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!

3/7/2023 Tuesday

Today’s conditions made for an unusual hike. It was sort of like hiking on the moon in the sense of a dark side and a light side. One minute it’s frigid and windy, the next minute you cross to the other side of a ridge and it’s sunny and warm. Couldn’t ever get my layers quite right to stay comfortable. So, yeah, doesn’t that sort of remind you of the moon?

3/6/2023 Monday

Several people at the shelter area last night decided to pre-dig their cat holes after they saw me do it. I found an old shovel head in the shelter (the handle being long gone) and used that.

3/5/2023 Sunday

Finished packing and caught the first shuttle back to the trail at 9AM. It really was a kindness that they don’t have an earlier one. I would have felt pressure to be on it. As it is I slept in until 8:15! Though, I had to get out of bed at 4:30AM to eat because my stomach woke me up.

3/4/2023 Saturday

Amy, the owner of Wing and Hoof, prepared us a hearty little breakfast bar with sausage and bacon cooked to perfection. I’m still thinking about it. Bill had carried on the small talk on the way to the hostel last night. I took up the work on the way back to the trail this morning. I left my umbrella in Amy’s other car, which she had picked us up in. I didn’t notice until later in the day. The forecast is looking pretty favorable, so I can just wait until the next outfitter and replace it then. I did the Smokies without an umbrella the first time.

3/3/2023 Friday

As I began the long climb out of the NOC, the rain held off and I felt a kind of thermal equilibrium—the damp and cold were exactly right to counterbalance the heat created by my body. I listened to a new playlist I created last night as I climbed. Best new song of day: “New Beginning” by Phoria.

3/2/2023 Thursday

Will found our accommodations last night severely wanting.

3/1/2023 Wednesday

The landscape is becoming less familiar to me because I’ve reached the point where Trip and I started hiking together (back in 2021) and we were chatting away (and paying less attention to the scenery).

2/28/2023 Tuesday

The guy at the BnB made Will and me a lovely breakfast with fresh fruit and fresh biscuits. Portions could have been a little larger but they’re not used to hikers. I took him up on his offer of a fresh cherry tart.

2/27/2023 Monday

Woke up at 5:30 and talked with Mom on the phone in the dark while walking around the empty hotel parking lot in warm humid weather. Or maybe it was colder but I’ve just gotten used to being outdoors.

2/26/2023 Sunday

The rain ceased overnight. The winds got drier as morning arrived, to the degree that the rainfly began drying. There were lots of folks at the shelter area. A small shelter and privy surrounded by tent sites tucked amid low shrubbery and rhododendron. The higher numbers feel more normal for the AT.