Vermud Lives up to Her Name!

I'm currently in Woodstock Vermont, with 20 Trail miles left to Hanover New Hampshire. This hike has been a significantly different challenge from the Thru-hike attempt. It has been bounded by logistical concerns that have infected the hike a little and made it very difficult to just relax and walk. First and foremost has been Southwest Airlines losing all my gear, which they have yet to recover and have not the first idea where to look to find it. I spent two hiking days looking around for cheap gear that would get me on my way. The second big challenge is a lack of a clear goal. I have three weeks and so am hiking North as far as I can in hopes of getting close enough to finish with one trip next year but not knowing the terrain intimately I really don't know how far that is. I really miss my Trail family and with the NOBOs here now (those running up the Trail) I don't get much of a chance to get to know them and I'm faster than most section hikers so I am in a quiet and solo bubble. It has been a little lonely and it is hard to overestimate how much friends keep you motivated in a thru-hike. Lastly is the concern of getting to the bluegrass festival in New York for which I have tickets. It is a simple 4 hr drive but the transit system here is designed to go to Boston and NYC neither of which is helpful for Oak Hill New York. It has been difficult to motivate with all of these external and actually not terribly important concerns.
Vermont itself has been lovely with a few really good climbs and beautiful ponds. The trail especially in the southern part has been a mud bog. It ate the leather of my first pair of Five Fingers. I switched to the Nylon ones, much better. I had great stays with the great people at The Green Mountain Hiker Hostel in Manchester Center and The Inn on the Long Trail near Killington. I played red light, green light with a juvenile moose who refused to get off the Trail for about a half an hour.
I will miss Vermont but am looking forward to the serious business of the Whites and the remoteness of Maine.
Sadly I wont have but a few fuzzy camera pictures of this part as Southwest has my hiking camera too.

An adventure just getting back.

I am poised to return to Bennington and resume my walk. In order to do this though, I have had my dogsitter cancel on a few weeks notice, Southwest airlines lost all my gear, I split open my toe, and I have scrambled and scrounged to put together the cheapest camp I could manage to get me walking. As always the walking is the easy part.

The Surreal Hop into a Past Life

So I'm halfway on my journey to Damascus for Trail Days and a week in last summers life. Some trail magic, some hiking, and some wonderful reunions. I'll have pictures and stories as the week progresses.

One Adventure Ends, Another Begins.

And so the long journey, ends a little short of its goal, but not incomplete. I decided to leave the Trail after a serious flare up of Plantar Fasciitis. By the end of my last day on the trail I had a hard time putting weight on it. I rested for a week, and tried again in Hanover, but made it only a few miles before it flared up again. It was a difficult choice to say the least, but it led to some more wonderful adventures. I spent the night at Mad Mike's house the night I got off the trail. Then I got to spend a few more days with my beloved friends Rob and Willow and went to the New York Renaissance Faire. When I came home, I went to the Four Corners Folk Festival and made some amazing friends, some of whom live close so we can continue to play. I got to hear some great music and am going again this weekend to the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival. And so each choice reveals some opportunity. I'll have pictures from each of those events soon.

From the Professor to Jon in Easy Stages

So after finishing my first stint as The Professor

I am now considering some other career paths like

 Civil War general

 or

 Victorian Detective sidekick or old west Gunslinger

or

Musketeer

Now that you mention it...

I do have the sword already

Then there is always...

Grunge rocker or Beatnik Poet

or maybe just...

Me.

New England Trail Moments

Some more pictures.

Fluffy in the wilds of New York, really...the trail goes right by the ABC offices!

Self Portrait in NYC

and Pete even warned Fluffy that she'd be attacked by a bear! How'd he know?

Tent city in mom's back yard

Last on the Bus, Gonzo, Mom, Bear Blaze and I at my mom's house.

Giant's Thumb

The Housatonic Falls at Falls Village CT,

The Housatonic River

Mom and Bear Blaze

Sage's Ravine, Race Mtn and Mt Everett from Bear Mtn.

The Trail in Sage's Ravine

The entire Trail in MA from Jug's End to Mt Greylock.

Tiptoeing along the Eagle's Perch on Race Mtn.

Upper Goose Pond

beaver pond in central MA.

Trail angel Barb out for a morning hike with me near Dalton

Hikers enjoying a lazy day in Dalton at Tom's house. Fauna in the purple and I met for the first time while she was doing a shakedown hike to test some gear out of Neel's Gap. We talked for a few minutes and she said she was planning a SOBO. We met by chance here on her way south.

Self Portrait with real clothes at Tanglewood

Trail angel cousin Dave enjoys a preshow dinner at Tanglewood

The approach to Greylock summit

pond near the summit of Greylock

memorial at the summit of Greylock near Bascomb Lodge

Looking to the Green Mountains and Vermont from Greylock

The Vermont border

Ziggy Stardust, Thin Mint, Sparrow and I celebrate at the border

beaver pond near Bennington. The Trail is actually 4' below the spillover of the dam so as you walk by the surface of the water is close to eye level.

lunch in Williamstown with Rebecca.

Into Vermont, Returning to my Birthplace and my Roots.