Not all who wander are lost. -J. R. R. Tolkien
7mi to Stewart Hallow Lean-to
Gray overcast day rain forcast all day and night, cool in the 50s and lower 60s. Out of town after getting our drop boxes that morning. Up several climba to St. John’s Clifs steep slippery rocks into easy 4mi walk along the Housitanic River into the shelter early. Met NEVADA!, Sunny Side, and Pebble.
13mi to Kent Ct.
Beautiful hot day. First four miles to ten mile river, stopped and jumped in ice cold river washed off and layed out in sun to dry and bake. Crossed into Conn. twice with Floyd. Looked like rain all day so I proposed we walk into Kent today get a room, shower and sleep in beds to avoid the rain storm. Found the only B&B open in Kent and talked our way into a very expensive night.
10mi to Morgan Stewart Shelter
Beautiful easy day. Got late start around 11a. Six miles to the Deli, where we ate way to much food. Got veggie pizza, Black Cherry pop and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. HEaded back out about 4:30 with 4mi still to go. 1.5 I missed last year getting back on the trail with Gymn. Good night sleep for long day tomorrow. MEt Capt. Bligh.
18.1 mi to Shanindoah Tenting Area
Secong day out big easy miles. Gpt a good early start about 9a. Feeling great. Felt like rain it did sprinkle on and off all day. At lunch stopped at spicket to fill up on water and were met with trail magic by former ’05t hrough hikers. two girls known as the Laugh Factory. Had ice water fresh fruit and snacks! With more the 10mi still to go headed out. Definaty felt out of shape every little climb was tough and tok wind out. Stopped several times to chatch up. Then as making tha final two mile push the skys opened up as a clod thunder storm rolled in and soaked us. Made camp around 8p. Met Master Alex.
7.1 Miles Bear Mountain Zoo to Graymore Fryery
Got late satrt. Stopped at Campmor for stuff, Platipus water bag. Then to friends of Sir B Floyd’s to catch a ride 15 min to Bear Mtn Bridge. Hit the trail about 3p across the bridgr then up. Only seven miles on first day. Good break in. Easy miles. In camp by 6:30p. Ordered pizza (because we could), very rare on the trail. Staying at Graymore Fryery ball field. First day back feels good, feet strong some aches and pains. Met Trill, and Allgood.
The hardest part is getting to the point of taking the very first step on the trail. It’s all gravy after that!
So here it is the morning of. I’ve been up since 5:30a after not getting to bed until 1:30a. I am missing a few very important items such as the top for my pack, water reservoir, and a 2gal collapsible water bag. All very important and I have no clue where they have gotten to. Okay time for one last shower. Clothes, check. Pack, check. bounce box, check.
enjoy life and always remember to breathe!
or… I got bettah, no really I’m feeling like I could go for a walk.
Here it is seven months since my last account of life, now within the month of getting back on trail with the good Sir B. Floyd. Sitting here surrounded by food, boxes, hiking stuff and two of my cats. Bea and Inky who are both with me due to health related reasons. Persephone is staying with my sister. My last official day at work was yesterday Saturday 17th. Now its just move forward making 70 days worth of food so I don’t have to eat nuts and berries I pick along the trail to survive.
All of the sets are complete at the museum. I was able to finnish the Hill Climb several weeks ago. Lots of cement and “Real Dirt” because “Nothing looks more like dirt then real dirt” -Doc. I was also able to talk him into printing and redoing several of the large format backdrops, with thanks to Suzie at Berry&Homer look fantastic. Thanks again Suzie for all your help. Its been a year and a half of hard work and long hours. Especially these last few months getting the sets done and the floors finally finished so the cars could be moved into place. We were suppose to open on the 15th but that date has ben pushed back so all the final details can be sorted out and finished up. I will be going in a couple days this week to finish up with the network and run the crew when my brother isn’t there.
Now on to better things, walking. This year I have been preparing, sorting through my equipment, making improvements and lightening my load where ever possible. My goal is to loose 10 pack pounds. My pack always felt much better around 30lbs then when I was hauling 40lbs around. I am now up to my eyeballs in boxes and food. I have been buying everything in bulk, people look at you really funny when you go through the checkout with 20 of something. Most of my bulk items I was able to find online but my calculations were way off. If anyone needs a case and a half of TVP your welcome to it or a case of butter buds or Dehydrated Milk Powder or Potato Buds or… Well you get the picture. If not I could draw you a lil 5×4″ diagram on both sides with which to explain the ridicules amount of food I have around me. My only concerns are the post Lyme health issues I’m still dealing with. Mostly I fatigue very quickly and the sore painful joints. The Docs’ don’t seem to think I have Lyme left in me after all the meds I was on and took for about 6 months. I just know before I got it I didn’t feel this way and after I now feel like an old person.
Okay thats all my brain has for now. I will try to update this again before I leave on the 29th of May. Oh yeah! I never mentioned that we are scheduled to get on the trail at Bear Mountain NY on the 29th of May, myself (Segue) and the good Sir B. Floyd of the Shelves Lodge 23.
FAQ:
Ummmm what is a FAQ?
-Stop here turn off your thinkin’ box and run far far far away!
You’re still here great! Please continue.
Are YOU SERIOUS?!?
Why no I’m Segue and stop calling me serious, I never joke or kidd around!
Yes if this wasn’t a true desire and love I wouldn’t think about strapping weight to my back, boots on my feet and walking in the woods for months at a time. Besides where else can you go for a week without taking a shower or washing your hair and it be totally acceptable?
How will you carry that much food?
There are what we call mail drops. Every five to ten days or so you come through or close enough to a town that has a Post Office and we send ourselves care packages of enough food and resupplies to last till the next drop.
Yes thoughtful gifts from friends are always welcome we call those “Trail Magic”. Just remember what ever you may send I have to carry on my back. Information on mail drops is here, including approximate dates that I will be walking through that town.
Where do you stay?
I am carrying my entire home on my back. Including my house which just happens to be big enough for two IF you snuggle and spoon really close. There are also a series of Lean-tos’ or shelters spread along the entire trail at about a days walk. Plus of course those glorious “zero” days we take when we come to a town, get a room, take showers and drink beer. Mmmmmmm Beeeeeeeer Gooooooood!
Well that didn’t work out like I planned at all.
After two months off the trail, basically in bed sleeping, it was to late or so I thought to get back onto the trail. I was way out of shape, always tired and lost any conditioning I had from the trail. Hmm what to do what to do?
After playing email tag with Sir B. Floyd I called him late, well late here*, one night after not being able to fall asleep by 2am. As he said it was good to talk trail again with someone that understood. I caught him just as he was leaving the institution of higher learning. It was good to catch up and we both had pieces of who was still on the trail and where they were. I felt a lot better about not getting back on the trail so far behind anyone that might have been through hiking. Talking about the possibility of jumping back on next season with the Good Sir and Carpenter to finnish the trail together. Sir. B. Floyd has a slightly askew (yes I used a semi math term Floyd) way of looking at things just like yours truly, and is always great for a laugh. My favorite idea was the giant inflatable ball you could climb into and roll across the rocks through PA. (pat pend).
*I had somehow gotten back into my old routine of being awake all night and sleeping all day. Even after taking several to many advil PM I would lay awake all night till 6 or 7am. Then fall asleep.
Finally one day I had enough of sitting around, I called my brother, begged for my old job back. He was still working on the antique auto museum. I would come back even for a HUGE cut in pay just so I didn’t have to sit around all the time any more. Im kidding of course I would never beg. LOL Mike said he could really use my help again, we planned for when he got back from Miami with his new truck I would come back down to Philly and jump right back in. That first week was rough. Just getting my body moving again and staying awake for an entire day. But it did cure my not sleeping at night! I slep like a baby for the first time since I got off the trail. I haven’t had any problems sleeping through the night since working ten hour days again six days a week with Mike. We are getting a lot accomplished with the museum. The pictures are here for anyone interested in looking and updated weekly. We have a crew of Union people on site building the new bathrooms and working on getting the floors stained. Meanwhile our crew are working on the sets and people barriers again, painting, starting to work on the network and going to Fazio’s True Value Hardware and salvage yard, its like Disney World for us. You can find anything there if you look enough and go back often.
I am on my fourth dose of Doxy now. Doc Simeone has given me the script, he was worried it wasn’t totally out of my system. My hips shoulders and knees still hurt all the time and I stay tired due to the drugs. My memory is spotty, Who are you again?, I tend to think of something turn to get or do it and forget what it was. I spend a lot of time trying to remember or doing part of something, getting distracted by twenty other things before I get back and finish the first job. My advice is don’t get Lyme Disease kids. I know all of your friends are doing it, but its just not worth it. on a better note (Eminor) I am being very creative and starting to feel art again. So the job and working has been very therapeutic for me. At the end of every day I feel like I have accomplished something. A very big step for me.
I know I was only on trail for a a month but I must say that is was one of the best experiences I’ve every had. It was something I wanted for a long time and I did it for myself. That alone is worth it for me. The things I really cherish the most is all the incredible people I met, got to know and share the experience with. All of us come from different backgrounds and lives but all had the trail in common. Trail folk are not as closed and guarded about life. We share information, tails, life and at times good ice cream and beer. Well not beer and ice cream together. I am already starting to think about next season, getting back on the trail in early March to “Rock the Southern half” as Floyd would say. Then meet him in May when he begins the rest of the Northern half.
Oh and Im going to meet the Dalai Lama hes coming to a town very close to my parents the 10-15 of July and I have ticket to see him! Sweet!!! That was the second thing on my to-do list. 1)Hike trail, check, 2)meet Dalai Lama 3)find property and build house in Maine.
Thats it for now kids. Enjoy life and remember to breathe.
or…
How can something as tiny as a tip of a pin do so much damage?
I am compelled to write and try to catch up with what has been going on. Even though I am not currently on trail. I came off the trail July 14th with my nephew, we got picked up in Cornwall Bridge, Ct. on Saturday afternoon. I had good intentions of taking care of business, restocking, preparing food drops with my sister and getting right back into the swing of things.
only a few days missed…
That turned into a week. All week I felt very tired, my knees and hips were getting more sore off trail then they had been while I was lugging a pack up and down mts. I was sleeping a lot and not packing food or getting anything ready. On Thursday night my mom came home very sick after work. She works around lots of young kids who are like little germ machines. Friday I took her to see the doctor and drove her to get her scripts filled. Saturday after sleeping all day I went to my sisters house and spent four hours cutting her yard, the first cut of the year. Weeds had turned into trees, there were some very scary alien looking swamp growths. Plus pits dug in her back yard to catch things that go bump in the night and keep her safe. She calls them “ponds”. Sunday I went back to her house just to give myself a case of Nuclear poison ivy like I didn’t get enough on the trail. Now my right arm is covered with this alien looking bubbly stuff that looks like at any moment could hatch.
Monday night I started to feel drained of energy and feverish. Oh great I haven’t been sick in years and now I caught what mom had. By Wednesday night I felt like death, high fever 104-105º and what felt like a sinus headache. By Thursday I couldnt move between the headache and the fever. To the doc I went. Not that I don’t like doctors but I would much rather see if my body can heal itself before I just give in and start taking chemicals.
There is something about me and doctors, I have this ability to make them flinch and scratch their heads a lot. I show up at the doc with a 104.2º fever bad sinus headache, sore joints and mussels. Not to mention the alien arm thing going on. Walk back to his exam room on my own. Doc Goodwin checks me over looks in all the doc places, stands back and says “If I didnt know you had that fever I wouldnt think anything was wrong with you.” “You look fine. Most people that come in here with a fever like that would be laid out on the floor.” He says. I shrugged my shoulders, what can I say I am an enigma. Here comes the head scratching part. Doc said “It just doesn’t make sense if I didn’t know better I’d think you had Lyme Disease.” He knew I had been hiking the trail. I said let me show you something then, as I showed him the red mark on my upper left thigh I had noticed the day before.
What you got there is a bulls eye. You have Lyme disease. Welcome to the club. After a few instructions and a script for fifteen days of doxycycline off I go on my merry way. Now, having talked to several people on the trail, and witnessed Carpenter take his very first dose of doxycycline, within a few minutes he could already feel it working on his stiff neck and mussels, I knew what to expect. Or so I thought.
My first dose… Nothing. Went to bed cold and feverish.
Woke up Friday morning covered in sweat still with my headache which had moved somewhere into the migraine region. I managed to eat a lil something so I could take my second dose hoping now that it would help me. Again, nothing, except I was noshes from the headache I got sick several times. Plus my fever was staying above 104º. Into the tub of tepid water I went soaking for over an hour, and a call to my sister who gets migraines to see if there was anything else I could do. Called mom and back to doc Goodwin I went. He looked me over still shaking his head how I’m even walking around. Well he said Im worried about that headache I think you have Lyme induced encephalitis. Umm ok blink blink. I’ll have to give you a shot. Nurse enters big syringe, long needle. bend over, expose butt, poke.
Nothing is that simple.
As Michelle and I were just at the door to leave they start yelling that Doc wants to tell me something. He has called the clinic and arranged to have my blood test. Oh and I have to have another shot 1g isnt enough. I need 2g a day for 14-21 days! Umm ok blink blink. Your kidding right?!?! And we’re closed on Sundays, do you know anyone that can give you the shots? My sister Michelle got a crash corse in butt poking with a 22ga 1.5″ needle watching the nurse give me my second dose in the left cheek and off we go. lidocaine, Ceftriaxone, and syringes in hand.
The next day mom and I show up at the doc and get the meds IV style, but that takes over an hour. Michelle did a good job on Sunday. When I went back to Doc on Monday for the poking I asked if we could just let Michelle do the rest. Sure no problem. Its easier and cheaper then having to go to the Doc every day
Fourteen days later my ass feels like its had golf balls shoved into it through a syringe every day. And not in a good way. But the symptoms have subsided. Now Im back on the Doxy for fifteen more days. Between the meds and the lyme im sleeping all the time and going stir crazy here at my parents house. I’ve been off the trail for over a month now and people I was hiking with are already in Maine close to Katahdin.
My plan is to get back on the trail and hike till the end of Sept see how far I can get this year. I know I wont make Katahdin in only four weeks but the trail becons me back.
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