Paul's AT blog

Well, clearly I am no Jeremiah Johnson. Deep snow kicked my butt this week. The best I can say about the first week of my AT sojourn is it’s been a learning experience for me (damn it!). I wish learning humility, patience, and adaptability wasn’t such a pain in the ass lesson. Not that I’m necessarily all that humble, patient, or adaptable, mind you, but I’ve made strides. Apparently I can evolve. I promised myself I wouldn’t write boring posts with weekly totals of miles and weather and other dry facts but I am making an exception already. 15, 0, 1.5, 10, 3.4, 2, 8 – that’s my daily mileage this week. Seven days after starting the AT in Wind Gap, I have covered a grand total of 37.9 miles (in case you are quick at addition, two miles were repeated). At this rate I will finish the trail in 398 days - April 26 next year. I think I need to pick up the pace. So far I’ve had only three legitimate hiking days. Two of them were slackpack days which means they were essentially dayhi

Well, damn. Another monster Nor'easter! This is not the way this script is supposed to go. My hike is supposed to be a long, gentle odyssey in the woods with birdsong and babbling brooks as the soundtrack and with the sun dappling green ferns as the stage lighting. (At least that's been my mind's eye vision for more than a year).  It is not supposed to be a struggle for survival on a frigid trail with foot-deep snow and razor-sharp winds stinging any carelessly exposed skin. I may be crazy but I'm not insane. So after fifteen miles on the trail yesterday, I bailed out at Delaware Water Gap and came home to sit out the storm. I am just not sure when I will get back on the trail. I was surprised yesterday to find that most of the trail was still covered with snow from the last storm more than a week ago. (The picture is from Wolf Rocks yesterday.) In a couple of places I broke through the surface crust and post-holed up to my knees. Even when the snow was only a few i

These boots are made for walking. It's almost time to go. The weather forecast for next Tuesday through the weekend looks a bit cooler and wetter than normal but nothing that should postpone the start of my hike. As much as I would have liked the first week on the trail to be warm and dry, there is something appropriate about a cold, cloudy start to keep my enthusiasm properly curbed. I have pulled together the final pieces of my gear and the only thing keeping me from starting right now is a dentist appointment on Monday. I'll post one more update the night before I start. After that all of my posts for the next five or six months should be from the trail.

Two weeks from tomorrow is still my target date to start the AT despite the recent return of nasty weather. I hope winter is blasting itself out and things will be mild come the start of spring. Today I did my first complete gear check to see what I may still need before I go. I think I'm ready. The first picture is all my stuff and the second picture is what it looks like when it's all packed. Pack weight before water is 32 pounds which is not bad with five days' of food plus winter gear. I will shed a couple of pounds when the weather is warmer but I'm not sacrificing comfort (such as it is) for a pound or two of savings. Thank you to those of you who have offered recommendations for my trail name. I think I'm going to wait until I have been on the trail a few days before I settle on one. Give myself a chance to shift into "wilderness" mode and see what resonates then. Keep those suggestions coming, though.