Roger Carpenter – Greg In Wild
Living with a sense of adventure
I am cruising through the southern and less “Rocksylvania-like” portion of the AT in Pennsylvania! Great weather, help from trail angel & friend Jeff Zimmerman, smooth trail and a visit to Gettysburg with my father-in-law Bill Kleinegger made these six days very pleasant.
From the cozy dryness of the shelter I heard the wind blown tree branches as they hit the forest floor with a snap or a thud. I could tell through the darkness it was raining but not hard, not yet. The weather forecast predicted heavy rain to begin around the time I would say goodbye to the safety of the shelter and face the dragons I expected to encounter on a day like today. At 6:45am, the time of the sunrise, I ventured to the trail without doubt or hesitation.
Mostly the hiking through Pennsylvania has become more routine with little drama. As usual the trail is often embedded with rocks, but there have been sections of easy, rockless trail to speed along on. My daily mileage is consistently between 16 and 20. Moreover, my body is becoming more like thru-hiker and capable of hiking more miles per day. This is good because I will need to move south at a faster pace than the first 90 days to ensure I reach Springer Mtn no later than mid-December. I feel confident in my ability to complete this trail! I need to be careful to avoid injuries. Even though I hike solo I meet interesting people and hikers. I am not lonely out here!
This part of the Pennsylvania AT looks easy on the topo map: Mostly level terrain at 1500 feet above sea level. There are some tough areas that involve a lot of rocks, then more and bigger rocks, and sometimes boulder fields. In between these places are marvelous, easy, level trail that is as easygoing as a neighborhood walk at home. Today had some drama, though. Because the AT stayed mostly on the top of the 1500′ ridge there were no on-trail streams or springs. Even good campsites were without water sources. I found one good spring that was about 15 miles from a shelter that was near water. And if I chose to camp there I would need to hike 21.7 miles for the day, including a sketchy bouldery descent for over 500 feet down to the Lehigh River highway bridge. In the morning, after loading my backpack with 3 liters of water (6 pounds) I was up to the task of going all 21.7 miles. It really depended on the trail conditions.
A heavy thunderstorm shook and drenched Deleware Water Gap last night. At first light walked out of the hotel and dodged wide puddles on the way to the AT. Knowing this part of the trail will be rocky I watched my footing carefully, although the first eight miles were surprisingly mellow and mostly absent of the rocks I am expecting in Pennsylvania.
The rock outcrops were dry early in the morning which helped me reach the New York / New Jersey border without stress. At 7:50am it was too early to be concerned about poisonous snakes warming themselves on sun-heated rocks. I was optimistic about the next five days of hiking in New Jersey. With a feeling of newness I enjoyed the music made by the wind blowing playfully through the hardwoods, bringing cooling air across my face. It was a good sign. Cool wind meant the mosquitoes might be grounded, but before long they took flight and attacked aggressively. I planned to resupply later in Warrick with insect repellent on the top of my shopping list. Before shopping for food and repellent I set up my tarp at the Warwick, NY Drive-In Theater, which allows AT hikers to camp free and watch the movies on three screens.
See my real-time location produced by the InReach unit I carry and a daily log of my progress on the trail.
Continue reading “Days 80-84, September 10-14: Nice New Jersey”Oh, did I want to escape from New York, on the Appalachian Trail that is! Without coming off as negative, defeated or seeming like my resilience was wearing thin, I felt fatigued by the nature of the terrain and the accumulation of miles without sufficient rest. On September 6, one day after a 16.7 mile day on very tedious trail, I decided a mental break was just what I needed. I was struggling to stay focused on walking. Upon arriving at a highway where the Appalachian Trail Market was, I got a ride down to the small city of Peekskill to stay one night in a hotel. The break off the trail allowed me to thoroughly dry my gear and eat a large portion of pasta from a local Italian restaurant.
See my real-time location produced by the InReach unit I carry and a daily log of my progress on the trail.
Continue reading “Days 76-79, September 6-9: The New York AT Experience Part 2”One reason I chose to hike the AT southbound is my love of hiking in September and October. Cooler, crisp air brings my outdoor spirit to a nice place. On this thru-hike I will be hiking every day during my favorite months. September 1 would be celebratory, but not so much this time with the remnants of hurricane Ida sweeping across Connecticut and dumping at least three inches of rain! I had a plan to avoid spending a night in an AT shelter during the downpour. Eddie, who is the grandson of the elderly woman whose house I stayed in the previous night, drove me to Great Barrington. I hoteled there while buckets of rain fell all evening and night.
I rose from the tent in cool, dry morning air and looked forward to entering yet another state. The climb to Mt. Everett (2,602′) was pleasant. The best views were not from the summit of Everett but rather the open ledges near Mt. Race. The valley to the east had farms. pastures, bogs, ponds and lakes. As far as my eyes could see it was springtime green in bright sun.
Oh, the energy to write daily posts for this blog is not always present. I am happy to report that no trail drama, injuries or gear failures have set me back. In fact, I feel great physically and mentally. At this point in the hike, having hiked over 600 miles and completed over 25% of the AT, I feel like a thru-hiker now. And I can make some judgements.
The AT does not feel like a wilderness trail experience. There are so many encounters with civilization now. Ever since I descended from Mt. Mousilauke in New Hampshire on August 6, when I saw the first pastures and lawns along the trail, the scenes are nothing like the challenging and more remote mountains I struggled with and conquered. This observation is not a complaint. Rather, it is a recognition the thru-hike is in a phase that includes ice cream, nice food co-ops, roads, farms, livestock and miles and miles of the famous Green Tunnel…I mean tree canopy!
