Day 48: Made it to Pennsylvania!

Today I hit Pennsylvania!  I did 31 miles to DWG where there is a church hostel.  I got my first real shower in 15 days and 350 plus miles which is when i was in Manchester center, VT.  It was a very enjoyable day and i hiked by myself because none of the SOBO's at the shelter had a desire to do more than 18 miles.  I woke up very early and hiked to a fire tower 1 mile down the trail and saw an awesome sunrise.  The picture affiliated with this post is what it looked like... to bad it darkened the nearby terrain though.  I finished the 31 miles by 6pm which was incredibly fast.  I went to the diner in town and got a burger which was good but i could hardly finish it my stomach has shrunk so much.  Here's the shocker though i weigh 145 lbs.  I lost 15 lbs in 15 days.  I am sooo skinny my waist must be down to a 29-30".  To be honest though i knew this would come eventually.  I am doing great though compared to most other SOBO's that look like they came out of a Nazi concentration camp so i dont look as bad as most.  I will zero in town for 2 days to rest up before i hit the trail again.

Day 47: September 8, 2014

My feet are feeling so much better today!  The Columbia shoes i have dont rub at all on the blister areas of my heels so its nice to be able to walk again.  This morning i made the trek back to town and got my shoes from the post office and mailed my Merrells to my folks house.  A little surprise from my mother was some of her homemade chocolate chip cookies!!!  Thanks mom.  I grabbed a breakfast sandwich from the deli and went back to the shelter where A-Bomb had been waiting for me.  A cool thing was on the way back from town I saw a porcupine.  That's the second one i have ever seen in my life and first i have seen in the wild.  We didn't get on the trail until 9:15am but we only had 18 miles to do so there was no rush.  Right at lunch time we passed High Point state parks visitor center where they give a free can soda to thru hikers.  No NOBO's had ever talked about NJ being rocky but it is.  It is very flat but rocky in portions and is a prelude to what Pennsylvania will be like.  Water still isnt readily available but the cooler temperature during the day helps a lot.  I believe we finished the day at 4pm.  We hauled butt.  It was nice hiking with A-Bomb all day its not often i get to talk to people because i hike so fast.  Tomorrow i have a big day planned with 31 miles to Delaware Water Gap, PA.  

Days 44-46: New York and New Jersey

Mileage for day 44 was about 20 i think.  Day 45 was 26 miles and day 46 was 18 miles.  I am writing this at the end of day 46 (9/7/2014).  I have been at God's mercy for water there just hasn't been a drop on the trail everything is dry.  There are a couple businesses or houses within half a mile of the trail that let hikers fill up on water that i pass each day which is the only way us thru hikers have been able to survive.  They are listed in the guidebook which is how i know where they are.  But to make it between them i have to carry 3-4 liters which is insanely heavy but thats what i gotta do to not get dehydrated.  The hiking in NY really drained me due to the heat and water situation.  Doing 15 miles felt like i was doing 30 thats how bad it was but thats over now.  It wasn't just me feeling this way either i have met some more SOBO's that said the same thing.  On day 44 the trail goes through Bear Mtn. Bridge zoo which they let thru hikers in for free.  The cool things I saw there were 2 bears and a porcupine which was a first for me.  I crossed into New Jersey on the evening of day 45 and a cold front moved through last night so the temperature finally dropped.  Highs are now in upper 70's rather than around 90 which made today's hiking so much more bearable.  I have to backtrack half a mile in the morning and walk another half mile over the border back into NY which is where i have a mail drop waiting for me in Unionville, NY.  The post office isn't open on Sundays which is why i couldn't get it today. In it is my already broke in pair of Columbia shoes that i like a lot.  The replacement Merrells that i got back in Cheshire, Massachusetts have held up phenomenally well except i keep getting new blisters in the same spot on the side of the heel on both feet which is really painful.  I foresaw this issue a while back which is why i had my mom send the Columbia's to me.  I wont let the Merrell's go to waste though i will send them to my parents house and wear them when i am done with the trail.  I have been hiking with another SOBO i met named A-Bomb.  Today was our second day ending in the same spot together.  He started almost a full month before me so i wont be surprised if i get ahead of him here soon.  There are actually 7 of us SOBO's here at the shelter tonight which is the most i have seen in one spot ever i think.  Being able to talk to people again has been a big mental boost which is much needed after going through NY.  I should be in Pennsylvania in 2-3 more days of hiking.  Ohh yeah, i want to give a big thank you to the Larkin's for the mail drop i got on day 44.  I read all the comments on the papers and really enjoyed reading them.  The comments and quotes really were a big mental boost for that day which i cannot stress how important that is.  This trail is impossible for me to fully describe how tough it is mentally... it is just beatdown after beatdown every day but I am hanging in there and having a big support group really is nice.  I will get pics uploaded.  There aren't many from NY.  That state was so brown from how dry it was and the views weren't all that spectacular so not a ton of pics there but NJ has been nicer so lots of pics from here.

Lessons from the Trail: Keep Your Mouth Closed!

This was hard to adjust to but i now essentially breath in and out through my nose.  The reason is how many bugs i have swallowed.  The first person on the trail each morning going each direction has to clear the spider webs from the trail until you pass each other.  Back when there were other people hiking i was always on "spider web clearing duty" because i was first out of bed 90 percent of the time  Well now there is nobody on the trail so the past 2 days i am walking into spider webs all day long.  After swallowing a bunch of spiders, mosquitoes, and flies back in Maine i learned to keep my mouth shut.  I am sure many of y'all can relate to this from some point in your life.  I think the worst is when you are riding a bike because you cant see them coming and they just nail the back of your throat causing you to cough.

Day 43: Dreaming of Water... (9/4/14)

Still hardly a drop off water in NY.  I slept in this morning seeing as how I only have 20 miles planned.  I am able to hike 3-3.5mph easily when in good health so I was in no rush to get up.  I dont think I hit the trail until 9am judging by the suns position in the sky.  I cannot remember whether i mentioned this or not previously but back in Manchester Center, VT i sent my tarp tent and 20 degree down sleeping bag home.  I purchased a 50" x 60" fleece blanket from Walmart and a silk sleeping bag liner from EMS.  Overall it saved me about 4 lbs and a lot of room in my backpack.  It has been so warm at night doing this minimalist thing is really paying off.  On cool and windy nights i still sleep in every piece of clothing i own though to stay warm... including my rain jacket.  I am hoping I can get by without my sleeping bag for another 3 weeks.  I enjoy sleeping in shelters so I am not planning on getting my tent back.  This limits me though as to how many miles I can do based on shelter separation mileage.  There are no NOBO thru hikers any more so I have no competition for shelter space.  To be honest there aren't many people at all any more now that school is in session and labor day is gone.  I think today I passed by a total of 6 day hikers thats it.  It is gonna get very lonely very quickly.  I haven't seen another SOBO in over 3 days.  Today I only did 20 miles.  I am staying at the Greymoor Spiritual Life Center ballpark picnic shelter.  It is owned by the St. Francis of Assisi Friars i believe and they let hikers sleep in the picnic shelter for free.  There is an outdoor cold water shower (all i did was wash off my head because i dont have a towel and its was cooling down for the night so i didn't  want to get cold), porta podies, an outdoor sink, and water spigot.  The best part though which I was not expecting is there is a power outlet!!!  I was almost out of battery power i have gone so long without being able to fully charge up.  I have been super conservative with my phone and kept it off most of the time.  I was actually going to get a motel room here in the next couple days because i was at the point i had no juice left.  So now I should be able to make it to Deleware Water Gap, Pennsylvania before i stay anywhere.  There is an actual hostel there which will be the first since Vermont.  The "see how long Sharkbait can go without a real shower or laundry marathon" continues!  I reek by the way.  I think when i get there it will have been 2 weeks without shower or laundry.  I have been and will continue to be taking it easy on miles due to the shelter hopping situation and mail magic i have coming.  The post offices have very limited hours they are open so i have to time it perfect when i get there.  Tomorrow morning i get one in Fort Montgomery, NY and on Monday morning I get one in Unionville, NY.  After that i dont have any scheduled for a few towns so I will be able to crank up the miles again hopefully.  I make it sound like mail magic is hindering me but its not i really appreciate those of you that are sending me food or are expressing interest in doing so in the future.  One last thing, I appreciate any prayers for my blisters on the side of my feet .  They are starting to heal i think and i have actually been able to walk the past 2 days without being in misery from the pain for the most part.  I will continue to treat them until they are gone and hopefully that will be soon.

Day 42: New York

Let me begin by recapping Southern Massachusetts and Connecticut.  They are buggy and have overall easy terrain but with some very steep mountain climbs.  Massachusetts has been my favorite state thus far which will sound crazy in comparison to how gorgeous Maine and New Hampshire are but I really liked Massachusetts.  Now here in New York it is still buggy and hot.  It has been 85-90 degrees during the day for the past 5 days i think.  Water here in NY is rare.  A lot the normal water sources are dry.  Thank God for the 2 times there was trail magic today at road crossings in the form of gallon jugs of water.  Ohh yeah and the few water sources there are all seem to be polluted.  A lot have signs next to them listing the bacteria in the water and others you can just look at it.  I treat all the water i drink anyways but hopefully i dont get sick.  Finding good water is gonna be really tough for a while it looks like.  On another note there are deer everywhere in NY which is cool to look at but must stink for NY drivers.  Ohhh how I hope I finish the trail in time for deer season.  Tonight I am staying at a shelter called the Ralph's Peak Hiker Cabin.  I believe it is privately owned as it sits on a private residential lot all by itself.  It is free to stay at and has tons of tenting grounds and 6 wood bunks inside with a desk also.  In back is a picnic table with a bunch of patio chairs.  There is a well with a hand pump and guess what... its contaminated also.  I am the only person here tonight.  The coolest thing about the shelter though is you can order pizza!  So i ate a large cheese pizza, some garlic knots, and had a pepsi.  I am going to sleep good tonight!

Days 39-41: Connecticut

I am writing this on the afternoon of Day 41 (9/2/14) in Kent, CT at an ice cream place where i am charging my phone also.  These past few days there were a lot of people on the trail with it being Labor Day weekend.  It has rained some in the evening but i have been able to avoid it by getting to a shelter in time.  I have only been doing 18-22 miles these 3 days so I didn't get to Kent to early.  The original plan was to get here Monday and pick up my Mail Magic which is my name for a mail drop or care package i just want to put an AT sound to it.  Well i realized the post office wasn't going to be open Monday so I slowed it down.  Thanks for the package mom it was great!  I saw my first deer of the trip on day 40.  It was 200ft away on a ridge and pretending to shoot it with my trekking pole as my rifle and letting out the loudest gosh darned BANG you've ever heard from a human voice made me feel a lot better.  I got a blister on both feet on the outside of the heel but below the ankle ball.  Right where the foot pad comes up the side of the foot.  Well the blisters are both underneath a callus which stinks because i am having trouble taking care of them like i would normally treat a blister and they hurt like a son if a gun.  I picked up a few things at a pharmacy here in Kent that will hopefully let me take care of them.  I could use prayer though because every little step is miserable.  I will cross into New York here in a few hours which means 5 states down and 9 to go!!!  Ohhh yeah I reek... i haven't had a shower since Manchester, Vermont.  I think i was there 6-7 days ago.