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How to Read the Blog
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!
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The Ol’ Wet ‘n’ Rocky (Day 134)

7/2/2023 Sunday
If I didn’t think these rocks would abate soon, I would quit this godsdamn trail right now. The rains came before I woke up this morning. Took me extra time to break down and head to the shelter for breakfast.
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Those Sons of Bitches! (Day 133)

7/1/2023 Saturday
The bunks in the thru-hiker cabin at Mohican aren’t just narrow; they are also short. Are these child-sized mattresses?! I am a full grown man!
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The Toad Road to Jersey (Day 132)

6/30/2023 Friday
I nibbled my morning protein bar and sipped half-frozen water in the morning light of my fourth-floor room. Time to walk into New Jersey.
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No Hard Feelings (Day 131)

6/29/2023 Thursday
I’ve been studying up on the miles ahead and things look saner than they’ve been. I’ve been wanting to speculate on the linguistic and psychological aspects of “Rocksylvania” but thought it best to wait until the end.
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Last Day in Rocksylvania (Day 130)

6/28/2023 Wednesday
Rooster and Apollo drove me back to Wind Gap, where I resumed my walk from mile 1281 or so. What will my last day of Rocksylvania be like?
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Still Waiting Out the Rain (Day 129)

6/27/2023 Tuesday
I waited until the morning to look at the forecast and decide what to do. If the rain is being measured in inches, and I can avoid it, I will. So I will.
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The Cockpit (Day 128)

6/26/2023 Monday
The morning forecast calls for 2-4 inches of rain today and tonight. Yikes. I am gonna take a rest day here, at my little Danielsville bungalow, and spend as much of it as possible in bed. Deep rest. Deep rest with good outcomes.
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Stormlight (Day 127)

6/25/2023 Sunday
There was no rooster call in the morning, but if there had been I would have been awake for it. I packed in the dark, clean, cool air of my little basement getaway. God I love the polished brick flooring in the hallway. I changed my plans at the last minute.
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Wet Hot American Summer (Day 126)

6/24/2023 Saturday
Just after I woke this morning to pee, a torrential rain arrived. It’s hitting the tent hard enough to cause tiny droplets of condensation to dislodge from the underside of the rainfly and fall inside the tent. You can feel the droplets on bare skin but they are too small to see.
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Bear Necessities (Day 125)

6/23/2023 Friday
We had one final strange breakfast at our B&B—French toast and hot dogs—then hit the road. There’s rain in the forecast for the next week or so. Rain and rocks are an interesting combination.
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About The Blog
I’m Doug Cloud, an inveterate thru-hiker, believer in The One Trail, writer, rhetorician, researcher. This blog catalogs my journeys, particularly my 2023 1500-mile hike on the Appalachian and Colorado Trails. Other journeys may be added. Or not. I go by several mottoes as a thru-hiker:
1. Work the problem.
2. Throw money at the problem.
3. Go for an FKT (funnest known time).
4. ABC (always be thru-hiking).
Recent Posts
Subscribe so you don’t miss future journeys! I’m gonna be writing on this thing for, like, 50 years.
Some quick navigation links:
Day 1 of my 2023 AT journey
Last day on the AT
Explanation of switch to Colorado Trail
Day 1 of 2023 Colorado Trail journey
