My Appalachian Trail adventure

[accumack]

Has anyone heard from Ally?

[CC Cowboy]

Rumor has it she met a boy with a banjo! The rest is cinema.

[accumack]

I little far for that.

[csmith12]

She posted on FB 4 hours ago. Nature pics that I am sure that will find their way here when she gets the chance.

[ally99]

Hey guys! I'm in Connecticut, crossing into Massachusetts tomorrow! I updated my 400 mile trail journal a few days ago, the 500 mile one only a few days away.

400 mile journal entry
Eighty two miles of this hundred continued in the same manner as the last hundred ended...painfully. Tendinitis in both legs augmented the normal trail trials and tribulations. New Jersey gave way to New York which abruptly greets hikers with challenging hand over hand rock scrambles with appropriate names like The Ladder and The Lemon Squeezer, eyes pointed straight up and thoughts repeating, "How am I supposed to get way up there?" These are fun challenges, and though pain attempts to blind one to the beauty of the present moment, it forced me to slow down and notice it...to savor the taste of thirst-quenching wild blueberries, my favorite distractions; to linger longer soaking my feet in the pool of a picturesque waterfall; to take a zero mile day with my favorite hiking friend for his first 4th of July in America! We started patriotically by ordering the Presidential omlet at a local restaurant and ended being escorted by the city firemen to the town's grand fireworks display. The following morning was tough as I watched my friends pack up and hit the trail on the day I had to stay behind to rest my swollen legs. Twinges of loneliness ensued, but new friends came along immediately. Part of the journey.
Thanks to the painful curse turned blessing, I stopped to watch the acrobatic antics of squirrels and birds in a mulberry tree, gazed as two graceful swans flew above and skidded into the lake for a morning swim, sat by a breathtaking lake listening to the whispers of the breeze and the splashes of frogs leaping off their lily pads in chase of an unsuspecting insect. In no hurry, I limped along New Jersey's popular mile long boardwalk in awe of the wetland ecosystems all around with cattails so close I couldn't resist reaching out and touching one. I withstood the wrath of angry mosquitoes and biting gnats for a nighttime view of the New York city skyline from the top of West Mountain and got stopped in my tracks by a bear cub and his mom ahead of me on the trail. Heartbeat increased a bit at that moment!
New trail angels assisted me along the way. The support these people provide for no other reason than to make someone's day has helped renew my faith in people. Pat, who offered me a ride to the trail from town also opened her home to me that evening complete with a home cooked meal, a comfy bed, and fun conversation. Hikerboy gave me the gift of a day of slackpacking. In essence, he met me along my hike, providing food and drink so I could hike without my 30-pound pack on my back. Then there was Sean who spent his day off treating a couple of us to lunch and shuttling us to resupply. There were hiker feeds at shelters and coolers of goodies in the woods. Magic!
This was the hardest hundred yet both in terrain challenges and physical ones. Still, life is unfathomably rewarding and exciting on the Appalachian Trail! Everyday is definitely not sunshine and butterflies, but every moment is worth it all. Moving on to Connecticut next week!

[ally99]

[CC Cowboy]

Great pictures. I thought it would have been hard. Looks like a cakewalk.

Just think of the condition you will be in when it's over. Broken down, worn out, exhausted, feeble, aged, flat footed, I think I'll stop there. I wouldn't want to depress you.

Now for a postitive news. Did you see Scott Jurek run by you? He finished the Trail in 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes. I'm not sure if he was wearing shoes though. That extra weight might have slowed him down.

[accumack]

Great pictures keep them coming!

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Great pictures. I thought it would have been hard. Looks like a cakewalk.

Just think of the condition you will be in when it's over. Broken down, worn out, exhausted, feeble, aged, flat footed, I think I'll stop there. I wouldn't want to depress you.

Now for a postitive news. Did you see Scott Jurek run by you? He finished the Trail in 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes. I'm not sure if he was wearing shoes though. That extra weight might have slowed him down.

Almost 50 miles a day

[ally99]

Scott was in such a hurry. Dude missed out on a helluva lot. I was in Hamburg on a rainy day when he passed by, so i missed the privilege of feeling his wind rush past me as he slackpacked his speedy ass along.

500 mile journal: Five hundred miles have now been traveled on these feet of mine. They have suffered numerous stubbed toes on trail-covering tree roots resembling gnarled arthritic hands. Early blisters have evolved into protective callouses. Mosquitoes have apparently organized mass attacks on exhausted hikers, even biting through clothes! You hide out in your tent, kill the four that follow you in, and listen to the hum of the hundreds swarming your tent and landing on the screen, itching to get inside. The days can be steamy, and water is growing scarce with the lack of rain, both a blessing and a curse to a hiker. Bugs, heat, exhaustion, and a scratch or two are the daily norm.

So why is it worth it? A lifetime is nothing but a series of moments. Every single moment out here, the good and the bad, has a purpose. The rainy and sweltering days teach a deeper appreciation for the sunny days when the afternoon high is 78 degrees in mid-July and the evenings are the kind of pleasantly chilly night that has always enticed me to leave my windows open at home. My "trail legs" have developed strength and abilities to carry me farther than ever before and make a 20-mile day feel easy. I have come face to face with a juvenile bear five feet away from me, watched a flock of mama turkeys herd their poults across the trail, chirping their displeasure at my interruption, and stepped over hundreds of cool little orange salamanders who are often out and active after a good rain. I have met people from all walks of life with unique stories to tell. I have learned something from each of them, learned some things from my own experience, but learned mostly from mistakes I've made along the way. Kind of a metaphor for life.

Peaceful walks have included miles on the trail along rivers with swimming holes on a hot day and streams that end with a postcard worthy waterfall. Walks paused by the luxury of serene hours spent on the bank of a glassy clear mountain lake watching the sunset paint the sky behind the mountains and regular foot soakings in cold mountain springs...nature's pedicure! Miles of constant ridgeline walks have provided stunning views of our world as never really seen before. So many times it's a reminder of how small we really are in this universe. The largest lakes and fields look infinitesimal when viewing such a expansive canvas from the ledge of a mountain.

One of the top ten days of my life was the recent perfect day walking across Mt. Race and tackling the most difficult terrain I've experienced to find golden silence and quiet peace on top of the world. The physical challenge involved in this journey is incredible and rewarding. After a brutal climb, it's awesome to realize just what these bodies of ours are capable of achieving! Sometimes the trail even offers rewards of fresh, ripe raspberries or blueberries dotted along its ridge or an unbelievable view that will take one's breath away!

Not every moment out here is sunshine and butterflies, though both are plentiful. The trail can be harsh. The moments gaining understanding of happiness, perseverance, and that less really can be more are growing deeper within me everyday.

Note: I recorded a couple of videos so that I could take some of you along with me and share the beauty of the hike across the ledge of Mt. Race. Next time I'm over WiFi, I'll post them. Thanks for reading my journal

[allanoue]

Link to original page on YouTube.

[ally99]

This video is especially for you, @CC Cowboy

https://youtu.be/P9qGNV2f5a4

[ally99]

https://youtu.be/ZSAgdHJahKM



Favorite hike so far! Sorry sideways. User error.

[ally99]

https://youtu.be/BM952Cl1vCg

Mt. Race in Massachusetts

Last sideways one. I've since learned how to video. Love, Permanoob

[accumack]

Nice videos! Thanks for sharing.

[Alvin31]

Thanks. Do you have more videos?

[ally99]

600 mile journal
This hundred miles greeted me immediately with a grand entrance into Massachusetts. Day one set a precedent that was, fortunately, continued throughout this hundred mile section. Upon saying farewell to Connecticut, there were miles of stream side mountain walks complete with inviting swimming holes, picturesque waterfalls that beckon hikers to pause their walks and enjoy nature's most powerful cleansing shower, exceptionally challenging climbs and descents teaching one's legs the limit of which they are capable while simultaneously preparing them for the difficult states that lie ahead, miles of ridgeline hikes with views that rival others seen thus far, and a picture perfect, low humidity sunny day with highs in the 70s. This was the land of music box bird songs and dancing fireflies numerous enough to light the world outside of one's tent. Welcome to Massachusetts!!

My purpose changed slightly for this state. Rather than plan my days around numbers of miles, they were centered around the distinctive people and places Massachusetts has to offer. There is Goose Pond Shelter, a free hiker lodge offering kayaking, swimming, and a free fluffy pancake breakfast; the "Cookie Lady" who offers hikers homemade cookies, Klondike bars, a blueberry farm with picking opportunities, and a pleasantly shady grassy yard to pitch a tent for the night. Depot Street in Dalton houses Mr. Levardi, a trail angel who, for 36 years, has opened his yard and porch to hikers, offering rides to Walmart and bikes to cruise around town. Mount Greylock, the highest point and most unique ecosystem in the region, offered a pleasant surprise with Bascom Lodge nestled on its summit, a comfortable $37 bunkroom with a dazzling view and a fun group of ladies to share in the slumber party! Friends, games of darts, shooting pool, campfire conversations with people whom one may never give a second glance passing by on busy city streets who all have such interesting stories to tell, as well as occasional quiet nights alone in the woods make everyday different...perfunctory in routine, yet varying in experiences.

Massachusetts gave way to Vermont, or as hikers appropriately nickname it, "Vermud". The trail can best be described as mud, roots, rocks, slip and slide, tumble and redo. Unavoidable, ankle-deep mud is ubiquitous on the trail here, and just as it doesn't take long to capitulate and just start walking right through it, it also doesn't take long to find the silver lining. When traction gives way and one finds oneself on the ground in a flash, at least mud makes for a pillow-like landing! There have been days so muggy that unsuspecting bugs meet their maker when they land on an arm and drown in the sweat of a hiker making a big climb...days so hot that hands clenching trekking poles are sweaty enough to remain pruny for hours. What a blessing on these days when the clouds drift in and open up, presenting the gift of a refreshing shower, concluding with the beautiful music of the sounds of the forest after a rain, like something one might hear on a peaceful nature CD. Occasionally the sudden aroma of balsam fur trees brings a tidal wave of memories from childhood Christmases to the forefront of the mind.

Living in a constant state of wonder, never having to conceal the mood which one finds herself, eyes lighting up in a grocery store at the sight of a salad bar that includes spinach and kiwis, relief that comes from the perfectly placed stream at the foot of a hot climb or fresh raspberries appearing suddenly just as the mouth could use refreshment, chilly nights with the peaceful sounds of mountain springs running alongside one's humble nomadic home, all make life on the trail an unpredictable series of unforgettable moments. Out here, surrounded by so much life, such rare quiet, by literal and figurative ups and downs, I am alive!

[ally99]

No videos, but a few pics

[ally99]

[allanoue]

go ally!

[accumack]

More great pics. Thanks!

[LittleRedNinjette]

You go girl!

[CC Cowboy]

I plan on doing the same trip. Only, I'm going to do it at night on a dirt bike. I'm thinking a CR500 would be fun.

[ally99]

They don't allow bikes on the AT.

[ally99]

Baker Peak part 1: https://youtu.be/QlKjsP_j2nU

Baker Peak part 2: https://youtu.be/MKL3F6Tiq58


Bromley Mountain ski slope: https://youtu.be/ZA6tB2sGpmo

The Green Tunnel: https://youtu.be/4_hT-OKDlgo

[Bigballsofpaint]

Seems like your making good time, think youll finish by the time school starts?

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by Bigballsofpaint

Seems like your making good time, think youll finish by the time school starts?

600 of 2200
She is not half done yet.

[Bigballsofpaint]

i guess it depends where shes ending, but shes almost in Maine which i thought is where it ends?

I know she skipped a chunk of the south, didnt know how much.

[ally99]

Originally Posted by Bigballsofpaint

Seems like your making good time, think youll finish by the time school starts?

I have no time table. Not teaching next year. School for them starts next week.

[ally99]

Originally Posted by Bigballsofpaint

i guess it depends where shes ending, but shes almost in Maine which i thought is where it ends?

I know she skipped a chunk of the south, didnt know how much.

Not skipped, just saving the best for last. Last half will be walked southbound immediately following the northern half, possibly. Time will tell.

[alex.s]

what happens when you finish the trail? turn around and do it again? do the pacific crest trail next!

[Bigballsofpaint]

Originally Posted by ally99

I have no time table. Not teaching next year. School for them starts next week.

AH, school up here doesnt start for another month, Well then it looks like you have a lot of hiking time to fill.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Originally Posted by ally99

Baker Peak part 1: https://youtu.be/QlKjsP_j2nU

Baker Peak part 2: https://youtu.be/MKL3F6Tiq58


Bromley Mountain ski slope: https://youtu.be/ZA6tB2sGpmo

The Green Tunnel: https://youtu.be/4_hT-OKDlgo

You need one of them cameras strapped to your chest.

[ally99]

700 mile journal

Welcome to the start of moose country in sunny, muddy Vermont, the state of mild temperatures, sweet raspberries, and steep mountains. The farther north my legs carry me, the more notable the changes around me. My ordinary greeting of "Hey y'all" isn't as commonplace in this neck of the woods as it is down yonder in the south. The phrase here seems to bring out the friendly in people, triggering a smile and questions about the origin of my accent, (What? I have one of those?! ;-), which usually evolves into lively conversation with the local townspeople. Also changing farther northward are the mountains themselves. The terrain augments in difficulty with exhilarating climbs and painful descents up to 4,000 feet, the highest of my journey so far. My legs get stronger every day, every climb. The trail passes through fewer towns and loses cell phone reception for longer periods of time. The surrounding forest is sometimes the greenest green my eyes have ever seen while other sections consist of roots or rocks or fallen dead trees, a result of the devastation from Hurricane Irene. The one constant in this hundred miles, however, has been the mud. After several humbling slip and slides, I finally capitulated to the ankle-deep mud and succumbed to walking right through it rather than attempting avoidance. Nevertheless, northern Vermont has come through, with some delightfully stunning views, challenging climbs that make one stronger in more ways than one, and varying trail to prepare hikers for the most difficult sections of the AT directly ahead...New Hampshire's White Mountains and Maine.
This hundred miles included some "slackpacking", a hiker term for leaving the 35-pound pack behind and walking a welcome section with a light day pack. What a difference the pounds make, a literal load taken off one's shoulders! The hike transforms into a pleasantly different experience. This hundred also involved a few needed zero days with some pretty awesome friends in New Hampshire, Guardian, Mellow, and Marni at White Mountains Lodge and Hostel. The few miles Guardian and I hiked on the AT in NH provided me with a tiny glimpse into my near future. With climbs topping 6,000 feet on my near horizon, the epic views and challenging climbs ahead are like nothing I've seen yet!

Notable moments in this section included the comical scene of running like my life depended on it across a boardwalk swarming with stinging bees, angry at hikers for walking over their nest; evenings with friends in towns, shelters, or at hostels with delicious food and lively conversation; nights of solace camping beside a babbling brook with a wide view of the nighttime sky's dotted canvas. I now know where the stars have been hiding. Waterfalls, swimming holes, new and recurring friends from the past, pancake breakfasts, springlike daytime temps with chilly nights for solid sleeping, and frequent daily hikes totaling 20 miles or more defined my 700th mile traveled on foot.

Lessons were learned in moments of mishap...one faulty step ending with a jarring crunch of knee against rock offered a sudden reminder of the fact that it only takes one wrong step out of 5,000,000 to do some damage. Watch every single step. A wrong turn added to the frustration of an exhausting day by adding an extra mile to the hike and reminded me of the importance of paying constant attention. ce then, raspberries and blackberries have lined the trail as ubiquitously as blueberries did the previous 300 miles.

Everyday when the rhetorical question is asked in passing, "How are you?" My daily answer in rain or shine, easy day or tough one, "I'm in love with today."

[ally99]

Then I think I'm basically finished with the Whites. Oh I've got sooooo many amazing pictures! I wish I had time to post a bunch of them here. Here's one of my "trail family" at the top of the Washington. I met these guys back at Trail Days before I was even on trail. Then I met them again on my very first day on trail, June 5. Didn't see them again until Hanover, but since then, they've been stuck with me. Awesome group!

800 mile journal

The 800th mile of this journey has brought with it many bruises, a heavier pack to carry full of cold weather gear and mountains more brutally grueling and more richly rewarding than any other on the Appalachian Trail! Gone are the twenty mile days of hiking solid speeds of three miles per hour. Miles in the White Mountains of New Hampshire become impossibly long with speeds as slow as one mile an hour at times. The trail ranges from mud bogs that behave like quicksand where one misstep sends you into mud up to your knees; ceaseless, slippery, entangling tree roots grabbing ahold of your foot at every opportunity; the steepest ups and downs of endless rock climbs, hands replacing trekking poles as the most useful navigation tool. Exhilarating yet utterly exhausting ascents and terrifying "scoot down on your butt, slide and hope" descents are abundant up here. The trail has also provided delightful days of walking through numerous fields of wildflowers and snacking on wild apples and blackberries along the stroll. Days have included climbing up waterfalls and fording creeks whose footbridges have washed out (kind of scary!). At times there are breathtakingly epic views and other times of cold, thick, disappointing fog blanketing the view from the summit. There have been days of sunny heat where a 30-foot bridge jump into the river below is a delight and days with a 100% chance of heavy rain which resulted in a "zero day" spent with a pretty cool friend. There have been nights around a campfire enjoying a reunion with friends from early in my hike; nights in a beautiful cabin feasting like a queen with my 85-year old date, a lively couple, and a fellow hiker; nights spent stargazing while camping in an open field.
As with all the miles that have come before, the people a hiker encounters along the trail enrich the journey to a whole new level. For example, was trail angel Daniel who allows hikers to pitch a tent in his gorgeous mountain streamside lawn. The evening included a ride to the local Woodstock farmers market! My last night in Vermont was spent in a garage hostel with a fun group of hikers at the "pancake house", a place known to hikers only by word of mouth where good Samaritans provide food, drink, and shelter to hikers passing through. Walking into New Hampshire, Elm Street, the street of trail magic, immediately welcomes us with coolers of goodies at the end of the residents' driveways. The town of Hanover offers hikers free treasures including pizza, donuts, and fancy bagels. There was roadside hot dog trail magic and the "Ice Cream Man", or Mr. Bill. He owns a house right on the AT and invites hikers to come over for ice cream and croquet lessons! I had the honor of accompanying him to his neighbor's house for the best meal I've had on trail! Lively conversation ensued with this uniquely diverse group. My first day in New Hampshire brought me the gift of a perfectly timed reunion with hiker friends I have known since before my walk began...excited to have found in them a trail family. Enjoyed sharing the initiation to the Whites with Guardian who drove down to hike with me a few days. Abundant laughter, conversation, and sharing of experiences end nearly every exhausting day out here.
This section of trail brought punishment to the body and awe to the soul. This 800 began the biggest challenge on which I have ever embarked. Loving every day!

[accumack]

Great post! So glad you are enjoying your journey and sharing with us.

[ally99]

Crossed into Maine a few days ago. Jesus, even harder than the Whites of NH!

[ally99]

Southern Maine

[ally99]

Best I can do on mobile here is post the link. This is a quick video from Mahoosic Notch, the actual hardest mile of the AT. Car sized boulders with gigantic cracks and holes separating them....scariest thing I've ever done in my life!
https://youtu.be/eI4zP3j33QA

[allanoue]

wow

Originally Posted by ally99

Best I can do on mobile here is post the link. This is a quick video from Mahoosic Notch, the actual hardest mile of the AT. Car sized boulders with gigantic cracks and holes separating them....scariest thing I've ever done in my life!

Link to original page on YouTube.