Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adam Taylor, appalachian trail, Aquafresh, camping, contentunknown.com, hiking, maine
It’s been a while since i have updated this dealy, but seeing as i am able to spend a bit of time on a computer i guess i can write a bit.
I’ve been in Maine for a few weeks now, initially it was a very difficult state, the Mahoosic notch, and arm being the most notable sections. The notch, is a narrow ravine between mountains, and over the centuries large boulders have fallen from the cliff sides making a stone jungle gym for hikers. The one mile section of trail took me and the other hikers an hour and twenty minutes, of climbing, crawling, and scrambling. The notch is quite fun, the arm however, is a largely vertical climb with much of it on smooth steep rocks, the most exhausting part of the trail so far.
Since the arm, Maine has become easier, and more beautiful! In the last week, the terrain has begun to smooth out, and the fall foliage has begun to show in grand colors, through out the day the trail is draped in scarlet, yellows oranges, and various pastels of magenta pink.
As i type this, i am sitting in the lake shore house in Monson ME, this is the last town before the 100 mile wilderness, today i took a zero in order to rest my leg which is suffering from a bit of tendinitis. Tomorrow morning i will be leaving for the final bit of Maine.
This is an exciting time on the trail, but in a way somber and a bit sad, as this marks the end of an incredible journey and a very satisfying way of life. Also friends i have been hiking with for 100s or thousands of miles will be returning to their homes, many of them now ahead of me, and with sch short time remaining it seems unlikely that i will catch them again. Sadly my hiking partner The Saint has suffered an injury that has brought his hike to a halt, hopefully a few days rest will enable him to finish the remaining miles with his wife who came to finish the trail with him. Best of Luck to TNT i hope to see you on the trail again, but if not expect a call in the near future.
more updates in the coming weeks, an account of the final climb, and sometime when i get home a number of photos and stories to go with them!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adam Taylor, Aquafresh, AT, long distance hiking, NH, Thru Hike
Today may be one of the best days ever. Starting out with a crisp, cold, clear, morning, great friends, and the movie Super Troopers, also my left over liver and onions for breakfast. I’m starting out today at the foot of the first 4000 ft peak in the whites, Mt. Moosilauke, from the top, well we will be able to see everything. luck is on our side today, as the bad weather broke in the last two days and it seems like there will be clear skies and sunshine for the coming week, perfect for a part of the trail primarily above treeline and prone to hike haulting storms.
this is a very exciting morning.
earlier in the week, we played croquet with an older man named Bill who also treated us to a few sips of fine gin and ice cream fudge bars. the who trail has been great, VT was beautiful and it seems that NH is going to be the cherry on top of the trip. thanks to my family and girlfriend who came to visit in VT for my birthday, and what a surprise it was for the saint when weekend showed up with saints wife thimble!
that’s all for now, it’s too cold to type!frozen fingers yowzas!
Filed under: Uncategorized
With Mass just a few miles from here it’s a shame only 56 miles of trail go through CT, the land scaape has beebeautiful, the people friendly and te trail has continued what was started in NY, it’s getting a little harder almost everyday, with exception of today…. Today we enjoyed pleasant temperatures and a cool breeze, then were welcomed into a race club, with a track that paul newman used to race on. The Saint, Cap’n, and I watched a number of preliminary and qualifying races that pitted honda civics against BMWs and other fancy fast cars. after wards during some road walking a very kind woman offered to let us stay at her house with her husband and two young children. I can’t wait to keep walking, even though the terrain is getting more difficult and my feet are blistered badly it’s just such an enjoyable experience. Sadly, Cap’n who is a secto is getting off the trail today, i will truly miss our games of “would you rather” while hiking. Cap’n hopefully i’ll catch up to you on your home turf someday in austin.
peace out kiddos!
Filed under: Uncategorized
It has been a really great 300 and some odd miles since i got back on the trail, made a lot of new friends, and had some incredible experiences. today I crossed the boarder from NJ into NY, it’s been a short day, there is a chance for severe weather so The Saint, formerly Timebomb made a deal with me; if i paid for lunch he would pay for a hotel room so that we can avoid the full shelter situation ahead, and be indoors for the 2 to 4 inches of rain called for this evening. At the hotel we learned that another hiker, Highway Man had already gotten a room and was expecting us! I think tomorrow will be a 20 miler, and hopefully we will be into VT within two weeks.
the last week has proved to be incredibly fun, with a stay at the Delaware Water gap, where a hiker hostel bottle neck brought close to thirty of us together, and then a weekend visit with a friend at Kids camp proved to be an incredibly fun time, rock climbing and a bonfire, coupled with, “eat anything in the pantry you want!”
After that, there was a visit to The “Out House” hostel, formerly know as “the Mayors House” were Bill, Dick, and Butch, have opened their house to the hiker types and aren’t ashamed to call the lot of us, “fucking lunatics.” In spite of their opinion of us hiker types, they welcomed 35 of us into their home, and instructed us to treat it as if we were at our own home, but informed us that, “if you try to do any dishes we will cut your hands off!” The generosity shown by these men is totally unbelievable, not only did we all sleep, shower, and do laundry there, the three also fed us a great breakfast and dinner all for a donation if we wanted to. these are good men.
go do something nice for them. i know i will.
So far, the north has been friendlier than the south, which was totally unexpected, the only downsides, are the lack of high mountains do not provide many great views, the HORRIBLE mosquitoes, and the rocks in the final 60 miles of PA, otherwise it’s been the most fun part of the trip.
time for more adventures. bye now.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: appalachian trail, Aquafresh, hiking, thruhiker
it’s been almost a week since i left Harpers Ferry WV to complete my Appalachian trail hike, and i have to say, that this has been one of the best weeks yet! The trail through Maryland was fantastic, well maintained and wide enough to walk side by side with a hiking companion, not to mention the ease of terain for 99% of the trail. Maryland gets two thumbs way up! Pensylvnia so far has been rocky but not too tough, it’s been really fun! My favorite is the abundance of pizza places in close proximity to the trail! This week i ate two strombolies! Yesterday i hiked 17 miles, ate 1/2 gallon of peanutbutter swirl icecream in under 21 minutes, went swiming and had a great time with other hikers, including two sweet dogs named Lilo and Phil. Right now i’m with my father for the night doing laundry, a resuply and a shower. Tomorrow i have a good hike and then meeting up with the other hikers for what i hear are $1 pints! god i hope that’s true! PA should be no less than a great memory in less than two weeks, as i’m expectin to finish the state in just over two weeks, here i come NJ!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adam Taylor, appalachian trail, Aquafresh, backpacking, contentunknown, hiking, maryland
After about 4 weeks of recovery from the shin splints i have returned to the Appalachian Trail. I am traveling once again with Peter, formerly Timebomb, and hoping that Chinese Tourist will be able to catch up to us in the coming weeks. My return to the trail was kicked off with a drive to Harpers Ferry WV which included a stop in New Castle, DE where my support team (Brandi and Luke) and i Picked up fellow hiker Peter to bring him to the trail as well.
the four of us spent the 3rd 4th and morning of the 5th of July at a campground in Brunswick MD, our campground neighbors included an incredibly kind mix of hill billy fishermen named Jefro, Chuck and JR. their hospitality was incredible, they shared all of their food with us and offered us much more. Thanks to them for their kindness and hospitality, as well as comic relief.
In Harpers Ferry, we met up with Cool Hand Luke, and Super Glue and saw You, Cool Hand and Super Glue spend one night with us and the fishermen at the campground. The trail since Harpers Ferry has been incredibly kind, with exception to some short sections of boulder field, I can see how some people are able to do all of Maryland in one day. I on the other hand have been taking it easy in order to get back into shape without injury, so at 13 miles a day so far the trail has been incredibly easy. In total, Peter and i took 7 hours of breaks yesterday topped off by an impromptu rendezvous with my father which included a trip to the store and dinner at the a great steak house. Thanks Dad!
At the pace I am moving now, 13 miles a day, i will finish up on the 21st of September. But i plan on moving between 15 and 18 in the next week and if terrain allows up to 20 before long.
all in all it’s great to be back on the trail, it was a good hiatus, thanks to all my friends at home who were able to hang out, and those of you i missed, see you when i return.
Filed under: Uncategorized
This technically is from the second batch of trail photos, mostly they are from a hiker birthday party but there are some others that are nice to look at even if you weren’t there.
Also i’m home right now and my god is it hot humid and hellish in South Jersey.
check my Flickr for more photos!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: appalachian tral, Aquafresh, chinese tourist, lake anna state park, panning for gold, regulators, thimble, timebomb
I’m in Maryland at my dads place, my shin is feeling better, but it’s still a little bit swollen. anyhow, this week was my dad’s vacation week, and he had planned a camping trip with his sister, my aunt Chris. So even though i was off the trail i still got to hang out in the woods in good company. We sayed a the lake anna state park campground in Virginia, and attempted to pan for gold in the rappahanock river, unfortunately for us but fortunately for the river and its wildlife, the commonwealth of VA has decided not to allow many access points along the river, they intend to leave it in as close to its natural state as possible. Because of this we were limited to panning at an area known as Kelly’s Ford, an area that is a little bit north of most of the gold loations and since it is the only place that most people can get to, it’s very well picked through.
Having said that, we didnt find any significant gold, though i did find one piece about the size of a grain of sand, but it,s gone, lost in the river, it’s hard to hold on to somehting so small.
Other news fromthe trail, i think the regulators (the group i have been hiking with) have broken up for a while, first i was injured, then chinese tourist took a few days off to visit his girlfriend, and now i hear from timebomb that his wife thimble is in a hospital in salem VA due to illness, i hope it isnt the end of the trail for her, but more important is her health, i hope to meet up with my friends when i get back onto the trail, but it’s more important that everyone be able to be healthy and be able to hike again in the future. that’s all for now!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adam Taylor, adventure, appalachian trail, Aquafresh, fun, injury, trail blog, virginia
i’m of the trail for a while, i’ll be visiting ith my father and aunt this week, and actually be camiping with them in virginia, and paning for gold!
This hiatus from the tail is unplanned but needed, as i was having some severe pains in my shin. I visited a orthopedic specialist today and he said that though there were no fracture visible on the X ray that i most likely have some shin splints or small fractures, and that i should stay off of my feet for 6 weeks. I however am going to take one to two weeks of rest and expect to be back and beter than ever in PA. sorry Virginia i’ll have to get back to you another time. if i were to take the doctores advice, i would either pick up where i left off nad hike alone, or regroup with the rest of the hikers on doughy legs in the white mountains, and surely kick my own ass, resulting in another injury almost instantly.
So dear appalachian trail, see you soon, and i hope all the dangers and wonders and bears are ready for me, and mr Roaring
Forks bear if i see you again up the trail, you should know that i’m gonna get you! sweet sweet revenge will be mine for all the hikers you terorized, slepless nights and lost food, there is no such thing as a free meal, and you’re gonna get it!
as for other adventres onthe trail, i’ll wrte about them in more detail when i have photos to accompany them. can’t wait to get the hiker suit party online. what a splendid night in pearisburg VA.
Hey all, i’m in Erwin TN, the trail was kind yesterday and i was able to cove 27 miles yesterday, my longest day by over 8 miles. got in last night around 9:40 pm, so there was a little night hiking with a head lamp. my right foot is hurting quite a bit after that, but i guess it only hurts about as much as it did after walking 18 miles a week ago.
interesting faacts about my trip so far,
I ate out of a garbage can,
slept in two sheltes with fences on them, kind of like being in a cage,
cowboy camped a few times under the stars, had an encounte with a pain in the butt bear, and saw a momma and her cub another day.
right now i am at mile marker 339, hopeing to pick the pace up a little and have a great time out there, i’m eager to continue but also to finish so i can see loved ones.
see you all soon!
