Day 63 (102117)

**Facebook Post 102117 at 7:48AM**

Pennsylvania by tomorrow!

 

4:45PM Start Day 63 (102117)

•4:45PM (Estimate) View (Mile 869.0)
•5:20PM Brink Road Shelter, pass
(Mile 871.4)
•7:30PM Tentsite (Mile 875.3)
•5:30AM Wake up, pack
•7:00AM On Trail
•7:40AM (Mile 876.7)
•8:30AM Break (Mile 878.2)
•9:15AM (Mile 880.1)
•10:15AM View (Mile 881.4)
•11:15AM Catfish Fire Tower (Mile 883.3)
•12:40PM Camp Road Parking
(Mile 885.4)
•2:15PM Raccoon Ridge (Mile 887.9)
•4:30PM Break (Mile 892.0)
•4:45PM Small stream (Mile 892.8)

4:45PM End Of Day 63
APPROX 23.8 Miles

Day 62 (102017)

4:45PM Start Day 62 (102017)

•4:45PM (Estimate) County Rd 519
(Mile 850.5)
•6:00PM Observation Tower (Mile 852.4)
•8:00PM Camp (Mile 855.8)
•6:30AM Wake up, pack
•8:30AM On trail
•9:30AM Deckertown Turnpike
(Mile 858.8)
•10:20AM Break (Mile 860.8)
•12:30PM Culver Fire Tower (Mile 865.9)
•1:30PM Culver’s Gap (Mile 867.8)
(Add .25 Walk to tavern for lunch)
(Add .25 Walk back to trail head)
•4:45PM (Estimate) View (Mile 869.0)

4:45PM End Of Day 62
APPROX 18.5 Miles
(Add .5 Walk to and back from lunch)

Day 61 (101917)

**Facebook Post 101917 at 11:18AM**

Day 54

Day 54 has come and gone and I am still on trail. The big goal was to potentially beat the world record, still held by Heather Anderson at 54 days, 7 hours, 48 minutes, unless someone else had beaten that self-supported record while I have been on trail and I wasn’t made aware of it. Well, it didn’t happen for me (this year), not even close. In fact, I think I’m still a bit shocked at how difficult Maine and New Hampshire were, keeping me on trail over a month alone. Reality is though, I was well aware before I left for this trip that I had not been through the northern part, which is commonly spoken of as difficult, and it could potentially hold me back this year, which it did. Surprises happen on the trail even when you are familiar with a section, so it was no surprise Maine and New Hampshire held obstacles for me. I had prepared mentally not to kill myself over it. Also, I prepared three years of my life to pursue this goal, not two. I figured if the northern part was more difficult and cost me time, that at least I would now know the entire trail from top to bottom, having had walked it in it’s entirety at least once. My third year would be based on experience, which is something I would need to accomplish something so rigorous anyway, I think. If I had completed the world record this year, I would have assumed it was luck.

Anyway, the next goal I had set for myself, if I was unable to beat the world record, was to at least finish 1,800 miles in the two months I would be out here. Well, that didn’t happen either. I told myself that if I didn’t complete the 1,800, vastly improving my number from last year, I would have to consider not pursuing the third year, and let this goal go. Hard to do. The thing is though, this isn’t just the two months I’m out here. It’s about the training, early mornings out at the butt crack of dawn walking with a heavy pack, sweating balls. It’s the weekends where I have to travel to trail heads and walk, again with a large pack on. It’s the nights at the gym, the blog, the Facebook posts, the raising funds for the cause, the gear research, the everything that dominates my normal life in preparation for this. It’s a constant. It’s not being able to travel to visit family because I’m obligated to a three year endeavor. It’s obsession. It’s putting regular goals that pertain to my life off in order to pursue a dream. Ugh. Reality bites. So, this year because neither the world record or my goal of 1,800 miles was achieved, I am going to have to think long and hard about going for it a third year. Problem??? I finally have the whole trail under my belt, meaning mistakes can now be thwarted due to my knowledge of the terrain and the ability to not make the same mistakes twice. Experience (again) could make all the difference in a third attempt. I’ll have to think hard.

So, all hope is not lost though. I did have a third goal for this year, which was to complete the last of my miles on the AT. Which I’m so close to doing now, I can taste it. I’m in New Jersey. My next and last state is Pennsylvania, and I don’t even have to complete the whole thing, I just have to get to Boiling Springs which is closing in on 200 miles away at this point. Thank goodness. Problem? I’m way overdue to be back home. Way overdue! I didn’t leave a rent check for my landlord for November because I had no idea I would be this delayed. I need to get back to work as soon as possible because season is about to start. (October 30th is unofficial start of season.) I have bills to pay and I’m running low on funds or even a way to get them into my bank account. Got to get to steppin’ and fast.

The original goal was to be done by the 8th, get to Baltimore, MD, see my brother and the family, get to Danville, VA, see my bio-mom and my grandfather, stop at the few locations where my remaining bounce boxes are on my way south, then hit my parents up in Lake Worth, FL, then over to Fort Myers. I wanted to have a couple days off to reorganize my apartment. My boyfriend, Jason, and my friend, Stephen (subleasing my pad) had basically moved all my stuff out and around to secure things because of the hurricane. Figured it might be nice to get my home back in order before returning to work. Now none of that is going to happen. I will be hustling to just get home and I will have to jump right back into life, no transition period what so ever. Such is life though. Isn’t it?

I have to say this year was brutal. And I’m not so sure of myself any more. I worked pretty hard at getting myself up here and I got my butt handed to me. Not so much so as I quit, which I didn’t, but I had no idea what I was in for with all the scrambling and rock climbing, being sucked in by bogs, night hikes and rain, cold weather and carrying extra gear. Racing to beat the snow. Challenging was just the beginning. Am I even capable of getting my crap together enough to legitimately beat a world record??? If so, it would take more training than I’m doing, and way way way more strategic planning. I’d say, as usual, it was less my physical ability and more about fear of loosing teeth, being soft when it came to showers and laundry, to spite the motivation it builds, stopping for breaks when I should have been flying, not recognizing opportunity, getting caught up in unforeseen obstacles, and just general lack of talent for proper decision making. I mean, can these even be things I could weed out with better planning and familiarity?

I’ve decided while I think these next coming months about whether or not I’m willing to do this one more time, to access the people I have in my life who are more knowledgable about the AT and see what they suggest and say. Maybe they have the gems I need to perfect my strategy. Maybe they can see something I am not. Maybe they can give me better performance mechanisms. Maybe they can guide me when it comes to the things that sidetrack me on trail. Maybe all hope is not lost, or maybe it is. Time will tell. For now, I just need to get my butt home ASAP and get back to life. I’m pretty sure my friends and my boyfriend are missing me and I am so much missing all of them. Home is great! Florida is pretty bad ass as well. I love the south! No threat of snow!

PS… There’s always the Triple Crown! 😉

 

4:45PM Start Day 61 (101917)

•4:45PM (Estimate) Barrett Road
(Mile 829.9)
•8:30PM Camp (Mile 837.0)
•6:30AM Wake up, Pack
•8:30AM On Trail
•11:30AM Break (Mile 843.2)
•12:15PM Lott Road (Mile 844.7)
(Walk .4 into Unionville, NY, get pizza)
(Walk .4 back to trail head)
•1:15PM Walk back to trail head
at Lott Road (Mile 844.7)
•3:45PM Break (Mile 848.3)
•4:45PM (Estimate) County Rd 519
(Mile 850.5)

4:45PM End Of Day 61
APPROX 20.6 Miles

 

Day 60 (101817)

**Facebook Post 101817 at 12:25PM**

I’m pretty sure my hiking socks will never be clean again. They are permanently stiff from all my sweat and dirt, even after a run through a washing machine.

**Facebook Post 101817 at 4:20PM**

NY/NJ Border

**Facebook Post 101817 at 7:37PM**

So…. What exactly does it take for Triple Crown

http://www.aldhawest.org/page-18160

 

4:45PM Start Day 60 (101817)

•4:45PM (Estimate) NY/NJ Border
(Mile 823.6)
•6:35PM Warwick Turnpike (Mile 827.4)
•6:55PM Tara’s, Dinner, Sleep
•7:00AM Wake up
•3:30PM Leave for Trail
(To Warwick Turnpike) (Mile 827.4)
•3:50PM On trail
•4:45PM (Estimate) Barrett Road
(Mile 829.9)

4:45PM End Of Day 60
APPROX 6.3 Miles

Day 59 (101717)

4:45PM Start Day 59 (101717)

•4:45PM (ZERO DAY)
•8:00PM Sleep at Tara’s in NJ
•7:00AM Wake up, eat breakfast, pack
•1:35PM To trailhead
•1:50PM On Village Vista trail head
(Add .8 for walking up
side trail back to AT)
•2:10PM On AT (Mile 819.9)
•4:45PM (Estimate) NY/NJ Border
(Mile 823.6)

4:45PM End Of Day 59
APPROX 3.7 Miles
(Add .8, Village Vista Trail)

Day 57 (101517)

**Facebook Post 101517 at 10:20AM**

Crossing the Hudson!!!!

**Facebook Post 101517 at 9:06PM**

New Jersey less than 25 miles.

 

4:45PM Start Day 57 (101517)

•4:45PM (Estimate) Bog (Mile 794.4)
•5:45PM William Brien Memorial Shelter (Mile 796.2)
•6:45PM Stream (Mile 798.3)
•8:15PM Arden Valley Road (Mile 800.4)
•7:00AM Wake up, pack
•8:00AM On trail
•9:15PM Surebridge Brook (Mile 802.2)
•1:00PM (Mile 807.7)
•3:30PM (Mile 811.8)
•4:30PM Lakes Road (Mile 814.2)
•4:45PM (Estimate) Trail Junction
(Mile 814.9)

4:45PM End Of Day 57
APPROX 20.5 Miles

 

Day 55 (101317)

**Facebook Post 101317 at 11:36PM**

Fear No Evil

So, between Fox sending me updates as to all the weirdos to watch out for on the trail, and the ever present gut feeling I am supposed to go by when I first meet someone, but may or may not be accurate, sometimes I feel like I am missing something. I think they call it FEAR.

I’m not sure why as I Parkour over wet rock on the edge of a cliff, I can be filled with anxiety about loosing my teeth, breaking a leg, or falling 60 feet, but I still show up and do it. Being a woman solo hiking through the backwoods of states where I have zero familiarity, I somehow loose that healthy feeling of fear to a large degree. Maybe something is broken in me. Maybe I’ve been hiking too long. Maybe I have delusions of grandeur where I just believe somehow if some crazy jumps out of nowhere and tries to kill me I’m capable of escape or overcoming them with my Wiley ways. Who knows?

What I do know is the older I get in general, the more fear I loose. Be it meeting strangers in the night on a dark trail, walking highways alone for miles seeking resupply, or even at home going through motions of every day living, there are things to be fearful of, yet a lot of times it never even crosses my mind. Inanimate objects like wet rock do keep me on edge, but the fear of being mugged or worse somehow slips my mind entirely. Don’t think people all around me don’t try to bring this up, they do. Friends and family like to make sure I’m aware I could potentially get hurt. Thanks guys… I got it. At times, I will even have interesting encounters on trail, where I think to myself, maybe I should have been scared right there. What’s wrong with me? Why didn’t I freak out more?

For instance, last year I was walking through the Smokies at around 10PM, alone in the dark, at top speed trying to get to a shelter to camp. You are not allowed to just camp anywhere in that park. You have to camp at shelters or designated sites. So, being its late and I’m tired as hell, I’m booking it trying to make miles and get to my destination. My headlamp did not have fresh batteries, so I could only see maybe 10-15 feet in front of me, otherwise it was just black. I’m in the zone, huffing and puffing my way up and down mountains, when all of a sudden just out of reach of my headlamp, and directly in front of me, I hear a growl. I can only assume it’s a sizable bear. I stop in my tracks and freeze. I don’t scream. I don’t run. In fact, I’m bizarrely calm. Then I hear it run off, I’m guessing. I heard brush move heavy and fast. I stand there for a moment. In my head I think, if it was going to attack me, it would have already done it. I can’t go back. So, I have to move forward. Clock is still ticking. It’s late. I’m tired. The goal is still the shelter. So, I begin to walk forward, and keep walking. And that was that. I eventually got to the shelter. BUT after this incident, I thought wtf. Why didn’t I react more? Scream? Run? Something. I was afraid, I guess, but I wasn’t at the same time. Analyzing that event after the fact, I wonder about myself sometimes.

Where is the fear?

Which brings me to today’s rant… I’ve mentioned this to several women hikers, and it seems like this happens frequently. Older men say the strangest things to me when I’m on trail. I’m not sure if they are just trying to make small talk or are genuinely concerned for my safety or just freaking weirdos, but…

Young dudes don’t say weird shit to me typically. They pretty much seem comfortable with the idea there are more and more women on the trail hiking solo. It seems normal to them, but… It’s as if at times when I come across men from a slightly older generation they either seemed shocked I’m out in the woods, or I’m out in the woods alone, or I’m just out of my house and not in a kitchen barefoot with babies. Not sure but they always seem perplexed and start saying the weirdest stuff ever.

I mostly get the “Are you alone?” comment. I’m not sure what business of theirs it is if I am or am not, but this is the question I get over and over again. Not sure if they realize it, but asking me if I’m alone is a pretty weird freaking question. (Serial killer wanting to know if I’m an available target kind of question.)

When I come across women on trail, it’s pretty much the last thing they would ask me. We would exchange pleasantries such as, “Hi! How are you doing? Great! Happy hiking! Bye!” That would be pretty much it, unless we sat around and started going on about gear for a minute or two more. But older men like to get weird on me.

After asking if I’m alone, the next question tends to be “Is there anyone behind you? Where are you spending the night? How far are you planning on going today? Where did you camp last night?” Now these follow ups would seem pretty natural I guess, but when they follow the “Are you alone?” question, that’s just weird.

So back to fear… You’d think I would get all sketched out. Nope. Not typically. Usually, I just get annoyed or pissed off and start rebutting the comments, then hike on as if to say, “Catch this, crazy person!”

Here’s one where there was no rebutting though. I’m walking alone in Maine. It’s a pretty cold and still day with an overcast sky. As I make my way up a mountain, in the distance I see this little old man with coke bottle glasses and what appears to be a satchel, not a pack. He’s scruffy, but doesn’t look homeless. He actually looks like he’d be some sort of old farmer type. Blue jeans and a flannel, baseball cap and a beard. In this instance, he does send off some sort of alert in me, mostly because he doesn’t look like he belongs on a hiking trail. No gear, and not the right clothes, and he’s moving slow. Real slow. I am going in the opposite direction, so I get closer and closer with each step. As I do, the image of weird backwoods Maine rednecks I have heard so much about in the past come forward in my mind. To spite the gut feeling this dude ain’t right, I have to pass by in order to proceed, so I just casually say hello and keep moving swiftly. He turns to me and doesn’t return greeting, but asks me if I’m a south-bounder. I say yes, and in this totally creepy voice he squeezes out “Good luck.” For some reason I kept thinking for the next three miles he knew of the serial killers waiting to pummel me as I summited the next mountain top. So fucking strange. Like in a horror movie. I hike on.

I also love the many many many older hiker guys who are going to give me all the reasons why I shouldn’t be hiking this time of year, why I shouldn’t be alone, etc.. Recently after leaving NH, I entered VT. Not long into this next state I pass a north-bounder guy maybe in his fifties. He sees me and says “Are you one of the southbound ladies I keep hearing about?” I’m like, “Well, that depends. What are they saying?” I laugh. He doesn’t tell me, but immediately comes back with “You know Winter is coming. You’re not going to make it. It’s going to get cold. Etc., etc., etc…. Literally, I should have put my hand to my mouth as if in shock and come back with some wiseass remark like “No! Really? OMG! What am I going to do? Maybe I should turn around!!!!!” No. I just give him the eye roll and a “This is not my first rodeo.”

This last one sort of made me chuckle. I am walking fast and I come across two older guys in kilts getting water. They have planted themselves right in the middle of the trail. So, I have to wait for them to gather their stuff to let me by. The older of the two gents happens to be the one who greets me while I wait. He does so not with a “Hello!”, or “How are you?” but (again) the first thing out of his mouth is “Are you alone?” Yeah… Then he asks me if there are any hikers coming behind me. “No”, I say annoyed. (Sound familiar?) “Where are you heading?” (Southbound, obviously, ya yank.) “However far I get, old man.” “Where do you plan on camping tonight?” This odd exchange continues and finally the guy’s friend has their crap out of my way. I bid them adieu and off I trot thinking I didn’t ask you why you decided to go out in the woods wearing a skirt, what gives asking me all kinds of questions? He just seemed bewildered I would be out there alone, with an intention of walking perhaps over 2,000 miles and not be scared for my life. Seriously, I don’t know. Maybe I should be scared. And now we come full circle.

Should I be scared? Well, yeah. Breaking teeth or a leg doesn’t feel good. Walk slowly, look down, think before you step. Getting lost??? It happens, but not to me typically. I know how to use a compass. I bring maps and guides. I’m covered. Serial killers? Yeah, they exist, but am I going to never leave my house because of it? No. Seriously, I’m more likely to get mugged leaving Walmart than walking in the woods. Bears? Sure, sounds scary, but I’m also not the sort of idiot who leaves candy bars in my tent at night. I have a bear bag and line, and I use it when bear boxes aren’t available. Again, not my first rodeo.

I have a theory… I am often accused of being a lot younger than I am when I’m out here. Not because I’m young looking necessarily, but more because I think it’s still pretty unusual a woman my age is out hiking long distance in general. Most of the hikers out here by far are in their twenties. It also goes the other way too, many are retirees. Middle age, forty somethings, are not in the majority. Most are enslaved to a mortgage they need to pay and someone’s college tuition. So, they don’t have the time or money.

Hear me out… I’m guessing most of the men I come across out here think I’m their daughter’s age when they first meet me. So, they think they are either helping or they are pissed my parents let me do this, alone. So, they get confused when I trot up. They want to tell me to go home, but they aren’t my dad. So, instead they ask a lot of weird questions trying to figure me out. Or they start up with the warnings about weather, or getting lost, or whatever… I think they may have my best interest at heart. Like they are actually concerned I might get hurt out here, but they actually have just as much of a chance of that as I do, if you think about it.

Anyway, I think that’s why I get so many weird comments. Just for the record though, it’s a bit sexist. I don’t go around warning young solo hiker men of the dangers of being out here. That would be ridiculous, just like its ridiculous to warn me. I assume before they left their house they probably had some indication of what they were about to get into. We all know what the risks are before we buy expensive gear, train, drive hundreds of miles to get here, etc.. I think it’s pretty obvious what the risks are. And sure, some weirdo might kill me. I might also fall off a cliff. In fact, statistically is think the latter would be more likely.

Hear me… I am perfectly capable of finding my way across state after state lines, walking long distance over huge mountains without the assistance of a boyfriend or male companion, and I’m not dead yet. Thank you for your concern. I appreciate it, but I actually am an adult and by being so, I assume the risk. I’m good with it. Really. I am. I choose to die living. Risk is something we face every time we walk out our door. I just like to add a little extra dose of it to my life. Maybe it might be good for me to be a little more fearful, but I’ll work on that right after I finish hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Live fast and take chances ya’ll. Nobody wants to die just watching life happen on TV. Get out there!

4:45PM Start Day 55 (101317)

•4:45PM (Estimate) Taconic State Prkwy. (Mile 760.5)
•6:15PM RPH Shelter (Mile 760.8)
•7:15PM Shenandoah Campsite
(Mile 762.0) Sleep
•9:30AM Fahnestock Trail (Mile 767.2)
•12:00PM Beaver Pond Outlet (Mile 769.8)
•1:45PM (Mile 773.0)
•3:30PM (Mile 776.8) Chapman Road
•4:00PM (Mile 777.6)
•4:45PM 780.2 Appalachian Market
(Mile 780.2)

4:45PM End Of Day 55
APPROX 19.7 Miles