Date: 2015-08-03
From: VT Route 4

To: Mount Killington
Miles today: 0.0

When Airlock decided that she was finally going to hike the AT last year I made what I thought was a pretty low risk promise--if she made it all the way to Maine I would hike the Hundred Mile wilderness with her and be there for the summit on Katahdin. Only something like 25% of hikers that attempt the AT each year actually complete it, and you have to remember that it's a pretty select group to begin with. If any random set of people tried it, the success rate I'm sure would be less than 1%. So it was an easy promise to make from the comfort of our dinner table, or wherever we were. By the time I picked up Airlock, Outro, and Yoda at the symbolic halfway point in Harper's Ferry two and a half months into their hike, I started to realize that there was a good chance I would have to deliver on that promise.Whenever I tell people that my wife is hiking the Appalachian Trail, there are invariably three typical reactions. The first is that it takes a little while for it to sink in. They will say, "Oh, that's nice," or something, and you have to say it a few times before they realize that she is on a 6 month 2200 mile journey. The next question is always, "She's not doing that alone, is she?" And then the third thing is, "Why didn't you go with her?" Well, for one, somebody has to pay the bills. But secondly, I like to hike but I don't really like camping. I like to sleep in a comfortable bed and have a shower every day--I like my creature comforts. I've always joked that the only way I could hike the AT would be if I hired somebody to drive an RV up the road every day so I could have a shower and a glass of wine at the end of the day. But as I've followed her journal I have started to question whether maybe I would enjoy it after all. I started to understand what draws people to the trail. It isn't just about the beauty of the scenery or the feeling of accomplishment. It's about the journey--the people you meet, the traditions, and the incredible kindness that you encounter from other hikers, the community, your friends and family, and so many people you have never even met that want to be part of the experience. I started to really look forward to sharing that journey--first through meeting up with her for day hikes, the overnight hike we just did, and finally through my section hike ending on Katahdin.The overnight hike I just did with her to Mount Killington wasn't really planned. I held off ordering any equipment as long as possible to avoid buying a bunch of stuff I don't end up using--still hedging my bets. I wanted to do a day hike with her in Vermont when I picked her up for our vacation, but as we were looking at the planning guide and trying to figure out the logistics, there didn't seem to be anything that worked out that well. I had ordered my hammock a couple of weeks before and it looked like it might arrive in time for me to take it with me so I threw out the possibility that maybe I would hike with her one day, camp overnight, and then we would hike to the next road crossing the following day. My hammock was delivered on Thursday but I was at work and they wouldn't leave it without a signature so I had to pick it up at the post office the following day--the same day I was leaving to drive up to Vermont. As I was packing up Friday morning, I rummaged through the closets, found an old pack that Airlock had used decades ago when she traveled through Australia and dug up the sleeping bag I bought 15 years ago. I threw everything in the car and went to work. At lunch I drove to the post office and picked up my hammock and then left for Vermont at 2pm. I still wasn't 100% sure I would end up camping, but I figured I would try on the pack, check to see if the hammock had come with everything it needed, and if it all worked out we would give it a go.I spent the night at a hotel in Bennington and the following morning got up early and drove to our planned meeting spot. A bunch of other hikers were there, so Sam I Am and Outro helped me do a trial run with the hammock. We made some adjustments to the pack and everything came together so we headed out for the hike to Mount Killington. We had a good hike, and despite some chafing issues from the pack everything went pretty well that day. When I arrived at camp I picked what looked like a good site and set up my hammock. Outro arrived shortly after and helped me make some corrections to my set up. After dinner and a hike up to the summit to watch the sunset it was time for bed--and that's when the problems began.I had never even heard of hammock camping until I started following Yoda's blog when she and Airlock were hiking together but it seemed like a perfect solution. Part of the reason I hate camping is that I don't sleep well with just a thin pad on the hard ground. I talked to several other hammock enthusiasts, read the reviews online, and confidently ordered the Warbonnet Blackbird hammock. But when I crawled into it that night on Mount Killington I knew right away that I was not going to have a good night.I had problems with temperature control--first I was too hot and later too cold. I couldn't keep the underquilt in the right position. I had trouble getting into my sleeping bag. But most of all, I just wasn't comfortable. I tossed and turned all night and in total got at most 20 or 30 minutes of sleep. My back and neck hurt. I worried about whether I was keeping everyone else awake with all my shifting and zipping and unzipping. And right away I started worrying about the 100 Mile Wilderness. If I couldn't make it through one night how would I ever get through the 7 or 8 days it would take to hike the 115 miles from Monson to Mount Katahdin? I spent hours thinking about how I would tell Airlock I couldn't go after all.I've read the old adage that you shouldn't quit the trail on a bad day, so I'm trying to revise it for my own case--don't decide not to start at all on a bad night. I'm going to do some experimenting with the hammock at home and see if I can make it work with some adjustments. If I can't, I'll return it and find the best pad I can. But I'm going to go to Maine. I came away from that weekend with a healthy respect for the trail and for the people that hike it--whether it is section or thru hiking. Airlock's journal can make it sound far easier than it really is. While the physical task of waking up and walking for miles and miles each day is huge, it also takes enormous mental toughness to deal with being away from home, your friends and family, and with never being quite comfortable for nearly 6 months. I've got about a month to prepare for Maine--wish me luck! -SasquatchOpen map in new windowWant to add a map to your journal?