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!

4/26/2023 Wednesday

I’d call it a lazy day, but it’s not lazy to stop and rest for as long as you need (always assuming there’s nothing scary chasing you). It is in fact quite prudent to do so. So I had a prudent day, extremely prudent. Downright circumspect!

4/25/2023 Tuesday

Ben cooked regular-colored eggs and ham for all of us for breakfast and we headed out for another signature slackpacking folly. This one is a tough because there’s no feasible exit point between the McAfee Knob trailhead and the spot where the trail enters Daleville, some 20 miles later. It’s 20 or nothing!

4/23/2023 Sunday

We weren’t at the bottom of the creek valley, but we were close enough for a cool, cool morning. Today we will leave the 600s, a threshold Wedge has been eager to achieve.

4/22/2023 Saturday

The rain came just as I laid down to sleep in my tent at Pickle Branch Shelter area this morning, after hiking through the night to avoid said rain. It’s clammy and moist down here. I am so glad not to be hiking in this.

4/21/2023 Friday

The guy with the long silver hair, the luscious silver hair, is called Witcher. It’s a good trail name. He is no Geralt, that’s for sure, but those locks! As I gazed upon them with awe, I heard my mother’s voice again: “if you want soft hair, wash it with Palmolive and then rinse with vinegar.”

4/20/2023 Thursday

This section of the is AT tougher than advertised. The conditions right now are also a challenge. We’ve got 80 degree highs and no shade. It’s much like walking through a burn scar, only there’s too much brush to use an umbrella effectively. It was a mostly miserable day.

4/17/2023 Monday

The “safari” tent was a bit cold, but Wedge and I agreed it was worth it. We took in the mountain views from our little covered deck. The breakfast bell rang at eight, but by then I had already eaten and mostly packed up. Wedge went down to the main house (our tent was up the hill), excited at the prospect of another excellent vegetarian meal. But first, the “gratitude circle.”