Project Eveningland

A Descent into Madness & Thru-Hiking

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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!

  • Watching the World Go By (Day 91)

    Watching the World Go By (Day 91)

    5/16/2023 Tuesday

    I had a rough night at the campground. The tent-only walk-in sites are away from the loud generators, but not away from all noise. A thick fog rolled in by 1AM. It turned what few lights there were into glowing orbs.

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  • Big Meadows, Big Meal (Day 90)

    Big Meadows, Big Meal (Day 90)

    5/15/2023 Monday

    I’m writing this from the classic dining room of Big Meadows Lodge. It’s like a drug trip where the theme is early-20th-century-Americana-lodgecore-National-Park kitsch. People theme drug trips, yeah? Is that not a common practice?

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  • 900 Miles (Day 89)

    900 Miles (Day 89)

    5/14/2023 Sunday

    The deluge never came. Just gentle overnight showers. The fir needles beneath my tent were wonderful and kept things nice and dry. No underbrush. Today was filled with natural wonders.

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  • Spider Wort and Unintentional Elder Abuse (Day 88)

    Spider Wort and Unintentional Elder Abuse (Day 88)

    5/13/2023 Saturday

    Just as I left my campsite to rejoin the trail, a group of about five older guys came into view. Most appeared to be late 60s and at least one was in his 80s.

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  • Tick Checks and Rhododendrums (Day 87)

    Tick Checks and Rhododendrums (Day 87)

    5/12/2023 Friday

    The long water carry loomed, but I had a plan to stay hydrated for the dry 12-mile stretch between a weak creek .6 down the trail, and the spring at Blackrock Hut a dozen miles away.

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  • Sights, Sounds, and Smells of the Shenandoah (Day 86)

    Sights, Sounds, and Smells of the Shenandoah (Day 86)

    5/11/2023 Thursday

    A last minute change and some transportation snafus led to me not getting back to the trail until just before 11. I more or less fell out of the shuttle van, and wanted to kiss the ground. I wish I had a dollar for every time the following thing has happened to me:

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  • Filling in Resupply Holes (Day 85)

    5/10/2023 Wednesday

    I walked to the outfitter down the road. I walked on the edge of the road—no sidewalks on the left side. Kind of slim pickings but they were very helpful.

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  • Waynesboro Synchronicity and the Great Material Continuum (Day 84)

    Waynesboro Synchronicity and the Great Material Continuum (Day 84)

    5/9/2023 Tuesday

    I had one of those magical days when things just come together. It was synchronicity—like drinking the felix felicis potion from Harry Potter.

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  • Expect a Snake When You Least Expect It (Day 83)

    Expect a Snake When You Least Expect It (Day 83)

    5/8/2023 Monday

    During the night a mouse chewed all the way through the hand strap of my trekking pole. And then ran off with the strap! It probably had a nice cheese scent because I’ve been eating and walking.

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  • Do Go Chasing Waterfalls (Day 82)

    Do Go Chasing Waterfalls (Day 82)

    5/7/2023 Sunday

    The privy at The Priest shelter area is closed. It’s too full, they said. People kept using it. They bolted it shut. No idea what has to be done to restore it to working order, but I’m eager to get down in there and get my hands dirty, Shawshank Redemption style. Honey dipping is in my blood.

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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).

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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