the summit of Avery Peak.

I should note that on this ascent last year I bumped into the Attorney General of Maine Steven Rowe, who will be a gubernatorial candidate in 2010. Since the person I was hoping would run is not, I do here by endorse the future candidacy of Steven Rowe, a great leader. That's for those of you who don't like politics in MY journal.

At Safford Brook Campsite Cookie walked 2/10ths of a mile off trail to get us some water, while I sat at the junction watching our packs. Several SOBO's rolled through as I relaxed a bit. After partially ascending Little Bigelow, we had lunch at a particular spot with a nice breeze.

The Little Bigelow ridge is a long and tedious one with seemingly no end. The important thing about this ridge is that I've now technically walked 2,000 miles since Springer Mountain Georgia. Many tears have been shed, many drops of blood lost, many days of happiness, and some days of sadness have led me to this point.

Cookie and I decided to stay at Little Bigelow Lean-To tonight for logistical reasons. If we had went further today, we would have arrived at the Kennebec River tomorrow afternoon, which is no good because the current hours for the ferry service are 9-11AM. Tomorrow I shall walk 17.3 miles, giving me 3-4 miles to walk the next morning to the river.

I think I'm going to run out of stove fuel before Monson. Should be interesting to see how that goes.

Katahdin's on my mind.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

For those of you wondering, my morale seems to be better than it was. What you come to discover is that this can feel like a job from time to time. Whether you want to or not, you must get up and complete the task in front of you for the day. This trail is a roller coaster of emotions. An ideological struggle against one's self.

The first task for the day was to ascend, or so I thought, to the summit of Spaulding Mountain. It turns out the trail comes within 150 yards, then cuts off to the side. You need to walk a 150 yard side trail trail to reach the actual summit. No thank you. After a little more walking I came to the 6/10ths of a mile side trail to the summit of Sugarloaf, I've already climbed it so no thank you. Cookie was having none of this nonsense either.

It never has been, nor will it ever be, a good thing when I descend to a river crossing, it only means there is a mountain to be conquered on the other side. This river crossing, by the way, involved walking across a narrow and slick wooden plank being held up by two boulders, then rock hopping the rest.

Upward I went. The ascent to the Crocker Cirque campsite was very gradual, the rest of it was anything but gradual. This was a death defying ascent that involved scrambling up rock faces and bear hugging trees for dear life. I cursed the Maine Appalachian Trail Club quite a few times for sending me up this beast. Both south Crocker and north Crocker have no views, but at least I can now say I've climbed the three tallest mountains in Maine(Katahdin, Sugarloaf, Crocker).

After a long and never ending descent that involved walking along the side of a ridge for too long I rolled into Maine route 27, where I hitched a ride with Cookie into Stratton. In Stratton I resupplied and bought a 64 ounce carton of orange juice that I proceeded to chug over the course of an hour or so. It was quite delicious.

Over the course of a couple hours I checked my email and ate some ice cream.

My pack once again weighed 4.4 tons coming out of town. Both Cookie and I are horrible at mastering the art of carry small amounts of food, we always carry extra. However, we never run out of food. While other hikers complain to us that they have no food left with one day until the next town, Cookie and I have to spend sometime each night deciding what we want for dinner because we always have at least two options left. It's really a great feeling.

Once we were walking north again, it was cake walk. The trail leading to the campsite was easy, which is nice with a heavy pack.

On the docket for tomorrow is the Bigelow Range, which will be an all day affair. I've already hiked the section of trail as well, I did it last August with a friend of mine.

In 189.5 miles I will stand on the summit of Mount Katahdin.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It seems that my home state is starting to lighten up a tad bit. Maine has been an unpredictable state. The terrain is hard most of the time, although there can be nice stretches from time to time. But there are still mountains to climb.

This morning was fairly typical. I should note that my pack weighed roughly 4.4 tons leaving town yesterday. I had some hope that eating five packets of oatmeal would do something. Anything.

I was looking forward to traversing the ridge Saddleback Mountain sits on. When I broke tree line I discovered that the wind was gusting 50MPH and that I was, for the moment, walking in a cloud. It was an absolutely amazing experience. There's a certain thrill that comes with the unknown, not knowing what to expect when that strong wind gust comes at you.

The ridge started to clear up, and I had fantastic views of the surrounding mountains and valley, it really did look like a valley taken straight from a picture of some kind.

The descent off the ridge was a painful one. It seems that Cookie has developed a system to determine how severe my falls are based on how loud I scream, what I scream, and the tone I scream it in. In this case I screamed "shit!" at the top of my lungs in a tone that sounded sarcastic, so Cookie marched on assuming I was OK, which I was. I was simply given a small scratch on my leg due to rubbing against a wet rock at a high-speed.

Lunch today was at a shelter where there was a history of the area, provided by the section maintainer. It was fascinating to read the reasoning behind the MATC not building any bridges over any streams.

After lunch in the shelter Cookie, Dynamite, who was at the shelter when we rolled in, and I marched towards Orbetin stream, which was a tricky ford. Cookie decided to plow straight through it, while Dynamite and myself decided to go in crocs. During the ford I had a close call, and I'm fairly confident Cookie took a photo of the close call.

I spent the rest of the day trail 100-200 yards behind Dynamite and Cookie as the continued their march up Lone Mountain, which was a pointless lump the MATC deemed worthy of traversal by America's footpath. The climb was long and tedious, and I'm fairly confident Dynamite was ready to take a nap when I rolled through the summit, which apparently is labeled. Somewhere. Somehow.

The highlight for tomorrow will be the traversal of the Crocker Range, which will include the third tallest mountain in Maine. We will have the option to the climb a side trail to the top of the second tallest mountain(Sugarloaf), but I doubt we will. The trail does not actually traverse the Sugarloaf summit because the summit is privately owned, and the MATC(I think), has a goal of having the trail traverse through land that is completely owned by some government entity. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Tonight I am tenting at the shelter, but there's a SOBO here who took a zero at the shelter. I asked him if it was because he wanted to enjoy the simplicity of nature, thinking this might lead to an interesting conversation. He said he took a zero because he felt like it.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Maine gave me a reprieve today. It seems that my petition to the state for a redress of grievances has been approved. I never thought I would reference the constitution in my journal.

I slept pathetically horrible last night, the worst night's sleep in a while. I decided to get a head start this morning hoping I could cover a few miles before Cookie overtook me. I was meandering along at 6:00AM.

The trail today was very easy. The easiest section in Maine thus far. There were some ups and downs, but nothing death defying. A section hiker informed me that I was less than a mile from the road at 9:15AM. This represented the first time in quite a while I was able to consistently hold 2MPH.

The humidity level today was once again unbearable. I was quite pleased to finish most of my day before the heat of the day.

It turns out Cookie was only about 200 yards behind me, so he showed up at the road shortly after I did. It took us about 15 minutes to hitch to the IGA in Rangeley, where we proceeded and repack our bags. Also resupply at the same time was Time Traveller and Dynamite. I should note I first met Time Traveller in Fontana Dam at the Hilton.

We then walked into town with Dynamite. In town I looked at the outfitter and determined I would not be getting my pole fixed there. I also looked at new shoes seeing as my currently ones are dead.

I spent a lot of time lounging around in an attempt to boost my morale. Rangeley is a very touristy town with a lot of stores catered towards them.

When I checked my Trail Journal guest book at the library, I found a comment from someone not happy with my injection of politics into this journal. If you don't like what I'm writing, don't read it. Now that's change that works for everyone.

This is also where I found out my phone no longer holds a charge. This thing is a hunk of junk, I'm thinking about throwing the phone into a river.

I did end up buying a new pair of trail runners today, I went with Merell for the home stretch.

At 4:30PM Cookie and I started to walk towards the grocery store. Along the way, Mary Lou offered us a ride. This is the same lady who gave us a ride into Andover. She once again had Auntie Mame as a passenger. At the grocery store, where Mary offered to take us along the way to the trail, I bought some items for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow morning. When I walked into the store it was clear outside, when I went back to the car it had completely exploded. This is a good thing because it means the humid weather is being forced out.

Mary dropped us off at the trail head and we were walking north at 5:00PM.

The trail was wet and muddy, and Cookie was packing out a half gallon jug of ice cream, so we were moving at a fairly good clip. We were completely soaked when we rolled into the shelter. Already there was Dynamite, who was nice and dry along with a couple of SOBO's. Dynamite has this theory that it always rains when a hiker buys a new pair of shoes. He explained that it down poured today because both Cookie and I bought a new pair of shoes(I bought the same pair as Cookie).

I should note that this shelter junction is a little confusing, there's one junction leading to the actual Piazza Rock, while another one leads to the shelter, with another one leading to the Caretaker's yurt.

I'm ready to sleep.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I never had any intention of doing this big of a day today, I swear. Given my current physical and mental state, I'm not really sure how I am alive right now. In fact, I'm not even sure how I am mustering enough energy to write this entry. Maine is unforgiving on every level, no sane person can object to that statement. The way life should be? That person needs a physc evaluation.

What made today even more difficult was the fact that the humidity level was about 2,000%, and growing by the mili-second. My first task for the day was to ascend 1,300 feet in 9/10ths of a mile. This consisted of 90 degree angle rock faces that needed to be climbed, and trees that needed to be used in such a way that I felt like a chimpanzee. The summit had zero views, and the trail immediately took me on a death defying descent to South Arm Road.

This road represented the start of the march up Old Blue Mountain. This climb was a never ending series of false summits and steep terrain. As I was sweating immensely about to pass out a SOBO walks by me and asks:"How are you doing on this fine day?". I gave this man a perplexing look and gave the usual "good" response as I continued my .5 MPH pace up the hill.

The summit was an exposed rock face with no decent view due to the immense amount of haze blanketing the region. After completing a semi-steep descent, I then began the gradual ascent of the anti-climactic summit of Bemis Mountain. Just north of the summit is where Cookie and I stopped for lunch.

I was not feeling good all of today, my body was weak and my mind was not in touch with reality. At bemis stream I contemplated my options. I could either hike on past the road one mile north, or I could get a ride to Rangelely for the night. Once at the road I decided to hike on, hoping I might feel better.

Our original intention was to stealth camp at Moxie Pond, but when we got there we discovered there was no camping to be found, so we decided to march on to the shelter.

3/10ths of a mile south of the shelter we found a nice swimming spot, so we stopped and went for a swim. This is also when I discovered a hot spot on my right heal, which explains the foot pain I was having all day long.

Tonight I am in the shelter along with Dynamite and Time Traveller. Interacting with some other people has helped my morale. Tomorrow is a new day.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today was the first day I seriously contemplated leaving trail. I'm completely miserable and I'm not having any fun. Today I reached my lowest morale point on the entire trail.

The only thing keeping me going is knowing that I'm so close to the end. As of right now I only have 249.1 miles to Katahdin.

I never though my lowest morale point would come in my home state of Maine. It might be that I'm home sick on some level. I'm only an hour and a half car ride from Portland. I could be home by late evening if I wanted to be.

Maybe it's that I simply sick of this trail. A lot of it looks the same these days.

It could also be that everything seems to go wrong these days. I once again snapped one of my Leki Poles today, and the basket broke off the other one. My shoes are dead, my pack is dying, and these mountains aren't getting any easier.

I know I need to finish, I know I'll regret leaving trail so close to the end. Katahdin beckons me.

This is the part where I really begin to fight will all of my heart, all of my soul, and all of my might.

And that's the way it is.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Maine is hard, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. These mountains are unforgiving on all levels, let there be no mistake about it.

I'm home.

I was awake at 5:00AM this morning and began preparing for the day. After breakfast and lounging around a bit while Cookie prepared for the day, we were walking north at 6:45AM.

One of the first tasks of the day was to navigate through the Mahoosuc Notch, the most time consuming part of the entire Appalachian Trail, and the most enjoyable as well. This section of trail requires you to go up, between, and under massive boulders. There were a couple parts that required me to take off my pack, shove it in front of me through a narrow passage, crawl, shove, and crawl some more until I had made it through the narrow corridor. There are many parts where you are leaping from boulder to boulder, hoping you don't miss your landing or fall short. There are other spots where your legs are split, each pushed against a boulder on either side of you, while your hands are holding onto limbs or some form of secure holding spot.

I should note that the first think NOBO's now encounter in the Notch are Tibetan Prayer flags, which are hanging over the skeletal remains of a moose that fell in the notch last year.

Once you complete the most time consuming mile on the trail, it's time to march up and over the Mahoosuc Arm. I should note that NOBO's have it MUCH harder on this climb than SOBO's do on the other side, but SOBO's have a death defying descent, the MATC is sharing the love here.

From the top of the Arm, you are staring straight at Old Speck, which is easy to spot because there is a fire tower marking the summit. By the time we rolled into Speck Pond Shelter we had been hiking for 3.5 hours, while we had only walked five miles. This is where we went for a cold swim in Speck Pond, which is the highest pond in the entire great State of Maine, and also had a snack break.

At 11:25AM we began the steep ascent to Speck Mountain. What you must know is that the trail does not actually go to the fire tower, it comes within 3/10ths of a mile, then begins the descent down to Grafton Notch.

This summit is where it all began in the summer of 2006. I was on an Outward Bound Course, and we were just descending from the summit of Old Speck. While at the time I did not know this, we were taking the famed Appalachian Trail down to Speck Pond Shelter, where we stayed for the night. As I was walking on this trail I became completely entranced in the idea of some day walking this footpath.

When I got home I did a little research, on the ATC website I noticed a link entitled "through hiking", I clicked on this link, wondering what this through hiking thing was. The more I read, the more I fell in love with the idea of someday hiking the entirety of that trail. I started out by saying to myself 'someday I will hike that entire trail', I then started saying, 'by the time I graduate college, I'll will have hiked the entire trail'.

I then came up with this grand scheme of hiking the trail in 2008, starting in the spring of 2008. When I first proposed this idea to my principal, he said to me "Kevin, if you were dying of cancer, I'd say go for it, by you have your whole life ahead of you, focus on high school right now".

I was not going to give up that easily. I arranged a meeting with my superintendent in an effort to show my principal that I was dead serious about this. In our second meeting he gave me the go-ahead to start planning how I would do school work while on the trail. There was no stopping me now.

I'll be the first to admit, I did corner my principal, and I do apologize for that, but I found it to be worth the risk.

18 months later I stood on the summit of Springer Mountain, preparing to start what has become the journey of a life time.

And it all started on that one summit.

The descent into Grafton Notch is long and tedious, but it is all down hill so I'm not going to complain at this point. It took us until 1:45PM to walk 9.9 miles, 9.9 HARD miles.

The initial ascent out of the Notch is gradual leading up to Baldpate Lean-to. The moment you pass the lean-to junction is when all hell breaks loose, and by that I mean you are sent straight up, literally at times. You spend a lot of time on this section ensuring one foot is firmly placed before even contemplating lifting the other one.

The Baldpate ridge is absolutely amazing. The approach to the East Summit involves scaling a a giant boulder, which in this case is the East Summit. It was completely different from anything on the trail. The wind was gusting and the views were absolutely sensational. If you are ever looking for a day hike in Maine, I high recommend going NOBO out of Grafton Notch on a nice day.

Tonight I am tenting at Frye Notch Lean-to, tomorrow I shall go into Andover for resupply.

There is a SOBO here who is intent on using the word "fucking" in all of his sentences. Here is a typical sentence from this man:

"Yeah, that fucking mountain was fucking steep and those fucking NOBO's would not move the fuck out of my fucking way so I told them to get the fuck out of my fucking way and that I was not fucking stopping to have a fucking conversation with them about this fucking trail."

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Last night I was out like a light by 8:00PM, and I did not wake up until 5:30AM this morning. It felt great to get a full night's sleep, it's just what the doctor ordered. I sleep so much better in my tent.

At 5:30AM I heard Cookie rustling around, which was my cue to get ready for the day. After breaking down my tent and partially packing my bag I warmed up some water and ate my standard five packets of oatmeal. By the time I finished eating and lounged around a bit I was walking out of the tent site at 6:30AM.

I spent the climb out of the tent site talking with Cookie about the different expenses that come with the purchasing and upkeep of a 1,500 sq. ft. house as opposed to a 4,00 sq. ft. house. What it boiled down to was that all houses have the same basic expenses, it's just that larger ones have higher basic expenses than smaller ones. It makes perfect sense.

After a snack break at Gentian Pond Shelter we continued meandering along. We were not the most efficient machines on the market, but we were moving north.

At some point I summited Mt. Success, but it was not noteworthy on any level.

The I saw it: The famous blue sign. This sign stated the simplistic yet powerful words:"Welcome to Maine, The Way Life Should Be". After 13 states and 1,894.8 miles, I entered my home state of Maine. It was an odd sensation entering Maine, the final state on trail for us NOBO'. There are no more new states, this is it. My eyes are now firmly set of the greatest mountain: Katahdin. The beginning of the end is upon us. I'm home.

After lunch just south of the junction for Carlo Col Shelter, Maine welcomed us by sending us up Mt. Carlo, then the Goose-eyes. I have good memories from when I hiked this section last summer with the Maine chapter of the AMC. It was a windy day, and the ridge was enshrouded in a cloud. Any moment we became exposed, we were slammed by wind gusts that topped 60MPH, it was strong enough to knock everyone down.

This ridge is quite exposed, which gave me my first good view of the mountains of Maine. After getting my bearings I saw the Presidentials to the south west and Old Speck sat almost right in front of me. I also determined where Mahooosuc Notch sat.

The entire stretch of trail very muddy, just thought I would let you know.

I rolled into the shelter where I am tenting at 4:10PM. Those were a hard 14.5 miles.

The end is near. I've started to think about life after the trail, I've got a lot of things to do. I'm projecting my finish date between July 25th and 29th.

The way life should be.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I would like to wish a special happy birthday to the United States of America, who turns 232 today. It's a great day to be an American.

This morning was not a good morning. I did not sleep well last night due to the idiotic SOBO's partying and drinking like Armageddon was upon us. Cookie got revenge this morning by "accidentally" making a whole bunch of noise that "accidentally" woke everyone up. Another reason why going NOBO is better than going SOBO.

After consuming five packets of oatmeal for breakfast I partially packed up my bag and prepared to hitch into downtown Gorham with Cookie. We got a ride with a couple from Auburn, Maine. On the way I noticed a sign that stated:"Portland, Maine:87", meaning 87 miles. I'm only two hours from home.

In town we hit a coffee shop for breakfast and relaxed a bit. Our bodies have officially survived the White Mountains of New Hampshire, but we are wounded warriors. Cookie, for the first time, stated he was actually beaten down by the mountains, a rare statement for him. We needed a little rest.

We then hitched back to the hostel where we lounged around and received some rest.

At the hostel I deemed myself worthy of my first shower since Glencliff, not that there's been any place to stop and take one anyway. It gave me a chance to clean the several wounds the Whites gave me. It felt nice to be clean once more. After eating watermelon and cantelope(sp?) Cookie and I decided to hitch back to the trail. 12:10PM was late enough for me.

We eneded up getting a ride from a campground employee. We were walking north at 12:45PM.

I spent the entire hike thinking about Maine, where I shall be tomorrow. Maine represents the beginning of the end of my Appalachian Trail thru hike.

Tonight I am at Trident Col Tentsite, which is exactly 291.0 miles from the summit of Mount Katahdin.

At the tensite tonight there is an AMC Maine group out for the 4th of July weekend. Wayne and Jeff are co-leading their annual "Pizza Hike". With them are Jenny, her husband(forgot name, sorry), and Susan(Wayne's wife). It felt nice to be interacting with Mainers again, it was wicked sweet. Susan gave Cookie and me a chocolate chip cookie contraption. It was wicked good.

Entering Maine will be emotional.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I did not sleep well last night, which is never good. Sleep is a key ingredient to a successful days hike. I certainly was not the happiest hiker today.

I woke up at 4:50AM and was walking north with Cookie and 5:30AM. Right off the bat I had to ascent 1,500 feet to the summit of Carter's Dome, which afforded views of the Presidential range. After descending to Zeta Pass it was time to ascend to the second part of the Carter Range. A lot of the views of this ridge are of the Presidential's, which really are mammoth beasts.

Once I noticed a storm was coming in the distance I kicked it into high gear to get off the ridge before things started to become sketchy.

We managed to make it to Rattle River Shelter for lunch around 12:15PM. We knew we only had 1.7 miles left in our day, and they turned out to be fairly easy miles.

At US route 2 we hitched into Gorham and completed a couple things which included looking at the "outfitters" and hitting the post office, where I discovered my Maine maps had not arrived. We then hit Dunkin Donuts where we called the White Birches Campground and had them pick us up. After settling into the hostel we hit (gasp) Wal-Mart for resupply.

What you must understand is that Cookie is from Arkansas, where Wal-Mart is based. This naturally makes him favor Wal-Mart. I am from Portland, Maine, a small liberal city, which naturally makes me want to see Wal-Mart destroyed. It's a clash of epic proportions.

It seems that I have run into the SOBO party scene, they are currently somewhere in extreme southern Maine, but hitched into Gorham and intend to slackpack tomorrow so they can be in town for the fourth of July.

Tomorrow I hope to enter Maine, the final state on trail. 13 states would be down, only one to go. I now only have 297.9 miles to go.

With the end of the trail in sight, it's time to think about life after the trail.

The future is a series of winding roads that lead to the unknown.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Don't be silly, I did not actually walk 20 miles in the Whites, that's just the "official" AT miles between the start and end of the today. What I actually did will be detailed below.

I was awoken at 4:45AM this morning by my fellow hikers preparing for the day, so I naturally started preparing as well. I looked out the window of the hut and realized that the summit of Mount Washington was crystal clear, so Nate and I decided to eat breakfast on the summit. We were on our way to the summit at 5:30AM.

At 6:45AM we came to the emblazoned wooden sigh declaring: Mount Washington Summit, 6,288 feet. When Nate and I were here two years ago we were enshrouded in the cloud that so often lingers over the summit 60% of the year. Not today. Today I had a crystal clear view of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

On the climb up Washington and on the summit I noticed that Nate was not 100% with it, so I questioned him about it to determine if I thought he was fit for a fifteen mile day. Based on my Q&A session with him I determined I was not comfortable with marching him 15 miles through this terrain, so I decided to shorten the day. The AT takes a very scenic, and quite stunning, route to the Pinkham Notch visitor center, but there are several trails that go from the summit to the same exact location in about four to six miles as opposed to 13.4, the distance of the AT to the notch.

After looking at a map Nate suggested we take Davis Path and connect to the Boot Spur Trail, which would bring us to the notch. This route is 6-7 miles long. Off we went. Along the way Nate took several photos and inspected potential skiing locations for the following spring, the official ski season on Mount Washington. He went so far as to state:"Tuckerman's Ravine is flatter than a pancake". Please note the angle of the bowl of this ravine is said to be 50-55 degrees. That's one odd pancake.

Eventually the trail did lead us to Pinkham Notch. Along the descent we had good views of Washington and Tuck's Ravine. Nate, as always, beat me down and was relaxing on a bench when I slogged in.

I am going to be honest here, I am at my lowest point on the entire trail. My morale has been diminished and I rarely enjoy the hiking these days. I was having a hard time deciding if I wanted to hike on or go into town for 1-2 days. After arguing with myself I decided to hike in to Carter Notch Hut, six more miles. Nate decided to join me for the climb up Wildcat, which was steep and never ending.

Along the way there were several rock outcroppings that afforded views of Washington , Boots Spur, and the rest of the northern Presidential's. The ski summit was a haven for black flies, so we decided to hike .2 north to the official summit, which was also a haven for black flies.

This is where Nate and I went our separate ways. He was due to be picked up in Pinkham Notch, and I was due to continue walking home. It was nice to have a new face around to walk with and talk to. His departing words sunk into me quite a bit:"Make it to Katahdin and keep your morale high". I believe he saw the physical and mental grind a long distance hiker goes through, I was at my lowest point while he was around.

This was actually a good thing. He kept my mind focused on other things, like keeping up with him and talking about random things instead of thinking about how much I hate hiking right now.

I had 2.9 more miles to walk before I was due at the hut junction. Five minutes after leaving Nate I heard a loud rumble of thunder off in the distance, which kicked me into high gear. The closer I got to the junction, the louder the thunder became. That's because I was walking towards the storm. I decided to sprint the final downhill portion to the junction and rolled in at 4:10PM. Tonight I shall do work for stay. My job is to answer questions the guests may have for me about my thru hike. This has to the easiest WFS I've heard of. The croo is also letting me stay in one of the guest bunks because there are not that many people here. Yes!

Gorham tomorrow for a morale-boosting town stay.

And that's the way it was.

Addendum: Cookie is here as well, he was caught on the Wildcat ridge during most of the lightening storm that just rolled through.

Ga>ME 2008.

Today is July 1st, 2008. I've now been on trail for four straight months, that's roughly 120 days. Today represented the start of my fifth month on trail. I will be in my home state of Maine in 3-4 days.

Unbelievable.

I slept in until 5:40AM this morning knowing I was not meeting Nate until 7:00AM. I meandered along and walked back to the parking lot to wait for Nate at 6:45AM. Nate and his dad arrived at 7:10AM. Nate's pack seems to be lighter than mine, which is unfair and absolutely preposterous. After running over the game plan with his dad, we were walking north at 7:40AM. The plan is Lakes of the clouds tonight and Pinkham Notch tomorrow, where Nate's trip comes to a close.

I was worried for about three seconds about Nate holding me up, that quickly evaporated. You would think that after 1,800 miles I could go toe to toe with a two section hiker, oh how I was wrong about Nate. This joker was schooling me all day long, it took a good amount of energy to stay within 200 feet of him. All day long.

We spent the climb up to Webster Mountain talking about my hike and life back in Portland. Nate is the first person I've seen from Portland since I left at the end of February, it was a nice change of pace from the norm.

On the summit of Webster we bumped into Floater while he was taking a break. We ended up spending most of the day hiking with him.

Over the course of the hike I listened to the two of them talk about skiing, which both of them have a passion for. During this time we summited Jackson and rolled into Mizpah Hut for lunch at 11:40AM.

After lunch we marched over Pierce(Clinton) and began the approach to Eisenhower. The trail does not actually go to the summit, but Nate and I took the loop to bag the summit. On the ascent we noticed a dark could looming above us, we we quickly finished our ascent, and ran the descent.

At the base of the mountain we saw Floater once more. This is where we sat for about ten minutes and determined that not much was going to happen and continued marching on.

What you must understand is that from Pierce all the way to Lakes of the Clouds you are exposed quite a bit, most of the time above tree line. When you think a storm is going to roll through, you have to be prepared to bail out. Quickly.

We decided to not take the summit loop over Monroe, instead opting for the AT around the summit. On the other side we rolled into Lakes of the Clouds around 3:10PM.

Tonight I'm paying eight dollars to lay on the floor in the hut, which is what Nate is doing as well. I've grown to hold these huts in higher regard than before I came out here, which was not very high.

Tomorrow Cookie and I plan to march as far as we can due to the fact that tomorrow is supposed to be a clear day. Nate will leave us in Pinkham Notch, bringing to an end his assault on the Presidential Mountains in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Nate seems to have held up well on his first day out, but tomorrow shall tell the tale, I hope he sleeps well tonight, he's going to need it.

It's hard to believe this adventure ends at the end of the month. I only have 333 miles to go. That's it.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I have come to the rational conclusion that it's not humanly possible to create a plan for the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Instead of you telling the mountains how many miles you are going to walk, the mountains tell you how many miles you are going to walk, and you'd be a food to disobey their orders. These are the White Mountains: They show No Mercy.

I was awoken at 4:30AM this morning by some other hikers getting ready for the day, so I decided to prepare as well. The caretaker informed me last night that Cookie went to Galehead Hut to do WFS, which put him a mere 2.7 miles ahead of me. My objective was to catch him before he left the hut for the day. After collecting water I was walking north at 5:15AM.

I was also informed by SOBO section hikers that the 2.7 miles to the hut are fairly difficult, even though the profile looked favorable. They were indeed correct. There were many PUDS that caught me off guard. The trail was also quite slippery and had plenty of rocks and roots to twist your ankles on. It took me one hour and 25 minutes to walk 2.7 miles, that's not even a 2 MPH pace. Gesh!

At Galehead hut my game of cat and mouse with Cookie came to a close, which I was pleased about, I found him sitting outside the hut waiting for breakfast to be served so that he could have left overs.

While I was waiting I finished my journal entry for yesterday. This thing is a pain.

At Galehead I once again bumped into Floater and Nevada, who I've been bumping into since I left Glencliff. I also bumped into Pickle and Garlic, who I spent the night with last night and who are also NOBO. The catch is that these two started April 4th, no that's not a typo. That's over a month after I did. They pack light and are consistent and persistent in their travels. Pickle has completed the triple crown(AT, CDT, PCT), and Garlic will have completed it once he gets to Crawford Notch, a mere 14 miles north.

I was walking north with Cookie at 8:30AM. Even though the guests of the hut left a solid half hour before us, we easily passed them on the STEEP ascent of South Twin Mountain. We ended up spending most of the day walking and talking with Pickle and Garlic, who are known as "The Deli Duo". We spent the first part of the day talking about how long it took for them to master their light weight skills and what gear they deemed they could travel light effectively with. They carry no stove, pack a small amount of clothing, pack no camp shoes, and their sleeping pads double as a part of the frame of their nine ounce pack, they also still manage to carry full tents, they rarely use shelters. In other words, they travel light in a safe and effective manner.

I spent the afternoon talking with Pickle about his different long distance hikes and hit career before retirement. He retired as a program manager from the US Department of Defense, specifically working as a civilian in the Navy. He now spends his spare time doing various hikes. He did the AT in 2002, the PCT in 2004, and completed the CDT in sections between 2005 and 2007. He also gave me a good amount of information about the differences between a will, a living will, and a living trust. He informed me you decide on a will or a trust based upon the tax code of your state.

Pickle is also hiking for charity, two in fact. He's hiking for a breast cancer organization because his sister was recently declared free of it after fighting it off. He is also hiking for an ALS organization because a friend of his died of it. These are informal charity hikes and neither organization is sponsoring him in any way. He plans to send a letter to the organizations explaining what he did. He plans to match all donations/pledges he receives.

When we rolled into Crawford Notch we had a small celebration for Garlic, who has now completed the triple crown. Completing the TC is a feat not many people have done. Cookie and I were honored to witness Garlic complete the deed. Congrats to Garlic.

We then parted ways, they intended to hike to Mizpah Spring Hut, while we intended to stealth camp along the Saco River.

Seeing as there is no cell phone reception in the notch, we hitched three miles to a general store where I used a pay phone VIA Cookie's calling card to call my friend Nate. I shifted our plans for the Whites, he is now due to meet me tomorrow morning in the notch for our assault on the Presidential's. If the weather holds we shall walk 11.4 miles to Lakes of the Clouds Hut.

Having a friend join me is a scary concept. I've been isolated from my home life for almost 4 months now, Nate represents my first time seeing anyone from home since leaving home.

The only thing I'm certain about is that there are a lot of uncertainties out here.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It's now all worth it, it's no longer fruitless. There is now justification for the death-defying stunts I've completed over the last two days. Today, I was not in a cloud for a majority of the day, nor did it rain for he majority of the walk. Life is, temporarily, good.

I woke up this morning with the intention of hitting trail first thing in the morning. Just as I was done packing up I heard a rumble of thunder. This is when I decided to wait it out. I went for breakfast with Barefodder and Jack, we got there just in time. About 30 seconds after we sat down there heard more thunder and saw a flash of lightening in the sky. Then came the downpour. We were quite content in our booth, nice and dry.

After breakfast we returned to the hostel to wait out the weather. At 9;00AM I walked to the outfitter to have my broken Leki pole repaired, which they did for free. By the time I returned the hostel the weather was clearing up so we arranged to have a shuttle pick us up and drop us off at Franconia Notch. We were walking north at 11:00AM.

The ascent out of the notch was steep and persistent. During the ascent I learned the missing hiker was found dead. His name is Dan Merriman, he was 49 years old.

We then came to a sign proclaiming the Franconia Ridge Trail, which is also the AT. After traversing the ridge for a bit we came above tree line and had in our view the most picturesque ridge on the entire Appalachian Trail: Franconia Ridge. This is a two mile traverse above tree, which is home to breath taking views. I immediately spotted Washington in the distance along with some other peaks of the Presidential Range. I was ecstatic that I had a clear day on this ridge. It was nothing below pure amazing.

After lunch on the summit of Mount Lafayette we descended down the Garfield ridge towards Mt. Garfield. However, the trail descended enough that I had to death march up and over the peak. As I climbed higher the weather deteriorated further. It got to a point where I was in a full spring going up the mountain, hoping to clear the peal before anything worse came. I made it over the peak without being fried and I was still sprinting. I sprinted down the steep descent to the shelter, where I shall stay tonight.

Also at the shelter are Pickle and Garlic, whom I first met on the ascent to the ridge. these two started April 4th, just under three months ago. I did not think I would ever see them again, but I found at the shelter riding out the shitty weather.

Addendum, added 8/12/08: That was only the second time Pickle and garlic used a shelter on the entire trail. Shelters are not their style of hiking. Pickle completed the triple crown(AT, PCT, CDT) before he started this hike, and Garlic completed it when he hit Crawford Notch.

The AMC, in all their glory and might, are charging me 8 dollars to stay in a three sided wooden box. This is where the term "Appalachian Money Club" comes from.

I also now know Cookie is at the next hut up, I will try to catch him tomorrow morning before he leaves.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

The White Mountains are relentless beasts. They are unforgiving in every aspect of their being. Every ascent and descent are death defying and life altering experiences. Every step is the difference between life and death. Don't worry, I'm not being dramatic.

My plan for today was to slack pack Kinsman Notch to Franconia Notch. I was due to be picked up at 6:15AM, which gave me plenty of time seeing as I was awake and moving at 5:15AM. I packed my bag last night, so that was one less thing to do this morning.

I was picked up at 6:20AM and was walking north at 7:00AM. I spent today walkking with Barefodder and Jack.

Let's get this out of the way now: There were zero views today, not a one. However, if you count seeing the cloud your walking in, then i had views all day long.

The persistent and never ending climb to the anti-climatic summit of Mount Wolf east peak was very steep and had many spots that required me to maneuver around like a chimpanzee. In fact, that's the way all the ascents and descents were today.

Afterwards I began the descent to Eliza Brook Shelter, which is where I had lunch with Jack and Barefodder. It took me four hours to hike 7.5 miles. That's how hard the terrain was. That's how brutal the White Mountains are.

It was then time to ascend to the Kinsman Ridge. All the rocks were steep and slick. As I went higher, the cloud became thicker and the trees became shorter, but I was never completely above tree line.

After summiting South Kinsman, descending a little, and ascending North Kinsman, it was time to descend to Lonesome Lake Hut. This descent consisted of unprecedentedly steep rock faces, which were lathered in water. At the hut I found Cookie doing work for stay. We created a scheme that will most likely have us chasing each other through the Whites.

After drinking a bottomless cup of lemonade I descended to Franconia Notch with Barefodder and Jack.

At the notch we had to walk .7 off the trail to get to a parking lot where we got a ride back to the hostel with a volunteer of a search and rescue team looking for a missing hiker. We were back at the hostel by 5:45PM and eating dinner at Elvio's Pizza by 6:20PM.

Tomorrow I'll aim for Galehead Hut, but mother nature will tell the tale.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

What you must understand is that the White Mountains live in their own little world. The peaks insist on competing with one another over who can torment the hikers the worst. The Whites create their own weather, 24/7/365(366). The battle has begun.

I was woken up at 4:30AM this morning by another hiker and was unable to fall back asleep. I naturally began packing up and preparing for the day. After eating breakfast, packing up, and lounging around, I was walking north with Cookie at 7:00AM, I believe.

Before leaving, I overheard Cookie have this interaction with an incoming SOBO:

Cookie:"Everyone's leaving, so you can have first dibs on the bunks upstairs."

SOBOder:"I know where everything is, I've done this before."

Cookie and I spent the initial climb out of the road laughing about this conversation. Cookie was just trying to be helpful, and this SOBO, who felt she was better than everyone else, was having no part of that. Cookie and I resolved to not be very friendly to the rest of the SOBO's we meet. Damn SOBOders.

After walking a road walk we noticed a large land mass in front of us, and that's when we began our ascent into the heavens.

The entire ascent up Moosilauke was steep, rocky, and slippery due to the cloud we were walking in. I noticed that the higher I climbed, the shorter the trees became. This is when I realized we were closing in on tree line, and that we would soon be completely exposed to the elements.

On the ascent I met my second SOBO, Grace. She was a whole lot friendlier that the German I met at the hostel. I talked with her a bit and then we went our separate ways, she continued on her way to Georgia.

By the time we reached the summit of Moosilauke I was above tree line and completely enshrouded in a cloud. I could see 15 feet in each direction. After chatting with Barefodder and Jack on the summit, we began the imfamous descent down the north side of Mousilauke.

The intial descent was very gradual, but it's all relative in the Whites. From the Beaver Brook Shelter on, however, is where the battle begins. This is a two mile stretch of numerous steps created on steep rock slabs, and there are some places where you need a railing to navigate safely down. This is easily the most time consuming descent of the trail thus far. However, you can keep yourself occupied by looking at the waterfall that the trail follows for a large portion of the descent.

After lunch near the fall we finished the descent and rolled into Kinsman's Notch around 12:45PM. Cookie did not need to go to town, but I did for resupply. We planned on meeting tomorrow at Lonesome Lake Hut.

Once I rolled into Lincoln VIA the first car that passed me, I got a bunk at the "One Step At A Time Hostel", run by Chet.

I hit the PO, only to discover that my winter gear had not arrived, which is a scary scenario. I shall now do something quite idiotic: Finish the Whites and Maine without proper winter clothing, and hope I don't die a painful death.

Addendum, added 8/11/08: I did not die a painful death.

Tomorrow I shall slack pack Kinsman's Notch to Franconia Notch. I've heard this is a section of trail that can be quite dull, we shall see.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today was a 'go with the flow' type of day. I started out from Hawk Mountain around 6:45AM. I knew there was a storm coming, so I wanted to get to Gooch Mountain Shelter early and get a spot in the loft part of the shelter.

The high point of the day was lunch on the unmarked summit of Sassafras Mountain. There was a semi decent view, so I took a picture and ate some food. Beef jerkey is a great trail snack, and peanut butter on half a bagel fills me up quick right now, the hiker diet is not quite here yet.

I then moved on, going up and over some random bumps in northern Georgia, and descending into some interesting gaps.

The trail passes by some interesting creeks, and trees are starting to bloom in the lower elevation areas the trail passes through. Indeed, the trail is a green tunnel in some places, it makes for some nice hiking.

I then wandered my way to Justus creek, a nice water source along the trail. I then arrived at Gooch Mountain shelter around 10:45AM. I was planning on staying there for the night, but I decided it was too early to call it a day, so the General and I continued onto Woody Gap, mile 20.1 of the trail.

The trail from Gooch to Woody is not that difficult. There are nice views here and there, and steep climbs that made me stop and breath from time to time.

Woody Gap is a nice spot for a picnic. There is a gorgous view as you come off the trail, and there are high tech privies.

The Hiker Hostel picked me up around 2:30PM, and I was showered and doing laundry by 3:30PM.

I am not sitting in a comfy chair eating Chinese food and watching "Total Recall" staring Governor Schwarzenegger.

Tomorrow I will start late and go 7-9 miles, giving me a short day into Neel's Gap Wednesday. I was going to try to push to Neel's Gap tomorrow, but I decided I don't want to pay for two nights at Neel's, but that could change tomorrow, I will see how I feel.

Life on the trail is good.
Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Let the record reflect that NH is hard, and let there be no amendments to this resolution. Let the resolution also note that the ups are straight up and then downs are straight down. I'm home.

I was up at 5:00AM and walking with Cookie and 6:15AM, I believe. It felt great to have some much needed rest yesterday, and Hanover was a great town for it.

After an initial climb out of the shelter we had it easy for a little while. I should note that this initial small climb was straight up and steep. There was one spot where the DOC placed a rope attached to a tree to give hikers a hand.

I spent most of the morning trading old trail stories from Georgia with Cookie. It was nice to be able to look back knowing the end is so near.

Once we crossed three mile road play time was over. The climb up Moose Mountain was steep and quite slick. On the summit there was a small view and this is where we found WD 40 hanging out while he aired some of his stuff out.

Amendment, 8/10/08: This was the last time I saw WD 40.

After the never ending descent to Goose Pond Road, it was time to ascend to the summit of Holl's Ledges. These were the longest two miles I think I've ever hiked in my life, they just never seemed to end. This climb was steep and there were numerous false summits. After lunch and another descent we rolled into dorchester road.

Just north of here I took a side trail for water, and was given an ice cream sandwich as well. The owners track thru hikers as the come thru, trying to keep some sort of record each year.

This is also where the trail essentially parallels a dirt road for two miles. After consulting Cookie and confirming that the trail would once again cross the road, we decided to walk the road. That's right, we blue blazed again, and I have no regrets about it.

Along the road we passed a house with some interesting metal structures outside, these structures had interesting faces on then and made me chuckle. Cookie found a stream he wanted to swim in, so I took a break while he took a swim. It was an ideal situation.

The climb up Smart Mountain was very steep with slick rock faces that one needed to navigate. This type of climb consumes a lot of time due to the time it takes to safely navigate these rock faces.

However, the summit fire tower afforded and outstanding view of the White Mountains, where I shall be in a couple of days.

The fire warden's cabin is exactly what it sounds like, an old fire warden's cabin that has been changed to a shelter.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Hanover, NH seems to have a bad reputation on trail, and I'm not exactly sure why. My spirits were quite high all day today, the first time in a long while. I'm living the life right now. It just doesn't get any better than this.

We broke camp at 6:00AM this morning and rolled into the Dirt Cowboy Coffee place at 6:40AM. I purchased an ice coffee and a copy of the New York Times. I enjoyed watching the hustle and bustle of the morning while catching up on the news of the day.

I'll give you one word why Hanover is significant to anyone who is not a hiker: Darmouth. This Ivy League school is what this town revolves around, and I say that in the best possible way. There are clothing stores and book shops whose sole purpose is to meet the needs of the college students, and there's a high-class hotel for their parents to stay while visiting the town.

Darmouth College also has a top-notch outing club, where we went next to drop our packs. The college has dedicated an entire historic brick building to the cause, and the club has at least one full time staffer to help coordinate the clubs various outings. The club allows us hikers(at their own risk) to store our packs in building while we complete our various town chores. The club also has computers hikers are allowed to use.

Another great thing about this town is that it has a free bus service for the area. We took advantage of this service by busing to the laundry mat to ensure we had clean clothes to start New Hampshire in.

For resupply one must walk to the Hanover Consumer Cooperative. This grocery still is quite impressive, although it is poorly designed making navigation through the aisles quite an adventure. All the employees in this tore were pleasant and quite a few took interest in our hikes. What you must understand is that in a town like Hanover, hikers stand out without even trying. We look like we just returned from war, while some of the locals look like they are preparing to go to the country club.

While Cookie went to lunch at a local Indian food place, I opted for a diner in town. This was a poor choice. The service was apathetic, and the food was mediocre. A poor decision on my part.

After lunch I returned to the DOC to start consolidating my food. Cookie suggested to me that we take the bus to West Lebanon and see if they could replace my dilapidated sleeping pad. When we rolled into the store I explained what happened and they did not think twice about replacing the pad, I also bought some new socks. Since we had time to kill we walked over the the LL Bean, which is housed in the same complex. I was not impressed with this store, although I admit I am used to the high standards of their flag ship store in Freeport, Maine. I was disappointed to find out they don't sell winter hats in the off season. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but I lost my beloved Mountain Hardwear winter hat in PA, and have been searching for a new one ever since.

Back in Hanover I returned to the DOC, but I fist stopped to admire the Dartmouth Green, which is a nice and open park in the middle of town.

At the DOC I finished consolidating my food and prepared to leave town. Cookie and I decided we would stop at the co-op to buy some dinner before leaving. When I went to check out my cashier was someone pulled straight from Woodstock. This lady was clearly having the time of her life, and I chatted with her and the customer in front of me about random things, including my hike. It was an experience like no other.

Unfortunately, my adventure in Hanover had to come to an end. I had a blast in Hanover, certainly one of the best trail towns I've been to. The people in town were pleasant and unassuming. What was nice is that this town has other things to do, and us thru-hikers are not that high on the priority list. In other towns you feel like you are being interrogated by some locals who are trying to be friendly. The truth of the matter is that the money hikers bring to towns like Hanover is not that big of a deal. It was a perfect town.

Cookie and I then walked a grueling 5/10ths of a mile to the first shelter out of town, where I am tenting tonight.

It's now time to start New Hampshire, with the climax coming in the White Mountains.

It's time.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

What you must understand is that town has a powerful lure, it over takes your mind as you become closer. That's exactly what happened today, and it felt absolutely amazing.

wake up call was 5:00AM, I was walking with Cookie at 6:00AM. Before I describe my day I want to note that I saw five salamanders on trail today, in case you were wondering.

It was most downhill from the shelter to VT route 12. It rained on and off during this descent, which made for tricky navigation at times. Cookie had a semi-nasty fall about 15 minutes into the day. He was quite disgruntled, as I imagine you would be if you slipped on a root right at the start of the day.

It was uphill and slippery, of course, coming out of the road. The climb seemed irrational. This section of trail is maintained by the venerable Dartmouth Outing Club. I had a few curse words for them today.

It was then time to descend to Woodstock Stage Road, then reascend some other pointless landmass. Please know that it's raining on and off as the trail death marches me from ridge to ridge.Once I finished ascending this hill, I descended to Pomfret road, where I proceeded to be marched up yet another ridge. However, there were some neat looking fields I was taking through today, which made up for the hell in between. Some of the ridges, to the DOC's credit, would have had views if I was not walking in a cloud.

After descending to yet another road, it was time to complete the final leg of the climb to Thistle Hill Shelter. These were the longest 11.6 miles I've hiked in a very long time. They were quite hard. At the junction for the shelter Cookie and I decided to push 4.7 more miles to a road crossing for lunch. At this road crossing we would have access to a store to buy some soda. We were determined to get there. Please note that ALL descents have some form of uphill at some point. Since it was no longer raining it was easier than it normally would have been.

Lunch today consisted of two bagels with pepperoni and cheese, two nutri-grain bars, two granola bars, a coffee cake, a bag of chips and a pepsi. High calorie lunches are important on the trail.

After lunch we walked down to the White River and attempted to find the leak in my air mattress, but it could not be found. We determined than when we rolled into town we would find an outfitter and get it replaced.

Descending into a river valley brings a harsh reality on the other side: A climb. The climb out of the valley was persistent and got in my face from time to time, that's the way a lot of climbs were today. From time to time I would look up ahead on trail and see Cookie fading away in the distance, directly in front of me. The trail sent me up a lot of mini-ravines during the climb, it was actually kind of fun on some level. During the climb I had my mind focused on getting to the shelter.

We rolled into Happy Hill Shelter at 4:40PM. We found out the mosquitoes had their regional headquarters set up here, which meant we would not be sleeping in the shelter. Our options were to set up tent at the shelter, or to push the final 5.9 miles to Hanover, NH, which also meant the end of Vermont. It was an easy decision: To Hanover.

The descent to Norwich, Vermont was cake walk. I was so pumped with energy that I did not notice any uphill. I was ready for Hanover, I was ready to be in New Hampshire. I was ready to be done with Vermont. Once you hit Norwich, VT, it's and easy 1.5 mile road walk to town. Cookie and I were having a blast during this walk. We were marching down the middle of the street, listening to our radios and singing the songs as loud as we could. I don't think I've felt that amazing on this entire trip. It's as if something took me over, some form of excitement that rarely happens. My mind knew something big was coming. To top it all of there was trail magic on the road. In front of the house of "The Brain(AT NOBO 2007) there sat a cooler with watermelon, apples, cookies, chocolate and some Nature Valley Bars. it just could not get any better.

Or could it? A while later we stepped onto a bridge leading over the Conneticut River. In the middle of this bridge was a stone monument that proclaimed on it the power letters: VT/NH. I had just entered NH: I was no longer in Vermont. The funny thing about this border is that while it is marked over the middle of the river, you are technically in NH the moment you are standing over water on the Vermont bank. NH has control of the CT river up to the river bank.

I have high hopes for NH. The In three days I hope to enter the White Mountains, which is going to be the most amazing experience. I've been looking forward to the Whites for a very long time.

Once we rolled into downtown Hanover, NH, we hit a Quizno's for dinner. I had a chicken Caesar salad while watching part of a Red Sox game.

We then walked to the edge of town, where we set up tent. We set up our tents right where the trail re-enters the woods, I'm literally five feet from a wide open field. Tomorrow morning I'll walk back into town and complete some chores/

I've now walked through 12 of the 14 states on trail. I sleeping in state 13.

The end is near.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today, I was miserable beyond comprehension, and I was not alone. I've never seen Cookie this angry at the trail and the weather. You really cannot begin to understand the extent to which misery overtook my day today. I hope to never be this miserable again.

It rained on and off through the night, but mother nature gave me a dry window this morning to pack up and his trail. Cookie and I were walking north at 6:30AM.

After walking along Kent Pond and following a well built bog bridge, the trail began the ascent of Quimby Mountain. This climb would never end, I would crest one hill just to turn and ascend some more land ass that seemingly came out of now where. The top had no view, of course. I've come to expect no less from the ATC. The trail then descended, quite steeply, to Stony Brook Shelter. Cookie passed me at this junction while I was removing an annoying pebble from the bottom of my right shoe. This represented the last moment during today where I was completely dry.

The rain did come with some warning, I heard a rumble of thunder off in the distance. I found my self going up a hill as a thunder storm was chasing me. I ended up sprinting up and over the hill, and even when I was done with the climb I was still running, trying to keep one step ahead of the storm that I knew would eventually catch me. It was only a matter of time. The rain came ten minutes later because I was idiotic and did not even bother putting on my rain jacket.

On a side note, I did see two snakes slither off the trail today. What you must understand is that I hate snakes beyond comprehension, they need to be eliminated. I'll sign the executive order when I'm appointed supreme ruler of the world.

The rest of the day was spent going pointlessly up and down hills that seemed to purposefully be in my way just to tick me off. Please keep in mind that it's still raining and that I'm still soaked. It was at this point that I realized I was completely miserable, I had my lunch break at Winturri Shelter on my mind. Just before the shelter there was a ferocious climb that caught me completely off guard. You bet I had a few choice words for the venerable GMC.

At the shelter I changed out of my completely soaked shirt into a completely dry one and proceeded to eat lunch. At the shelter was Bump and one other section hiker, along with Barefodder, who is a NOBO thru hiker packing for missions.

Cookie and I then had a pow-wow to discuss our options for the day. He came to the realization that he was completely miserable and did not want to hike anymore, and neither did I. We were done hiking for the day, our most miserable day thus far on the ENTIRE Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

Tonight I am at the shelter with two section hikers from Vermont along with Cookie. A few minutes ago a trip of female SOBO section hikers rolled in.

Why bother trying to guess where I'm going to end up tomorrow, it's fruitless guessing and I will most likely be wrong.

Slowly but sure walking home.

Good night and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

No one could have predicted the enormity of the realization I came to today, not even me. What is this realization beyond comprehension? Well, I have less than 500 miles to go. To you, this may seem like a long way to go. However, to a hardened mountain warrior like myself who has walked almost 1,700 miles, it's not that far. Why does it have to end?

Some of my shelter residents decided to cause a big ruckus at 4:45AM this morning, which meant I was preparing for the day at 5:00AM. After Cookie was ready to go, we started walking north at 6:15AM.

Here's an interesting interaction I had with a person at the shelter last night:

Me: "Does anyone mind if I try to use my cell phone to call my Dad?"

Him: "I don't mind, as long as you use it like a privy?"

I'm still not exactly sure what he meant.

The steep climb out of the shelter was for no logical reason from my perspective. The only interesting thing about it was that it lead to a ridge with an interesting forest. It reminded me of Maine...

After meandering along a stream for a bit I cam upon the notorious Governor Clement Shelter. This is a popular spot for locals to come and harass hikers, particularly on weekends. Attention ATC, GMC, and USFS: The solution to the problem is to tear down the shelter(it's a piece of crap anyway) and post no camping signs. if your going to ban camping at what seems like all the cool camping spots, you had might as well ban it at the one that has a legitimate issue. Problem solved, thank you.

The climb up Killington was gradual to start and slowly deteriorated as I went further up the hill. There were a lot of spots that were thick in rocks and roots. There were several spots where I thought I was getting close to the top only to find more land mass around the next corner, other wise known as false summits. Eventually I did come across Cooper Lodge Shelter, which represents the end of the AT climb up Killington. In order to reach the actual summit, you must walk a death defying 2/10ths up the final hill, which Cookie and I decided to do. This side trail was very steep with a lot of rock faces that needed to be navigated .

The summit made it all worth it. I had a 360 view of the surrounding mountains of Appalachia. Once I found my bearings I looked in the direction of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Let's do the deed.

After returning to the shelter, where I found a canister of gas and some GORP, we tumbled 4.4 miles to the Churchill Scott Shelter, where I ate lunch with Cookie. What you must understand is that I take pride in my lunch breaks, they are a key ingredient to my day. A day without a lunch break is like having no bread with peanut butter and jelly, it just doesn't make sense.

After descending to route 4 we walked 9/10ths of a mile to a land mark on the trail for northbounders: Maine Junction. This is where two storied paths split. The Long Trail continues to Canada, while the Appalachian Trail makes a sharp turn and heads towards Maine, hence "Maine" junction. That much closer to New Hampshire, which means the end of the death march through the hell known as Vermont. The finish line is within reach.

After ascending some viewless hill we descended down to VT route 100, where Gifford State Park is located. After finding out AT hikers receive a significant discount off regular camping fees, Cookie made the executive decision(which I affirmed) to stay for the night.

With less than 500 miles to go, I'm starting to heavily consider what I'll do once this trip is over. I'm considering finishing the Long Trail with Cookie, I also told my Grandma I'd help her around her house for a week. I also plan to bike with a friend to Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Resort at the end of August. Sounds like my summer is booked solid.

Tomorrow I'm mentally prepared to go 28.3 miles, but we shall see how the day progresses.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I will admit, these long days do take their toll on the human body. It's not easy doing a 20 mile days on a consistent basis. I'm not exactly sure what pushes me to do 20 mile days in and out, but it's all part of the game.

One of these mornings I will sleep in for extra rest, but this morning was not that morning. this morning I was woken up at 5:00AM by other hikers in the shelter. I could have easily slept later if they were not making so much noise. I was walking north at 6:30AM.

The trail from the shelter to the north end of Griffith Lake was fairly easy, although rocky and rooty at times. This walk also included an extensive amount of bog bridge walking, which is always a welcome sight.

Then came the final approach to Balker Peak, which involved a .1 mile jagged rock scramble to a 180 view of the Green Mountains we have been traversing.

Afterwards we descended down to a river bed and followed the stream for a little bit.

After Little Rock Pond Shelter it was a fairly steep climb to the ridge line leading to the junction for the side trail to White Rocks Cliff. On this ridge there were a couple spots, including the side trail junction, that had many different rock cairns that hikers have assembled over the course of time.

Even though I was feeling quite sluggish today, I still managed to do 14.4 miles by lunch. This break gave my body a chance to relax and attempt to refocus on the final nine miles ahead.

After descending to VT route 140, it was time to ascend some pointless mountain with no view. After a little descent I was surprised to discover a fairly level section of trail, this made for some easy hiking. North of Minerva Hinchey Shelter there was a steep climb that caught me off guard. Afterwards it was a tumbling descent to VT route 103.

At the road Cookie and I walked one mile off trail for some ice cream and to buy a couple things so we could skip Rutland and march straight to Hanover, NH for resupply. After splitting a half gallon of ice cream and drinking some ice tea I called my friend Nate to start planning out assault on the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We we walking north at 4:50PM.

The climb out of the road was very in-your-face. It involved scrambling up steep rock faces and large boulders.

Shortly after rolling into the shelter a man drove hit ATV up. At first I was a tad bit worried about what this man was doing at a shelter with an ATV, but he turned out to be a nice guy.

Nh on my mind.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I awoke in semi-warmth at 5:45AM this morning. After completing the usual array of camp chores and waiting for Cookie to complete his, I was on trail at 6:50AM. The trail decided to cut up and down the side of a ridge for no logical reason, which seems to be a Green Mountain thing. Actually, that seems to be an Appalachian Trail thing. Eventually the trail did collide with Vermont 11/30. It took Cookie and me about 45 seconds to get a ride into town. The lady who gave us a ride works for the United States Forest Service, and she drove part her work to drop us right in the middle of town. Over the course of the morning and early afternoon I resupplied, replaced a pole tip, had some food at Bagel Works, and witnessed Cookie spend five dollars on a Ben and Jerry's milkshake he was clearly not enjoying. Apparently Ben and Jerry's is pretty big in Vermont. I think it's safe to say that the citizens of this fine state are a tad bit obsessed. At 1:20PM Cookie and I hitched out of town. This hitch took about 10 seconds. The locals around here are quite friendly. We were walking north at 1:35PM. Upon reaching the summit of Bromley Mountain we climbed the observation tower for a 360 view. It feels great to be back in the mountains and so close to home at the exact same time. We rolled into Peru Peak shelter around 6:00PM after traversing a ridge that was rich in the smell of pine. As always, I'm extremely heavy coming out of town. I'm of the opinion that it's better to roll into town with some extra food instead of finding yourself rationing your food closer to town. Onward tomorrow. Good night and good luck. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

Vermont has been a state of nothing in particular. It's been a state with thick forests, un-even trail, and mud patches that seem to stretch for miles. And I get to walk through it.

It was a tad bit nippy this morning, so I decided to warm up my water for oatmeal instead of eating it cold. I was up at 5:10AM and walking north at 6:15AM.

The climb out of the shelter was fairly easy, although I was walking in a cloud so I was kept chilled the entire time. Afterwards the trail cuts along the side of a ridge before cutting down to Story Spring Shelter. At this shelter I saw the four section hikers I stayed with last night.

After one small climb, the trail lead me through a valley of some kind. This valley consisted of a trail with rocks and roots along with a thick forest covered in moss.

After crossing a brook and two dirt roads it was time to climb Stratton Mountain. On the second dirt road Cookie and I met Lee Boner, who is finishing ME to ME this year.

The climb up Stratton Mountain was not all that bad. It was steep at times and did have plenty of rocks and roots to navigate through. It's certainly one of the easier 1,500 foot climbs I've done.

The summit has a firetower with a 360 view of the surrounding moutains, this represented my first view in Vermont. I now truly feel like I'm back in the mountains again. This is also the mountain where Benton McKaye conceived the idea of a mountain footpath extending from the south to New England by traversing the ridge lines of the Appalachian Mountains. This trail eventually became known as the Appalachian Trail.

After lunch at Stratton Pond Shelter it was cruise control to the shelter. I rolled in around 3:30PM and decided to call it a day. I'm pleased I was about to walk 23 miles and finish fairly early. This shelter is fully enclosed with a wood stove, which allows me to dry out some things.

Tonight I'm along here with Cookie and Fox, who is section hiking Hanover, NH to Springer Mountain in Georgia.

Tomorrow morning I shall walk 2.8 miles to VT 11/30, where I shall hitch into Manchester Center, VT for town chores.

I've now completed 3/4ths of my journey to Maine. Katahdin is on my mind.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Up,up,up. Down. Up,up,up,up. Down. The trail today seemed to climb a never ending hill somewhere in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Vermont has not been very friendly thus far.

I slept in until 5:45AM, and was walking within an hour, I believe. After the climbing up, pointlessly, to the summit of Harmon Hill, the trail was tumbling descent to VT route 9. This descent was steep with rock steps that sent twinges of pain through my knees.

Then it was onward and upward. The initial climb out of the road was steep with steps as well. I've discovered steps throw off any sort of rhythm I've put together. The climb was long and persistent. There were some small downs along the way, but overall I was going up.

I spent all of this climb walking in a cloud, which killed any hopes of any sort of view today. Cookie and I rolled into Goddard Shelter around 1:00PM for our lunch break. When we arrived, Warpaint was preparing to march on. He's thinking about a 30 mile day today, so I doubt I'll see him again anytime soon. This lunch break only lasted 25 minutes today because there was a chill in the air that cooled down my body quite rapidly.

4/10ths later we arrived on the summit of Glastenbury Mountain. On a clear day I imagine the fire tower on the summit offers a nice view, but I did not bother today.

Cookie and I rolled into Kid Gore Shelter at 3:10PM and decided to call it a day, we wanted to give our bodies a little rest. Ever since New York City we have been in a big push without much rest, so hopefully this will do us some good.

The shelter tonight is full, there are several section hikers a couple other thru's. Hit and Miss are staying in the closed shelter 100 yards north on the trail.

Tomorrow Cookie and I shall push for 23 miles, putting us in position for a short dash into Manchester Center for resupply the following morning.

Vermont has been very wet thus far, and there has not been much to look at. I'm ready for a change in scenery. I'm ready for the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Most people don't come out here with the hope or intent of loosing their sanity. Most people come out here to discover something, anything to help them understand their lives better. I am out here to enjoy the simplistic art of putting one foot in front of the other and seeing where it leads.

I had town on my mind today, but I was not walking until 6:45AM. After completing a small climb out of the shelter, I was shot down to MA route two. At this road Cookie and I walked half a mile off trail to a Super Stop and Shop for resupply and some real tasting food. After consolidating food, eating donuts and relaxing around, we were walking north once more at 11:30AM.

When we left town, it was unclear how much farther we intended to go. The climb out of the road was fairly gradual and not that difficult until just north of the Sherman Brook Campsite and the bad weather trail. In our path came a steep rock scramble leading to an underwhelming view. This is also where we met Greylock, the MA ridge runner.

A little later I came upon the MA/VT border, which for NOBO's is marked by a sign declaring the start of the Long Trail. The LT and AT share the same corridor for 104 miles to Maine Junction, where the two venerable trails split.

I was at the junction for the Seth Warner Shelter at 2:25PM. I deemed it was to early to stop and that I had not covered enough millage to justify stopping. Onward I went with Cookie leading the way.

Then it began exploding. It first started with some distant rumblings of thunder. Then it began to lightly rain, which became heavy after a little while. Then came the pebble sized hail and powerful shocks of thunder and lightening. At this point Cookie and I were practically sprinting down the trail to get to the shelter as rapidly as possible.

I rolled into the shelter at 5:00PM, physically exhausted. I had not hiked that fast in a very long while.Tomorrow I shall walk 18 miles.

Steady feet don't fail me now.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I had town on my mind today, but I was not walking until 6:45AM. After completing a small climb out of the shelter, I was shot down to MA route two. At this road Cookie and I walked half a mile off trail to a Super Stop and Shop for resupply and some real tasting food. After consolidating food, eating donuts and relaxing around, we were walking north once more at 11:30AM. When we left town, it was unclear how much farther we intended to go. The climb out of the road was fairly gradual and not that difficult until just north of the Sherman Brook Campsite and the bad weather trail. In our path came a steep rock scramble leading to an underwhelming view. This is also where we met Greylock, the MA ridge runner. A little later I came upon the MA/VT border, which for NOBO's is marked by a sign declaring the start of the Long Trail. The LT and AT share the same corridor for 104 miles to Maine Junction, where the two venerable trails split. I was at the junction for the Seth Warner Shelter at 2:25PM. I deemed it was to early to stop and that I had not covered enough millage to justify stopping. Onward I went with Cookie leading the way. Then it began exploding. It first started with some distant rumblings of thunder. Then it began to lightly rain, which became heavy after a little while. Then came the pebble sized hail and powerful shocks of thunder and lightening. At this point Cookie and I were practically sprinting down the trail to get to the shelter as rapidly as possible. I rolled into the shelter at 5:00PM, physically exhausted. I had not hiked that fast in a very long while.Tomorrow I shall walk 18 miles. Steady feet don't fail me now. Good night, and good luck. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

I'm not one to be inclined towards participating in the art of doing nothing, but on this trip I am. I'm not one to procrastinate, but it can be an effective tool out here from time to time.

I went to bed at 10:45PM last night, but I was, of course, awake at 5:45AM this morning. I had no inclination to go for a walk today, but I did anyway.

After packing up, eating breakfast, saying good bye and thanks to Tom, and getting some coffee, Cookie and I were walking north at 8:00AM.

The trail out of Dalton leads you up a nameless mountain. Cookie and I were feeling sluggish this morning so we took our time completing the climb. Towards the end of the ridge line walk there's a spot where you can see Cheshire, Massachusetts and Mount Greylock. This spot is called Cobble Rocks. The view reminded me that Greylock was 1,600 feet taller that my current point on the trail.

When I rolled into Cheshire, which the trail goes right through, I stopped into Diane's Twist for a Pepsi and some chips to go along with my regular lunch.

Afterwards it was time to climb Greylock, the tallest point in Massachusetts at 3,491 feet. The climb up was long and persistent, there were several times where I thought I might be near the top only to discover there was yet another point to ascend towards.

On the summit of Greylock I was greeted by the summit tower, which had an impressive view of the surrounding terrain. This summit also marks my first time above 3,000 feet since Shenendoah National Park in northern Virginia. Cookie and I hung around the summit a bit. When we first arrived, Time Traveler and two sections were preparing to descend towards town. On the summit we were also greeted by the national meeting of the Black Flies Society.

At 5:00PM we began our descent towards the lean-to. The descent was steep at times and went uphill as well.

I rolled into the shelter at 6:30PM completely exhausted, 20 mile days are starting to become a lot harder. After doing some math Cookie pointed out to me that over the last seven days we walke 149 miles. That seems like a long way to me.

After resupply tomorrow I shall enter the state of Vermont, the only New England state I have not been to.

Another day in the books.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It was a day where I was never quite living in reality, if that makes sense to you. My mind was not on the same page as my body.

I was up and moving at 5:30AM, but I was in no particular hurry, AYCE pancakes were due to be served at 6:30AM. I packed up my bag so that I was ready to go.

Over the course of the morning I consumed five pancakes, a cup of hot chocolate, and a cup of tea. Afterwards there was a group photo taken, followed by me going for one final swim in Upper Goose Pond with Cookie and Warpaint.

Cookie and I were walking north at 7:30AM. After tumbling down to I-90, which the AT crossed VIA a footbridge created for the trail, we began the 1,400 climb up to Becket Mountain, which was not all that difficult.

The trail today was rough, which made it difficult to establish any sort of rythm while walking. There were many little ups and downs that came out of no where and smacked me right in the face.

At 12:10 I rolled into Washington Mountain Road, where I walked 1/10th to the "Cookie Ladie's House" where I bought a coke and was given three Cookies to go along with my lunch. The flies were ferocious beasts here, so I ate quickly and moved on. Hit and Miss rolled in as we rolled out with Warpaint following suit.

As I started walking I heard a rumble of thunder, which put me into high gear for the remainder of the afternoon. Once again there were ups and downs that seemingly came out of no where, but that did not stop me this time.

It seems that Cookie got into what he called a "pissing contest" with Warpaint, this happens frequently with Cookie. When someone passes him, he immediately increased his speed, over takes that person, and is sure to leave that person in his dust. On normal days I don't bother trying to keep up with him, but today was different. I was being chased by a storm and Cookie was egging me on. Cookie lead the charge with Warpaint in the middle and myself pulling up the tail end of the charge.

I left lunch at 1:00PM and I rolled into Dalton, Mass at 3:40PM. I walked 9.6 miles in two hours and 40 minutes. Wow.

Tonight Tom Leavardi has allowed all the hikers here to crash in his living room due to the storm raging outside, which was quite nice of him. Upon my arrival he immediately gave me a coke, a fancy looking ice cream sundae, and made a pasta dinner for all the hikers. This man is incredible.

I'm currently watching "The Big Lebowski" with the hikers here tonight. Fascinating.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Addendum. 7/29/08: That movie would go down as one of the funnier ones I have seen. Cookie and I spent quite a bit of time over the coming days talking about different scenes from the movie.

Ga>ME 2008.

Let me explain. I've done the section between US route 7 and MA route 23 severl times and given the circumstances of the day felt no need to do it again. Let the debate begin.

I was awake at 5:30AM and added some more entries to my journal. This think takes way to much time to update.

Afterwards I took a shower, packed up, and had a conversation with John about thru hiking. Kathy offered to drive me to the post office, where I picked up my debit card. It was there all along.

Back at the house Kathy cooked up some breakfast for the family and me. I chatted with the family while I ate a hearty meal.

I was then driven to the grocery store where I bought enough food to get me to Maine and then back to Georgia, or at least that's what it felt like.

Kathy had me on trail at 10:30AM. In town I received a voice mail from Cookie stating he stealth camped north of town and that he was going to Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Onward I went.

Between I started walking Hit and Miss zoomed by, I ended up playing leap frog with them all day long. The climb out of the road was long, tedious, and had exactly zero views. In other words, it was a classic Appalachian Trail climb.

At Fernside road I caught Cookie in the midst of lunch. I ate some lunch and relaxed.

Onto the cabin we went. First we needed to descend down to Main Road, then ascend a nameless mountain. This climb was long and hard, it felt like it would never end.

After some more walking we came to the junction for the cabin around 6:20PM. The cabin is 5/10ths off the trail, but it was well worth it. The pond it sits on has great swimming and the bunks have comfortable beds.

Tonight I am here with quite a few hikers. This group includes Cookie, Warpaint, Hit and Miss, California Joe, Fester, and Five Bags.

Tomorrow we shall be treated to an AYCE pancake breakfast courtesy of the Bershire chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Dalton is my goal for tomorrow.

Sleep is my goal right now.

Good night and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

You must know that I am still being emotionally rattled by the storm that hit two nights ago. It was a beast that rattled the trail and the region beyond comprehension. It was a storm that rattled me to my core, and most likely will for quite a while.

There was no storm to fend off last night, and camp shores went as they should. I was on trail at 6:30AM.

The first part of the morning was spent marching to the summit of Bear Mountain, which is the highest point in all of Massachustts. The summit had a view of the surrounding ridge lines from a rock pile constructed on top to recognize this land mass as the highest point in the state.

About one mile later as I traveled along the shore of Sage's Ravine I was greeted with a sign that stated: "Welcome To Massachusetts". I spent the first ten years of my life in this state, so it felt like I was home when I crossed the border, which represents the start of my 11th state on trail.

The summit of Race Mountain offered views of the eastern ridge lines and gave me a glimpse of Mount Everett, where I would soon be.

The climb up Mount Everett was a classic New England climb, meaning it was straight up on a rock face. I had a blast cutting up this rock face, it made me realize I'm truly home. The summit had no views, so I descended straight down to Guilder Pond, where I had lunch with Sinker.

From there it was cruise control to US route 7. There were some bumps along the way, but most of them had views so it was worth it. Once in the valley I cruised along, although the 8/10ths between MA route 41 and south Egremont Road must have been the national headquarters for The Mosquito Action Committee, because I was practically forced to spring this section to avoid them. If I stopped once, even for a second, I was immediately swarmed by hundreds of mosquitoes.

Once I rolled into route 7, I hithced into Great Barrington where I hit the post office to discover my mail was not there. I called dad and he said according to his tracking number it was waiting for me there. My dad gave me the tracking number and I will bring it to the post office tomorrow morning to clean up the mess.

Tonight I am staying with Kathy and Dave. This couple takes hikers in by word of mouth and gives us a place to stay for the night. When I arrived Kathy gave me a tour of her enormous house. I owe them a huge thanks for taking me in for the night.

After showering and making some phone calls, I began the tedious process of updating my journal, which I will hopefully complete tomorrow.

I am completely exhausted.

Good night and good luck.

Kirby

Addendum added 7/29/08: This would be the last time I see Sinker, he left trail for a day to receive treatment for Giardia and never caught up.

Ga>ME 2008.

It was 9:45PM when I awoke quite suddenly to a bang of thunder and a crack of lightening. When I looked out the front door I could barely see 100 feet. Rain was blowing sideways through the bug netting of my front dooe. The wind was gusting and the sky was constantly being illuminated by the jolts of lightening descending from the heavens. I was trembling in fear as I sat upright in my tent, wondering how long the beast would linger above me. Another jolt of fear went through me when I heard a town siren in the valley, generally used to warn of tornadoes. By 10:30PM the storm had calmed down, and I was asleep by 11:PM. It was the most powerful storm I've ever seen.

I re-awoke at 5:10AM, still trembling in fear. I talked with Cookie about the storm in an attempt to grasp what happened. He told me lightening was illuminating the sky 30 minutes before any rain came. He could tell I was shaken by the storm and told me it was the worst storm he had seen in a while.

We were walking at 6:30AM. The first 13 miles of today were spent going up and down view less mountains that seemed to exist simply to torture us.

The most noteworthy thing about these 13 miles was all the damage. There were quite a few downed trees and numerous newly fallen branches from trees that lived to see anther day.

At some point in the early afternoon we rolled into the Housatonic river, and we had lunch just north of here. We were tired due to the lack of sleep we received last night, courtesy of the storm. It felt nice to relax and eat some food.

We then came to "great falls", which is a fairly large and powerful waterfall. This was easily the most interesting thing the CT AT has offered thus far.

When I reached the summit of prospect mountain, I turned my phone on and listened to a message from my dad telling me a new debit card would be waiting for me in Great Barrington, MA, my next town stop.

The stretch from Prospect mountain to Plateau campsite had 13 blowdowns, that's and enormous amount for a five mile stretch. Clearly mother nature was raising an extra amount of hell here last night.

It felts nice to roll into the campsite and end my day.

Tomorrow I hope to do 21-22 miles into the road crossing for Great Barrington, but things change out here.

The storm last night was the first time where I felt like I might legitimately die. For a period of 30 seconds I saw my life flash before my eyes. It was a feeling I hope to never have again.

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Mother nature is causing massive amounts of havoc in the northeast with this heat wave, including right here on the good 'ol AT. It makes short days like today feel like death marches through the fiery depths of hell.

Cookie and I meandered along this morning knowing we had town coming, so we were not marching until 6:30AM. What was the trail like this morning? Well it was a whole lot of uphill of course. These were climbs with no view or merit. It spent a lot of time cutting up and down the side of the same ridge for what felt like an eternity.

I rolled into the road crossing for Kent at 8:00AM knowing full well I was going to be walking the .8 into town.

Kent is a hosh posh town, to say the least. It sits in a part of the state that is home to a whole lot of wealthy people. Hikers naturally stand out like soar apples here, and we received a lot of perplexing looks when we finally arrived.

After picking up some maps at the post office and calling my dad, Cookie and I walked to the grocery store for resupply. I only needed a box of oatmeal and some nutri-grain bars to get me to my next stop for resupply. As I was walking out of the store, having already made my purchase, I had the following interaction with an employee.

Employee:"You need to leave your pack at the front of the store."

Me:"Well I've already made my purchase and was preparing to leave."

Employee:"Well you need to use the other door as an exit."

Before saying anything else I glanced up at the sign that said "exit" above the door I was about to walk out, then glanced back at her.

Employee:"Well you can use that door, but we'd prefer you to use the other door."

Good morning to you too.

After consolidating our food outside, Cookie and I walked to a coffee shop and bought some ice coffee. I also purchased a New York Times to catch up on the news.

We were back on trail around 12:00PM. The climb out of the road was difficult due to the 90 degree heat we were marching uphill in. After traversing a ridge with a couple of views, the trail sent us down "St. John's Ledge", which is a series of 91 stone steps leading to the Housatonic river. At the river Cookie and I had lunch and went for a refreshing swim in the river.

We rolled into Stewart Hollow Lean to and determined it was to early to stop, so we decided to push on for three more miles.

The trail follows the river for a few miles, which made for easy walking, which is nice on a day like today. We swam one final time before starting the one mile ascent to the campsite, where I am tonight.

This is a nice spot to camp, it has a pavilion with two picnic tables.

Tomorrow I shall try 23-24 miles, a very full day in comparison to today. Hopefully the heat won't be as bad.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It was 4:55AM as I glanced at my thermometer I refocused my eyes to make sure I was reading it right: 68.9 degrees. It was not even 5:00AM and it was already almost 70 degrees. That's when I realized it was going to be a long day.

I hit trail at 5:45AM this morning in hopes of covering as many miles as possible before the heat and humidity became completely unbearable. Cookie and I set a goal of covering at least 14 miles by lunch.

The trail out of the campsite was a gradual climb to the dull summit of West Mountain. Afterwards the trail followed the perimeter of Nuclear Lake, I'd like to know how this lake got its name.

At County Road 20 I passed Dover Oak, which is supposingly the largest oak tree on the trail. It apparently measures 20ft, four inches around. I will say this, it was an awfully large tree.

At the Appalachian Trail Rail Road Station I chugged a liter of water. On weekends you can take a train from here to NYC, something I highly advise future hikers to do.

After a climb and some traversing of a ridge I rolled into Wiley Shelter around 11:00AM. By this point I had already consumed 2.5 lters of water, and I consumed two more during this break.

Ten minutes after leaving the shelter I realized I was missing a croc. I had no intention of looking for it, I just assumed it would be gone forever.

1.2 miles north of the shelter I crossed into Connecticut, closing the chapter on NY. I'm now also in New England, which I consider to be my home. I've lived here all my life and it sure does feel good to be back.

After going up and over ten mile hill I rolled into Ten Mile River Lean to around 1:00PM. By this point I had gone at least 15 miles and it was an exhausting 15 due to the heat. As I was settling in for lunch, Sinker rolled in and gave me my missing croc. It seems I dropped it just north of Wiley Shelter, and he was kind enough to carry it for me.

Lunch consisted of eating good and taking a nap, which Cookie took part in as well. At 2:30PM we collected our things and walked down to the river for a swim, which is just what the doctor ordered.

This is also where the necklace one my teacher's gave me came off. I determined it must of happened while I was swimming. This is upsetting because he had the necklace for 15 years before giving it to me for this hike.

After a 1,000 foot climb to the summit of Schagticoke mountain, Cookie and I rolled into camp around 6:00PM.

It's time to sleep, I can't write anymore.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

There's something about NYC that makes it hard to leave. It's as if I belong there.

I met Cookie at Connecticut Muffin for coffee. We chatted about Manhattan a little and discussed the day ahead. Over the next hour I resupplied and purchased half a dozen NY style bagels.

Back at headquarters Cookie and I cleaned up and began packing our bags to leave. I also added a couple entries to my journal.

After saying our thanks and goodbyes to A-Train's parents, A-Train had us on our way around 11:50AM. It was interesting watching the Manhattan skyline zoom bye as we drove away from the city that never sleeps.

It was an odd feeling going from the city to the mountains in such a short period of time. Instead of looking forward to walking again, I was missing the city and the madness that it brings.

We arrived at the trail head at 1:50PM. After saying our thanks and good byes to A-Train and his girlfriend, Anna, Cookie and I were walking at 2:05PM.

I owe a HUGE thanks to A-Train and his parents for welcoming Cookie and me into their homes. They were tremendous hosts and my NYC trip would not have been possible without them.

I was paying no attention to the trail or my surroundings today, I was still absorbed in NYC moments. There's something about that city than beckons me back, but I'm not sure what or why.

Cookie and I rolled into Morgan Stewart Shelter at 3:40PM. We determined it was too early in our hiking day to stop. We decided we would walk a little longer and stealth camp somewhere. As I drank some water a hiker named Rat Sandwich rolled in. He's going NOBO, but right now is SOBO to Wind Gap, PA.

We were back on trail at 4:20PM. At 6:00PM we found a spot to camp for the night. I know I'm north of NY 55, so that road is what my millage is based on.

It feels weird having gone from the excitement of NYC to the simplicity of the AT in such a short period. My body is on the AT while my mind is still riding the Subway in Manhattan.

Something to sleep on I suppose.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Mind boggling. Tremendously overwhelming. Culture shock of epic proportions.

Hello New York City.

Even though I was not hiking today, my body still insisted on having me up at 6:00AM, I noted my objections with my internal alarm system and prepared for the day ahead. After coffee at Connecticut Muffin and breakfast at John's Bakery, I returned to command headquarters, where A-Train and his girlfriend helped Cookie and me lay out an assault plan for Manhattan.

Thanks to Fran(A-Train's Dad), we were able to ride the subway for free, courtesy of his metro card. The subway was a nice ride, although I was still, for some reason, used to it from my NYC trip in 2005. We took the Q to 57th street, which is where the adventure began.

First we walked around central park. We then cut down 6th Avenue towards Time Square. In the Time Square region we walked by the Rockefeller Center and meandered into Grand Central Station. Time Square was an explosion of neon lights and flashing digital screens proclaiming an assortment of information and advertisements.

In the course of our travels we hopped on Madison Avenue and cut down to 31st street. At this intersection is where I stayed on my last visit: The Roger Williams Hotel. Right next door is Keno Cafe, which is where I ate breakfast each morning while I was there.

The next couple of hours involved wandering through Washington Park and Grennich(sp?) Village and being caught in foot traffic through SoHo, China Town, and Little Italy.

While eating ice cream at Whole Foods near Union Square, we chatted with some locals about life in the city and life on the trail.

As we were being typical tourists and looking at the Subway map in Union Square, a local asked us where we wanted to go. We told him we wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. He told us to take the Express 6 to city hall where we needed to be to start walking the bridge.

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge was the best part of the day. This bridge is embedded was endless amounts of history. This bridge offers views of the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Manhattan skyline.

Once in Brooklyn we hopped on the 4 and transfered at Atlantic Avenue to the Q to get back to A-Trains neighborhood.

After eating cheeseburgers and chips courtesy of A-Train, I determined it was time to sleep.

NYC has a very effective mass transit system. Between the bus system and the subway you don't need a car for day to day travel.

To be honest, I could live here. In fact I might look into going to school here, there's something about NYC that appeals to me.

Something to think about.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today started out as any other day. I quickly learned to not make any attempt at a rational plan. Your about to learn why.

I was on trail at my usual 6-6:30AM this morning. Some thunder and lightening passed by as I was packing up, so I was cautious about my expectations for today.

About an hours into the march another round of storms rolled through. I quickly went into storm mode then continued walking north.

Let me get this out of the way, there was only one spot were a view might have been possible, but not on this day.

The rain gave a surreal feeling to the forest the trail wove through. It was as if someone took a piece of the Amazon and place in on the AT in NY, just for me to see.

The trail took me across an interesting stone wall. I was perplexed as to what it could have been used for back in the day, Cookie said it was most likely connected to some mining operation. I was inclined to agree seeing as I have no conception of the history of the region.

The trail was quite slick today, which inevitably makes for tricky navigation at times.

By lunch I had marched 14 miles, and it was a hard 14 miles. There were pointless ups and downs, so lunch was well earned in my opinion.

After lunch the trail gradually took us up Shenandoah Mountain, which did have a view of the immediate area. On a clear day, I am willing to bet there is an amazing view of the surrounding ridge lines.

I then tumbled down to RPH Shelter. There was trail magic here in the form of freeze dried meals, which was nice.

Cookie and I determined it would be in our best interest to put in a few more miles, which would make tomorrow a shorter day into the trail station. We decided to stealth camp at NY 52, where we could walk .4 to a deli for ice cream and some soda.

At least that was the plan.

As I was marching out of the gap the shelter sat in, I heard a noise that sounded like the ring tone for my phone. It turns out my phone was on and that A-Train was calling. He told me that he was on his way from upstate NY and that he could bring Cookie and me int NYC tonight and that he could bring us back to the trail Sunday. After talking about it with Cookie we took him up on the offer.

The trail leading to the road felt like a whole lot of uphill. It just never ended, the person who plotted this section of trail as a cruel and unusual sense of humor.

I also called a friend back home, who informed me I made the honor roll for the final trimester of the school year, which is the trimester I did all the work ahead of time on. This was a huge relief.

At NY 52, A-Train picked us up and gave each of us a Gatorade and a banana, both of which were quite good.

Onto Brooklyn we went. Once we hit the city, A-Train showed us some of the highlights of Manhattan as we sped down the highway. These included Trump Towers, the financial district, the Manhattan Bridge, and the Brooklyn bridge.

Going from the trail to NYC is a mind boggling experience of epic proportions. Everything and everyone move so fast. I began wondering where everyone was going in such a hurry on a Friday afternoon.

After driving across the Brooklyn Bridge and driving a little more, we rolled into la casa de A-Train. After meeting his parents(wonderfully nice people) he showed us our headquarters for our stay.

A-Train and his parents teated us to Italian food for dinner, which was awefully nice of them.

Exaustation sets sets in.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

NY does not receive enough credit as a trail state. The problem is that it's overshadowed by the trail in the deep south and the far north. I have enjoyed this state immensely thus far.

I was on trail at 6:15AM. Right out of the shelter the trail sends you right up a rock face, seemingly just because it wanted to. The rocks were still slick, so I had to be careful ascending the face.

One of the first summits I crested was that of Black Mountain. The summit offers views of the Hudson River Valley. My eyes then focused on something in the distance. I then realized what it was: Manhattan. NYC seemed so close, yet it was over 30 miles away.

After descending 600 feet, I reascended another 600 feet to the top of West Mountain, which had views of the mountains the trail just meandered me through.

I then began the descent which represented the approach to Bear Mountain. The climb up Bear Mountain was not all that difficult, but you must know that the rail follows the road leading to the summit for a bit.

The summit of Bear Mountain afforded views of the surrounding Appalachian mountains. This was a view consisting of many ridge lines on each side of the mountain.

After another 1,100 foot descent, I walked into the "Trailside Museum and Zoo". That's right, the trail walks you right through a zoo. This is where I saw my first bear, three actually. What struck me the most though was the pathetic living conditions the zoo provided to these animals. Four legged animals such as foxes and coyotes were confined to what seemed like 6x6 cages. It's as if the zoo does not actually care about it's animals and simply wants to make a profit.

Cookie and I then walked .7 off the trail to a small grocery store where I bought lunch and a couple of things for resupply.

This section of trail is the lowest of the entire thing, I was at a mere 124 feet about sea level when I crossed the Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River.

This meant one thing, there was going to be a climb to get back on the ridge. The climb was not all that bad, although I did curse the local trail club quite a bit. I kept myself distracted by noticing all the Mountain Laurel in bloom.

After a couple hours of walking and chatting with Cookie and Rabbitsfoot, I came across the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center, which offers their ball field picnic shelter as a place for hikers to stay.

There are rumors that it will break 90 degrees this weekend, which would be absolutely miserable to walk in.

Tomorrow is uncertain, the only thing that is certain right now is that I need to sleep.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today was the exact opposite of yesterday. It was as if the trail gods needed to balance my amazing day with an absolutely horrible one. It was the trails version of Yin and Yang.

It rained all last night, which meant any rocks I encountered today were going to be slippery. I took my time leaving camp this morning, I was on trail at 6:20AM dreading the day to come.

The climb up to "Mombasha High Point" was a slippery one. This made for slow walking because I had to carefully place each step to ensure stability.

At the top there was a register to reflect over the view that exists n a clear day, but not today. Supposingly you can see the Manhattan skyline on a really clear day. Today I saw a cloud.

On the ascent of Buchanan Mountain I had my first "oh shit!" moment of the day. This is when you know you are going to take a nasty fall and there's nothing you can do except say "oh shit!" as you proceed to fall to the ground.

This first one came on a steep rock scramble going up the face of the mountain. I went to put my left pole between two boulders, when I realized there was nothing there supporting the pole I already had most of my body weight on the pole, so I proceeded to fall to the ground. This fall consisted of smacking my head against the side of another large boulder and also scraping my left arm against it. I walked away with a minor headache and some wounds on the backside of my left arm.

My second moment came when I had my feet pulled from underneath me as I was walking down an angled boulder face. This lead me to slide on my backside for a few feet before I regained control.

The descent off of Arden Mountain was steep with one switchback. I had a couple spots where my legs were pulled from underneath me.

After crossing the NY thru-way and climbing 600 feet I came upon the "lemon squeezer". This is where the trail takes you through a narrow corridor between two rock faces tilted towards one another. The idea is that you feel like you are being squeezed, which I certain did.

The very short, but steep, climb that followed involved placing my feet on two rocks and using a tree as a wrap around point. I used one big swing to wrap around the tree, which brought me to the top of the rock face.

After lunch at Fingerboard Shelter, I began the final 5.3 mile push to the next shelter.

I am now at William Brien Memorial Shelter. This shelter, to put it bluntly, is a piece of garbage. The walls are angled and it leaks. It's dark inside and since there's no broom it's difficult to clean out effectively.

I received a text message from my friend Ossie today that made me realize how close I am to being done. It stated, "I heard your in new Jersey! Will you be home early?". It's hard to believe this trip will be over at the end of next month. As o today I have less than 800 miles to go. It will be hard to say goodbye.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It was as if the heavens approved my request for a good day, a day with no flaws. It was as if someone wanted me to have a day of perfection. It was a day to remember.

Wake up call at the hostel was the usual 5:30AM. As usual, I had no need to hurry. After partially packing up my bag I walked to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. Back at the hostel I ate breakfast and finished packing up. At 6:50AM Cookie and I prepared to hitch out of town.

Hitching out of Vernon was a nightmare. It took Cookie and me 30 minuts before someone finally came and picked us up. Apparently cops in this area strictly enforce NJ's law banning hitchhiking. We were lucky that no cop saw us violate state law. I would think they have better things to do with their time.

I was walking north at 7:30AM this morning. The climb out og NJ 94 was fairly easy, and I was on the ridge in no time.

There was nothing interesting about the approach to the NJ/NY border. I was entirely focused on entering NY that even if there was something interesting I would have completely missed it.

Hello NY. I was welcomed into the state with an amazing ridge line walk. .4 north of the border is the highest point on the AT in NY, which is called "Prospect Rock", which is really an exposed ridge line. This ridge offers views of several paralleling ridge lines along with Greenwood Lake below. This is where Cookie and I decided to take a break. During the break I called Tin Man of Whiteblaze.Net fame to confirm he would be able to pick Cookie and me up in Pawling, NY Monday morning. After I confirmed he could I called and left a message for A-Traub confirming everything was good to go for NYC this weekend.

After some more ridge line walking over car sized boulders I came upon NY route 17A. Cookie and I decided to walk .1 down the road so we could buy ice cream. We both went with vanilla ice cream mixed with white chocolate and fresh raspberries.

The trail then came to the "Eastern Pinnacles", which is another exposed ridge line rock scramble that had the same views as Prospect Rock. Just south of the shelter there was one more boulder scramble appropriately named "Cat Rocks".

Tonight I am at Wildcat Shelter with Cookie, Footmachine, Rabbit'sfoot, and two other hikers I can't remember the names of, they are out for a long distance section hike.

Time to sleep.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Another day in the books. It was another day of walking north, another day in which I crept closer to the greatest mountain.

I was on trail at 6:00AM once more. My focus today was getting to Vernon, NJ.

The trail out of the shelter was fairly favorable, allowing me to cruise along at a pretty good pace for the first part of the day.

The trail spent of the first several hours of the day cutting through different open fields and meandering across silent country roads.

Eventually the trail walking the perimeter of a National Wildlife Pond Refuge. Even though the Federal Government screws up a lot of things, this is one example of the feds getting things right. The pond was buzzing with wildlife ranging from ducks to birds to many species of insect.

The trail then traverses you over a ridge with no views. The ridge line consisted of scrambling up many rocks faces that seemingly come out of no where.

After descending off the ridge the trail then traversed one straight mile of boardwalk. This is here because there is a large marsh field that the trail would do massive amounts of damage to over the course of time.

There were a lot of bog bridges in general today. It seems that this area is heavily saturated. It must have taken a whole lot of work to put in all those bridges. Thanks to all who made that possible.

I rolled into NJ 94 around 11:45AM, and Cookie and I rolled into the church hostel about 20 minutes later after a fairly easy hitch into Vernon.

Over the course of the afternoon I did laundry, took a shower, and resupplied at the grocery store. I also added a few entries to my journal.

I also created the groundwork for a trip into NYC Saturday night, Sunday, with a return Monday morning to the trail. I am looking forward to this trip, it will be a nice change of pace from the everyday grind of the trail.

Well, time to sleep, 17 miles is on the docket for tomorrow.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Slowly, but surely, I feel like I am hiking the mountains of Appalachia once more. All the views to the east today had multiple ridge lines, the first time in a while it was not just simply a never ending valley.

Wake up call was 5:20AM. After completing the usual morning chores I was on trail at 6:05AM.

The climb to the summit of Sunrise Mountain was slippery due to the rain storm that moved through last night. On the summit there was a nice pavilion made of stone which had views to the east and west. I have come to immensely enjoy the views that the NJ AT offers, mainly because it is completely different from PA.

At Mashipacong Shelter, if you don't pay close attention, you may well loose the trail. When you pop out of the woods into the open field with the shelter there's a well beaten path straight ahead. However, the trail curves to the left of the shelter. I was fortunate to remain on trail, but Cookie ended up walking an extra mile.

High Point Monument was nothing special. The view from the top is the exact same one afforded below. The side trail was poorly marked and there was a persistent wind at the base of the tower.

After that, it was smooth sailing to the cabin junction. The trail spent most of the time in the woods, but every now and then it would meander through an interesting open field.

I did encounter a turtle on the trail today, a first in my hiking life. It was relaxing in the middle of the trail when I stumbled upon it. Never did I think I would encounter a turtle on the AT before encountering a bear.

Jim Murray has a nice set up here for long distance here for long distance hikers(only). There is a hot shower, running water, electricity, and donkeys/mules scattered about an open field. There is also a cabin with an upper floor for hikers to sleep on.

Cookie and I decided to walk one mile to Unionville, NY for some ice cream, which hit the spot for me.

Tomorrow I have my eyes set on Vernon, NJ, where I need to resupply and picke up some mail.

I would like to wish the best of luck to southbounders, whose hiking season unofficially began today.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

NJ is a state that is renewing my spirits and raising my morale once more. This state is also making me feel like I'm almost home. It's and odd sensation.

I was up at 5:30AM this morning. After eating five packets of oatmeal and packing up I was on trail at 6:15AM.

The climb out of the MOC was fairly easy, although there were some rocks that needed to be scrambled over.

The ridge this climb leads one to had some nice rock ledges with simplistic views of the NJ valley below.

Although there's a "No Trespassing" sign on the fire tower, I went ahead and broke NJ state law and climbed up a couple flights of stairs to have a nice view.

North of Blue Mountain Road the weather proceeded to go downhill as I was going up. This consisted of light rain, wind, and one rumble of thunder that kicked me into high gear.

A lot of the ridge today had exposure. The trees were in full bloom, but they were barely taller than me. There were also patches of land with no trees, which raised the hair on the back of my neck seeing as a storm was chasing me.

At some point Cookie caught me along the ridge. He made an attempt at imitating a bear, but for some reason it did not work all that well.

At Brink Road Shelter I had some lunch, which was a nice break from the persistent drizzle blanketing northern NJ.

The climb out of the shelter was easy, and the ridge had some nice views.

At Culver's Gap I bopped into a convenience store near the rail and purchased a soda and Gatorade. This is where Terry was due to leave trail, so we exchanged contact information. Cookie and I then continued north.

Three miles later we came to Gren Anderson Shelter, my home for tonight. The shelter is full and there are some tenters about.

Onward and upward tomorrow.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Dear Pennsylvania,
It's been quite a journey through your land, but it fortunately ends tomorrow. I've met someone new, her name is New Jersey. She welcomes weary hikers who manage to escape your wrath. I've also taken the liberty of booking you a one way ticket to hell.
                              With no love,
                                 Kirby

I hope that gives you an insight into what I think about PA. Today was no different.

Two hikers decided to roll into the shelter around 10:45PM last night, make a whole bunch of noise, and once they knew I was awake due to their ruckus they asked me to move over so he could sleep in the shelter. Cookie and I repaid the favor by accidentally making lot of noise at 5:15AM.

The theme for today was rocks, it was a rock convention today though. PA pulled out all the stops in her last hurrah. There were car sized boulders to scramble over and there were baseball sized rocks that twist your ankle every direction.

At Hahn's Lookout I got my first good view of NJ. It felt nice knowing that NJ was soo close.

I should mention that spring is in full bloom in the forests of Appalachia. The trees are thick in green, and the floweres are in the midss of blom. The flies are buzzing around, and gypsy moths have become the official species of the AT on a sunny day.

There were many spots along the trail where it seems the local maintainers purposefully tilted on their sharpest angle to anger already disgruntled hikers.

Then the trail came to a boulder rock scramble known as Wolf Rcks. Don't worry, there are no views to distract you. Believe it or not, this was the second most enjoyable part of the day. Instead of twisting my ankles every possible way, I enjoyed hopping from boulder to boulder.

I rolled into Kirkridge Shelter at 11:25AM for lunch. I also bumped into Cookie and Thud here.

After lunch I was fired up and ready to go, so I kicked it into high gear. I knew from here that in 6.4 miles I would be symbolically done wth PA. Most of this walk was spent walking n old dirt road, which made for easy walking.

At the summit of Mount Minsi, I realized I was close to DWG when I looked over the cliff and could just barely see the river below.

There were parts of this descnt that I ran over to alleviate the pain on my knees, I was also feeling pretty good. I was ready to rock and roll.

I rolled into town around 2:30PM and proceeded to grab a bunk at the local church hostel. I was forced to resupply in a convenience store seeing as there's no grocery store in town.

After lounging around the hostel a bit I split a pizza with Cookie. No signs of food posioning yet.

After calling my Grandma, I decided it was time to call it a night, my body needs a good night sleep.

Tomorrow I shall enter NJ and march to the Mohican Outdoor Center, where I shall stay the night.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I now completely understand why hikers hate Pennsylvania by the time they leave the state.

I was up at 6:00AM this morning. After packing up, Cookie and I went for breakfast at a local diner called Bert's Steakhouse. The food here was good, and the purposeful interior design made you feel like you were living in the 50's.

It was then time to hitch back to the trail. It took Cookie and me 30 minutes before a nice lady stopped and picked us up. Whn she first pulled over, her dogs looked ready to take a chunk out of my leg, but they turned out to be friendly dogs.

Cookie and I began the ascent out of Lehigh Gap around 8:45AM.

The climb out of the gap was amazing, it was the first time I actually felt like I was climbing a mountain in a long time. It's quite steep most of the way, and there are a few spots where you need to use your hands to get up and over a rock face.

This climb and the ridge it leads to are barren due to zinc smeltings that ravaged the area for almost 100 years. Efforts began in the 1980's to reforest the area. This area is known as the "Palmerton Superfund Site".

Believe it or not, I found the climb out of little gap to be tougher than the one out of Lehigh Gap. This is mainly due to the fact that I was expecting it, and it was extremely rocky of course.

Cookie and I had lunch at some view on a blue blaze trail. This is where I called Mechanical Man to see if it was feasible to drop in for the night. After talking with Cookie, we determined it to not be feasible based on our planned milage, timetable, and expecting terrain ahead.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking a viewless ridge with plenty of rocks.

I rolled into the shelter at 3:20PM. Todays 15.8 miles were quite tough, I'm happy to be done for the day.

Tomorrow I shall march to Deleware Water Gap, PA(DWG), where the PA AT will come to an end. The moment you step on the Deleware River Bridge, you are in NJ.

I am looking forward to NJ, mainly because it's not PA.

Time for tomorrow.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

No rocks. Rocks. No rocks. Rocks. A little bit of both. It seems that local trail maintainers were disputing over whether to send the trail through rocks or not, so the Appalachian Trail Conservancy(ATC) brokered a peace treaty requiring a little bit of both. There is no word yet on whether the ATC plans to build on their peace brokering success by working for peace in the Middle East.

I meandered along this morning, not hitting trail until 6:45AM, a fairly late start these days.

The trail leaving the shelter was fairly level and rockless. It was a nice change of peace for this state.

The trail then became rocky. These were small rocks that twist your ankle in every possible direction. One must take time on this section or one's ankles will promptly go on strike and refuse to cooperate.

Then, once again, the trail hopped on an old road bed and smoothly meandered through the moss covered forest of Pennsylvania.

It was then time to traverse the ridgeline, which meant tiptoeing over car sized boulders and walking seemingly endless rock faces, which can be tricky to walk across when they are at an angle, which is most of the time.

This is where the ATC stepped in. The ATC issued a beurocratic order requiring the trail to be rocky enough to slow hikers down, but not enough to make hikers cancel their ATC memberships or write letters of discontent.

During my lunch break I called my Grandma and she informed me that Harrdbound left trail a few days back. I would like to congradulate(sp?) Hardbound on walking 1,115 miles. That's a vewry long way.

At the George W. Outerbridge Shelter, Cookie and I determined it was too early to stop, so we decided to walk .9 further and hitch into Palmerton,PA.

Atleast that was the plan. When we arrived in Lehigh Gap, we discovered it was going to be a nearly impossible hitch due to the way the road was created. The road had a very narrow shoulder lane, which meant cars would not have had a good spot to pull over. Cookie and I decided to cut our losses and walk one mile into town.

Once we arrived, we chekced in at the Borough Hall for a bunk in the "Jail House Hostel". The town provides bunks in the basement at no charge for hikers. They also gave us care packages, which contained pian killer medicine, a snack bar, travel size toilet paper, travel size toothpaste, a tooth brush, a postcard, and information about the town. The Borough Hall also had showers that hikers are allowed to use at no charge.

After settling in and taking a shower, I walked to the library to chek my email and add a couple entries to my journal.

Afterwards I resupplied. The local food store gives a free apple to all thru-hikers who put a star on the map of the United States showing where they live.

Today I once again consumed a half gallon of ice cream, this time it was cookies and cream. It was quite delicious.

Tomorrow I shall climb out of Lehigh Gap, which looks like a larfe rock scramble. Luckly that will be first thing in the morning, so hopefully the heat won't be that bad.

I am ready for the final push through PA, I'm sick of this state. The amount of time it will take me to have completed this state will be the same amount of time it takes me to complete NJ, NY, and Connecticut.

There's something to sleep on.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today, I felt like I was indestructable. Today represented my first full day in Pennsylvania in which I was not miserable at some point during the day. It felt nice not to be miserable.

The climb coming out of Port Clinton, in retrospect, was fairly easy. There were plenty of switchbacks, which differed from the straight down descent into town.

Once the trail was on the ridge, it was nice hiking for quite a while. At Windsor Furnace there was a sign proclaiming "Katahdin: 956.7 miles". It was an exciting moment. It was the first time I relaized I now haveless that 1,000 miles to go.

At Windsor Furnace Shelter I checked the non-existent shelter register to see if COokie left me a note, he did not.

After another climb I came upon "Pulpit Rock", which is a rock outcropping with a view of the Pennsylvania valley.

Hypothetically, "the Pinnacle" was 2.3 miles north of Pulpit Rock, but I missed it. I came to the conclusion that I was zoning out and completely missed it.

At Eckville Shelter I had lunch. I once again checked the register to see if Cookie had signed it, which he did not. I was starting to wonder if I had somehow passed Cookie during the day.

After lunch at the shelter I climbed one more ridge. On the finak approach to the shelter it became rocky once again. Most of today was either smooth trail or was following an old dirt road. It was a nice change of pace.

I rolled into Allentown Shelter to discover no one was here. This is when I realized I did indeed somehow get ahead of Cookie.

I was in need of water due to the fact that I ran out fice miles soith of the shelter, so I immediately fetched some and drank until I felt comfortable again.

Two section hikers informed me Cookie was behind me and that he was at Windsor Furnace Shelter last night. I naturally assumed he would be here tonight, which was true.

Today I bumped into Certain once more. She hiked Springer to Front Royal last year and now she's finishing up the rest of the trail.

Tomorrow I shall walk home once more, slowly but surely headding to Maine.

In memoriam:
To all those who have served, or are serving, in the name of the United Stated if America: Thank you.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It seems that the trail wanted to give me a glimpse of hell today, it was an experience I hope to never have again.

I was feeling a tad bit sluggish this morning, so i hit trail at 6:45AM instead of the usual 6:20-6:40AM.

The trail today was the rockiest, on a consistent basis, day in Pennsylvania. It was as if the lord of the rocks was sent down to ensure the destruction of every bone in my body.

There was not much elevation change today. My mis2ery was due to the rocks and nothing else.

At Herlein Campsite I stumbled upon a group of college age kids, presumably out to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend with a little party on the AT.

Three miles later I came upon the "Fort Dietrich Snyder Marker", which is a tombstone memorial of some sorts to the French and Indian Wars.

After lunch at the junction for the Sand Spring Trail, I continued my push to Port Clinton.

Later on the trail follows an old dirt road, and I nearly got lost. The trail was not marked, so I just assumed I was going the right way.

After some more rocks and an extremely sharp descent, I rolled into Port Clinton.

First I went to the outfitter and learned that their hostel is not up and running. I decided to walk down to the pavillion and tent, this is where I bumped into Cookie. He showed me how to properly pitch my tent.

We were about to go to dinner when I realized my debit card was missing. After searching around, I confirmed it must have fallen out of my pocket at some point.

Cookie loaned me some money while I handled the situation. I found a local in town who was willing to let me use her phone because there is no cell phone reception here. I contacted my dad and he agreed to wire me money and to send me his debit card for our joint banking account.

Tonight I am tenting, and I have a funny feeling I am going to sleep well. Today took its toll on me, my zero tomorrow will be good for my aching body.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It felt nice to be walking again today, I was physically and mentally prepared for it. How far I was going to walk, however, was a complete mystery to me.

I was up at 5:20AM this morning and was on traol at 6:45AM ater eating breakfast with Timetraveller at Goodie's.

The climb out of Duncannon is a tad bit hyped up in my opinion. It was steep at times, but it didn't take that long to complete.

When I rolled into Clark's Ferry Shelter I checked the register and learned that Cookie stayed there last night, which is what he told me he was going to do before he left town.

The walk along the ridge was rocky at times, pretty much the same old routine. I spent most of it walking with Lucky, whom I bumped into once more today.

When I stopped by Peter's Mountain Shelter for lunch, I found a note for me from Cookie stating he intended to stealth camp somewhere between there and Rausch Gap Shelter. After lunch, Lucky and I continued our march north.

I was planning on stealth camping in Clark's Valley, where there's some nice tenting spots, but I was being eaten alive by bugs. I decided to try and make it to the top of the ridge, and Lucky decided to go with me.

The climb up from the valley is a pretty easy grade, which was nice considering it was the end of the day.

Tonight, Lucky and I are stealth camped, we believe, just south of the summit of Stony Mountain. My milage for today is based on the milage from Duncannon to Stony Mountain.

Tomorrow round two of my game of cat and mouse with Cookie shall commence. I'm thinking I'll go for just over 25 miles, which almost guarantees me that I'll catch Cookie. From what I heard VIA the trail grapevine, Cookie is going to take it easy until I catch him.

It's very easy to catch someone within a day of on trail, especially when it's a coordinated effort.

Well, I think I shall read.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

This happened against my will. I was ready last night to hike out, but my body threw a curve ball at me: Food Poisoning. I was forced to do nothing all day in hopes of recovering.

I spent most of today lying in bed. Cookie bought me a bottle of gingerale before hitting trail. He said he will take it easy and wait for me to catch up, a process that begins tomorrow, I hope.

My plan is to be in Port Clinton Monday, and I shall zero Tuesday. Emily is meeting me there Tuesday for the day. I shall hit trail again Wednesday morning. Cookie wants and a zero, so hopefully we roll into town together.

Not much else happened today, I did buy some soup for dinner though.

I spent a whole lot of time napping today, my body would not let me do much else.

Well, nothing else to say about today.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Elevation wise, today was easy. Rocks wise, it was nothing but pure misery.

Some section hikers decided to wake up and create a whole lot of noise at 5:00AM, so I was forced to wake up then as well. This lead me to be on trail at 6:00AM, my earliest start yet.

The descent into the valley was a rock one, of course. The valley was flat and muddy. The farm fields looked simplistic against the stormy sky.

The climb up the next ridge was steep and rocky, and of course viewless due to the cloud I was walking in.

The ridge this climb lead me up to was fairly level, but it was extremely rocky, this made for slow hiking.

It seemed like with each step I took my ankle twisted in some direction. It was a wonderful experience.

After the rocky descent off the ridge, I rolled into Duncannon around 10:30AM. Since the Doyle does not open until 11:00AM, I joined Cookie for some breakfast at "Goodies".

We then crossed the street to the Doyle, where we checked in for the night.

After a shower and doing laundry, I started the process of checking my email and updating my journal.

After lunch, it was 4:00PM, which meant it was time to resupply. The local market does a free shuttle once a day for hikers, which is quite convienent.

After resupply Cookie and I went to a local pizza place for dinner.

I have just completed consolidating my food, and it's around 9:30PM. Tomorrow I shall walk 11 miles.

Cookie and I determined a zero will be in order in Port Clinton, our next town stop. My body needs it.

Well, I need to sleep, it's that time of the night.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Before you balk at the somewhat significant distance I walked today, listen to my reasoning. By walking a marathon today, I have only 11.5 miles to walk into town tomorrow. If there was ever terrain that favored a hiking marathon, today was it.

However, there were a whole lot of rocks between the shelter and just south of Boiling Springs, PA. There were times when the trail was weaving around, between, and over house size boulders. There was one point where as the trail was going between these boulders you come across an arrow pointing in the NOBO direction and written above it was "ME" for Maine. It kept me humored for a while.

Roughly two miles south of Boiling Springs you enter Cumberland Valley. This is a 13-14 mile stretch where the trail takes you through the farmlands of Pennsylvania.

The trail goes right through Boiling Springs, although there's not much there. The ATC has a mid-Atlantic regional office here. I hit the post office while in town, they were kind enough to give me my package even though I did not have my ID. I am pleased that I now have nine inch stakes.

The walk through the valley was flat and muddy. It was a nice change of place weaving in and out of farm fields. Did I mention it was muddy? It was almost like ice skating, except over mud and without ice skate. There were other times when I sloshed through one-foot deep mud water.

I had to complete a one mile death march to reach my home for tonight. I took off my socks to discover, for the umpteenth time, pruned feet. That's starting to become old, I can't remember the last time I ended my day without pruned feet.

Tomorrow I shall march to Duncannon, where I shall stay at The Doyle Hotel, courtesy of the Appalachian Pages. This is another town the trail goes right through, so no hitch will be required.

Obama '08. Be a part of something great. it's time for the Democratic party to unite for the fall.

No more politics.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today was one of those days where I got a little bit of everything. I am starting to wonder if I will ever have a full day of sunshine again.

I was on trail around 6:35AM this morning. The trail leading to Pine Grove Furnace State Park was fairly easy. There were a couple of spots that were a tad bit rocky, but those usually did not last long. The rest of the trail was fairly level and smooth terrain.

I rolled into Pine Grove Furnace around 10:30AM. By this point I had already crossed the half-way point, however there was no marker because the half-way point changes every year due to relocations.

In PFG I attempted and completed the "half gallon challenge". It took me around 15 minutes to consume a half gallon of strawberry-chocolate-vanilla ice cream. Of course it was raining and cold when I walked into the general store, so I had to enjoy the ice cream indoors. When I finished the ice cream I received a small spoon that said "member of half gallon club".

Just north of the park I stumbled upon a sign that denotes what was at one time the half way point. While this is no longer the official half-way point, it's a good spot to celebrate. I have now walked 2.5 million of the 5 million steps needed to get me to Maine.

For the rest of the hiking day it was raining. The grade was not all that difficult but the rocks were slick and there was plenty of mud.

I rolled into the shelter at 1:50PM, and my body told me I was done. My body needs some rest, so this "shorter" day will do me some good.

To think I have walked half of the Appalachian Trail. It's hard to believe I'm halfway home. From here on out I have a shorter distance to walk that I've already walked. Katahdin is no longer a distant monolith, but a goal that I become closer and closer to by the day.

Woah. I'm halfway there. Woah. I'm living on a prayer.

I'll make it.

I swear.

I shall now prepare to fight will all of mt heart, all of my soul, and all of my might.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

"Sir, every thinking man in this country will vote for you", says a man to Winston Churchill.

Churchill replies: "That's not enough, I need a majority."

Ga>ME 2008.

I awoke in a state that me feel abandoned and alone. It was as if I was the only human left on the planet. It was silent enough that I could individual leaves hit the ground after breaking ties with their tree. It was as if the world had frozen for me to have this moment.

After saying a final goodbye to Mother Nature and Smokestack, I started northward towards Maine. It was 6:45AM.

I started the day with an 800 foot climb to the top of Chimney Rocks. This summit ridge had no views and plenty of rocks to twist your ankles on. The trail would traverse the ridge, then leave the ridge and skirt the side of the ridge, then it would return to the ridge. It did this several times, it was as if the trail maintainers could not decided whether to traverse the ridge or not, so they did a little bit of both.

The trail then began a tumbling descent towards US route 30. At this road crossing Cookie and I walked .4 mile off the trail to hit an Italian place for pizza. The pizza was quite good and I ended up packing out quite a bit. It shall be my dinner for the next couple of nights.

I also bumped into Lucky here. He's doing a flip flop, he started in Bland, Virginia.

I was back on trail at 12:20PM after a two hour break. The trail proceeds to go through Caledonia State Park. It then marches you up 1,000 feet to a place with no view.

I spent the climb hiking and talking with Lucky. He's a retired Department of Defense technician/engineer from Indiana. His job was to test missiles to ensure all parts were functioning properly. I was naturally interested in his line of work so I picked his brain about it as we walked to the shelter.

Once the bulk of the climbing was over it was fairly easy hiking. I rolled into Birch Run Shelter just before 5:00PM, and this shall be my home for the night.

Tomorrow I will be crossing the half way point. In Pine Grove Furnace State Park, 9.9 miles into my day tomorrow, there is something called the "half gallon challenge". This is where you try to consume a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. Tomorrow it shall be my turn.

Tomorrow I shall continue walking home.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

This morning my body decided to wake up later than normal. Wake up call was 6:21AM as opposed to 5:45-6:00AM. It was actually kind of nice.

I meandered along this morning thinking I was only going 15 miles. I ate breakfast while checking my email. I then began packing my bag and preparing to walk in the rain.

I was on trail around 8:15AM. The trail was wet and rocky, which made things slow going for most of the day.

When I hit Ensign Cowall Shelter, .2 mile into my day, I learned that Cookie had slept there last night. This is when I knew my day was going to be longer than planned. I was not pleased.

I spent today thinking about a lot of different things. You would be amazed at what you think about out here.

I eventually stumbled upon Pen-Mar County Park, which is .2 south of the MD/PA line, which is the historic Mason-Dixon Line. At this park I bumped into Emily once more. She left trail yesterday due to injury. She was killing time at the park waiting for Zack to come along.

I chatted with here for a bit then continued walking north.

It's nice having section hikers around, they come across as actual human beings.

Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line was a victory for me. I'm now where I belong, which is in the north.

I rolled into Deer Lick Shelters around 2:20PM. This is where I once again bumped into Mother Nature and Smokestack. You may recall that they treated me to dinner when I was in Hiawassee, Georgia. They are now out for a section hike from Harper's Ferry to Katahdin. After catching up on things I learned that Cookie decided to push on 3.6 more miles, so northward I marched.

I rolled into the Tumbling Rn Shelters around 3:45PM. Shortly after setting up headquarters Mother Nature and Smokestack rolled in.

I spent most of the evening chatting with them and Cookie.

Tonight there is a large group of Boy Scouts camped out. This group is fairly quiet and the leaders seem to have good control of them.

I shall now prepare to sleep, which will allow me to continue northward tomorrow.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

A random woman stands up in the audience and says to Winston Churchill: "Sir, if you were my husband I'd put poison in your coffee."

Churchill replies: "Mam, if I were your husband, I'd drink it."

Ga>ME 2008.

I had the most difficult time falling asleep last night. It seems my afternoon coffee was keeping me wired up into the night. I was not the only one either two sections hikers by the names of "Breezer" and Emily were wide awake as well. I ended up talking with Emily for a bit. I finally decided to go for a walk to kill off my remaining energy. There was something about this walk that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I ended up finally falling asleep at 10:30PM, and I was still up at 5:45AM. I hit trail at 6:30AM with the realization that I had a long day ahead of me.

The trail today featured rocks, with the event sponsored by more rocks. It was absolutely painful and my ankles are becoming quite agitated because of it.

I have quickly learned that Maryland has little to no views along the trail, and the views that are there are due to open fields created by powerlines.

The Dahlgren Camping area in Maryland has free hot showers for those of you who would want one, I walked on because I knew I would get a shower at the hostel.

Roughly 13 miles into my day I came to the original monument to President George Washington. There are stairs going to the top of the monument where there's a nice view. I deemed myself worthy of a lunch break.

Afterwards I began the final 11 miles push to the hostel.

This was a rocky push, so I was practically brought to a halt in an attempt to navigate the boulder field the trail was going directly through.

I arrived at the hostel around 4:25PM at the end of a long and fatigued day. I immediately settled in, took a shower, and prepared to do some laundry.

I then began the long process of updating my journal. This thing takes a lot of work to update and maintain.

Tomorrow I shall meet Cookie at a shelter north of here.

This hostel is quite nice. The beds are comfortable and the owners are great people.

Well, time to sleep, man do I need it after the lack of sleep I got last night.

Tough life.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Evertime I am in town, I'm determined to sleep in, and every time my body wakes me up at 6:00AM. That's exactly what happened today.

I did not feel the need to rush this morning, considering I had town chores to complete and I was only going to walk 6.4 miles.

After breakfast at the Country Cafe courtesy of Walkabout(AT '03), I went back to the Inn to consolidate my food to be put in my pack.

I then meandered my way to the library to complete some computer chores, but I decided to update my journal at a later time.

It was then time to return to the Inn to pack up and hit trail. My pack weighed approximately 4.4 tons, a tad bit heavier than usual.

After drinking a cup of coffee with Cookie courtesy of the Inn we hit trail.

I was on trail around 1:00PM. The first part of the trail followed the famous C&O Canal Path.

However, this walk in wonderland ended quickly, and the trail proceeded to switchback and forth up 600 feet to the ridge where the Ed Garvey Shelter sits, which is also my home for tonight.

Tomorrow I shall walk 24 miles to the Free State Hiker Hostel, where the Appalachian Pages is putting me up for the night.

I'm tired.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Addendum:
It's currently 8:20PM, and I'm having a hard time sleeping. I'm not really sure why, it's just one of those nights, I'm not really sure why I'm writing this addendum, I just through it might keep me occupied for a bit, which it has. "Mission Accomplished".

I have now walked over 1,000 miles. Harper's Ferry is no longer a distant goal, it was my destination for today. I suppose I can call myself a "mountain man" at this point.

I was on trail at 6:40AM this morning. 1.1 miles into my hike I crossed over the 1,000 miles walked mark, I did a little dance and walked on.

WV has plenty of rocks on display along the trail for your enjoyment.

After rocks, rocks, and some more rocks I crossed the Shenendoah River, which is the gateway to Harper's Ferry.

I took the side trail to the ATC and arrived there around 11:00AM. I had my photo taken and learned I was thru hiker number 68.

After my visit to the ATC I had a conversation with my Dad, after which I checked into the hiker hostel at the Town's Inn.

After spreading out and taking a shower I prepared to take the local bus to Charles Town, WV where I would resupply.

In Charles Town, Cookie and I hit the (gasp) Super Wal-Mart for resupply and the Chinese place for dinner.

We then took the bus back to Harper's Ferry, where I shall sleep tonight.

1,000 miles is a long way to walk. I'm not sure what to think about this landmark. I just know it's a long way to walk.

Tomorrow I shall complete some more town chores and then leave in the afternoon for the first shelter out of town.

I'm tired and sore.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

If I had known what was to come today, I would have said you were joking. It was a day to remember, and not in a good way.

It was raining all night, and it was a pretty heavy rain. It was still raining when I woke up, so I took my time packing up. I was on trail with Cookie at 7:15AM.

The .2 mile shelter trail was a river. Between that and a deep stream crossing my boots and socks were completely soaked. And I had not walked single foot on the AT. This was shaping up to be a great day.

About half a mile into my day there was a sign warning me I was about to enter "the roller coaster". Apparently this section of trail is maintained by "the trail boss and his merry crew of trail maintainers". This section was anything but merry.

What made it difficult was the combination of an over abundance of rocks and rain. Going up and down slippery rocks for 13.5 miles made me one miserable hiker. There were no views either, just you and the trees and the rocks.

Due to all the rain, there were plenty of streams, rivers, and rapids along the trail. There were plenty of times where I had no choice but to walk right though and proceed to soak my boots even more. There was one crossing where the water was up to my knees and I was holding onto a log so the fast moving current would not wash me down stream.

The roller coaster just never seemed to end. It just kept going up and down, up and down.

However, there was one bit of good news today. I crossed into West Virginia. This brought to a close the 535 mile march through Virginia. WV welcomed me with rocks and more rocks. WV only has 17 miles though, so I will be crossing into Maryland very soon.

I rolled into the Blackburn AT center around 3:30PM. There is a hostel here run by donations, and this is where I shall sleep tonight. I was going to try to make it to the next shelter, but I was exhausted when I hit the trail junctions, so I called it a day early.

The hostel is heated my a wood stove, which is good for drying things out. Everything seems to be soaked, but I have hopes that it will dry by morning.

At 6:30PM I walked over to the AT center for dinner, which consisted of burritos, and brownies with whipped cream and ice cream. The AT center caretakers are Tina and Eric, both of whom went SOBO in 2007.

Tomorrow I shall march to Harper's Ferry(HF), and on the way I will cross the 1,000 mile mark. Harper's has a lot of civil war history, so it will be interesting to wander around a bit.

The Appalachian Trail Conservatory(ATC) has their headquarters in HF, I think I shall pay them a visit.

Until then, good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today was just one of those days. I did not feel like hiking today, but that's just part of the game.

I was up and on trail by 6:45AM this morning. The trail today, on an overall level, was fairly easy. There was some uphill, but nothing that required a trip to the emergency room.

I was particularly fond of the stretch from Manassas Gap to Dick's Dome Shelter. In the stretch I had it all. I saw birdwatchers, plant photographers, and a group of Asians out on the trail. Not to be rude, but one of the Asian hikers looked like she has had tons of plastic surgery, I held my composure long enough to not laugh in front of her. This was the highlight of my day.

There were a lot of strange sounds in the forest today. It felt like with every step I took I would hear a different sound, it was really quite odd.

Sky Meadows State Park was an interesting walk. I spent most of it walking through an open field with trees placed randomly about, it was a nice change of pace.

At Ashby Gap I had cell phone reception so I called my Dad to check in.

Tonight I am at Rod Hollow Shelter, and we are almost full. It is raining quite heavily right now, so everyone decided to ride out the chaos here.

It seems I have found myself in a thru-hiker void. Besides Cookie, I have not seen another thru-hker in 3-4 days. There is one other thru-hiker here tonight through. It's nice having section hikers around, they seem like real human beings. Thru-hikers are starting to feel more and more like robots, it's as if the trail has taken away their personality.

Tomorrow I have a couple of big landmarks. First, I will cross into West Virginia, brining the 535 mile march through Virginia to an end. Tomorrow I will also cross the 1,000 mile mark of my journet. It's hard to believe I'll have come 1,000 miles by the end of tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will walk through "the rollercoaster", which is a 13.5 mile stretch with roughly 13 pointless ups and downs. Since the trail corridor through the stretch is so narrow, maintainers have no choice but to route the trail up and over the PUDS. Should be a fun experience.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Town is always good incentive for packing up quickly and hitting trail. I was on trail at 6:45AM this morning.

I rolled into US 522, the road crossing for Front Royal, Virginia, around 7:45AM this morning. After getting a quick hitch into town, Cookie and I hit the local coffee shop to kill tome before the visitor's center was due to open.

At 9:10AM we waddled our way over there to receive some more information about the town and to request permission to leave our packs there while we completed some town chores.

After breakfast at L. Dee's Pancake house, I walked over to the outfitter's so Cookie could make a couple small purchases. Afterwards I picked up my pack from the visitor's center and walked to the Food Lion for resupply.

I did not need that much food, just a few small things that will enable me to get to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.

After a quick hitch, Cookie and I were back on trail by 1:00PM.

The walk from the road to the shelter is pretty easy. There is one uphill, but it's fairly easy to complete.

I am looking forward to Harper's Ferry. For northbounder's, this town represents the symbolic halfway point of the journey to Maine. I am contemplating going to Washington, DC VIA trail from Harper's to visit a friend who will be there. DC might also give me time to truly comprehend how far I've come, and the journey that will lye ahead.

So often on this trip are we consumed with the distant goal of walking 2,000 miles that we forgot how far we've already come, and what we've been through to get there.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

This morning I awoke to the sounds of water dropping off the side of the shelter. The grass was wet and the trees were damp. Rain had made its presence known once again.

I was on trail at 6:35AM this morning after a 5:45AM wake up. The trail from the hut to Elkwallow Gap was fairly typical SNP terrain. I spent the entirety of it walking in a cloud.

At Elkwallow Gap I treated myself to some real food. Before I entered SNP, I determined I would stop once and buy real food, and today was that day.

I spent a vast majority of the day walking with Zack and Cookie. Even though Zack has only been on trail for two weeks, he can already cruise down the trail faster than myself. I think I shall put a bowling ball in his pack when he's not looking.

We determined that we were no longer going to walk the trail today, opting for Skyline Drive instead.

The walk was easy, boring, and wet. There were no views, there was actually nothing interesting at all day long.

I rolled into the "wayside" at 2:50PM, bringing to an end to my hiking day.

Tomorrow I shall walk 2.9 miles and then hitch into Front Royal for resupply and a meal. I will then hitch out of town in the early afternoon and walk to the first shelter.

It's hard to believe I've come this far.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Physically exhausted. Mentally fried. This is my body's current state. And it feels absolutely amazing.

I woke up at 5:45AM and was on trail at 6:15AM. I forgot to mention Hardbound was with me in the shelter last night. However he was meeting Angie(wife) at Big Meadows Lodge so he can return to Roanoke for his nurse's retirement dinner. I said goodbye this morning fully knowing I won't see him again on trail for a while, if at all.

For those of you that were interested, I stayed on trail all day yesterday. That was not the case today.

In fact, I spent a vast majority of the day walking Skyline Drive. The only downside to road walking is that it does hurt the bottom of your feet after a while. Small price to pay for effortless walking.

I rolled into Skyland Lodge around 11:00AM. The lady at the gift shop was very rude, so I left there quickly. I was back walking at 11:30AM. I started out on the actual trail, but quickly hopped back on Skyline Drive for the rest of the day.

At Thorton Gap I rejoined the AT for the 1.2 miles walk to the shelter. At the shelter I caught up with Cookie, who did a short day(15 miles) to let me catch up with him. Also at the shelter are two section hikers from Baltimore, Maryland whose names are Zack and Emily.

Tomorrow I shall aim for 23.6 miles, allowing me to walk to the road crossing for Front Royal the following morning.

Fatigue is starting to set in, I think I shall lay down.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

If you were to be able to look up "easy hiking day" in the dictionary, today's hike would most certainly be listed.

I hit trail at 6:40AM and cruised 14 miles by lunch. The trail was nicely graded, and the ups and downs were not all that difficult.

The climb out of Powell Gap to the top of Hightop did feel like it would never end though, but it eventually did, and I was perfectly content when it was.

I arrived at the South River Picnic Grounds at 11:45AM, perfect timing for lunch.

After lunch I hit cruise control and arrived at the shelter around 3:00PM.

It seems Cookie somehow got ahead of me today, not really sure how. Tomorrow I shall try a 26.8 mile day, which will hopefully allow me to catch him.

26.8 miles would be my longest day thus far, but I am physically and mentally prepared for it, and am actually looking forward to it.

My deer count now stands at seven, I saw one today.

As of today I have walked over 900 miles. That's a very long way. It's hard for me to really comprehend how far that truly is. When your goal is to walk 2,000 miles, 900 miles is less than half way to your destination. This is the part of my hike where I really feel like I am getting somewhere, and I feel like I might actually finish this trail.

It's and odd sensation really.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It was 1:07AM, and I awoke quite suddenly to the crunch of leaves outside of my tent. My body suddenly froze, wondering what could possibly be out there. After calming myself down a bit, I poked my head outside of my tent to discover a deer eating some leaves and sniffing around my camp spot. I relieved the tension in my body and slept until 5:50AM, when I awoke to start my day.

The trail from the campsite to Blackrock Gap, for the most part, was very nice. There were very few rocks or roots, and the elevation gains rarely took more than ten minutes to complete.

At Blackrock Gap Cookie and I decided to be rebels and walk Skyline Drive for a change of pace. Skyline Drive used to be the route the AT took, but with the creation of SNP came Skyline Drive, and the AT was forced to move. There have been numerous parts thus far where the AT parallels the road about 150-200 feet in the woods.

Skyline Drive provided a nice change of pace. All ups and downs were gradual, and there were plenty of nice views. SNP was essentially designed so that you would not have to leave your car to take in a nice view.

At Doyles River overlook Cookie ad I rejoined the AT. Our plan was to use a connecting trail to get to Loft Mountain Campground, where we would use the campground road to reconnect to SKyline Drive. At this reconnection point there is a wayside where you can buy cooked food. This is exactly what we did.

We arrived at the wayside around 12:00PM. I used extra change I've been carrying for a while to buy a bottle of root beer. I enjoyed my bagel and peanut butter with this root beer, and Cookie shared his chips with me. It seems that Cookie found ten dollars today while walking Skyline Drive, so he treated himself and me to SNP's famous blackberry shakes. It hit the spot and it was quite good.

In order to return to the trail, I had to walk Skyline Drive 1.5 miles to the next AT junction. Along the way I met two people from the Berkshire region of Massachusetts. I chatted with them for a bit then continued north.

There must have been some sort of Maine convention happening today because I saw four cars on Skyline Drive with Maine plates.

At the junction it was 1.6 miles, easy miles, to my home for the night.

I rolled into the shelter at 2:45PM, and I was perfectly content with stopping.

I have no need to make this trip end as rapidly as possible. This trip is my summer, so I will drag it out as long as possible once I am in northern New England.

I suppose I shall eat dinner now, as it is that time of the day once more.

Tomorrow I shall walk north once again.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

PS: I have seen three deer in camp thus far tonight. That brings my total for SNP up to six deer.

Ga>ME 2008.

One of the nice things about sleeping in a full size bed is the ability to sprawl out and know that you don't have to worry about hitting another hiker in the process.

This morning I was able to sleep in, waking up at 7:00AM instead of the usual 6:00AM. After taking a shower I began the process of packing up.

One that was done I meandered downstairs to the livingroom and began reading a piece of "Awol On The Appalachian Trail", by David Miller(Awol-AT '03). During this I was called into the dining room for breakfast.

Breakfast consisted of two cups of coffee, strawberries, yogurt, a bowl of Cheerios, three waffles and two pieces of bacon. It was a delicious breakfast and I left the breakfast table at a perfect fullness level.

It was then time to march to the post office. This is where I picked up the maps I need to get me to Harper's Ferry, and I also picked up tent stakes I ordered online from Six Moons Design.

Here's the funny thing about the tent stakes. In Roanoke I ordered six 9-inch stakes. When I checked the box at the Post Office, I discovered they sent me six inch stakes, not nine. I called them and left a message. Tomorrow I shall try to call them again.

After checking out of the Tree Streets Inn, I walked to the library where I completed some computer chores and did a little reading. I could have received a free ride back to the trail from Bill at the Inn, but I wanted to lounge around a bit before hitting trail. Cookie was getting a ride at 11:30AM from a trail angel in town, so I joined on that ride instead.

We received a ride from a man named Leonard. On the way back to the trail we stopped and grabbed some coffee at a local coffee shop.

short day out of town.

About one mile into out hike we stopped at a kiosk and picked up our required permits for Shenendoah National Park(SNP), seven miles north of this kiosk is the official southern boundry for SNP.

All the way since Georgia I have been hearing about the great terrain in SNP, it was now my turn to form an opinion, and I have 101 miles in the park to do so.

The terrain today was fairly nice. There was a short climb out of McCormick Gap, but it did not last long, and I really should not complain today at all.

Cookie and I reached the shelter junction around 2:15PM, after a little talking we determined we would pick up water about a mile north and then find a nice spot to camp after about another hour of hiking.

We found our home for tonight around 5:00PM, a perfect time to end the hiking day.

As I was starting to brush my teeth, I noticed two deer were meandering their way towards our camp. I pointed the deer out to Cookie and we stood and watched them for quite a while. I took a couple of photos and then lyed down in my sleeping bag.

The two deer are still wandering around as I write this. I hope to see a bear while in SNP, but I hope to see it from a safe distance. I am perfectly content with not having any up close and personal experiences with a bear while on this trip.

Well, I think I shall read and sleep, but not at the exact same time.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I have come to the realization that it's not that I sleep poorly on the trail, it's that I sleep poorly in shelters. I slept amazingly well in my tent last night.

I was packed up and on my way to Weazie's for breakfast by 6:45AM. I stopped by Kroger's to purchase a Washington Post on my way there.

Weazie's has good food, but it's over priced in my opinion. I spent way too much money on breakfast this morning, it should have been a lot less for what I got. Lesson learned.

Since I had sometime to kill before my 12:00PM check in at the Tree Streets Inn, I decided to take care of resupply before I checked in.

After eating some ice cream and relaxing some more, I meandered my way up to my home for the night.

My room here at the Tree Streets Inn is pure amazing. I am located on the top floor of a gorgous 100 year old three story house. I have my own bathroom facilities, and there's plenty of room for me to spread out. The Inn offers plenty of snacks and coffee to keep any guest satisfied.

After setting up headquarters and completing my food consolidation task I met Cookie at the Y and we walked to Rockfish Gap Outfitter's, which is roughly one mile out of town.

Once Cookie completed what he needed to there, we walked back towards town where we ate dinner at "Mi Rancho", a local Mexican restaraunt. The food there was good bang for the buck. A taco sald and a taco did the trick for me.

It was then time to return to the Inn tp update my journal and prepare to hike out tomorrow.

I owe a huge thank you to the Appalachian Pages for putting me up here. This place is absolutely amazing.

I think I shall watch Sunday Night Baseball. The Red Sox(the greatest team in MLB history) are not playing, but it's better than no baseball at all.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today was a day where I really had no idea where I was going to end up at the end.

My orginal intention was to stay at the shelter five miles out of town, allowinf me to walk in tomorrow morning. So much for that plan.

The walk today, in comparison to the last two days, was fairly easy. There was the unsual assemblance or rocks and more rocks, but it smoothed out significantly after the cut off to the Humpback Rocks.

I arrived at the shelter around 12:00PM. After lunch I determined it was too early to stop, and Cookie was dead set on making it to Waynesboro, VA, so off we went.

We arrived at US 250 at 2:10PM and proceeded to hitch into Waynesboro.

In town we got some tenting spots at the YMCA tenting sites. After showers at the Y we walked up to Kroger(grocery store for you northerners), where I proceeded to buy a half gallon of ice cream and eat 3/4 of it in one sitting. I did, however, fail in my attempt to eat the whole thing in one sitting.

After a little lounging around, I went to the chinese restaraunt for the all you can eat dinner buffet.

Tonight I am tenting in town. Tomorrow morning I shall move over to the Tree Streets Inn, where I am staying courtesy of the Appalachian Pages.

My morale is a whole lot higher now. Towns are good at revitalizing one's spirit.

I shall zero tomorrow, much needed in my humble opinion. I need to hit the Post Office Monday morning. I shall hike out early Monday afternoon.

Time to read and relax.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

PS: I took a nasty fall today, hard enough to draw blood. There was a nice view though, so as I screamed in pain I had a nice view of the Virginia valley.

Ga>ME 2008.

I no longer try to assume whether a day will be easier or harder in comparison to the previous day, I always seems to be wrong.

The trail today was once again very rocky, which drove me insane. Virginia has been a very rocky state thus far.

Once I hit the top of the Priest, it was a sharp descent to the Tye River. My toes were jamming quite a bit into the front of my boots.

After lunch at the Tye River, I began the death march to the top of the Three Ridges. This climb was long, steep, and hard. Plenty of rocks and 80 degree heat made me a very miserable hiker.

After that it was "smooth sailing" to the shelter.

Physically, I am perfectly content with how my body is performing. Mentally, I am exausted. Virginia has been a very tough state, and I have been feeling the effects of it lately. I have not been enjoying the hiking lately, which is very unfortunate.

Tomorrow is a new day. I think I will walk 16 miles, giving my body a little break. That will put me five miles south of the road crossing for Waynesboro, giving me a short day Sunday.

Time for dinner number two.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

May 1st, 2008. I have now been on trail for two full months, with today representing the start of my third. What a miserable way to start May.

The walk from the Creek to US route 60 was not all that bad. I walked along a stream for most of the walk, concluding with a gentle uphill leading to the road.

At US route 60 I bumped into the General. He flipped up to Front Royal from Damascus the same time I was there, he's hiking south into Trail Days. I stopped and chatted with him for a while, it was nice to see him again.

The climb from the road to the top of Bald Knob was the worst climb in a very long time. There were numerous false summits, and it just felt like the climb would never end.

The trail the dips down to Cow Camp Gap, and immediately went up to the top of Cold Mountain. The climb took me by surprise, so it was mentally grinding.

The summit ridge of Cold Mountain has a long and open field with plenty of nice views. This is where I decided to eat lunch. While eating lunch I met a trail maintainer from Maine(forgot his name). His section of trail(Elephant Mountain) is overseen by a man I did trail work with last summer(Tom G.).

There was absolutely nothing good about the rest of the day. There were no views, but plenty of rocks though.

Tonight I am sharing a shelter with Cookie and two section hikers.

Tomorrow I shall attempt to march over and down the Priest, and go straight back up to the top of the Three Ridges.

Dinner time.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

After waking up this morning, I did a food inventory to see how much food I need to buy in Glasgow, VA to get me to Waynesboro, VA. It turned out I almost had enough food on hand to get me there. I only needed a jar of peanut butter and one dinner. I packed way too much food out of Roanoke.

I arrived at the outer banks of the James River and US route 501 at 7:45AM. Cookie and I hitched a ride into Glasgow with Hummer and Henry. Henry is slackpacking Hummer for about 150 miles on this section hike.

When we arrived in Glasgow, Henry and Hummer offered to treat Cookie and I to breakfast, which we gladly accepted. We ate at the only restaraunt(sp?) in Glasgow, which is Howard's. The food there was quite good.

H and H then offered to slackpack us 11 miles, which was quite nice. Cookie and I quickly resupplied, after which we were dropped off at US route 501 to start our slackpack.

I spent the entire day hiking with Hummer. We talked about the many random things that come up while you hike, which today included a conversation about how the bloated and pointless United Nations came to be.

The climb out of the James River Valley up to the ridge was not all that hard. There were plenty of switchbacks, and the ridge offered plenty of nice views.

Towards the end of the ridge the trail takes you up and over Bluff Mountain, which takes you by surprise because it really comes out of nowhere. On the summit there were the remnants of some sort of tower, and there was a view of the valley below.

We arrived at BRP mile 51.7 around 2:15PM, which is where we collected our packs and said out thanks and goodbyes to H and H. I do owe them a thanks for everything they did for me today, it helped out tremendously.

Tonight I am stealth camping along the Little Irsh Creek with Cookie. We found a nice campsite here, which is key to stealth camping.

Hardbound is ahead of us now. He decided he would go into Buena Vista tomorrow for resupply instead of Glasgow today. I'm not sure when I'll see him again, but I don't think it will be for a while/

Tomorrow I will aim for around 21 miles. It's now looking like I'll be in Waynesboro early Sunday instead of Monday. Shenendoah National Park is now on my mind.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

When I woke up this morning, there was a bitter chill in the air. I there for determined I would be eating breakfast in my sleeping bag.

I hit trail at 6:45AM this morning with the realization that I had a lot of climbing, ten miles worth to be specific. The nice thing was that it was all in the morning, when I tend to have all my energy due to breakfast.

The nine mile climb to the summit of Apple Orchard Mountain was quite easy, it was just long. There was only one view during the climb, and that was on the summit due to an open field created by a tower owned and operated by the military of the United States of America.

I then passed under the famous "Guillotine", which is a large rock that's wedged between two rock faces, it hangs about ten feet directly above the trail. I'm convinced that rock will fall one day.

After lunch at Thunder Hill Shelter, I began my tumbling descent towards the James River.

Thunder Ridge overlook was nice, but that was the only good ciew on the descent besides the one I had on Apple Orchard Mountain.

My home for tonight it Matt's Creek Shelter. Tomorrow I will either go into Glasgow for resupply or push onto Brown Mountain Creek Shelter and resupply Thursday in Buena Vista.

I shall now cook and eat dinner, which is a fairly fancy way of saying I shall boil water and add pasta.

Then I shall read.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It seems that it always rains when ever you don't want it, and never rains when you do. I did not feel like walking in the rain otday, and it poured for the vast majority of it. Today it was my turn to walk through el rio de Appalachia.

Today I started the criss cross of the Blue Ridge Parkway(BRP). I will cross this raod many times between now and the northern terminus of Shenendoah National Park. I spent the first ten miles of today either crossing the BRP or being within 100 yards of the road on either side of it.

Of course I could only see ten feet in front of me at any given time due to the cloud I was in, so my sense of distance may have been a tad bit off.

Besides the rain, today was a fairly easy day. There were very few rocks, and the trail spent most of the day weaving around various mountains.

There were no views along the BRP today, although the cloud I was walking in looked awefully nice for about three seconds.

After lunch and a drying out period I began my march to Bryant Ridge Shelter.

My descent into Jennings Creek represented the lowest elevation point of the trail thus far at a mere 951 feet above sea level.

The climb up to Fork Mountain was not noteworthy. I merely mentioned it because it was the final climb before the descent to the shelter.

Brant Ridge Shelter is quite large, its capacity is listed as 20 people, but you could easily fit 30 if you needed to.

I am hoping it dries out a bit tomorrow, some sunshine would be nice. 2008 may very well go down as another rainy year on the Appalachian Trail.

Tomorrow I shall aim for a 22.7 mile day, which would give me a short day in and out of town Wednesday.

I think I shall continue reading "Atlast Shrugged", and then sleep for the night.

Why am I out here? Why would I ever want to walk 2,000 miles through the mountains? Why do I insist on walking on when everything starts looking the same?

Who is John Galt?

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

was leaving the comforts of Roanoke for the unforgiving hills of Appalachia.

After eating breakfast and taking a shower, I packed up my pack and prepared for (gasp) church, southern style.

Church was an interesting experience, I did not agree with a single thing that was preached, but it was a fascinating experience.

After church we returned to Hardbound's house, where Angie already had lunch cooked and sitting on the table. Thank you Angie!

It was finally time to return to Daleville to continue my journey northward. Leaving town is never easy, but it must be done.

I owe a HUGE thank you to Hardbound and Angie for everything they did for me during my stay at their house. The spoiled Cookie and me, and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Today's walk did not have anything noteworthy. There were ups and downs, twists and turns, rocks and roots. I spent the entire tiime listening to music, which gave my brain something to do.

Tonight I am at Wilson Creek Shelter. As of today I have walked just over 1/3 of the trail(mile point 725), and it feels pretty darn good.

When I started this trip, 11 miles was a full day. Now, I can leave at noon from a road and be at my destination for the night by 4:00PM. 20 mile days are the norm, and anything less than 13-15 is a short day. My legs are as strong as they have ever been, and I am in the best shape of my life.

That's what this trail does to you, it breaks you down and builds you back up stronger, both physically and mentally.

Well, I think I shall read. I am about to start "Atlast Shrugged" by Ayn Rand.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I am thoroughly enjoing my second zero mile day in three days. Since Hardbound and has family have been absolutely wonderfulm I felt it would be rude to leave Hardbound behind.

Since I completed my town chores two days agom I spent a lot of time lounging around.

Today was the day that Hardbound completed his town chores, and I went along for the ride.

Over the course of the day we went to a outdoor store, food store, and had lunch at Panera Bread, courtesy of Cookie. I had a chicked Caesar salad, which I absolutely love.

Back at Hardbound's house I added some photos from McAfee's Knob and relaxed some more.

At 4:40PM we left for la casa de Hardbound's parents, where we were treated to din ner, which was absolutely wonderful. We are currently talking about the many different things that come up during a post-dinner discussion over coffee.

Tomorrow I will join Hardbound and his family for church(Southern First Baptist). I have not been to this type of formal church in almost ten years. It should be interesting because I am not religious, I don't agree with the views of the First Baptist Church, and I am a somewhat liberal person.

Well, I think I shall rejoin the dinner conversation, I have 11 miles after church to walk for those who are interested.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Slackpacking combines the fine art of doing nothing while making progress on the trail at the exact same time. Today represents the longest slackpack thus far, and it felt damn good.

Angie Anderson dropped us off at Virginia route 311 at 7:40AM, and we startes walking at 7:45AM.

After 3.7 miles of walking through the woods we came to the famous McAfee's Knob, which is a mandatory stop on the trail. I had the famous photo taken of me sitting on the edge of the rock.

The trail then follows a ridge that leads to Tinker's Cliff, another mandatory stop on the trail. After some photos and lounging around we continued our journey northward.

We stopped for lunch at Lambert's Meadow Shelter. This is where birds were chirping loudly and where a deer was spotted.

The rest of the day wass uneventful. There were plenty of rocks, but we spent most of the rest of the day walking a ridge that seemingly never ended.

The trail cuts off the ridge on the final approach to US 220 and Daleville, Virginia.

When I arrived at US 220, I went to the outfitters to see if they had tent stakes that I needed, which they did not. I then marched to the Post Office where I picked up my package with my new phone my dad sent to me.

I then marched back to the plaza with the outfitters where I stopped by a coffee shop and picked up a New York Times at the grocery store to catch up on the world events.

Angie picked us up at 4:15PM and took us back to headquarters where I showered and ate a homemade dinner courtesy of Angie, it was delicious.

I am currently in the midsts of Hardbound's "open house" where his family and friends can come by and examine him and chat about the trip and otherr things that pop up.

It seems to be winding down now, but it has been enjoyable.

I'm not sure where I'm hiking out, that's to be determined later.

Today was all about rest and relaxation, both of which I got plenty of. Doing absolutely nothing is a skill I have now mastered.

I started out the morning by having homemade Begium Waffles, courtesy of Hardbound. They were absolutely delicious, especially so with strawberries and whipped cream. It was a supurb way to start out my morning.

I then finished the tedious process of updating my journal, which eventually included adding some photos, all of which were courtesy of Hardbound(Ken Anderson).

Afterwards I showered, did a little reading, and then prepared to resupply at (gasp) Wal Mart.

Resupply is fairly easy these days, in fact, it's almost a habit. I tent to buy the same things until I am sick of them, which is when I change it up a bit.

I also got my haircut today, I was very excited about this. The days are becoming warmer, which means more sweat building up in the hair. It's just a lot more practical to have short hair out here.

It was then time to return to Hardbound's house to relax some more and consolidate my food. Consolidating food is a tedious process that tends to take a bit of time.

After a bit more lounging and watching Hardbound set up his new tarp tent, it was time to head to the Homeplace restaurant for dinner.

The all you can eat at the Homeplace is pretty darn good, and the place is hiker friendly even though they get so much other traffic. I sugguest eating here if you are ever in the neighborhood.

I then played a little frisbee with some other hikers, my first time since leaving for the trail. I look forward to playing more often when this adventure is over.

Tomorrow I shal slackpack 20 miles, which includes McAfee's Knob and Tinker's Cliff.

Attention those of you who have my cell phone number(ending in 3265). As of mid-night tonight, my phone will be disconnected. Please email me at kirbyinanutshell232@yahoo.com so I can tell you my new cell phone number. I will personally contact as many people as I can VIA email and other forms of communication.

Well, it's time for sleep, lots of walking to be done tomorrow.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

When a hiker knows that town is waiting for them at the end of the day, one tends to move faster. Today was the exception to the rule.

I was extremely sluggish all day today. My feet were sore and my brain was out of touch with reality.

The climb up to Dragon's Tooth was long and rocky. There were plenty of nice views though. It reminded me of why I am out here, it renewed my hiking spirits on some level.

The rest of the day was, well, I'm not quite sure, I was zoning out a bit more than normal. I do rememver walking along a nice stream, and I do remember going up and down quite a bit.

I rolled into Virginia route 311 at 12:30PM, fairly good timing considering I was quite sluggish today. This is where Cookie hitched us a ride into Roanoke, Virginia, where we met Hardbound's wife at Glen Cove Elementary School.

Angie then drove the three dirty hikers(Cookie, Hardbound, and me) to their house. I proceeded to take a shower, eat lunch courtesy of Hardbound and his family, and prepare laundry to be cleaned.

After lunch I checked my email and began the long and tedious process of updating my journal.

Between that and some random conversations, it was time for dinner. Angie, behind my back, paid for my meal, thanks Angie.

Before that, I now realize we paid a visit to the star that sits on top of a hill overlooking Roanoke. There was in incredible view from up there, and the best part is that there was no walking required.

Meanwhile back at the house. After dinner I continued the tedious process of updating my journal. I determined I would finish the rest during my zero tomorrow.

I am very tired right now. I have a funny feeling I will sleep well tonight considering I am sleeping in an actual bed, which makes a huge difference for me.

Time to find out what tomorrow brings.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today was not fun. Today was not scenic. Today was an absolutely miserable day.

The walk from the shelter to Sinking Creek was pretty nice. The trail weaved though pasteurlands where I saw cows and my first sighting of Donkeys.

Just passed Virginia route 630, I passed by Keffer Oak, the largest Oak on the soutern AT. The tree was last measured at 18 feet, three inches. That is one large tree.

The climb up Sinking Creek Mountain was fairly easy. What made it a tad bit more difficult was the abundant amount of slick rocks. It did not become easier once I was on the ridge either. There were plenty of exposed rocks to go around, and they were all nice and slick. I took two nasty falls today, and had many other close calls. I had no views due to the fact that I was walking in a could for the vast majority of my day. Can you tell I am having fun yet?

I did, however, have a nice lunch at Niday Shelter. It's nice to take an extended break in the middle of the day.

The climb up to Audie Murphy's Monument was long and annoying. However, I do feel that the most decorated veteran of World War II is worthy of a monument.

The final miles of the day never seemed to end. My feet were prunifying, and my brain was completely fried.

Tomorrow I shall go to Roanoke, Virginia, where I shall be a uest in the house of Hardbound and his family. I am looking forward to being in a city once more.

Time for dinner.

It seems that when ever I tent, no matter what the weather forcast is, it always rains. Last night was no exception.

I was restless this morning. I woke up at 4:45AM and decided to continue reading "Winterdance" by Gary Paulson. At 5:30AM I decided I was just going to start getting ready for the day earlier than usual.

By the time I finished packing up and cursing mother nature, it was time to hit trail. It was 6:37AM, and I was wet and miserable.

The walk from the shelter to Stony Creek was wet and rocky, the theme for the day. When I got to Stony Creek, the bridge was out. I knew this ahead of time, but being the hardcore Mainer that I am, I decided not to use the detour and instead for the creek.

The creek was 15-20 feet wide, and roughly one foot deep. I had a couple of near misses, but I made it across in one piece without falling in and continued my journey northward.

The climb up to "Wind Rock" was indeed rocky. All these rocks were quite slippery as well, making for a trecherous ascent as well as descent.

I then meandered my way to War Spur Shelter, where I took my lunch break. I felt like I could take a nap, but I forced myself to stay awake.

Just before the final approach to the top of Kelly's Knon, at Virginia route 630, I came across trail magic. A man by the name of Super Dave left a cooler with Cola and Orange Soda. It significantly raised my low morale. Thank you Super Dave!

I spent the vast majority of my day listening to music. I am quite confident I would have lost my mind if I did not have music today. At 4:00PM I turned to NPR and listened to "All Things Considered" to catch up on the news of the day.

My home for tonight is Laurel Creek Shelter. As of today I have walked 200 miles in Virginia. I do believe a physco analysis needs to be done of anyone who has declared Virginia "easy" or "flat", it is neither thus far.

I think I shall eat dinner and continue to read my book.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I looked out my motel window this morning to discover that it was raining. I turned on the weather channel to determine when it might clear up.

I decided I wanted a cup of coffee, so Cookie and I got a shuttle from the Rendevous Motel to the Courthouse Cafe. This is where I had a cup of coffee and used the internet service.

At 9:30AM I walked back to the Motel and did final preparations to hit trail.

It was starting to clear up when I hit trail at 10:15AM, a pretty late start for me. As usual it was uphil leaving town, but the climb was not all that difficult in the grand scheme of things.

Once I was on the ridge, it was smooth sailing for the rest of the day. Rice Field Shelter is located in the woods adjacent to an open field with a supurb view of the Virginia and West Virginia countryside, it was absolutely amazing.

There were once again plenty of rocks though. The upper arch of both my feet started to feel sore after a while due to these rocks.

The climb to the top of Peters Mountain was straight up for the first part, eventually connecting to a ridge and "leveling" out a bit.

My home for tonight is Swamp Branch Shelter. Actually, I am tenting due to the fact that the shelter seems to be missing its roof.

I have been thinking a lot lately about why I am out here, Evertime I am in a town, someone always asks me "What made you want to do that?", and I never have an answer for it. I am going to think about it a lot over the coming days.

By the way, if you were on my email list, please send me an email so that I may re-add you to the list. Being the computer savy kid that I am, I managed to delete all the email addresses from the group I created.

Well, I think I shall hang my bear bag, read a book, and then sleep.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

This morning, I had one thought on my mind: Pearisburg, Virginia. I was not thinkig about the 82 miles that stood between me and that town.

I set another record this morning: I was on trail at 6:45AM. I needed to be in town before 12:00PM, when the Post Office was due to close.

The climb to the top of Angel's Rest was fairly easy. From the top I could see the never ending pasteurlands of Virginia. I could also see Pearisburg.

I arrived at the Rendevous Motel at 9:25AM. I was then lead to my room, where I showered and prepared things to walk into town.

Cookie and I then marched into town. In town I ate lunch, did laundry, and resupplied.

For resupply, a local by the name of Bobby Leece offered to drive us to the(gasp) Super Wal-Mart, where we proceeded to resupply while waiting for laundry. Bobby then drove us around town, showing us the sights. I forgot to mention Bobby is 79. I would like to thank Bobby for everything he did for us, it was a great help.

By the way, I easily made it to the Post Office before the closing bell was rung. This is wherqe I picked up new maps, and sent back the old ones. I also sent my heavy weight layers and two disposable cameras home.

Packing up a backpack after resupply is never easy. The name of the game is consolidation, and it takes a while to complete. Future thru hikers: The trash bins in the motel/hotel rooms are never large enough for everything you need to toss out, and the hiker friendly ones know this. Please be kind and leave all your trash in the plastic bags your food came in from the store and stack it neatly near the actualy trash bin, the motel management will be greatful for this.

Afterwards I got a ride from Brenda at the Rendevous to the Courthouse Cafe. This coffee represents the best coffee on the trail thus far. The owner, Pat, is a really nice guy and an extremely friendly man to hikers. We talked for a while and I quickly checked my email whie drinking French Vanilla coffee.

Afterwards I had dinner and then went back to the motel room, where I shall sleep like an angel toight.

I have no idea how far I shall go tomorrow, depends on how I feel and what the weather is doing.

Time to sleep. It's currently 10:30PM.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

"T'was the 18th of April in '75. Hardly a man is now alive who remembers that day and year." --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

233 years ago today, Paul Revere rode his horse through what are now the streets of greater Boston to warn his fellow revolutionaries that the British were coming.

However, I did not have the blessing of riding a horse today. I had to once again walk today, which is why I was on trail at 6:48AM, a new record.

The walk to Virginia route 6606 was a rocky one, but it was a fairly level one, except for one 700 foot climb.

At Virginia route 606 I walked .4 off the trail to Trent's Grocery, where I proceeded to purchase a cheeseburger, fries, Dorito's, and a 32 ounce bottle of Powerade. I earmarked thse items as my lunch items for the day.

The walk from Virginia route 606 to Wapiti Shelter was wonderful due to the fact that it was practically falt the entire way. I crosssed several streams along the way.

Wapiti Shjelter was my lunch break. I felt I earned it considering I walked 14.2 miles in five hours.

My Appalachian Pages claims it is 8.4 miles from Wapiti Shelter to Doc's Knob Shelter. It felt like at least 15. There were plenty of ups and downs, rocks and roots. My body started to go on strike, so I ate some power bars to break through the picket line.

At the top of the random bump you climb coming out of Wapiti Shelter I made some phone calls. I called Awol to confirm my reservation at the Rendevous Motel, then I called my dad and learned that I will soon be a T-Mobile customer, goodbye Sprint! I will now have unlimited text messaging, free roaming, and no long distance charges.

When I arrived at Doc's Knob Shelter, my home for tonight, I borrowed Cookie's AT Data Book to confirm it was actually 8.4 miles from Wapiti to here, which it is. These were some very long miles, and I am quite pleased they are behind me.

Tomorrow I shall walk eight miles into Pearisburg, Virginia, where I shall stay at the Rendevous Motel courtest of the author's of the Appalachian Pages(David Miller and Rick Towle). They offered to cover my town stay from time to time, and in exchange I will continue my voluntary field edit of the Appalachian Pages. I also promised them I would keep my journal up to date.

Time to read.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

31, 56, 42, hut, hut, hike! These numbers, which sound like a football play, represent the change in temperature I experienced in my first hour and 45 minutes of hiking today.

As you might imagine, it was cold this morning. That made things a tad bit more difficult to do.

I was once again on trail at 7:00AM, knowing it was going to be a long and hard day. I like to cover as many miles as I can before the noon day sun kicks in, which is when my body becomes sluggish and fatigued.

At Virginia route 615, five miles into my hike, I stumbled upon trail magic. Unfortunately, some hikers before me had raided it, leaving me a cooler full of ice. It was a serious blow to my morale.

I spent most of today walking along a ridge. There was nothiong special about this ridge, very few views.

After the trail crosses I-77, it is poorly marked. It took Cookie and I a solid ten minutes to determine which way we were supposed to go. Someone, specifically the person responsbile for that section of trail, needs to go through there and re-blaze that section of trail.

The trail then hopped back on the rdige, where it remained for the rest of the day.

This was a very dry section of trail. I ran out of water seven miles south of the shelter. This made me a very miserable person for the remainder of the day. Cookie offered me ten ounces of water about two miles south of the shelter, which made a huge difference for me.

Once again Sprint has proven why it is the worst cell phone company created by man. Under normal circumstances, I can talk to my dad without being charged minutes because we are both on the Sprint network. Apparently, though, this only applies when I am in my "home network". When I leave this network, the free network to network calls don't apply anymore. It seems I will be switching providers within the next week, gosh darn shame.

Tonight I shall have two dinners. I am feeling lazy right now. Actually, I am exausted.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

This morning was fairly typical. I woke up at 6:15AM, and was on trail at 7:00AM. I knew I had a tough climb coming, so I wanted to take it on early, and not during the noon day sun.

The first 4.5 miles to United States Forest Service road 222 were fairly easy. Therre was one climb that took me by surprise, but everything else was simple.

The climb up Chestnut Knob was quite hard. It was fairly steep at times, and there were plenty of rocks to go around. I was moving at a fairly good clip today, so I finished the 4.5 mile death march before 11:00AM.

I spent the rest of the day walking a never ending ridge. There were many little ups and downs, but nothing too terrifying.

There were plenty of delightful views. I was always looking down into "God's Thumbprint", which is a flat valley surrounded almost entirely by ridges of Appalachia.

My home tonight is Jenkins Shelter after a respectable day. Tomorrow I shall march 24 miles.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I woke up this morning knowing that I did not have to hurry along and hit trail. I knew I had a short day ahead, so I took my time and enjoyed my breakfast. My orange juice tasted especially good since I was lying in my sleeping bag while drinking it.

Cookie and I were on trail around 8:10AM. There was snow on the ground and in the trees. I started out in two layers, but eventually went to one, not including the rain jacket I was wearing. When you live in Maine, you can become sick of snow quite rapidly. I was not pleased that it was the middle of April and I was walking through an inch of snow.

The climb out of Crawfish Valley to the top of Big Walker Mountainm was a nuiscance. There was no view, and I was immediately sent down the other side. It was completely pointless.

However, I did walk through a lot of pasteurlands, which was a nice change of pace and scenery. The farmers were out tending to their duties, and I continued my walk to Maine.

The trail then proceeded to cross three roads, while all three guidebooks and the Data Book only listed two. It made it quite difficult to figure out where I was.

The climb from the road I assumed to be Virginia route 42 was long, hard, and completely pointless. Once again there were no views, there was a little snow though.

Today I also crossed the 1/4th of the trail complete mark, which I deemed to be at mile point 543(2174/4), I celebrated by hiking 7.3 more miles to Knot Maul Branch Shelter, my headquarters for tonight.

Hardbound did catch up today, just like it was planned. Tomorrow we shall walk 19.1 miles.

I was feeling sluggish all day today, I was perfectly content with stopping after 11.2 miles, a fairly short day at this point.

I am feeling fatigued, I think I shall take a nap, which will hopefully lead o dinner.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I woke up at 6:15AM, restless, so I decided to start preparing for the day ahead. The temperature was 33.4 degrees F, in mid-April. It made for a lovely morning.

I had two oatmeal-to-go bars and an eight ounce carton of orange juice for breakfast. I purchased a six pack of eight ounce cartons of orange juice, and it is worth every ounce.

Hardbound and I were on trail at 7:00AM, our earliest start yet.

The frost and snow made for a nice change of scenery. I easily built up a sweat going up and down the mountains of southwest Virginia. The downside is that the sweat started to freeze, giving me the chills. It was a version of Catch-22.

As I dscended into the lower elevations towards US route 11/I-83, the snow dissapeared. The grass was green, and cows were being lazy in a nearby field.

At the road crossing, I had a cheeseburger, fries, and coffee for lunch.

This is where Hardbound and I went out seperate ways. He was meeting his parents for the night, and I was hiking 2.7 more miles. Tomorrow I shall do a short ten mile day to let him catch up.

I hiked the last 2.7miles to the shelter with Cookie. We talked about many random things.

We arrived at the shelter at 12:47PM, and discovered the was source was .5 south on the AT.

I grabbed my water containers, and then we were off. There really is no spring .5 south. We ended up walking down a deer path, which lead to a stream. What lead the local trail club to build a shelter with no water nearby baffles me.

Mother nature then decided there needed to be snow on the ground. It snowed about one inch. Down here, this was a blizzard. For me, it's just a nuiscance.

I am now preparing to make hot chocolate and curl up in my sleeping bag to keep warm.

Tomorrow I shall walk 10 miles, which will allow Hardbound to catch up.

And did you know that there are stars in the southern skies? Yeah, apparently southward as you go.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It was 6:30AM, and I was already up and moving. I needed to be at Virgnia route 672 by 8:30AM, where I was due to meet my slackpack ride.

I crossed a gravel road around 7:50AM, and did not thing it was a Virginia State Highway. I pushed onto the next road crossing, that was where Cookie told me that the last road crossing was indeed Virginia route 672, and the current road crossing was Virginia route 670. Cookie then ran back the 1.2 miles to Virginia route 672 to meet Kinnicinic. She then drove Cookie back to 670, where we formally met. I then ditched my pack and began my walk to Partnership Shelter and Virginia route route 16.

we left 670 at 9:00AM, and arrived at Virginia route 16 at 11:04AM. Kinicinic picked us up at 11:30AM and brought us to Marion, Virginia.

In Marion Kinicinic treated me to lunch, which was delightful.

After lunch she brought us(Cookie, Hardbound, and me) to her gym. At the gym I took three showers and used the swimming pool. Cookie challenged me to a 25 yard race, which I accepeted and won.

After that she took us to Food City, where I purchased enough food to get me to Pearisburg, Virginia, where I shall be Saturday morning.

After a stop at Wendy's for a milkshake, we were dropped off at Virginia route 16, .1 north of Partnership Shelter.

I owe Kinicinic a huge thanks for everything she did for us today. It made my morale much better than it has been of late.

The shelter tonight is full. Tomorrow I shall walk north.

I hate crowds, it makes my morale low. I prefer a small group of people, with the bulk of the crowd either behind me or ahead of me.

I am cold and tired.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It was 1:45AM, and I was awoken by a sudden crash. It turns out my trekking poles were thrashed to the ground by a strong gust of wind. It then began to rain quite heavily. It made for an interesting night.

Wake up call was 6:45AM, and I was on trail at 7:35AM preparing for my 20 mile march.

The climb up Stone Mountain was fairly easy. There were plenty og rocks and roots to navigate through.

Between Wise Shelter and Virginia route 603 I passed approximately 4,000 weekend warriors. One group of hikers was all females, and the other was a boy scout troop, presumably.

Have I mentioned the trail was littered with rocks and roots today? It was worse than Maine in some spots, which is absolultely preposterous.

The trail was pleasantly graded though, which makes for easier hiking.

The climb up to "High Point" felt like a death march though. Towards the end of your day, the last thing you want to do is have a long climb standing between you and your destination for the night.

My home for tonight is Trimpi Shelter. Tomorrow I shall walk 1.5 miles to Virgnia route 672, where I shall be slackpacked to Partnership Shelter and the taken into Marion, Virginia to complete some town chores.

Well, I have now walked over 500 miles, and now I shall walk over 1500 more. I don't plan to fall down at anyone's door.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Waking up in warmth is a wonderful experience. This morning was one of those mornings. I packed up in a T-shirt, and I went into shorts right before I left the shelter.

The climb out of Lost Mountain Shelter up to Whitetop Mountain was, relatively speaking, quite easy. It was one long switchback, and then your there. On the top there was a nice view with a large open field. I enjoyed a snack and moved on.

The climb out of Deep Gap to the side trail leading to the summit of Mount Rodger's was not that steep. What made it difficult was the over abundance of rocks and roots on the trail. I don't like when I am reminded of the Maine AT in southern Virginia.

After lunch at Thomas Knob Shelter, I began mr march towards Grayson Highlands State Park and Wise Shelter.

In the park I saw the famous ponies that roam there. I took several photos and observed them for a while. I counted 13 either on the trail or within ten feet. These ponies have little fear of humans. It was the most fascinating wildlife encounter I have ever had.

I am pleased I am at the shelter tonight. It's looking like mother nature might reck havoc. Luckily the picnic table is under the overhang of the shelter, so I can eat in dryness.

Today represented my last day above 5,000 feet until Franconia Ridge in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. That's a very long way away.

Dinner is calling, and I am going to answer.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

It was 6:45AM, and Damascus was just preparing to start its day. Preparing to leave Damascus was not easy, but I needed to continue my walk north.

I packed everything up and was at Mojoe's Coffee Shop by 7:45AM. I sat there drinking my coffee, checking my email, and reading a local paper. I went on Whiteblaze and asked Lone Wolf to come over. I talked with him about several scenarios that would allow me to visit my school on their trip to Franklin, West Virginia. We both deemed all scenarios to be logistical nightmares.

We then chatted about trail related thingd fot a while. He is an encyclopedia of trail information, and I enjoyed talking with him.(He does not want me to say this for National Security reasons, but he actually works for the CIA undercover in Damascus, shhh! Don't tell anyone!).

This coffee shop had free refills, so I had three cups of coffee there, and took one for the road. I hit trail at 10:00AM. Leaving Damascus, you can take the AT or you can take the Virginia Creeper Trail. The AT starts on the Creeper Trail, goes into the woods, and reconnects with the Creeper Trail roughly 13 AT miles later. I decided to take the Creeper Trail out of town, and I don't regret my decision one bit.

The Creeper Trail is slightly(barely noticable) uphill going out of town. It is wide enough to allow a lane for each direction, but not enough for a car. It is completely soft gravel the whole way, allowing for delightful walking.

The Creeper Trail crosses over the Wholston River(I believe) quite a few times. I stopped quite a few times on the tressells(bridges), and looked at the river for a little while. There were many trout fisherman out today. I recorded(in my mind) a high temperature of 80.1 degrees F today. There were few clouds in the sky, it made for a wonderful walk on the Creeper Trail.

I stopped for lunch at the Creeper Trail Cafe. I had a cheeseburger, fries, and a bottle of soda. It was quite wonderful.

The AT and the Creeper Trail had a reunion 1.7 miles south of my destination.

The AT from the Creeper Trail to the shelter is nothing special. In fact, I can't think of anything noteworthy.

I rolled into the shelter at 2:40PM. I set up my headquarters in the shelter and lounged around for a couple of hours. On a nice day, it is lovely to relax in the sun and doze in and out of a nap.

I had Four Cheese Mashed Potatoes and stuffing for dinner, a new meal for me out here.

It's now starting to get dark, so I shall prepare to sleep.

My destination tomorrow shall be north of here, I know that.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Falling asleep on something soft represents the opportunity for me to recharge my sleeping battery. I slept like an angel last night, it was absolutely delightful.

I was awake at 7:00AM. By the time I took a shower and relaxed some more it was time to walk the trail to the house of The Only Wanderer. TOW cooked me a delicious breakfast of cheese eggs, biscuits, ham and homefries. It was absolutely delicious. We spent the morning talking about trail related things. It seems TOW is a writer, I will be sure to read his stories onm the Damascus town website. Thanks for breakfast TOW.

I then prepared a flat rate box with roughly 3.5 pounds of gear I sent home. It included disposable cameras, rain pants, sock liners, and extra T-shirt and some other small things. It felt good to say goodbye to it all. It will be a delight to have a lighter pack leaving town. Behold the power of a flat rate box.

I then went to Sundog outfitter's to find a new pair of hiking boots and a new sleeping pad. I ended up going with Kayland boots, which were 50% off, and a Big Agnes Air Core-REM sleepinng pad. I should sleep a whole lot better now.

I then hit Mojoe's Coffee Shop for some coffee and to complete some computer chores. This consisted of checking my email, updating my journal, and reading the New York Times online.

Resupply is one of those tedious tasks that need to get done every once and a while. I am at the point where I know what I want and I know where to find it in a food store. I will be carring 4+ days of food out of town.

I once again ate dinner at Dot's and it was once again delicious. Lone Wolf says I should be OK going over Mount Rodger's in the rain on Friday, so that's what I shall do.

After dinner I had a conversation with David Miller(Awol), author of "Awol On The Appalachian Trail", and co-author of the "Appalachian Pages" guidebook, which I am carrying for my hike. We talked about the guidebook and a couple of other things, it was a nice conversation.

I was then invited to play capture the flag with some locals in the town park. It was a great game, and it was nice to interact with non-trail related citizens of Damascus. My knees decided to allow me to run today, which was helpful in the game.

I then had a phone conversation with Kinnickinic(sp?), who will slackpack me in a few days, then take me to town to complete some chores.

At around 8:15AM, I finally put my food bags together for tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will take the Virginis Creeper Trail out of town. I don't care about having a "purist" status, I have been told by some locals that I will miss nothing by not walking the AT.

Well, it is 10:31PM, so I think I shall go to sleep.

Good night, ans good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today I was not focused on hiking or on the scenery of north eastern Tennessee. Today, I was focused on reaching Damascus, Virginia, which will represent the symbolic start of my march through the Appalachian mountains of Virginia.

The sunrise this morning was delightful. I packed up quickly and hit trail at 7:50AM.

There was nothing noteworthy about today's hike except that 3.8 miles south of Damascus I crossed into Virginia, home of roughly 500 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

I rolled into town at 10:50AM, and immediately checked into "Dave's Place Hostel". This hostel is nice and simple. They key thing is that I can lock my door with all my gear in it, you can't do that at "The Place", leaving your gear vulnerable to being stolen.

Once I was showered, I hit Pizza Plus for their lunch buffet, which is all you can eat pizza and salad for about six dollars. These places loose money on hikers.

I then proceeded to do laundry and update my journal at the library.

Outside the library I met Lone Wold. This man raises a ton of hell on Whiteblaze.net, but he is in fact a very nice man. We talked for a little while about trail related things.

I then walked the trail to the outfitter, where I determined what hiking shoes I shall buy tomorrow. I was also told to buy Super Feet insoles for my shoes, but we shall see.

At around 6PM I went to dinner at Dot's. Along the way I met The Only Wanderer, I chatted with him for a little while about trail related things. He also invited me to his house for breakfast tomorrow morning, which I gladly accepted.

At Dot's I bumped into Lone Wolf once more, I also met Gypsy, Lone Wolf's other half, and Wonder. We chatted about random trail subjects for a while as I ate a delicious dinner.

I am now at the hostel, relaxing and preparing to go to sleep.

Tomorrow I shall finis my town chores and relax some more. Damascus seems like a good town to take a zero in, and that's exactly what I shall do.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

"It was a creed written into the founding documents: Yes We Can."
United States Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois.

Ga>ME 2008.

Such a long day, and it's mine. The longest day of my hiking trip, and my feet and ankles are considering going on strike because of it. I think I will re-negotiate my contract of service with them.

The day started out lovely. I ate breakfast and was on trail at 7:30AM. I hit trail early knowing I had a long day ahead of me.

I spent most of the day walking along a ridge that makes up southern Appalachia. There was a wonderful view of the valley I was above to my right, and a never ending forest to my left.

The sun decided to come out again today. These two days are my first back to back nice days since the Smokies. I can easily get used to walking in nice weather all day long.

The terrain today was quite easy. The first 17 miles north of Kincora are rough, but you can hit cruise control on the terrain I was hiking on today.

Towards the end of today I was feeling quite fatigued. These larger mile days take their toll on the human body and mind. My brain felt like it was completely fried when I rolled into the shelter tonight.

At the shelter I met a man by the name of Crazyhorse. He says he has thru hike five times over the last 15 years. He told me some interesting stories about his experiences on the trail.

Tomorrow I shall stumble my way to Damascus, Virginia, where I shall take a much needed zero mile day. I also need new hiking shoes, the ones I am currently wearinng having just about imploded and exploded at the same time.

I seem to have found myself into a void of hikers again, which is quite nice.

I think I shall read a book and prepare to sleep. Doing nothing is quite a delight.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

"If you come to a fork in the road, take it." --Yogi Bera

Ga>ME 2008.

I awoke at 2:30AM awefully cold. It seems a fellow hiker had opened a window in the hostel bunkroom, and I was quite cold because of it.

I then re-awoke at around 7:20AM to prepare for the day ahead. I enjoyed my stay at Kincora's Hostel, Bob and Pat Peoples are wonderful hosts.

I was on trail at 8:25AM. When the day startes, I was not sure if I was going to hike 17.5, or roughly 26 miles, This terrain is supposed to be favorable for larger mile days. Who ever came up with that idea must have been loosing their mind at the time, today was hard.

After Watauga Dam, there was a lot of up-hill. The trail had little to no switchbacks, and it was rocky with a side of roots.

However, once I was on the ridge, there were delightful views. I could see mountains of Appalachia off in the distance, and Watauga Lake below. It was absolutely wonderful.

Today also represents my first day without rain since I left Hot Spring, NC. It's nice to not arrive into camp soaking wet. It's nice to be able to look straight up and see a blue sky.

The water source for this shelter is .3 mil down a steep blue blaze trail. The water source is a good one, it's just a terribly long walk both ways at the end of a 17.5 mile day.

Tomorrow I will try to push 23 miles to Abington Gap Shelter, putting me ten miles out of Damascus, Virginia.

It is currently 5:58PM, and the mice are already preparing to wage war against us humans. It's going to be a long and hard struggle, but I think I can overcome their power and might and live to see another day with my food bag in tact.

I also found a disposable camera sitting in the shelter that still had 21 photos on it. I will be sure to tell my dad that I take no responsibility for the first six photos on that particular camera.

It is time to read "Epic" by John Eldridge.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. Tat, tat, tat, tat. The rain was falling, and I had to prepare to walk through it. This is becoming old quite rapidly.

I packed up quite rapidly this morning, knowing I had a hostel waiting for me at the end of the day. I was on trail at 7:45AM, a pretty early start for me.

There was nothing special about today's hike. There were ups and downs, twists and turns. Every now and then I would walking along an interesting stream, or pass through an interesting gap.

My mind has been with me lately. I spend my days thinking about many different things. This is a low point of my journey thus far. I am looking forward to having high morale again. I am looking forward to rediscovering the reason I am out here.

I rolled in Kincora around 2:25PM. I immediately showered and did laundry. Being clean is quite lovely. I enjoy not having dirt on my face or hands. I enjoy smelling like a normal human being.

At 4PM I was taken to town for dinner and resupply. I only need three days of food to get me to Damascus, Virginia.

Bob Peoples is a wonderful man. He is a nice New Englander, who now lives in the south. He will talk with you about the trail for hours, if you want, and you will most likely enjoy every minute. He is a legend of the trail, and I now understand why. He deserves every ounce of respect he has.

Tomorrow I shall walk on. I am now on my final approach to Damascus, Virginia, I will not zero, but I will have some rest. I need to spend less time in town, and more time in the woods.

My ankles are starting to hurt me as well. Right now I am wearing trail runners, and I believe I shall switch to regular boots.

It is time to prepare for tomorrow.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

When I woke up this morning, I could hear the wind howling outside the shelter. Luckily the loft of the bard has four sides, so it was just backround noise as I packed up this morning.

I was on trail at 8:12 this morning. I spent the first part of the day walking along balds, which are really large open fields. I was walking at an angle the whole time in an attempt to stay on trail against the power and might of the wind. We easily had gusts of upwards of 70MPH. There were times when I had to completely stop and lean into the wind to keep it from knocking me over. It was the most amazing experience of the trip thus far.

Once I was back in the trees, I deemed it warm enough to walk in shorts and a T-shirt for the remainder of the day. It was quite enjoyable.

I spent the rest of the day walking through trees and interesting pasteurlands of eastern Tennessee.

At some point today I made my final cut into Tennessee, saying goodbye to North Carolina once and for all. The problem is that there is no sign marking this border, which is quite upsetting. I celebrated at Apple House Shelter but eating an Oreo, mixed in with some crushed Newman O's.

Towards the late afternoon, the clouds became ominously dark, and I was convinced mother nature was going to unleash another round of fury and might upon souther Appalachia, but it held off long enough to allow me to make it to the shelter with out becoming too wet.

It is once again raining though, but I am nice and dry in the shelter for the night. I am quite content with it raining at night, as long as it is clear(meaning not raining) during the day.

Tomorrow I shall go to Kincora Hostel, where I shall stay with the legendary Bob and Pat Peoples.

Tomorrow I shall call my school and see if I can coordinate visiting them in West Virginia, where they will be doing work with Habitat For Humanity.

Until then, good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I awoke to the sound of other hikers rustling around, preparing for the day ahead. It was 7:20AM, and I was still tired due to the lack of sleep I received last night.

I knew I had a long climb ahead of me out of the shelter, so I treated myself to a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch for breakfast. I then packed up and hit trail by 8:20AM.

The climb up Roan Mountain was long and hard. There were many false summits, it also did not help that I was ascending into a cloud, where I would remain for the remainder of the day.

Roan High Knob Shelter struck me as a miserable place to stay, I ate lunch and moved on.

Walking in a cloud is never enjoyable. All your gears becomes soaked quite rapidly, not to mention that the wind today sent this cloud slamming into my face. It was a lovely way to spend my day.

The climb out of Carver's Gap was quite windy. I was walking along a bald, and every now and then I would be slammed by a 50MPH gust of wind. I was walking at an angle at times to help keep myself on trail.

After some random ups and downs, twists and turns, I arrived at the junction for Overmountain Shelter, my home for the night.

The shelter is currently situated in a cloud, which means it is windy and wet outside. Luckily, the loft of an old barn has four sides, protecting me from the wind. I would hate to be tenting tonight.

The shelter holds 20 people, but there are only three here thus far, some more could roll in later.

I called up a former AT thru hiker back in Portland, Maine to find out the weather for tomorrow. I was told thunder storms, rain, and I am assuming strong wind gusts, walking 18 miles in that tomorrow will be quite interesting.

It has taken me a while to write this entry because my right hand is not cooperating. I am thinking it will be a cold night here.

Time for dinner and hot chocolate.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

The moutains were calling this morning, and I answered. It was time to say goodbye to Erwin, TN, and to begin my march to Kincroa, which will represent the start of the final approach to Damascus, Virginia.

I was on trail by 9:50AM thanks to Uncle Johnny, it was a good time to hit trail.

The weather finally cooperated today, it was the first time in almost three days that I was not walking in a cloud, it made for a delightful day on the Appalachian Trail.

I did a lot of uphill hiking today, or so it seemed. Beauty Spot was quite nice, it was my first decent view in three days. It was a balmy 55 degrees when I rolled through.

I also walked through a 100 year old Hemlock(maybe Fur) tree foresy. The terrain and scenery reminded me of some of the "flatter" sections of the "100 Mile Wilderness" in Maine. The tall trees had enough leaves upon them to block out the sun. It was incredible.

Once I arrived at route 107, seven miles south of the shelter, I met a man by the name of Kurt. Kurt was waiting for his brother, the Preacher. Kurt offered me some soda and water, which I gladly accepted. Trail magic is quite wonderful. Thank you Kurt, and I wish the Preacher all the best on his section hike.

I should mention that I spent most of the day hiking with Ken Anderson. We spent most of the day discussing somewhat random things and cursing the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing CLub for not believing in switchbacks. They must have received trail maintaining advice from the Maine Appalachian Trail Club.

I rolled in the shelter just before 6PM to find that Cookie was the only person there. It seems we have found a void in the thru hikers, which was our objective when we did some of the larger mile days previously.

Tomorrow I shall march to Overmoutain Shelter, which is actually a large barn. 12 miles is my sentence, giving my body a little rest.

Mother natures looks like she is preparing to unleash her fury, which is fine by me because I am in a shelter.

I am on trail until furthur notice, my dad has assured me everything is fine for now. We are on the same page, and he knows to tell me straight up if he thinks I should leave trail.

Attention future thru hikers:
If you are currently a Sprint customer, I suggest you switch to Verizon before hitting trail, you will have a much easier time getting a non-roaming signal.

Well, I think I shall try to call my dad, then I shall do some reading.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

April has arrived, the book of March, 2008 has been closed. Today is day 32. I have officially been on trail for more than a month. That is an awefully long time.

You may be wondering how I start and end at the same location, and still cover miles. That is the phenomenon known as slackpacking.

Slackpacking requires a backpack with little in it, and two roads, start and end. Today, I started at Indian Grave Gap, and walked south to Erwin. It was mostly downhill, and it was quite wonderful.

There was little noteworthy on the hike today, I walked an interesting ridge on the side of some mountains, and passed some places that would be delightful to camp at. I walked a nice looking steram that I wanted to swim in, but did not.

Once I was in Erwin again, I did a whole lot of nothing. I layed in the sun and learned how to set up my tent properly. My hope is that a bear tears a giant hole in it so I have an excuse to buy a new one.

Tomorrow I shall continue my journey northward from Indian Grave Gap. As far as how far I shall go, who knows. Take the punches as they roll, climb the mountains as they come.

Until then, I shall walk on.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

"Face down, I count sheep, I count heartbeats. The only thing that matters is that I won't sleep, I count down, I look around." Who Needs Sleep by the Barenaked Ladies.

I slept pathetically horrible last night. I was rarely asleep for more than an hour at a time. So nauturally, I was up and moving once it was light out.

One seems to have more motivation when town is what's waiting for you at the end of your day.

Today I had a rolling descent into Erwin, TN. There were many little ups and downs that eventually lead to a final dwescent into the outskirts of Erwin.

I spent today thinking about many different things. I thought about how everything was on the homefront, and tried to figure out how I want to live my life when this thing comes to an end.

I rolled into Erewin at 3:20PM, where I promptly checked into Uncle Johnny's Hostel, my home for the night.

After checking in, I hung up my tent so it could air out and I did some laundry.

I then gave my dad a call. He informed me that Sprint charges an arm and a leg for roaming calls. I spend a lot of time roaming because Sprint has a pathetic network down here. Verizon is the best network out here. Lesson learned. We hope to drop Sprint quickly and switch to Verizon.

I then received a ride to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I also completed my resupply. My next resupply will be Kincora, 70 trail miles north.

I have not decided what I will do tomorrow, I have been too busy thinking about other things.

My mind is a mess, right now. Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

"I slept pathetically horrible last night. I was rarely asleep for more than an hour at a time. So nauturally, I was up and moving once it was light out. One seems to have more motivation when town is what's waiting for you at the end of you r day. Today I had a rolling descent into Erwin, TN. There were many little ups and downs that eventually lead to a final dwescent into the outskirts of Erwin. I spent today thinking about many different things. I thought about how everything was on the homefront, and tried to figure out how I want to live my life when this thing comes to an end. I rolled into Erewin at 3:20PM, where I promptly checked into Uncle Johnny's Hostel, my home for the night. After checking in, I hung up my tent so it could air out and I did some laundry. I then gave my dad a call. He informed me that Sprint charges an arm and a leg for roaming calls. I spend a lot of time roaming because Sprint has a pathetic network down here. Verizon is the best network out here. Lesson learned. We hope to drop Sprint quickly and switch to Verizon. I then received a ride to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I also completed my resupply. My next resupply will be Kincora, 70 trail miles north. I have not decided what I will do tomorrow, I have been too busy thinking about other things. My mind is a mess, right now. Good night, and good luck. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008"

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,. children of all ages. This, is what we like to call a very trying day, physically and mentally. It goes a little something like this.

I once again awoke to a mosit ground and a damp surrounding. I ate breakfast in my tent, and then began the process of packing up and moving out.

The first three miles were mentally difficuly. I decided to take a snack break at Devil's Fork Gap, this is where the General caught me, I ended up hiking for the rest of the day with him.

We spent a lot of time talking about British military and their governing style in contrast to that of the United States. It was a wonderful way to pass the day.

I spent most of the day cursing the Carolina Mountain Club as I kept going up pointless ups and downs with little to no switchbacks.

Eventually I stumbled upon Hogback Ridge Shewlter. I took my lunch break there and mapped out my attack plan for the remainder of the day.

I determined I did not want to stop after only 8.8 miles, but I did not want to do another 10.1 to the next shelter. The General and I decided we would camp at Low Gap, roughly six miles north of the shelter.

After some ups and downs, we arrived at Low Gap. However, the spring listen in the guidebook was dry, and we both needed water, so we continued our march north.

About two miles later, we came across a spring. I packed up five liters, and set out in search of a place to camp for the night, we could not find anything on the windless side of the ridge, so we walked o. We eventually came to Big Bald. On a clear dayu, I iamgine there are great views of the surrounding peaks of souther Appalachia. Today, I had a wonderful view of the clound I was walking in.

I have been walking in clouds for the past two days now, it is really quite a thrill. At any given time, you can see ten feet in each direction.

By the time I reached the bald, I resolved to make it to the next shelter, as I had lost all motivation to set up my tent for the night.

I am now at Bald Mountain Shelter with the General, Ken Anderson, Cookie, and Kuda, a fellow Mainer from Jay.

Tomorrow I shall walk 16 miles to Erwin, where I shall split a room at the Hoilday Inn Express with the General.

This has certainly been a rough patch in my hike, I will be the firast to admit it. I still have my complete resolve to see this journey to the end. This is the key tp thisd journey. One must have a strong physical and mental will to see this to the end. No matter what happens, one must continue their journey north.

The American spirit is alive and strong in this hiker.

Tomorrow is a new day, and today will be rememered as the day i found my resolve.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. You guessed it, mother nature was once again crying today. She seems to be crying a lot lately, and it does not look likew it will be stopping anytime soon.

I packed up quickly this morning, knowing I had a long day ahead of me. I had cinamon toast crunch for breakfast, and was on trail by 7:55AM.

Just before Allebn Gap, there was a sign with directions for trail magic. I was wet and miserable, so I gladly followed the directions.

The directions lead me to the house of Fal(free at last) and Hercules, and couple that thru hiked in 1999. At their house, I was able to dry my clothes. I was then terated to coffee, Belgium Waffles, corn bread, corn muffins, beef stew, and a banana split ice cream. ALl of the food was delicious.

We then had a fascinating conversatin about absolute truth VS. personal truth. It was based around whether what happens afte death is an absolute truth, or a personal truth.

Towards the end of that conversation, we talked about Christianity related books. They were kind enough to loan me "Mere Christianity", by C.S. Lewis. I mostly disagree with the Christian religion(respectfully), but I thought it would be interesting to read the opposing perspective on things.

I would like to thank Fal and Hercules foe everything they did for me while I was with them.

I was back on trail by 10:35AM, with about 17 miles to go.

I spent the rest of the day hiking with Ken Anderson, from Roanoke, Virginia. We talked about many different things over the course of the day. He is a very inteligent man, and I enjoyed hiking with him.

There was a section of trail today called the "exposed ridge trail". It was a fair amount of hiking on exposed rock on a ridge. It reminded me of hiking in Maine and New Hampshire.

Today I also went over Big Butt, which according to my guidebook makrs the 300 mile mark on my northbound journey. I celebrated by writing 300 in rocks on the trail and taking a pictuer of it.

I pulled into the shelter at 6:45PM to find a full shelter, mainly because of a Boy Scouts Troop, so I am tenting tonight.

When I was making my attempt to hang a bear bag, my stuff sack got attached to a small knob, and I was unable to get it off. I luckily recovered the rope, I only lost my tent stuff sack and my pack towel in it.

That caps a very long day, I am looking forward to sleeping tonight, and starting a new day tomorrow.

I have not decided where I will go tomorrow, I shall decide tomorrow morning.

Until then, good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Leaving town is never easy. This is especially true for a town through which the trail goes. My objective today was to leave the comforts of Hot Springs and ascend into the mountains of Appalachia.

I once again had breakfast at Elmer's. This morning we had granola,. cantelope, strawberry pancakes, apple juice, coffee/tea, and homemade soy milk. Quite delicious. Elmer and his staff make wonderful meals.

I then packed up and cheked out. I wandered my way down the trail to the outfitters and purhcased a disposable camera for my next piece of trail.

I was walking out of town around 10:04AM. The main reason the trail goes through Hot Springs is to get over the French Broad River. You are brought back into the woods almost immediately after crossing the river.

I spent most of today hiking weith Cookie, from Arkansas. He is a very nice man, and I had some gerat conversations with him.

It was tough to determine what mother nature was going to do today.

Tomorrow I will aim fo 20 miles. I feel lazy stopping after 11 miles, but it might rain, and I don't want to tent in the rain.

There are almost 15 people in the vicinity of the shelter tonight.

Slowly but surely I continue my march north.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Rest and relaxation are good for the soul. Walking zero miles is wonderful for the body and brain. Today, I got both.

Today I was focused on getting all my town chores done as soon as possible, the more time I have for nothing the better.

I had waffles for breakfast at Elmer's, which were wonderful. Elmer and his staff are wonderful cooks.

I then walked the trail to the outfitters, where I resupplied on food for the next few days, I also purchased a platypus to replace my old one.

After resupply I did a whole lot of nothing. I had lunch at the Smoky Mountain Diner.

At 1PM I was at the library to update my journal. It took me two hours to add 13 days of entries. I also notified my dad that the journal existed.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and killing time until dinner. I enjoy doing nothing, it does wonders for the morale.

Dinner was once again supurb. I have never left Elmer's table hungry. Thank you once again Elmer.

I did, however, break a stool in my room today. I thought it was a sitting stool, but it was not. Luckily, when I went to tell Elme what happened, Cookie was in the room. Using his crafty engineering, we have managed to fix the table. I do feel terrible about it though. Elmer is a wonderful man, and I regert adding something to his already full plate.

Tomorrow I shall hit trail, most likely 12 miles to the first shelter out of town.

It is now time to rest and relax some more.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

I aoke with a funny sensation. I realized today the trail was going to take m3 right through a town. Everything I need will be on the trail. I am quite excited.

I packed up quickly, eating oatmeal cold. I was on trail by 8:04AM. At 2MPH, I should be in town by now later than 3PM.

The climb up and over Bluff Mountain was antu-climatic. I was relieved though, realizing that it was mostly downhill from there to Hot Springs.

The rolling descent ended around 1PM, when I rolled into Hot Springs, NC. I immediately checked in at Elmer's with Elmer. He gave me a tour and laid out the rules of the hostel, and showed me my room.

Elmer is a delightful man, pleasant and simple. He also cooks wonderful vegetarian meals.

It turns out I am sharing a room with the General. He has been roughly one day ahead of me since Woody Gap. It was nice catching up on things and trading trail stories.

I decided I was going to complete most of my town chores tomorrow during my zero mile day. However, I decided to get my laundry out of the way, and to treat myself to the Hungry Hiker burger at the Smokie Mountain Diner.

I eventually went to the outfitters to check my email and buy some stove fiew. I should not run out anytime soon.

I spent the rest of the day lounging around and talking to other hikers bopping arounf Hot Springs.

Dinner at Elmer's was quite wonderful. We were treated to salad, soup, crackers, rice, and bean soup. It was delicious. Thank you Elmer.

I then played the board game "Apples to Apples". That is a fascinating game, considering I am semi-pathetic at it.

Well, I think I shall sleep, it is 9:17PM. I am looking forward to the comfy ned that awaits me.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Brrr! It's cold out here! There must be a cold front in the atmosphere.

I awoke to frzen boots, frost on my tent, and snow on the ground. The frigid temperatures made it extremely difficult to get moving this morning. I spent a solid 10-15 minutes attempting to put my frozen boots on my semi-cold feet. Weather forcasts are pretty useless out here, but this cold front is supposed to cause mahem somewhere else soob. That would be delightful.

I then began the six mile march to Max's Patch, the first place on this trip where I had a natural, un-ubstructed 360 degree view. I could see the Smokies to the south, and some randome mountains of Appalachia to the north, my destination of course.

I then meandered my way to Walnut Mountain Shelter, where I shall sleep tonight.

Tomorrow I shall descend into Hot Springs, NC, where I shall have some much needed rest and relaxation. I look forward to being clean once more.

I also hope that the people I have been hiking with for about a week now catch me in town. I am at the point where I have settled into my own little group, and I was starting to get to know a lot of the people around me.

I am also at the point where I become upset when I find out someone I knew pretty well left trail. It's almost as if a part of me has left trail.

That's the way of the trail. You become really close to the people around you, and you learn to trust them, and they learn to trust you.

I suppose it comes with the experience.

I shall now prepare to eat dinner, and think about tomorrow.

And that's the way it was.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

The ground was white. Branches were icicles. It was snowing in southern Appalachia.

This was my first experience with snow on the Appalachian Trail. The cold weather made things a tad bit more difficult. I eventually finished eating breakfast and packing up.

There was nothing special about the descent into Davenport Gap. The trail was wet and slippery, and the trees were covered in a thin coat of snow.

Once I arrived in Davenport Gap, I celebrated by eating crackers and a granola bar. I am quite happy to be done with the Smokies, I was becoming sick of that park quite rapidly.

I then began the 2.4 mile trek tp Standing Bear Farm. Along the way, I came across trail magic. I was in the midsts of a road walk when I piassed a sign with a plastic bag attached to it. Within this bag were all sorts of snacks, I treated myself to one and walked on.

At Standing Bear Farm I picked up my mail drop and tossed out my trash.

The ascent up Snowbird mountain was uneventfull until I reached the summit, which is a blad. The summit is home to semi-decent views and a Federal Aviation Administration Tower.

I then stumbled my way to Groundhog Creek Shelter, where I am currently tenting. Tomorrow I go over Max's Patch, and then to a shelter.

I hope to be in Hot Springs by Wdnesday afternoon. It's looking like I will zero there on Thursday, and hime out Friday.

The people I have been hiking with for about a week are now a half day behind me. I imgaine I will see them again, but I am out here to hike my own hike.

I am not sure how far I will go tomorrow, it depends on how I feel during the day.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today, I woke up, walked ten feetm and watched the sunrise. The logistics where much easier for this one, no headlamp required. What a life.

My goal for today was simple, walk enough miles to make it feasible to leave the park tomorrow. This is a nice park, but I am sick of it. I shall call it the Smokie Blues.

Charlie's Bunion was nice. There was a low layer of clouds this morning, and the Bunion was above it. A change of scenery was nice.

I noticed something interesting today. The TN side of the ridge was enshrouded in a thick layer of clouds that I was walking above, while the NC side had a thin, fog like layer, and the sky was a combonation of yellow and blue. It was a very interesting contrast.

Today I also crossed over the unofficial 1/10th mark of the trail, which I deemed to be at mile 217.4

Physically, today was not all that bad. Mentally, it was absolutely horrible. I was constantly stopping in a pathetic attempt to get my body and brain on the same pafe. I had no urdge or desire to leave trail, but I did not want to hike today.

I also discovered my one quart Platypus had a small hole in it due to a varming-like species. This water proceeded to leak in my back and make the back of my shorts wet. I was quite angry.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I am looking forward to it, I sent myself a mail drop to Standing Bear Farm, and tomorrow I shall pick it up.

Tomorrow is a new day. I shall leave the Smokies, and descend below 4,000 feet, the first time in almost 70 miles.

Tomorrow is a new day, and today is a day I will never miss.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Kirby: Attention captain, requesting status of pending operation, over.

Captain: Roger that. Operation Sunrise has been approved by the Joint Chiefs, you are due to start at 0430, over.

Kirby: 10-4. Commencing preparation for operation sunrise. Over and out.

I had my eyes set on summiting Clingman's Dome for sunrise. A 4:30AM wake up is never easy, the cold weather just made it a tab bit more diffcult.

As I finished packiong up VIA headlamp, I spotted two deer. One immediately bolted when my headlamp made contact with its eyes. I snapped a photo of the other one. My first piece of interesting wildlife.

I was on trail at 5:00AM, and was sitting in the tower on the summit by 6:30AM. The sunrise was quite a delight, although there was a bitter wind.

The descent into Newfound Gap was nothing special, although I walked across my first bog bridge, except these ones where designed to preven hikers from stepping in the mud, which would add to erosion.

I spent the rolling descent listening to the Weekly Top 40 on my porable radio. This is a great investment, it makes dull miles seem semi-bearable.

Newfound Gap was quite windy. I had my first "official" crossing into Tennessee. The trail has been stradding the NC-TN border for about 20 miles now. I do not cross into TN permanently until north of Erwin, TN.

At the gap, I used a flushing toilet, a luxury item for a long distance hiker.

The climb out of the gap was fairly easy, ice was randomly scattered along the trail.

As of now, I shall try for 20 miles tomorrow, but we shall see. I am focused on getting out of this park.

I have been on trail down for 22 days, but it does not feel that long. Springer is in the distant past, and I am very used to waking up and hiking each day.

I am starting to think about Hot Spring, NC. That is my next overnight in a town, I have a maildrop I sent myself at Standing Bear Farm, just north of the Smokies.

Well, I shall now commence with sleeping preparations, it is 7:43PM, and I am exausted.

Good night, and good luck.

Kirby

Ga>ME 2008.

Today, I walked. It felt quite nice. I think I can get used to this lifestyle. The firsy 5.5 miles were quite easy today. After that, I experienced a major change in terrain and scenery. It was good for my morale, and it kept my mind occupied for a little white. I went over several bald-like features today, and there were many great views. I have mastered the art of dropping things from my pocket and onto the trail. Thus far, I have had good luck, everything I have dropped has found its way back to me. I spend most of my time these days thinking about random things. Everything out here starts to look the same, so I need to find ways to keep my brain occupied. Tomorrow I shall wake up early enough to see the sunrise on Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the entire trail. I want to get out of this park fast. The shelter regulations make things a pain. Kirby out. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

Kirby: Attention captain, requesting transmission, over.

Captain: 10-4. Please state intent of transmission, over. Kirby: Requesting permission to execute operation GSMNP, assault on the Smokies, over. Captain: Roger that agent Kirby. Central Command just forwarded a memorandum from the joint chiefs, signed by the commander in chief, approving the execution of operation GSMNP, assault on the Smokies, over. Kirby: 10-4, preparing for execution. Over and out. I had an odd sensation walking over Fontana Dam this morning. After so much hype and excitement over the Smokies, I was about to start the formulation of my own opinion of America's most visited National Park. The climb out of Fontana Dam is not as bad at the maps make on believe. I enjoyed taking the short side trail to the summit of Shuckstack mountain. There was a nice view from the stairs on the tower. Depending on what side of the ridge we were walking on, it was either cold and windy, or warm and delighful. The trees were coated with ice, and the leaves were crunchy due to frost. The trail was quite easy today, it was a nice change of pace. I once again hiked with Tarzan today, I am getting used to hiking with him. We seem to get along well, and we spend our days trading random stories, a nice change of pace. The Smokies require you to sleep at the shelters, and tent only when full. This makes for a logistical nightmare. The shelter has a tarp over the front, and there is a fire going right now. Tomorrow is dependent on how I feel after the first 13 miles, I might go for 17. Operation GSMNP is under way. My assault on the Smokies has begun. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

Today, I did not wear my trail runners. Today, I did not walk over any mountains, or pass any new whiteblazes. Today, I walked zero miles. I slept quite well at the Hike Inn, and I enjoyed my stay there. I packed up and was dropped off at the Fontana Post Office around 9:30AM. I mailed a mail drop ahead to myself and got some cash. This is a very expensive section of trail. If you are planning a "normal" thru hike, prepare to spend money in the first 300 miles. At the Fontana Lodge, I met up with Hillbilly and later Tarzan(Hal). Mother nature exploded on the Smokies today, wind gusts up to 60MPH on the ridge. I will hike out tomorrow, operation GSMNP will begin. The assault on the Smokies will be in full swing. Tonight I am at the Fontana Hilton Shelter with Tarzan and several other hikers. My next stop is Hot Springs, I do not have another "planned" zero until Damascus, I am trying to cut down on spending. Things become far more spread out as I head north, points between resupply will become longer. Life is good on the good ol' AT. Kirby "If nominated, I would not accept. If elected, I would not serve"

Ga>ME 2008

Today was not an ordinary day. In fact, no day on the trail is ordinary. Today was the final approach to Fontana Dam, the gateway to the Smokies. As I began my walk today, Fontana Lake became larger and marger, I was descending into the gateway. The Smokies loomed large over Fontana Lake. The lake has been hit hard by the drought, you can see the old shore line in comparison to the current one. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by the AT Crossings Center, and a kiosk with the backcountry permit I will be required to carry during operation GSMNP(Great Smokie Mountains National Park). I had the honopr of using my first flushable toilet in three days, it was quite a delight. I then began the 1.4 mile trot to the visitor's center. I discovered with hapiness that the center was closed until the start of May/ There were few people without backpacking backpacks around. I was then swooped up by the Hike Inn. I have been planning to stay here since before I hit trail. I then started the chores that come with resupply/ I emptied my backpack and sorted my clothes and food bags. Clean clothes and a shower are simply amazing these days. Cleanliness is good for the morale. I then got a ride to town to buy food for resupply. I had to buy enough food to get me to Hot Springs, North Carolina. I will send two to three days worth of food ahead to myself at Standing Bear Farm, just outside the Smokies. I am now preparing my backpack for tomorrow. I will most likely zero at the Fontana Hilton Shelter. Mother nature is preparing to unleash her fury upon the Smokies, and I am not going to take her on. The AT in the Smokies hovers between four and six thousand feet for most of the 70 miles in the park. Being caught on gthe ridge in bad weather is asking for trouble. I shall now go to sleep.I shall down rest my body. I shall now prepare for my assault on the Smokies. I shall now prepare to execute operation GSMNP. And that's the way it was. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

A little less conversation and a little more exaustation. All this aggravation is making me sore. I awoke to a nice sunrise, and there was no effort involved in witnessing it. The best kind of sunrise. Hal and I hit trail around 8:15AM. We took a break atop of Cheoah Bald, there was a nice view up there, and the bald made a good short-nap spot. Hal seems to have a fetish for trees. It felt like we were stopping every 15 minutes to examine a tree. I have dubbed him "Tarzan". This was the second tiome I have given out a trail name on this trip. The climb out of Stecoah Gap starts at a gentle grade, and then sends you straight up and down two to three bumps. I counted one switchback in this section. Trail maintainers have a cruel sense of humor. The rest of the hike was gentle ridge walking. Hal and I have a strike system in place. We get a strike everytime we fall down. I currently have six strikes, Hal has three. Just before Brown Fork Gap shelter, I put my radio in "on" mode. Just as I turned it on, "We Will Rock You" was starting. I felt so good listening to that song, I decided to start running. I ran a solid 100 yards at sprint speed with my pack. Towards the end I launched off of a log step, and had my legs pulled from underneath me on the landing. I fel pure amazing after that fall. Some thru's are already pulling 20 mile days, which is idiotic this early in the trip. Tomorrow I will descend into Fontana Dam. I will stay at the Hike Inn tomorrow night and resupply in Robbinsville. If the weather holds, I will begin my assauly on the Smokies. The forcast is sketchy, so we shall see how things shake down. Here is some advice. When your body says stop, you better stop, you will be happy later on that you did. Hot chocolate is waiting for me. Good night, and good luck. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

I awoke to rustling sleeping bags and creaking wood. The room was semi-dark, and the other hikers were planning ther assault plan for getting out of their sleeping bags. I wandered around the NOC complex for a little while, killing tome before I started the long and complex process of packing my backpack. I fnally started, but half way through I went to breakfast with three other hikers. The food was cheap and good. I was on trail around 10:30AM, at which point Hal and I began the 7.1 mile climb to the shelter, mostly uphill. About two miles before the shelter there was a nice view, I deemed myself worthy of a snack break, and it was also a Kodak moment. Straight up. Straight down. Turn left. Turn right. That describes the trail for the last two miles of today. I was originally going to camp on Cheoah Bald with Hal, thinking I might have a quiet night and a nice sunset. When I arrived at this shelter, I learned several other hikers were headinh up there, so I decided not to. At some point I would like to camp on a nice ridge on my own, but tonight is not the night. I would be seeking quietness, and I would not get that tonight on the bald. I enjoy the company of the small group of hikers I am moving forward with right now. I am looking forward to the thru hikers spreading out. Tomorrow I shall walk some more, slowly but surely getting closer to the next destination. The day after tomorrow is no longer on my mind. It is all about the here and now. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

Drip drop, splish splash, squish squash. Mother natuer once again unleashed her fury upon southern Appalachia, and today I had the honor of hiking in it. Since the shelter was completely full, I woke up quite warm this morning, although I had little to no wiggle room. I deemed myself worthy of cinamon toast cruch for breaskfast, so that's exactly what I had. I am at the point where I will pack anything out of town if I think it would taste good on the trail. I hiked all day through the rain with Hal today, We spent the day thinking about the trail ahead and trading trail stories, a nice change of pace for me. For the first part of today it was raining, but then it cleared up. I had a supurb view on Wesser Bald, the tower view made the slippery climb quite worth it. I then began the rolling descent into the NOC. There are plenty of useless ups and downs along the way. Today I was slippingh and sliding all along the trail. I had one complete fall and my side, and my trekking poles prevented many others. You learn to become excited when you see signs of civilization, it means warmth is near by. When you are cold and wet, warmth is a delight. My half day here at the NOC has been spent lounging around doing nothing, something I have become quite good at recently. Today I also made my reservation at the Hike Inn near Fontana Dam. Since I have reserved a specific date, I am bound to a certain tome table getting there. I have also started thinking about my assault on the Smokies. I have determined I will do one big push through and get the park behind me. There are 10-15 thru hikers in the vicinity of the NOC tonight. Most of them will walk 15 miles tomorrow, I will only walk 7. It has been nice being half a day behind the big crowd of hikers. Good night, and good luck. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

Today I walked 16 miles with a full pack, and damn did it feel good. I once again went to breakfast at Wilson's, best breakfast on trail thus far. I then packed up and got a shuttle with Ron Haven back to Winding Stair Gap, I once again lost my purist status by not walking across the road. Normally, today's hike would have had great views everywhere, but since I was walking in a cloud for most of the day, I had no views. In Franklin I picked up a small portable radio, and I listened to it all day today, headphones of course. I rocked out to Stairway to Heaven as I went up a hill here in North Carolina, it was amazing. Every now and then I stopped to take a picture. I was quite fonds of the cloud I was walking in, we had a special connection by the end of the day. I no longer look at my maps as ferquently as I use to. I know where I am starting for the day, and I know where I hope to be by the end of the day. Everything else in between is just in my way. That is the way the General put it to me, and it makes perfect sense. I am now at Cold Spring Shelter, and it is raining. There are several other people here, I believe we are all long distance hikers. Hal, Travis, Hilbilly, Wasabi, Snake, Whitefish, and myself are here for the night. It seems I might be spending the coming days hiking with Hal, a New Englander from Vermont. And that's the way it was. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

In order to make it to Winding Stair Gap for the 9:00AM shuttle, I needed to be hiking by 7:00AM. I woke up at 6:00AM.

The hike to Franklin was fairly easy, some ups and downs, twists and turns. Typical Appalachian Trail terrain. Ron Haven arrived at Winding Stair Gap around 9:00AM, like clockwork. I bumped into Wrongway again. He is one day ahead of me, I hope to catch him at some point and spend a day hiking with him. We shall see how everything shakes down over the coming days. Originally, Franklin was going to be a small stop for me, but as time went on, it became cleat there were a lot of things that needed to get done in town. Once I was in Franklin, I went to breakfast at Wilson's, damn good breakfast there. It is also reasonably priced and has a laid back atmosphere. I then showered up and did laundry, nothing like clean clothing. I then lounged around for a couple hours, it is always nice to do nothing for a little while. It seems my knees are in perfect condition for hiking, but not running. I attempted to run a little today, and my knees hurt every step of the way. I think I shall stick to hiking from now on. At around 4:30PM, Ron started his nightly town shuttle. This is where he loads all the hikers up in the bus and takes them where ever they need to go in town. It was nice to get all my town chores done in one big bang. A little later in the evening, Ron Haven and the hikers here at the Budget Inn celebrated my 17th birthday by buying me a pizza. My body can not handle cake. The pizza was quite delicious. I would like to thank Ron and all the hikers here tonight for that little celebration, it put the icing on a great day here in Franklin, NC. I am now packing my bag and preparing for my attach plan for the approach to Fontana Dam, where I shall stay at the Hike Inn in preparation for my assault on the Smokies. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

I got off to another slow start this morning, it took about an hour and a hald to eat, pack up, and hit trail. My brain, for the start was in its own little world. The only mountain of significane was Albert Mountain, that was a steep climb. It reminded me of hiking in Maine. The climb kicked my ass. The summit was a delight. I deemed myself worthy of a warm lunch, I had a Lipton-like pasta packet. A little rest and relaxation goes a long way. The hike from Albert Mountain to Rock Gap Shelter was quite easy. I decided to hike as fast so I could, that made me feel a whole lot better. I spent most of today playing leapfrog with Travis and Hillbilly, I mostly hiked on my own. I have determined I hike faster than a lot of people out here. It is not purposeful, it just happens to be that my hiking speed is quicker than others. I enjoy my pace though, it makes my day a whole lot better. I am currently at the shelter for the night. There are several other hikers here as well. People are starting to drop, and I am noticing familiar faced at the shelter each night. It takes a while for everyone to get into the swing of things, but we are slowly but surely getting used to the life of a thru hiker. Tomorrow I shall go to Franklin, NC, where I shall stay with Ron Haven at the Budget Inn. I need to resupply and figure out my plan for getting to Fontana Dam. I also need to pick up a couple pieces of small gear. The life of a hiker. In the end, we lead very simple lives. Our purpose is o walk, nothing more, nothing less. We are out here to attempt to find a rational for all our life decisions, good and bad. Katahdin is no longer just a mountain, it is the representation of the end of an ideological struggle against one's self. Our sole purpose is to walk. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

Woke up around 7:30AM, feelingh semi-shitty. Made breakfast, packed up, and moved out. I was on trail at 8:50AM. Standing Indian has switchbacks the whole way, so it was a fairly easy climb. I kept having to stop to take breaks today, I was not mentally wih it, I had no real urge to hike today, but that's all part of the game. I need to take the punches as they roll. Every now and then there were nice views, they are all the same now. I ate a lot of snacks today, it was my attempt to get my brain in the game. For the final part of the day I hiked with Hillbilly and Travis. Hillbilly is a funny man, and Travis is good company. Hillbilly and I are working on a trail name for him, we hope to have him one by Fontana Dam. I am now at a shelter for the night. There is a nice fire going. I am here with Hillbilly, Travis, Whitefish, and Wasabi. This journal entry has been difficuly to write, my brain is living in its own world today. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

Crutch made us some pancakes, quite delicious. It was nice to trade trail stories with him, I picked his brain about the trail ahead. Today's hiking was mostly up hill, funny how you walk up hill to get to a gap. I was not really paying attention to the things around me, I was focused on getting to North Carolina. It felt odd to be standing on the GA-NC border. After nine days, including a zero, I was finally entering a new state. I took my picture at the border, and Hillbilly took my picture in front of the gnarled oak tree at Bly Gap. The climb out of the Gap was steep. Since I knew it was bad ahead of time, I set a nice slow pace and slowly but surely finished my final up hill sretch for the day. Muscrat Creek shelter is nice. I am officially in the hands of the Nantahala Hiking club. Goodbye GATC. I just watched the sunset on Raven's Cliff. Life is good. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

I arrived at Unicoi Gap at around 9:30-9:45AM. There was trail magic, I had a breakfast burrito courtesy of two former thru hikers. I put it in my pack and saved it for my lunch. It was delicious. Rocky Mountain has switchbacks to start, and then went straight up. This state is getting old fast. Tray mountain was a delight. Best views of the whole trip. It was windy up there, so I moved along. Then the trail went up and down over bumps, these were starting to take their toll on me. The trail went straight up, and then straight down. Rinse and repeat. That was my day. Thus far, these 16 miles were the toughest miles, both physically and mentally. Kelly's Knob was difficult. It went on and on. It has easily been the toughest climb of the trip. A few flase summits mixed in with a trail that goes straight up makes for a grueling climb. GATCL Please mark your summits. Thank you. At Dick's Creek Gap I took a break and ate some granola. I then began the three mile walk back to the Blueberry Patch. One mile away from the hostel, two day hikers offered to ride me the rest of the way. Trail magic number two. At the Blueberry Patch I packed my pack in preparation for the departure to Cloud9, the other hostel in Hiawassee. As I was waiting for the shuttle on the road in front of the Blueberry Patch, Mother nature and Smokestack drove past me. They ended up treating me to dinner, quite delicious. hank you very much Mother Nature and Smokestack. I enjoyed trading trail stories about the trail up to Dick's Creek Gap. I am now at Cloud9, enjoying a peaceful nght. All the other hikers are in town eating dinner. Apparently there is another 17 year old on the trail. I hope to track him/her down. There are very fiew of us out here, so I hope to connect with the ones I can. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

I left the Holiday Inn Express around 10:30AM for the Blueberry Patch Hostel. This hostel is perfect for rest, there is nothing to distract you. It is always calm, unusual for a hostel. A little later I played Rummy 500 with Hearts and Bill. I won with 580 points, second place was 410. August then asked me to help out on some yard work, which I gladly did. It helped lower the amount of money I have to leave. It is donations only, you pay what you can. After that we lounged around a bit. We then decided to go to Winton's birthday party at Neel's Gap. That was an idiotic move. I met some great people there, but there was way to much drinking for my taste. For the record, I do not drink. Not sure if I ever will. I am now back at the Patch, and I am exausted. Sorry this is short, I want to sleep. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

I slowly but surely began the process of moving everything from my tent to the shelter. I then decided I was worthy of warm oatmeal and hot chocolate, so I fired up my stove and boiled some waer. I then, slowly, packed my backpack and talked to the other hikers. It is really quite fascinating to talk to other hikers, we all come from different backgrounds, and we all have fascinating stories. I hit trail around 8AM, my orginal plan was to stop at Blue Mountain Shelter for the night, 7.2 miles down the trail. The trail was wet and muddy. The trail was a river at times, I was assured all the water sources would be flowing. It was interesting walking in a cloud for most of the day, gives you a different take on your surroundings. The most interesting piece of wildlife I have seen on the trail has been some birds and varmint like species. I arrived at the shelter around 11AM, and attempted to dry things out. Mission failure. I then began the internal deabte of whether to stay or move on to Unicoi Gap. As the debate raged on internally, I realized there wasa homeless man at the shelter with me. He was a nice man. He neither begged nor took anything from us without consent, he only took things when offered. Also at the shelter were Bill and Jesse. We decided to move on to Unicoi Gap and to get a shuttle to the Cloud9 Hostel. The descent into the gap was slippery, due to the mud, the whole way. There were also stretches of rocks, it reminded me of hiking in Maine. Most of the descent has switchbacks, which is quite nice. The Maine Appalachian Trail Club should take note of these lovely things. About half an hour after I arrived in the Gap, August pulled in. We got to talking a bit, nice man. He hiked in 2005, and is at it again. He convinced me the hostel was not worth it, and that a Holiday Inn Express would in fact be cheaper when split four ways. August arranged a ride with a truck that was taking a rest break, we each agreed to give five dollars to the driver for the ride. August has mastered the art of Yogi-ing a ride from complete strangers. It turns out that since August;s father is a truck dirver, he could get us a discount on the hotel room. Instead of having to split 99 dollars four ways, it was only 70 dollars. August only charged me ten dollars for the room. I owe him one. I am going to consider this trail magic. I ended up saving five dollars compared to Cloud9, and I have access to a hot tub. I had chicken and spicy fries for dinner. I also bought enough food to get me to Franklin, NC, which is my next planned resupply. Tomorrow I shall take a zero mile day due to pending dangerous weather. There are tornado warnings all over the place, nothing for this region yet. Sunday I shall slackpack from Unicoi Gap to Dick's Creek Gap. My plan from Monday forward is vague, some tough decisions have to be made, and I might need tp move forward from my group, I shall seek my Dad's imput, that decision will be made in good judegement based on the situation at hand. Till then, time to prepare my pack for an 8:30AM departure to the Blueberry Patch Hostel. where I shall prepare to walk zero miles. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

I woke up at 5AM hungry, so I reached over to my Domino's pizza box and ate my remaining two slices, quite delicious. I then woke up at 7AM. Pirate made pancakes and coffee for all the guests of the hostel. I ate four pancakes and drankl a cup of coffee, quite a tough life I am living. I then had a hot shower with soap, I have never had a greater shower in my life. I felt quite clean afterwards. I then threw everything in my backpack and walked 50 feet to the outfitter. A staff member helped me pack my backpack in a more effective way, it now carries a whole lot better. I hit trail around 10:30AM. There were a few climbs that made me curse the GATC. There were plenty of nice views today, my first day of hiking with a lot of views. I stopped a few times on an exposed rock and ate some pringles. I am at the point where I will pack a can of pringles out of a resupply, a great trail snack. Towards the end of the day there were many pointless ups and downs(PUDS), they eventually became mindless(MUDS). I am now at Low Gap Shelter, I had a lipton pasta packet for dinner. Adam(Por Boy) went from a nice man to a caulky and arrogant hiker. He has offended a lot of people wth his statements, including myself. I hope to have that be my only bad talk about another hiker in this journal. Shitty weather tomorrow, I am thinking I will only go 7 miles. Time for hot chocolate. Kirby

Today started out horrible. I woke up and it was cold and windy. My tent was sagging, and my gloves were useless, and I became cold quite rapidly. I quickly made the shelter picnic table my headquarters, and began the process of packing up as quickly as I could with nearly frozen hands, or so it seemed. I decided to move out quickly, so I just ate a granola bar and some cheaddar cheese crackers. I decided to take the Freeman trail around Blood Mountain because the weather was sketchy, and I was determied to get to Neel's Gap in short order. The Freeman trail has a lot of rocky stretches, reminds me of hiking in Maine. I covered those stretches was ease. The trail is fairly level, no significant climbs or descents. Apparently I missed the toughtest part of the AT descent into the Gap, I found the final 1.5 miloes to be enoyable. At Neel's Gap I had my pack shook down by Winton. I ended up buying a Jetboil, a sleeping bag liner, stove fuel, and some food resupply. Winton is a fantastic man. He helped me resolve a fiasco with my debit card. He answered every question I cound think of, and always has a smile on. When I started running low on cash on hand, je even offered to give me cash, as long as I paid him back once I hit Hiawassee. I declined, but it is the tought that counts from my perspective. Tomorrow morning Winton said he will help me pack my pack in a way that makes it carry better. Currently I am having friction problems along my waist, plaster tape has been quite useful in resolving that issue. Winton also said that he might be able to find a more effective way to set up my tent. I also learned my wool socks have built in sock linters, so I was able to send a pair home. I kept one just in case blisters develop. I have never had blisters on the back of my heels. Tonight I am staying at the hostel in Neel's Gap, overseem by Pirate. He is a nice man, strikes me as humble and quite friendly. Seems to be enjoying lige. I am currently watching Deliverance, waiting for my Domino's pizza to be delivered. I believe I will try for Low Gap Shelter tomorrow, not sure though. I will be in Hiawassee in three to four daus, a zero mile day might be in order. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

When I woke up, today was very up in the air. There was a nasty storm moving through, so I was hesitant to leave in the morning. I ended up lounging around for most of the day. Weathe forcasts made it seem the storm would be gone by 2-3PM. I decided that I wanted a short day into Neel's Gap tomorrow, so I was determined to make it to Wood's Hole Shelter today. I hit trail around 2:15PM. On my descent of Big Cedar mountain I went into lightening position for about 20 minutes riding out a thin ban of severe weather I knew was coming. Once the weather passed, it started to cleap up. There were nice views here and there, so I toke some photos and moved on. I also got some photos of me in lightening position, and hiking in the rain. The trail was either flooded, muddy, eroded, or all of the above during todays hike, we thru-hikers cause a lot of damage to the trail, and I do here by take some of the responsibility for this. As I arrived at the full shelter, it became cold and windy fast. So I setup my tent as quickly as possible. I then cooked dinner in the shelter, it acted as a large windscreen. Tomorrow I shall go to Neel's Gap, four miloes away, not including the .4 I need to hike to get back to the trail. I think I am going to buy a new stove, and maybe even a tent if I can find one a like. Well, time to sleep, I want to get to Neel's Gap quickly tomorrow. It it now 7:59PM, one minute before hiker midnight. I am quite tired. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

The high point of the day was lunch on the unmarked summit of Sassafras Mountain. There was a semi decent view, so I took a picture and ate some food. Beef jerkey is a great trail snack, and peanut butter on half a bagel fills me up quick right now, the hiker diet is not quite here yet. I then moved on, going up and over some random bumps in northern Georgia, and descending into some interesting gaps. The trail passes by some interesting creeks, and trees are starting to bloom in the lower elevation areas the trail passes through. Indeed, the trail is a green tunnel in some places, it makes for some nice hiking. I then wandered my way to Justus creek, a nice water source along the trail. I then arrived at Gooch Mountain shelter around 10:45AM. I was planning on staying there for the night, but I decided it was too early to call it a day, so the General and I continued onto Woody Gap, mile 20.1 of the trail. The trail from Gooch to Woody is not that difficult. There are nice views here and there, and steep climbs that made me stop and breath from time to time. Woody Gap is a nice spot for a picnic. There is a gorgous view as you come off the trail, and there are high tech privies. The Hiker Hostel picked me up around 2:30PM, and I was showered and doing laundry by 3:30PM. I am not sitting in a comfy chair eating Chinese food and watching "Total Recall" staring Governor Schwarzenegger. Tomorrow I will start late and go 7-9 miles, giving me a short day into Neel's Gap Wednesday. I was going to try to push to Neel's Gap tomorrow, but I decided I don't want to pay for two nights at Neel's, but that could change tomorrow, I will see how I feel. Life on the trail is good.Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

Today was an easy day, but quite enjoyable. To be quite honest, there was not really anything note worthy, there was a interesting open field about two miles south of the shelter, I believe it is used for logging, not sure though. The shelters are not nearly as crowded as people say, we are averaging 10-12 a night. There was also a large hollow tree along the trail, quite fascinating really. The trail is Georgia has been thus far. There are very few rocks and roots along the trail, makes for very nice hiking. I give props to the GATC for keeping this trail in order, thank you GATC! I was also able to send to my dad a couple text messages, which is good, I don't have a strong enough signal to call, but I can text with 1-2 bars of reception. Well, it is around 2PM. I am going to take a nap. Kirby

Ga>ME 2008

The day started out well. I ate breakfast at the lodge, courtesy of Shiloh and Shadowmoss. They were great people and I thank them very much for breakfast. I also met Jan Liteshope, and Awol during breakfast. Jan gave me a container with beef jerkey, and Awol gave me a bookmark with the entire trail on it, thank you very much! I then went to a presentation by the GATC, quite enjoyable. I started the Approach Trail around 11AM. The Approach Trail is not that difficult, a couple steep climbs though. Springer is a tad bit more amazing when you walk 7.5 miles to get there. It was completely clear today, so I had a nice view to the west. It was odd being there after 18 months of thinking and planning. I am looking forward to my walk north. It will give me enough tome to sort out my post high school life. Tonight I am at Stover Creek Shelter with several other thrus. Life is good. Good night,Kirby PS:I met a nice man named John at Amicalola Falls. He hiked in 1976, real nice guy, nice family as well.

Ga>ME 2008

Here I am. Amicalola Falls State Park, roughly 2,183 miles from Katahdin. I am ready. Everything is set to go.

I feel surprisingly well considering. I am in the final stages of recovery from the cold, I get it every year.

It is currently 1PM, and I am laying in my tent at a campground here in the park. This campsite is quite nice. I have access to running water, bathrooms, and electricity. I had breakfast this morning at the lodge, it was quite delicious. And it was all you can eat buffet, only $8.00!!

Tomorrow morning I shall go to a presentation by the GATC. Then it is off to the Approach Trail to Springer, where I shall start my walk north.

Thanks everyone for the support, and I hope to see you on the trail somewhere,
Kirby

PS: It is now 8:18PM, 18 minutes past hiker midnight, and it is raining. This is good and bad. The good news is that the south is in a drought, so this will help the cause, The bad news is that rain is bad for the morale, but I am still having a blast. My group is fantastic. I can easily see myself hiking to Katahdin wth them/

Ga>ME 2008.

By now, many of you have heard about the tragic events in regards to Meredith Emerson, I have no intention of restating any of the events regarding this story, as that is not fair to the family of the victim, accounts of what happened are widely available on the internet.

I am writing this entry mainly because some people in my life are concerned about me, and my safety. I am writing this to express to you how this has affected me, and its effects on my trip.

My hike is moving full steam ahead. What I learned from this story is to keep my guard up about suspicious people. I imagine other hikers I meet when I start will also be more cautious about personal safety. I have been asked by several people how I plan to change my willingness to tell people my timetable. No one knows my exact time table, except the group I am starting with. When I leave, there will only be a small group of people who will be kept up to date about my day to day plans, others will know where I am from time to time. This tragedy has affected me in ways that are hard to explain, it is a gut thing. This has sort of been a gut check, although it came in a horrible way. I'm sitting here, trying to figure out how best to sum this up from my point of view, but it is hard. Just know that I have recognized the tragedy, and that I will take proper action to ensure my personal safety.

The full weight about my Appalachian Trail thru hike is starting to set it. I officially have less than 100 days until I leave to meet my group. In 99 days, there will be no more planning. In 99 days, there will be no turning back.

It is hard to believe there is less than 100 days to go. I feel like I have a lot of things to get done, many tasks lay unfinished, when that really is not true. My planning is almost complete, I am working on mail drops right now, but that is the last major planning hurdle.

It is hard to believe, still, as I sit here, wow! I am going to attempt to hike from Georgia to Maine, that is an awfully long way, but doable. I look forward to standing in the parking lot at Amicalola Falls State Park, I look forward to be standing at the top of Springer Mountain, I am ready, and yet I have this odd feeling of not being ready, as if something is missing, when really it is me really starting to comprehend what I want to do. With only 99 days to go, butterflies are starting to form in my stomach, I am preparing to enter the unknown. How far will I make it? I have absolutely no idea. I now start my contemplation, of the unknown. KirbyGA>ME 2008

Well, this past weekend I hiked the Bigelow range right here in good old Maine. Originally, my friends Joel and Nate were going to hike it, but then Nate realized he could not go, so I was invited. Now, on a little side note. Nate and I had a argument about this. he argued that playing in two soccer games, playing frisbee, training for the states in cross country, and volunteering at the Maine Marathon, was cooler than hiking the Bigelow range. let the record reflect that nothing is cooler than hiking, NOTHING.

Now that we have clarified that issue, onto my little adventure. We(Joel and myself), started out at 7:15 on the Appalachian Trail VIA route 17. The first couple of miles were nice, not all that difficult. The climb up to Horns Pond was steep with a lot of rocks, certainly made this young man sweat(?) his sorry ass up the mountain. Horns Pond was nice, met a nice ridge runner who was well informed except for that fact that he lied to us about water. He said the water source at the pond was dry but that there was a alternate water source .3 miles down the trail, well, he was wrong, and we were angry. We thought we were going to climb both the South and North Horn. Well, as the trail up the South Horn was walking all over us, we decided we were not walking 10 feet off the trail to touch another summit, we were flustered, sweating endlessly, tire, hungry and thirsty, typical day on the good old AT. Summit of South Horn was nice, met a couple of section hikers out for the weekend, they have been at it for 11 years and anticipate to complete the entire trail by the following July. One of them said something to me that has stuck with me. As we were looking out towards West Peak, it looked like a long way. He said "looks like 30, feels like 5, its actually 2." I was close to adopting the trail name 30-5-2, but I am not sure if I want numbers for a trail name, I will get back to all you loyal readers sometime in the future. Meanwhile we continued our push to West Peak. It was steep, rocky, and steep. What a summit! Well worth the effort, did not have a perfect day, but we still ha nice views! We had out summit photo taken, once I find my camera cord, I will put those photos on this site. We then continued on to Avery Peak, nice peak as well, old fire shack up there, not open to the public, bordered up with wood. On our way back, we ran into someone. This man's name in Steven Rowe, and currently this man is the Attorney General of the great State of Maine. We talked for a little while. I confirmed he is running for Governor in 2010, he has my vote. It really is odd who you see out hiking, great guy too, very respectful, puts Alberto Gonzales to shame, but Gonzales did that to himself, Rowe just put the nail in the coffin. Meanwhile, before we went to Avery Peak, we decided to leave our packs at the Avery Memorial campsite because we were going to come back and head down the fire wardens trail. Well, the Attorney General informed us some varmint were getting into a pack left behind. When we returned to the campsite, this stupid red squirrel was getting into another hikers back, he too left his pack behind before heading to the peak. I have no mercy for these stupid little things. I started battle with the thing the moment I returned to the campsite. It was persistent, but Joel and myself fought that thing off until the hiker returned. Again, I have no mercy for these things, and I was aggressive in my pursuit against the thing. I have referred the case to the Attorney General for further investigation. Now, the descent down the fire warden's trail, the great person who created this fine piece of work. Very steep to start, lots of staircases, which was nice. Then it started to level out, but it just kept on going, and going, and going, and going. nothing to look at, nothing to keep me occupied. Those were the long 3.7 miles I have ever hiked. It never ended, miserable, we were tired. I was ready to call the National Guard and demand my tax dollars be put to work and have a helicopter come get us. So, that was out adventure through the Bigelows, had a great time, look forward to returning there next summer during my thru hike. Until then, Kirby30-5-2????

Ga>ME 2008

well, I have received many questions about my little adventure in the 100 mile wilderness this summer, so, instead of answering the same question many different times, and in many different ways, I am going to write it here, seeing as this is my Appalachian Trail journal after all.

Starting weight:43 pounds My journey in the 100 town free zone, formerly known as the 100 mile "wilderness"/

Day One, Started in Monson, finished at the Long Pond Stream lean-to, distance was 15 miles. This was the worst 15 miles of the whole trip. The profile map makes the trail look relatively easy, with some small ups and downs. Well, these 15 miles never ended! they just went on and on to the point where I was ready to call the MATC and demand a helicopter lift out of there. There was nothing really to look at either, one cool waterfall, and that is about it.

Day two, started at the Long Pond Stream lean-to, finished at East Chairback Pond, distance was about 13 miles. The chairback range was really nice at times, and really frustrating at others. Barren mountain had a great view, well worth the climb at 7am(who had the brillant idea to put a shelter at the base of a long climb?)Ohh well, just another complaint for the great people of the MATC. the first mile out of camp was poorly maintained too, the only thing that kept me on the trail were the white blazes, and those were few and far between. The rest of the trail was typical Maine trail, enough rocks and roots to supply everyone in the United States with a gift and the trail would still have plenty of them. The rocks were also slippery because rain had been in the area a couple of nights earlier(what a storm that was, I was tucked away at Shaw's for that).I did not bother to look at the barren slide. The campsite was nice, I saw a moose there, not an official campsite, but people clearly camp there.

Day three, started at East Chairback Pond, finished at East Branch Lean-to, distance of roughly 18-19 miles. What a day! The whole day was the best I had had thus far in the "wilderness"! The trail was spectacular, not all that difficult. Gulf Hagus was nice, the part I saw of it, it was really interesting walking through the hermitage as well, I now have a lot of respect for those wise old trees. However, the climb up Gulf Hagus mountain and West Peak were quite difficult, very steep, a lot of rocks and an endless amount of roots. White Cap was spectacular, class 1 day easily, I could clearly see Katahdin off in the distance, was a view that is. I could have sat there all day staring out at everything I could see, just amazing. Nice weather overall, where is this yellow brick road though? I thought the Appalachian Trail was supposed to be a "Walk In The Woods"? Maybe Bryson was not paying close enough attention. At east bran lean-to I met my friend Robo, who has hiked 4,000 miles in his life, I ended up hiking with him for the remainder of my trip, great guy to have around.

Day four, east branch lean-to to Potawadjo Spring lean-to, distance of roughly 18-20 miles. Flat. Flat. Flat. The trail was really nice, not too many rocks and roots, realatively flat, just a really nice day on the trail, great weather as well. Robo and I trucked our way 18 miles to this shelter which was nice, way to many mice though. That's another thing, the varmants in the 100 mile "wilderness" were horrible. I am a humane person, but i was at the point where I was showing no mercy to these stupid little creatures. They have no fear of humans anymore, I also had a cup of coffee with Robo, so I was up all night fighting these bastards, he was amused, I was angered, I did see the humor in it in the morning though. Nothing much about this day though, had a great time on the trail. Up to this point I met a lot of great people, several thru hikers, and several section hikers. I also talked to my dad for the first time during my trip today, that was nice, he was getting a little worried, but i eased his tensions. You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

Day five, east potawadjo spring lean to to rainbow springs lean to, distance of 20 miles, roughly. Tough 20 miles, I was caught in a small lightening storm on Nesuntabunt, Robo shrugged it off and kept moving, I insisted on going into lightening position while the storm passed. Again, really tough day, the trail was very tough on my legs. At one point it took us a hour and change to cover a mile, when we normal cover 2-2.5 miles an hour. There was nothing special about this section, except for the fact that it was very long and drawn out, slept like an angel when we got to the shelter. Robo helped me kill some of my extra food, I had too much for the section.

Day six, completion of the 100 mile "wilderness", rainbow springs lean to to Abol Pines campsite, distance of 15 miles. We made it out of the "wilderness" today, passed the famous sign they have up for southbounders, but they do not have one at the other end for NOBOders? Hmm, guess us NOBO's are just amazing like that. Nice ridge walking at the rainbow ledges. Rainbow mountain, if they really wanted hikers to climb this mountain, the trail would re routed to go over this thing, I am not walking my sorry ass 1 mile to climb another mountain on a day with no views just to retrace that one mile and go climb some more mountains that are on the actual trail. No view from Abol Bridge when we arrived, there was a spectacular one later that evening. Katahdin really is a special mountain. What a place to end a 2,000 mile journey, or if your name is Kirby, a 125 mile journey. I met a ridegerunner I know at the store at Abol Campground, it is really odd the places you meet people know. Another ridge runner I met in the "wilderness" gave away i was coming. It really si amazing how much more fellow hikers are interested in hearing your stories than average joe Americans, I guess they understand what you are saying and what you are going through. The state campsite there is really nice, right on the Penobscott river, met some cool people though, Robo seems to be able to start a conversation with everyone, no matter who they are. I suppose you get that skill after 4,000 miles, I prefer to mind my own business. To Katahdin.

Day seven I hiked to Katahdin Stream Campground VIA the Blueberry ledges trail, nothing special, felt no need to hike the AT in the park, I wanted to have a short day. Nice trail, poorly maintained, very difficult to follow.

Day eight, Mount Katahdin via the Appalachian Trail. What a day, a lot of boulder scrambles, lots and lots of boulder scrambles. 4 and half hours up, roughly the same going down. What a way to end the journey, it was nice being able to look back at what I had just covered, and beyond. Lots of people on the summit. Robo, myself, thru hikers Knify Spoony, Yardsale, Waffle, and Yorkie, all started in Georgia. Words really can not describe what i felt when I got there, I was upset I was not going to wake up the next morning and hike. the next day I was going to have to hang around in Millinockett as all my friends left for their journeys home. I had mixed feelings. I was proud I completed my first major long distance backpacking trip, while upset it was all over.

That was my journey through the 100 mile "wilderness". I had a great time, and i do look forward to my 2008 GAME hike on the Appalachian Trail. I am looking forward to the people I meet and the places I see. What a trip,Kirby

Ga>ME 2008