Sun, Feb 28, 2016 The glorious sunset last night was on Poor Mountain.  It is amazing how much one can remember from an 8-month hike in the woods.  Last night was as fresh as if I were experiencing it as I wrote about it.  And this day, too.  With my AWOL notes written over the […]

The shuttle dropped us off on a sunny day at Mountain Crossing where tents with gear were set up outside.  I had already lost interest in the commercialism of the place so made my way past the tents to the trail which ran right through the compound. It was a dry, crystal-clear day with not […]

Sat, Feb 27, 2016 Nick hadn’t gotten his package by the time Theo and I returned to the trail.  And “Pepto” was still ailing as I recall.  Before heading back to Neel Gap, I wanted to check out Woody Gap Outfitters at the far end of the store.  It proved to be an outpost for […]

The bunk room was empty now.  The “older” couple had gone their way and OD and Andrea had returned to the trail.  One always had to resist thoughts such as, “Oh, they’re getting ahead of me” and return to the long-standing trail wisdom, “Hike your own hike.”  We can be jealous, competitive, envious, self-centered people […]

Fri, Feb 26, 2016 I decided to take my first “zero” day – the hiker’s name for a day when he does zero miles on the trial.  I was going to say “hikes nowhere” but that’s often not true because a hiker is homeless, car-less.  All movement is by foot or thumb, offer or shuttle.  […]

The top of Blood Mountain was an icy rock face presenting me with the only time I would need my Yaktrax.  The scenery was frosty winter all about. The descent from Blood Mountain led, of course, to the next gap – Neel Gap, often called Neels Gap, the home of Mountain Crossings, the first store […]

Thu, Feb 25, 2016 Up with the sun.  The wind had stopped but it was very cold.  I had breakfast in the tent.  I fed Theo in the tent also, as I would do most every morning in the north.  I packed up everything in the backpack while inside the tent as well trying to […]

And so I saw “so many things” to quote Daniel Hockleitner from the movie “Witness” talking to Samuel before he boards the train for Philadelphia. In the “lowlands,” it was another overcast, rainy day containing its own natural miracles.  Brilliant white in the midst of the dark, rain-soaked forest – little embryos?  Mini cocoons?  How […]

Wed, Feb 24, 2016 During the night I noticed that Theo was not using his sleeping pad.  In the morning I saw that the section of my work-out pad, formerly a thin closed-foam sleeping pad, was disintegrating into black powder all over the smooth, bright, blond wood floor. I cleaned up with a small, fresh, […]

Tue, Feb 23, 2016 Another rainy, “dreary” day.  Is there ever really a dreary day?  Isn’t it a mysterious day, a day that closes you in on yourself a little, brings you home to the one inside, the one doing the walking, the lifting, the listening – a peaceful, maybe contemplative day without the demands […]