Project Eveningland

To begin the blog at the first post of my 2023 Appalachian Trail journey (the original purpose of the blog), click this link. Additional navigation shortcuts are available in the sidebar. Spoilers ahead, highlight the next block to read:

Around about day 140, a 1000-year rainstorm caught me in Harriman State Park in New York. The Appalachian Trail in Vermont and Maine was a mess, and I had been slowed to a crawl by the lingering effects of the meds I had to take to treat giardiasis and so was running out of time anyway. I decided to switch to the Colorado trail for another 100 miles or so and dry out and make the finish less sad than a “failed” thru-hike, so that’s why the last posts are in Colorado, if you were wondering. There is no such thing as a “failed” thru-hike, by the way!

Anyway, enjoy the blog! I’ll add future journeys as I go. I hiked 100 miles on the AT in Georgia and North Carolina in February/March of 2024 to help work on my book. I may add those entries if the time is right–it was a very personal journey. I plan to hike and write and research throughout 2024, and will add posts and pictures as I see fit. Subscribe so you don’t miss out!

3/27/2023 Monday

I ate a bratwurst late last night for “fourth meal” but still woke up around six in the morning with a stomach so empty it hurt.

3/26/2023 Sunday

Do you know what happens to “boiled buttered potatoes” (a Cloud family staple of old) when they sit in the fridge overnight? They become breakfast potatoes. They find their way to the griddle with some oil and become crispy and very, very agreeable. They will get neighborly with any old thing—eggs, toast, breakfast meats. I introduced Dad to the delights of fried Spam, which I’ve been craving.

3/25/2023 Saturday

A hearty breakfast can really smooth things over. A world-class, southern, gourmet breakfast for $12, on the other hand, can lead to full and total amnesty for a negative hostel experience. There was egg soufflé, potato casserole (four inches deep, unbelievably creamy, perfectly soft shredded potatoes all the way through), spicy kielbasa, regular sausage well done, biscuits & gravy, a fresh strudel with cream cheese and soft red cherries, tomato pie, French toast with fresh local honey and homemade jams, and lots of other stuff. It tasted like the food I imagine they’d serve in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

3/24/2023 Friday

In the morning I walked down a wide stone path cut through the fine spruce and fir forest. I walked up two balds—Little Hump Mountain and Big Hump Mountain. The paths through the wide open grassy landscape are just murder on the ankles. The trail is very exposed, and the sun was hot. The trail becomes a series of deep, braided, muddy ruts which force one to walk awkwardly, one foot in front of the other in the narrow space.

“Well, what do we got on this thing, a Cuisinart?!” -Dark Helmet (Spaceballs)

3/23/2023 Thursday

When you’re the youngest of four, it’s hard to keep up. Many of my childhood memories are colored with a general feeling of “c’mon you guys, wait for me!”

3/22/2023 Wednesday

I had misgivings from the start. Twenty miles, this early? Going backward? In the cold and rain? Well, at least we (Lost-and-Found, Wedge, Hide, me) would be slack packing, and we’d be returning to a warm cabin (single wide with wood paneling).

3/21/2023 Tuesday

Wedge, L&F, and I have come to quite like Steve, the shuttler. He’s a retired postal worker, very helpful, really takes care of people, understands hikers. He dropped us at Spivey Gap just before eight.

3/20/2023 Monday

The cold was well and truly brutal last night. I woke at 4:30 very chilled. I had turned off one heater to make room to charge my cellphone. I dunno why I did that. It rather spoiled my last night. It was a fantastic few days at Nature’s Inn. Lots of good people around and Amy does a wonderful job. She’s so organized. It was something like an adult snow day, though there was no snow. It had a bit of a ski lodge atmosphere with the bitter cold outside.

Pages: 1 2

3/19/2023 Sunday

I did everything I could to block the draft under the door, but the heater couldn’t keep up. Room stayed in low 50s. It reminded me of my first shabby apartment in Pittsburgh (not to be confused with my second shabby apartment in Pittsburgh). It was on the first floor of a lovely old Colonial Revival in Highland Park. It was so leaky that I had to keep the heat at 58 and it still cost hundreds a month to heat. Back in 2023, I slipped into my 15 degree sleeping bag. Slept until almost eight. Went into common room to warm up by the wood stove.

3/18/2023 Saturday

I changed my mind and decided to catch a shuttle to Devil’s Fork Gap, then hike to Sam’s Gap (the main pickup point for the same hostel). It was a slack pack because I left my tent, sleeping bag, and other equipment right in the same room where I’ll be sleeping tonight. It took a while to get things going in the morning but Betsy—who I’m told should actually be called Bessie—is up and running and taking hikers where they need to go.