8/9 Mile 1,730.7-Happy Hills Shelter-We passed through West Hartford today just as a family was wrapping up their yardsale/barbecue. Luckily, we weren't tempted to look at their cheap stuff that we couldn't buy since it was all packed up, but they did offer the rest of their hotdogs and some burgers with softdrinks for free.
8/10 Mile 1,738.5-Just past Ledyard Spring-Ferdy woke up today with a stomach ache that lasted all day. Being the dedicated hiker that she is, we hiked most of the day anyway. We are officially in New Hampshire, our second last state.
8/11 Mile 1,753.2-Trapper John Shelter-Ferdy is feeling 70% better today. We got a little bit of rain just in time to provide a couple of rainbows that made Ferdy's day.
--Schooner and Ferdy
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
B-day celebrations
8/6 Mile 1,694.4-Big Meadows Lodge-Wow, Megan surprised me by telling me we would be in town for my B-day, and then waited until we walked up to the lodge early this morning to tell me we were staying here instead. The lodge is the best i've seen along the trail so far. Entertainment inlcudes: a pool, pool table, jacuzzi, sauna, movie room, bar room, a lake with canoes available, a pony, and a little black pig named Alice the hobbles around and snorts at poeple. Not to mention a shower, and comfy beds. We took advantage of all of these a few times.
Ferdy managed to talk the cook into making me a Jell-O poke cake, my favorite. The biggest surprise of all was the birthday cards, and the packages. They truly made my 25th birthday feel as special as my 5th. Thank you all very much.
8/7 Mile 1,700.4-Stony Brook Shelter-After spending half the day relaxing at the lodge we finally squeezed out 6 miles. Two good friends, Bird and Limbo, hiked a 24oz. Budweieser to the shelter for me in honor of the B-day.
8/8 Mile 1,714.5-on top of random Mtn.-We only have to do 12.18 miles a day to finish by September 15. Our pace has been comfortable so far, but our average miles per day overall are somewhere around 12.88. I guess we'll just have to slow down a bit from here on out.
--Schooner and Ferdy
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Vermont
8/3 Mile 1,657.1-Big Branch River- Nothin' like bathing in a river after a long walk in the Vermont wilderness.
8/4 Mile 1,672.9-Clarendon Gorge, Mill River suspension bridge-VT gets better everyday. The views show larger mountains in the distance, the sun has been shining, and we're seeing signs of moose all around now.
8/5 Mile 1,690.4-U.S.4-After one of the best days on the trail so far we had to settle for a campsite right next to a busy highway. Oh well, we summited Mt.Killington today and caught a glimpse of the White Mountains on the horizon. The hike up the Mt. was amazing in itself with forest full of pines, and moss, and ferns everywhere. We're almost done with this state and it has completely redeemed itself from dumping water on us the first few days.
--Schooner and Ferdy
8/4 Mile 1,672.9-Clarendon Gorge, Mill River suspension bridge-VT gets better everyday. The views show larger mountains in the distance, the sun has been shining, and we're seeing signs of moose all around now.
8/5 Mile 1,690.4-U.S.4-After one of the best days on the trail so far we had to settle for a campsite right next to a busy highway. Oh well, we summited Mt.Killington today and caught a glimpse of the White Mountains on the horizon. The hike up the Mt. was amazing in itself with forest full of pines, and moss, and ferns everywhere. We're almost done with this state and it has completely redeemed itself from dumping water on us the first few days.
--Schooner and Ferdy
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Rain, Mud, Rain
7/26 Mile 1,538.2-Upper Goose Pond Cabin-Ferdy, Greg, and I enjoyed a refreshing swim at Goose Pond, and pancakes with coffee served in the morning at this caretaker-staffed cabin. The truly amazing thing is that of the twelve other hikers in the bunks not one of them snored the whole night.
7/27 Mile 1,558.8-Birdcage Hostel-Greg left the A.T. after a couple miles in for the day, and shortly after that it began to rain. We walked the last ten miles into Dalton in deep mud and water. We did end the day with a shower, laundry and a huge meal though so all was well.
7/28 Mile 1,567.5-Cheshire, MA(St.Mary of Assumption Hostel)-Took a nero(nearly a zero mile day) today to rest a little more and pick up a mail drop.
7/29 Mile 1,579.1,Mile 599.2 from Katahdin-Wilbur Clearing Lean-to--After hiking only 8 miles to the Summit of Mt. Greylock, a light rain that turned into a heavy rain eventually chased us into a shelter. We've begun passing SOBO's(Southbounders) everyday, and they all have pretty good suggestions on where to go for supplies or a free meal and a good place to stay. We met a nice SOBO today named Ledge who told us of a free hostel that has a pooltable.
7/30 Mile xxx-Congdon Shelter-the guide book pages are soaked, I'll checked the mileage later. We didn't make it all the way to the free hostel, but we did make it into VT today. Then all of the sudden the trail turned into a river. We hiked almost all of the 17 miles today with soaked feet. Not one of Scooners top 100 days on the trail, but Ferdy seems to be indifferent to the muckiness.
7/31 Mile xxx- laundry mat in Bennington at noon-We're soaked to the bone. No rain all night, and then we left the shelter and it started to rain hard and didn't stop until we reached town. We might or might not hike more today.
7/30 Mile 1,596.2-Congdon Shelter
7/31 Mile 1,606.3-Little Pond Lookout-We dried ourselves in town, ressupplied at Wal-mart, ate some Wendy's, and hit the trail in time to make it to an awesome lookout that provided a good sunrise view.
8/1 Mile 1,623.1-Arlington Rd.-Finally, a day without rain. Still more than enough mud, but no rain. We were greeted with hotdogs, beer, and snacks at the end of the day by a couple of '05 thruhikers called Rye and Grey.
8/2 Mile 1,642.6-Bromley Shelter-Surprisingly, the rain held out until we got to the shelter today. We planned only 15 miles for the day, but did almost 20 since the weather allowed it. Also, we've heard rumors of rain tomorrow.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned our friends the three stooges before, but they're 3 brothers from Holland that we became good friends with early on. Well, one of them(Curly) had to get off of the trail almost 600 miles ago due to shin splints that wouldn't heal. Sadly, we just heard that another of them(Moe) had to get off due to a MRSA infection that will take a months recovery. Larry is hiking alone through the White Mountains right now.
--Schooner and Ferdy
7/27 Mile 1,558.8-Birdcage Hostel-Greg left the A.T. after a couple miles in for the day, and shortly after that it began to rain. We walked the last ten miles into Dalton in deep mud and water. We did end the day with a shower, laundry and a huge meal though so all was well.
7/28 Mile 1,567.5-Cheshire, MA(St.Mary of Assumption Hostel)-Took a nero(nearly a zero mile day) today to rest a little more and pick up a mail drop.
7/29 Mile 1,579.1,Mile 599.2 from Katahdin-Wilbur Clearing Lean-to--After hiking only 8 miles to the Summit of Mt. Greylock, a light rain that turned into a heavy rain eventually chased us into a shelter. We've begun passing SOBO's(Southbounders) everyday, and they all have pretty good suggestions on where to go for supplies or a free meal and a good place to stay. We met a nice SOBO today named Ledge who told us of a free hostel that has a pooltable.
7/30 Mile xxx-Congdon Shelter-the guide book pages are soaked, I'll checked the mileage later. We didn't make it all the way to the free hostel, but we did make it into VT today. Then all of the sudden the trail turned into a river. We hiked almost all of the 17 miles today with soaked feet. Not one of Scooners top 100 days on the trail, but Ferdy seems to be indifferent to the muckiness.
7/31 Mile xxx- laundry mat in Bennington at noon-We're soaked to the bone. No rain all night, and then we left the shelter and it started to rain hard and didn't stop until we reached town. We might or might not hike more today.
7/30 Mile 1,596.2-Congdon Shelter
7/31 Mile 1,606.3-Little Pond Lookout-We dried ourselves in town, ressupplied at Wal-mart, ate some Wendy's, and hit the trail in time to make it to an awesome lookout that provided a good sunrise view.
8/1 Mile 1,623.1-Arlington Rd.-Finally, a day without rain. Still more than enough mud, but no rain. We were greeted with hotdogs, beer, and snacks at the end of the day by a couple of '05 thruhikers called Rye and Grey.
8/2 Mile 1,642.6-Bromley Shelter-Surprisingly, the rain held out until we got to the shelter today. We planned only 15 miles for the day, but did almost 20 since the weather allowed it. Also, we've heard rumors of rain tomorrow.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned our friends the three stooges before, but they're 3 brothers from Holland that we became good friends with early on. Well, one of them(Curly) had to get off of the trail almost 600 miles ago due to shin splints that wouldn't heal. Sadly, we just heard that another of them(Moe) had to get off due to a MRSA infection that will take a months recovery. Larry is hiking alone through the White Mountains right now.
--Schooner and Ferdy
Sunday, July 26, 2009
A Visitor from Ferdinand
7/24 Mile 1,511.6-At mile marker 666 from Katahdin, we camped in a little hell hole on the side of the trail that I like to call Mosquito City.
7/25 Mile 1,526-Unmarked Campsite-We welcomed an ex-neighbor of Ferdy's/family friend/current resident of Mass., Greg Kemper along to hike with us for a couple of days. We also welcomed the sandwiches and Margharitas he brought. Unlike the unlucky Digger, who's visit included a 16 mile hike in the rain, our trio enjoyed clear skies and a nice lake swim at the top of our biggest climb.
7/25 Mile 1,526-Unmarked Campsite-We welcomed an ex-neighbor of Ferdy's/family friend/current resident of Mass., Greg Kemper along to hike with us for a couple of days. We also welcomed the sandwiches and Margharitas he brought. Unlike the unlucky Digger, who's visit included a 16 mile hike in the rain, our trio enjoyed clear skies and a nice lake swim at the top of our biggest climb.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
In Conneticut
7/17 Mile 1,410.9-Clarence Fahnestock State Park
7/18 Mile 1,426.6-Mt. Egbert
7/190Mile 1,443.2-Wiley Shelter
7/20 Mile 1,455.9-Kent, Connitecut (Fife & Drum Inn)-We stayed with a Mother and Son couple that go by the names Tallgrass (son) and Coffeebean (mom). we met them all the way back in the Smokies, and we've seen them numerous times along the way. Sadly, Coffeebean fell and tore the cartalidge in her knee. This will almost definitely end their journey for this year. We've seen quite a few people leave the trail on their own accord because they've had enough of this experience, but Tallgrass and Coffeebean had high hopes of completing their goal this year.
Also, not to make Ferdy's episode with Lymes disease any less special, but we've heard of about five other cases just recently. Our great friend Pellet supposedly experienced facial Palsy before he got it checked out.
7/21 Mile 1,462.9-Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to-The shelters are all called lean-tos in Connecticut but they look no different from shelters. We stopped after hiking for 7 miles in nonstop rainfall. With a forecast of rain until midnight, we'll just lay in the tent and read or listen to the pitter patter. Right now, Ferdy is literally chugging from a bottle of honey that someone left behind.
7/22 mile 1491, Falls Village, CT -- After asking directions to McDonalds from a nice woman and her son, they informed us it was a good six miles away and invited us to their house for dinner instead. We were served two kinds of pasta from Italy and homemade cheese and bread from the farm her husband works on. Thanks Paul, Theresa and Liam for the great food and hositality!
7/23 mile 1,496.1; 682.2 miles to go; Sages Ravine Brook Campsite -- We crossed over into Massachusetts this afternoon and called it quits just after the border to make sure we got camp set up before it started raining. Its been pretty wet lately -- no shortage of water as previously mentioned.
Greetings from Megan
Hello from Connecticut! I wanted to update you on a few things since my last e-mail.
First, for those of you who know Scott, I wanted to remind you his birthday is coming up on August 8. If you'd like to send him a card or anything, you can mail it to the below address. I know he'd love to hear from folks back home. It might be a good idea to mail early in case we are ahead of schedule.
Scott Schipp
c/o Base Camp Outfitters
2363 U.S. 4
Killington, VT 05751
Hold for AT thru-hiker
ETA August 8
Second, I keep forgetting to mention the idea that Scott's dad, John, came up with when they visited us way back in Tennessee. He thought it would be neat if we asked friends and family to pledge a penny for every mile we hike to be donated to Make-A-Wish. If we make it all the way, it would be $21.78. Of course, donations of any amount would be appreciated. If you're interested, you can contact John at jschipp@sedubois.k12.in.us.
Finally, an update on the hike. Since my last e-mail, we finished Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. We're now in Connecticut and should be in Massachusetts within a few days. Shortly after my last e-mail, I was sick for several days with what turned out to be Lyme disease. Luckily we caught it early; I got some antibiotics and started feeling better by the next day so it didn't slow us down much.
Take care!
Megan
www.scottymegan.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPhone
First, for those of you who know Scott, I wanted to remind you his birthday is coming up on August 8. If you'd like to send him a card or anything, you can mail it to the below address. I know he'd love to hear from folks back home. It might be a good idea to mail early in case we are ahead of schedule.
Scott Schipp
c/o Base Camp Outfitters
2363 U.S. 4
Killington, VT 05751
Hold for AT thru-hiker
ETA August 8
Second, I keep forgetting to mention the idea that Scott's dad, John, came up with when they visited us way back in Tennessee. He thought it would be neat if we asked friends and family to pledge a penny for every mile we hike to be donated to Make-A-Wish. If we make it all the way, it would be $21.78. Of course, donations of any amount would be appreciated. If you're interested, you can contact John at jschipp@sedubois.k12.in.us.
Finally, an update on the hike. Since my last e-mail, we finished Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. We're now in Connecticut and should be in Massachusetts within a few days. Shortly after my last e-mail, I was sick for several days with what turned out to be Lyme disease. Luckily we caught it early; I got some antibiotics and started feeling better by the next day so it didn't slow us down much.
Take care!
Megan
www.scottymegan.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPhone
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