July 1st. I leave the White Mountain hostel and its plethora of civil comforts to head back out into the wild. But things are alright because I'm back in the company of friends. And the group has grown. There are faces I recognize, Cosmo, White Rabbit, and Large, but there are also a few I…Read more July 1st-2nd: “Dirigo”

The Notch was good to me. It's owners, Serena and Justin, let me trim my three day rent by folding laundry, dressing beds, and driving recyclables to the town's processing building in their Toyota pickup. When I wasn't acting as housekeeper I was popping my pills, drinking copious amounts of water, eating bland foods that…Read more The Close of June and A Happy Ending

On June 11th Cosmo and I wiped the cabin down, bagged up our trash, locked the doors and hit the road to hitch toward trail. I still felt like there were weights strapped to my ankles, but it was easy to ignore that ominous premonition in the moment. The sun was out and the shower…Read more Mid June and Stage Two Denial 

(This post is meant to be read before Early July and the Zombie Hiker) Hello all, sorry I've been gone so long but it's been a rough couple of weeks. It would be a simple thing to file down the mishaps of the past month into a short, concise statement that would explain everything but…Read more Prelude to June (and a brief apology)

In hindsight the troubles that were to befall me throughout the month of June had, like most little troubles that grow into big troubles, inauspicious beginnings. I crossed into Massachusetts on June 1st. It was my fifth border crossing and marked nearly 800 miles of steadfast progress. The day should have been one for celebration.…Read more Early July and the Zombie Hiker

After a couple hours of hiking, I emerged from the woods and walked into the the little provincial hamburg of Salisbury. On the way there were some sort of local volunteers deploying road blocks from golf carts retrofitted with police lights. I wondered what that was for. Looked official. Turns out it was Memorial Day…Read more May 30- June 1: The Bearded Woods Dine and Bunk

Thoughts today about the sun, and heat, and people flaring and cooling like emotional embers.  We see the sun everyday, but people only rarely think about it as more than a big molten ball that'll give you melanoma if you're not careful. It's a constant in all our lives, Earth's night light. But we forget…Read more May 29: Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Left Wiley shelter before dawn and made Kent, CT by noon. It was a town sprung up around prep school and so there were ice cream, girls, cool taverns, and used books aplenty. Inspired by the heat I sent home my cold weather gear to my parent's new, lakeside address that as of yet doesn't…Read more May 28: Kent, A Little Utopia 

Woke at 5 today. Left camp by 6. Hiking early morning may become the norm. Predawn rays don't quite have the same kick as sunlight around noon.  At the 8 mile mark I stopped in at Telephone Pioneers Shelter for a snack. The place was occupied by a doggedly-upbeat dad out from the big city…Read more May 27: A Healthy Withdrawal 

The summer heat hit in full today. A warm morning turned into a sun-burnt skin kind of afternoon. Nothin for it but to hike through.  The one positive is that the trail in New York unravels beneath a thick canopy cover. The bad news is that the heavy foliage traps heat. So even as I…Read more May 26: There’s Always A Concert If You Know How To Listen