It's a Crash! Bang! is a Thru-Hiker Than g!

“Do it!! But only folks in the backpacking community will understand the meaning.”

“Put it in perspective. You'll spend more than 48 bucks on toilet paper.”

“HELL”

“I'd do it. I pay extra to keep mine reserved, and its worth it to me.”

“8)”

“DH is right.

What does that mean, Marge? Game 04

Maybe he hit a home run in game 4 of the World Series! Yeah, that's it! Pull that guy over. He's famous!”

“CMB returns!!!!”

“My plate says HYK MTNS, but people think it means "Hick Mountains". Honestly, I don't care what they think. I like it.”

“CMB!”

“you can say "hell" here. c'mon, itll feel good.”
Crash Bang
1:31:36 PM

LOL
Let's not, but say we did.”

“maybe its net shorthand for "he won one"?”

“Hey Mike!”

“It means...




Gay Me 04”

“o god no”

“Well, that's what first came to mind.

I mean how many people out there actually know you did a through hike from Georgia to Maine?”

“so getting my car re-painted hot pink is out?”

“No!! Getting your car repainted hot pink is you!”

“It's not like they'll come and take it back if you don't pay $50/year for it.”

“Nope, they'll just give him a different tag at renewal.”

“I thought that if someone has no clue what it really means
might think it means

ga me 04 = gameover.”

“good one, mape”

“i so smart”

“is now complete thru 7/3: 501 shelter, mile 1179.”

“got my certificate today. i hemmed and hawed around and didnt send in my application til early this year. last month, as a matter of fact, i believe”

“Kewl Beans!”

“Even after they learned you are a fearmongerer?”

“Hey, CB, just got around to reading your journal at trailjournals. So far up to June 9th. I had bookmarked the original journal under StormBringer but found the extended version under your CB name fairly easily.

So what's your take on the guy that stole the food you found at that one shelter? Was he being mean, or maybe he thought you were offering it up?”

“no, he thought i was offering it up. i was maybe a bit too spiteful in my comments at the time, wanting to snag every bit of free food i could cuz i really wasnt getting enough to eat thru the smokies”

“i found my journal! it was lost for several days (but not enough to account for the severe delinquency of my writing) i can catch it up again!”

“Just got up to August 6th - your last day posted online. Kick it up a notch!”

“Today I met the most beautiful girl I think I've seen on the trail. Her name is Gretchen and she is a care-taker at Little Rock Pond and Lula Tye Shelters, and I'm not afraid to say I was a bit smitten by her. The bad thing about her job is she has to collect fees for staying at the campsites, and this does not sit well with some hikers. Granted, they're not the nicest shelters, but they are in a nice part of the woods, so I would not have a problem paying a small nominal fee. Most of the time, no one gives her any problems, but sometimes they do.

I actually ran into Gretchen a few miles before her post, just before Danby-Landgrove Rd. She had stopped to tie her shoe on the way to do some mushroom hunting. She was a golden-bronzed goddess, with a lithe, lean body and gorgeous face. I was so inspired, I actually left a note in her tent later. Unfortuneately (for me) she has a boyfriend and so we talked for awhile (as I tried not to stare) and parted ways.

Three miles into the day I came across Little Rock Pond and Gretchen's empty tent, along with a few tent-sites. I can't swim, but that hasn't stopped me yet from taking a dip. It's probably just as well that I can't or I'd spend twice as long in the rivers and ponds I come across almost every day.

After the road to North Clarendon there was a ridiculously steep hell climb of about half a mile to the top of the ridge, apparently as a warm-up to New Hampshire. At the beginning or middle of the day would have been alright, but at the end of a 17 mile day, it was brutal.

The shelter was big but deserted, except for Yellow Weeble tenting nearby. She said she was glad to have me around, having someone around that she knew made her feel more at ease, especially when a local good old boy showed up on a four-wheeler. He just turned out to be some lonesome old coot checkin' up on hikers and looking for some company. He was a really nice fella but I was tired and just wanted to go to bed. But l let him talk, and he told me about the area, and how he had taken a hiker back down to the road once before. He was a good guy.

He eventually went back home and I went to bed. Two hikers arrived just after dark, but I couldn't tell who it was.”

“In the morning, I was excited to discover the Hobbits were my bunkmates last night, now going by Popeye (Holly Hobbit) and River Otter (Heidi Hobbit). I had not seen them since Waynesboro, Va. They were now in their home state of Vermont.

Before she left, Yellow Weeble gave me a couple slices of pizza from when she went into town last night. It was as good as the pizza I got at Manchester Center. How does this state make such good pizza? I heard dairy is really big outside of the mountains. Weeble had skipped a small section she had done before, and so was caught back up with me. I ran into her again at Governor Clement Shelter. My guidebook (Wingfoot) warns not to stay here. My guess is there is alot of trouble with the local hell-raisers, since it's right next to the road, but the ladies from Big Branch Shelter had a more interesting tale. According to the daughter, her father had stayed the night there one evening. He arrived after dark to find the shelter empty, except for one bunk. He climbed in the bunk above and went to sleep. He later woke to the sounds of animal grunts and groans, and the smell of wet fur. Well, it was an animal, he realized, when it got up and ambled out of the shelter. A bear, to be exact.

The climb to Killington Peak was brutal as Stratton, and the side trail from Cooper Lodge to the summit felt like it was going straight up. The lodge doubles as an AT shelter during hiking season, and a warming hut during the ski season.

On the way down I passed some rowdy trail builders having a good time. Some day I would like to join them if I'm in good enough shape.

Finally, at the end of the day I reached the highway and got a ride to the inn from a man I had ran into on the way down from Killington. He remembered me because I petted his dog. I remembered him because he and his wife did not look like they were having a good time. It is a tough climb up.

The place was exactly what you would expect from an old-fashioned inn: nice rooms (no phone) bar and grill, homey digs, and interesting locals. One peculiar character in a kilt was a gun enthusiast extolling the virtues of firearm ownership to us granola-crunching tree-huggers. He was making me paranoid with his non-stop catamount tales. Apparently, thats the local verbiage for mountain lion. It seems he had found some fresh prints in Clarendon Gorge, where I had just passed through yesterday. Nice.

Anyway, after a relaxing evening hanging out with hiker friends I retired to my room, and my first bed in two weeks”

“these are not entered into trailjournals yet, because i dont have the pictures to go along with them uploaded yet. as soon as i get my dads pc fixed, i will have pics here and at trailjournals”

“Good readin!”

“8-11 Stony Brook Shelter 10.0 miles

Got a late start today due to a trip into the town of Rutland for a haircut (total buzz) and re-supply. Kilt-boy's catamount tales had me nervous walking alone through the woods. It wasn't the first time being nervous (usually when walking alone at night), but this time was a little more intensified. I hunkered down in Gifford State Park for awhile to wait out the rain, and considered staying but the $20 fee and the fact that the rain let up shortly after it started convinced me to hike on.”

“8-12 Cloudland Shelter 19.6 miles

I guess I crossed the eastern continental divide today. So now all rivers will flow to ocean, right? That's what Wingfoot says, anyway. Early in the day April Showers and I took the side trail to a place called The Lookout, a cabin on private property that the owner lets hikers stay in. A rickety ladder led to a platform on top of the cabin, and the reward for the climb is a fantastic view of the surrounding forested mountainsides. After a leisurely lunch in the cabin we headed down the trail again.

After about 13 miles we came to Woodstock Stage Road. April Showers actually got there a little before me because she burns down downhills. I'm slower down the downhills than I used to be. All the pounding my knees took in the Smokies taught me a lesson.

Rumor has it there is a barn nearby that the owner lets hikers sleep in. There was a barn there at the crossing, but April Showers took a look inside and it was so cluttered she figured there was no way there was any room to sleep. So she decided to hitch into town to the nearest town and get a room. I didn't want to quit so early in the day and after only 13 miles. Cloudland Shelter was just 6 miles away. I could do that in my sleep. The day had been relatively easy so far and I was not ready to quit. Problem was, it was six miles uphill, and I was exhausted by the time I was done. Add the 1/2 mile from the AT to the shelter, and today was a full 20-mile day.

The dreary, overcast day added to the feeling of spookiness at the shelter. I was by myself on private property, though not trespassing because Wingfoot does say hikers are allowed to stay. But one cannot help but feel like it's the start of some slasher movie or a tragic story in the newspaper ("Man invites hikers to stay on land and then slaughters them. Film at eleven") Staring at me from outside the shelter was an evil-looking face carved by mother nature out of a tree trunk. Fortuneately, I was pretty exhausted and fell asleep pretty quickly, only to wake up later to pitch black night, black enough I could not see my hand in front of my face. Well, that's just the way I like it, so I went straight back to sleep.”

“Rainy, murky day today. Still worn out from yesterday's big 19-mile push. The trail goes straight through West Hartford, where I got a delicious chocolate milkshake at the local mom and pop store. Highly recommended.

Just a few minutes from the shelter the clouds started rumbling and threatening rain. I started hustling, and dove into the shelter just as the rain hit.

The building design was really sweet, an A-frame with a window in the back of the upper loft, looking out to the trees. I had the upper bunk to myself, so I was nice and spread out. Below me were a small handful of hikers, including April Showers and a southbounder. AS had caught me since I did a short day today. She told me that the guy she got a ride from let her stay at his barn and have dinner with his family, even though this wasn't the guy everyone was talking about. Sure are alot of nice folks in Vermont. The southbounder talked about the Whites, and we're really pumped for them now.

It would have been nice to make it into Hanover and take a full zero day tomorrow, but it's rainy and I'm tired.”

“The smoothest 6 miles in all of New England in about 2 hours. Nice. The trail was all downhill and exceptionally well-groomed. Much of it was road-walking. Even though today is not a zero, it might as well be, it was so easy.

Stopped in Norwich, also on the trail, and had an elegant breakfast at the Norwich Inn, while still filthy with four days dirt and sweat. Unfortuneately, all their rooms were booked up, as were all the rooms in Hanover, so I had to make arrrangements for a room one town south of Hanover.

Crossed the state line walking over the Connecticut River. Very exciting to finally be in New Hampshire. Arrived in downtown Hanover to lots of yuppie-college types. Ran into April Showers at the post office. Heard Baltimore Jack teasingly yell "hiker trash!" as he drove by (this is his hometown). Went to the movies and ran into Hawk, so we went in together. Catdog and Quest were around somewhere too. The movie (The Village) started out very good but the ending sucked. I won't rant about it here. The four of us went out for ice cream. Did some more goofing off in town, then got a cab to the motel and their crappy movie channel which doesn't work.
last edited: 4/24/05 9:01:16 AM”

“There is a very cool organic co-op just as you're leaving Hanover called the Hanover Consumer Co-op. Lots of organic and other healthy natural foods that I don't eat alot of but know I probably should.

Stopped by the Velvet Rocker Shelter early into the day. The Dartmouth Outing Club has carved a really cool map of the shelter area out of wood. Worth checking out. They have very nicely made and some very funny signs on the trail.

Apparently, there is an old and a new Moose Mt Shelter. The old one is a good ways off the trail and kind of run-down, but it has the water source. I did not know this and so went a quarter mile to the new Moose Mt Shelter, on a short loop trail. Darn my luck. The shelter was complete, but there were still signs of construction all around and really no place to pitch a tent, or not much anyways. Maybe when they get done. One construction that was done was the big open-air ultra-privy. This thing stood about 10 or 12 feet tall and looked like a primitive throne (how appropriate). Just me and April Showers tonight, although there were a couple of folks at the old Moose Mt.”

“Found water much closer to the new shelter and cussed myself for going so far out of the way last night. O well, I wasn't doing anything else. Today was pretty uneventful, and tonight is really cold. The elevation is around 3240 feet, and is the highest point for several miles. Lots of room, but we need it with all the people tonight.”

“Lunch at the junction with the side-trail to Hexacuba Shelter. Did not go to see it but I have heard that it has a unique shape, like a hexagon, I think. I don't remember exactly.

April Showers, Badger, and Papa Bear, all of whom I stayed with last night, and I hiked together for some time. We had some beautiful ridge-walking and views of surrounding mountains. Papa Bear and Badger got fooled by a false summit or two into thinking we had reached the top of North Cube, and AS and I let them talk us into believing them, but when we finally got to the top it was gratifying to know they were wrong because the views were really nice. We sat around awhile and just soaked it in.

The rest of the gang decided to stay at Ore Hill Shelter. They didn't think they had a 20 in them. I would not have pressed on if it was going to be a day like the day I went into Cloudland, but from the guidebook I knew it would be mostly down hill the last 7 miles, so I pressed on, and found that I was right. It was a pretty easy 20 after summiting Cube, and I was happy to know a bed was coming my way.

Wingfoot says the Hiker's Welcome hostel is a half mile from the trail, so I started thumbing. A local came by and pointed out a house less than 200 feet away and informed me that was the hostel. Well, I felt stupid, but glad to be done for the day. Hiker's Welcome is a really cool place, with all the amenities outside under tarps or other temporary structures, with a sort-of lounge area with movies and computer access in the house in a sort-of open air configuration. You just have to see it.

Anyway, a group of us got together for a shuttle ride into town for dinner. Along the way the driver pointed out the mini "Man in the Mountain" along the side of the road in the rocks, a down-scaled version of the famous one that fell not too long ago.

I was disappointed to find my late arrival had caused all the beds to be taken, but no matter. Getting to sleep won't be difficult.”

“btw, that was my last 20-miler of the trip. the next three days are sub-10's and then a zero. as a matter of fact, i have 17 straight days where i dont crack 15 miles. the longest day between glencliff and katahdin is 18.7 miles, the day i went into monson, although when you add the walk into town it was easily over 20”