2/25/2023 Saturday I slept really well last night, and left a dry patch of leaves under my tent when I broke it down. I don’t think Mitch had a pleasant night. He told me he’d gotten about two hours of sleep because of hellacious snoring and poor shelter etiquette (having headlamp on for a long… Continue reading

2/24/2023 Friday The climb into North Carolina is infamous. Mitch and Bill (and to a lesser degree Will) were filled with nervous energy in the morning. I used to feel that way at a hostel on the morning of departure. Still do sometimes. Will and I set a more leisurely departure. Mitch was about ready… Continue reading

2/23/2023 Thursday I spent my morning doing something I enjoy in a way I never get to do. This little hostel has a tiny outfitter. The male half of the couple that runs it was a car salesman, and you can tell, but not in a bad way. Continue reading

2/22/2023 Wednesday Early this morning I had to use my headphones as a white noise machine because the snoring nearby in the shelter area was really something. I slept in until just after seven. Most folks had already left or were leaving shortly. I ate my extra hefty breakfast and then set off, in no… Continue reading

2/21/2023 Tuesday Today I’m going to try something different. Give you a day in the life. Continue reading

2/20/2023 Monday I want to talk about Bill’s last name for a second. I won’t use it for privacy’s sake, but it starts with a Z and is very Slavic. It’s perfect but if I were commenting on a screenplay I’d say it’s too on the nose to be plausible for a retired cop w… Continue reading

2/19/2023 Sunday I slept really well at the cabin—I slept on a bed up in the loft. Woke up at 4AM and tossed and turned but then got 2.5 more hours. I used my breakfast sando (sandwich) method: when you can get your hands on breakfast sandwiches, and a microwave, eat at least two in… Continue reading

2/18/2023 Saturday The winds howled against the thin, old, wet windows of the hostel. I needed a sleeping pill to get to sleep on my top bunk, in between pee trips. When I stumbled out into the common areas in the morning most everyone was already up. Lucky, hostel owner, was cooking massive piles of… Continue reading

“We’re breakin’ free.” –Montgomery Scott 2/17/2023 Friday The promised deluge came last night on schedule. Continue reading

2/16/2023 Thursday Bill snores. There is always snoring at night in shelters. Sometimes even an empty shelter will snore if it’s been snored in long enough. Continue reading

2/15/2023 Wednesday Day 1 It rained, like they said it would. Dad was indignant that the optimistic forecast he and Mom had gotten that morning (and that I didn’t believe) turned out to be bunk. Continue reading

2/4/2023 Saturday Two years ago, in 2021, I hiked the bottom third of the AT. Continue reading