Where on the AT is gforce?

“Yes, but the question is truely, how much time does he really want to spend in town? If it were me, not very much. But, that's just me...”
msdoolittle
11:50:29 AM
7/05/07

but yet she is posting all the time on here, WB and backpacker :)”

“lmao.... That's because I'm not on trail.

Oh what I wouldn't give to be on trail for 5-6 months about right now.... *sighs*

Troublemaker, Ewker! :p ;)
last edited: 7/05/07 12:33:26 PM”

“me??? what did I do ;)”

“You made me wish I was on trail. :p Like it's not bad enough that my day isn't going all that well. :(

Alas... I'm stuck... in a smog laiden city... and in a cube. >:\

Hopefully this all changes someday soon.”

“tell me about it..this is a super slow day at work. what makes it bad is knowing tomorrow will be even worse...sigh

I do have 2 AT section hikes planned for later on in the yr so that keeps me going plus a nice trip in a month”

“Hey, Gforce....you out there???? I was thinking of you while hiking on the AT in the Whites Saturday and wondering how you are....miss talking to you...”

“hes probably in the whites at this point”

“He was at the shelter just 4 miles south of Boiling Springs, PA on 6/29. At least, that's what the shelter register read. I was there on 7/7.”

“he should be getting close to the new england section, then. im going to guess hes somewhere in new york
last edited: 7/17/07 4:19:05 AM”

“Since he's not posting from towns, has anyone seen his name mentioned in a Trail Journal? I haven't seen anything and nothing on Whiteblaze.

I keep expecting his name to show up on Diesel's or Twofer's journals...sigh”

“As of 7/16 (Monday), Gforce was in Unionville, NY doing well.”

“Guess I've been a little delinquent in giving updates, but it seems as though internet access has been either unavailable or past open hours in the towns I have gone into for quite some time. I did take a week off over the 4th to go home for the holidays. During that time I fixed my computer (hard drive crash) that went down right before I left in April. So between doing that and visiting with family and friends I didn't have the time to get an update out.

Going into Harpers Ferry, WV I got shin splints in my right leg and had to take a couple days off to reduce the pain. Eventually, it fully healed (thanks to the time off and reduced mileage days) and my legs are about as good as can be expected for hiking nearly 1500 miles. Aside from that it's the usual can't get enough to eat while on the trail. Fortunately, there have been a lot of small restaurants close to the trail recently to help in that department.

PA was a real mental and physical challenge with all the rocks you have to travel over. Actually, they extend all the way to just past High Point State Park in NJ. Couple that with some very hot days made for some very tough going. I have not talked to anyone who was not glad to get out of PA, but I did notice on a couple of cooler days the rocks did not seem so bad.

NJ was kind of a transitional state in that the rocks finally ended and the new thing to deal with were the bears and rattlesnakes. I rounded a curve in the trail and was within 15 feet of a mother and cubs. I thought she was going to charge, but she did nothing more than huffing and popping noises at me. That was too close.

The first 20 miles in NY were much tougher than anyone expected, especially with some of the insane rock climbs and descents. After leaving Harriman SP it seems as though they learned how to build real trails through the rocks. Just before going over Bear Mtn. I found a really nice ledge to sit down and take a break. After about 15 minutes I decided to get up and get going again, and, much to my surprise, there was a rattlesnake coiled up about 12 inches away from me. I guess it wanted to enjoy the view too.

So far CT seems to be transitioning back to the type of trail we will encounter in New England, but most of the trail has been very well built and maintained. I should be in MA tomorrow after climbing Bear Mountain (CT version).

Well, looks like the time limit is up. So until the next time I have access . . .”

“WOW! Thanks for checking in.”

“Sounds like a lot of similar experiences. Good luck.”

“Excellent gforce! Keep on truckin'.

Maybe I'll see ya in ME next month. ;) Need a ride home?
last edited: 7/26/07 2:59:32 PM”

“Hey G thanks for checking in.
I'll be heading North on the LT about a week or more after you enter Vermont. Are you signing shelter registers as gforce?”

“pedxing... not sure when he'll check this thread again, but he did sign as 'gforce' just south of Boiling Springs.”

“I just noticed that I was in Salisbury at the same time. Time off was necessary to recover from giardia and I stayed at the home of Maria McCumber for about 8 days. Wonderful lady.”

“youll love new england, g. especially after the boredom of the midatlantic states

thanks for making me miss it, you bastard

:=P”

“Last time I hiked with him he said he planned on using gforce the whole trip.”

“what?”

“thanks MG and Ms. D”

“Good to hear from you, Gary.”

“I took a zero in Dalton today, but I'm not sure "zero" is the right term. In fact, it's been a very busy day for me. Aside from the usual "zero" activities (laundry, eating, grocery shopping, eating, cleaning gear, and, did I mention eating?) I had to make a few phone calls to get a trekking pole replaced that shattered on me a couple of days ago. Backcountryedge.com has been great in helping me with that. Then I had to ride the local bus service all over god's creation to get to a mall with an EMS to see what they could do with my water filter that was malfunctioning. They simply replaced that for me too . . . so thanks to EMS also. I'm not the only one out here that is going through these problems, and if it weren't for some great outfitters and manufacturers out there life would be much more difficult when these things happen. So with all this to take care of in a day's time the term "zero" is hardly appropriate. Nonetheless, back to the trail tomorrow.

Pedxing - sorry your schedule is not in line with mine. I really wish we could meet. I have been signing the registers as gforce. Are you going to hike the entire LT again?

Also, does anyone know if smokygirl is on the AT heading south from Katahdin? Seems I remember she was going to start in June. I am beginning to run into a lot of southbounders that started about that time.”

“nice to hear from you, gforce...you are often thought about...hugs from Mata...”

“yes, smoky is southbounding from big k. june sounds about right

i hear you about those zero days. almost as tiring as a hiking day

are you staying at tom levardi's in dalton?

i hope you stayed at upper goose pond cabin a few days ago. thats one of the best stays on the entire trail”

“yo, g. im thinking about southbounding the long trail september of next year. you in?”

“Yes, I am at Toms' place, but it's now a full service hostel . . . except laundry. Tom is truly the angel of all trail angels I have met on the trail so far.

Unfortunately, Upper Goose Pond just did not work out (I think you know how that goes sometimes CB), and I drool every time I hear the stories about the blueberry pancakes.

Does smokygirl have an online journal going to see where she is?”

“CB - The LT next year? Could be a possibility, but that is a long way off. Your other trip sounds tempting too.”

“Upper Goose Pond just did not work out

bullshyt! you make it work! ugpc is the kind of place you go to the AT for

nah, i know what you mean. i passed up some great hostels for the same reason, most notably rustys hard time hollow. theres just a big magnet that keeps drawing us north”

“G - I'm going to try and do the whole thing. I have three weeks so I should have enough time - but not much leeway if I have any big delays. I guess you'll be hitting Vermont tomorrow. i'll keep an eye out for your journal entries.
last edited: 8/01/07 4:39:33 PM”

“Whoohoo. I just noticed that Gary updated.

Thanks.”

“What's the latest?”

“he's doing a yo-you of the east coast trek”

“Where the he11 is Gforce?”

“on the AT”

“no shlt. Thanks Ewker. Seriously though, he should be getting close right?”

“meangreen, you're welcome :)

as fast as he hikes he should be close”

“Yesterday, Gforce said he was at Crawford Notch in NH waiting for the storms to pass before he does the Presidential Range. 345 miles to go!”

“chocolate monkey = sarah?”

“yup. how are you?”

“peachy. waiting for the barber shop to open, if it opens on sunday. the mane is over an inch long now, its gotta go”

“Hi Sarah! Thanks for the update.”

“Git'it, Gare!”

“Hey Gforce - I saw your register entry at Pico, and your note to me at Clarendon. Thanks. I hope the Presi's went well.
Those storms were rough in Vermont, too - I would have waited on them also if I'd been headed over that kind of terrain.”

“We were in Lincoln, NH on Saturday when a storm went through. Would have hated to be up on that ridge when that hit. Lightening everywhere. Wind was terrible and the rain came down in sheets. I'm sure it hailed up high.

Hoping you have great weather for Katahdin, Gforce!”

“doo

where in lincoln did you stay?”

“Didn't stay there, but ate at a really good pizza joint. Just passed through to drop off another thru hiker at his car.

Seems like during season, the cheapest hotel room is $135. Too rich for my blood. But there is a free hostel in town.
last edited: 8/28/07 6:00:26 PM”

“Got into Gorham this morning for a food resupply and to prepare for Maine. Should be there on Saturday if things go according to plan. Under 300 to go.

The Whites have been both beautiful and tough, but that's what I expected. I was blown over twice while crossing Mt. Moosilauke in what, I'm sure, was hurricane force gusts. The night of the bad storm we were at Lakes of the Clouds Hut doing a work for stay, so it was really cool to see the storm . . . from inside. I wouldn't have wanted to be out in it. The next day we traveled only to Madison Hut on the very wet and slippery rocks. I even wiped out and banged my head on the rocks. Believe me, it didn't feel good. In fact, I can still feel it. Other than that we had good weather and beautiful view crossing the Whites.

Well time is up on the computer.”

“Good to hear from you, Gary. Glad you got to observe that storm from inside. ;)

Enjoy Maine!”