Date: 2014-09-09
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Miles today: 0.0

In my last post I mentioned things I have done to mentally prepare for the AT. In this post I wanted to talk a little about the physical training I have done. There is really nothing to prepare you for hiking than to go out and do it, so that's what I did. This summer I worked as a hike director at a summer camp. This allowed me to go on some pretty neat hikes. Many of these hikes were on sections of the AT. Each time I stepped foot on a trail and began to follow the white blazes I felt such a rush of emotion knowing that I would pass that same blaze in less than a year. During the course of the summer I hiked: Mt. Katahdin via the Hunt Trail/AT. I now have a great respect for SoBoers. If that hike was my first day on the trail I would probably quit right then and there. That is one hell of a trail! Mt. Greylock in Mass: This was a fun and pretty easy hike. I did this one with camp so I hiked into the campground before taking the Hopper trail to the summit. During the hike in and out of the campground I had two 4-6 man tents that were clearly not designed for backpacking. This made it rather difficult to hike but I figured, "Hey I can carry this, I can carry an AT pack that is strategically packed!" Despite the heavy pack this was a fun hike and I had a laugh explaining to a girl that the guy who dropped off wood at our sight was a park ranger and not a delivery man. Section hike Mt. Everett to Sages Ravine and out to CT 41: Never in my life have I hiked in so much mud. We had pretty consistent rain leading up to this hike so even though it was not raining that day we hiked in a water logged trail. This made an already tough section of trail even harder but well worth the challenge. Even though I ended face down in some mud pinned down by my pack, I laughed it off and kept hiking. The MA/CT line is a beautiful section of deep woods, waterfalls, and streams. If anyone was ever to ask my why I like hiking I would describe a scene such as here - it is my solace and my comfort zone. Finding spots like this in the woods is why I do it! Though this is bear country we didn't see any, though a few of my staff members thought the traffic below was a bear. Franconia Ridge, NH: This was my first time hiking in the White Mountains and boy am I sorry I waited so long! This was a breathtaking section of trail! We started at Lafayette campground and hiked up falling waters trail to the ridge and down to the Greenleaf hut and back out. The falling waters, as could be guessed by its name, follow along a series of waterfalls. This means that we had some pretty sweet scenery as we went up. Once we broke above tree line the views were incredible of the surrounding mountains and on the top of the ridge you could see both the White Mnts. in NH and the Green Mnts. in VT. This was a full day of hiking but we were rewarded with clear skis and great weather. I look forward to hiking this again next year. Mt. Washington, NH: My mother took me up this mountain when I was a child. I remember standing at the top and looking at the wall of people who have died trying to hike it. It was at that moment that I knew I would be among those who attempted it and that thought exhilarated and terrified me. I am a confident hiker and do a lot of solo hiking but this was not a mountain I was willing to tackle alone. So this summer I asked Mike, a fellow member of the hiking staff, if he wanted to do it. He agreed and we set off. This is the mountain that I am most proud of hiking this summer. It was incredible for me to overcome something that has been so nerve racking for me since I was child. Upon summiting I had this feeling of "Hell Yea, nothing can stop me!" It was akin to the moment you get your license or graduate. That may seem exaggerated to some but when it has been on your mind for ten years and you have worked toward it and then to accomplish it, it's a pretty damn good feeling! A few other mountains I did not on the AT were Giant Mt. in NY and Monument Mt. in Mass. About half way through the summer I realized that after hiking Washington I would have peak bagged the tallest peaks in New England except for Mt. Mansfield in VT. and Rhode Island. Though I am excluding Rhode Island because its tallest natural peak is 200 something feet; I'm pretty sure Providence Mall is taller than that so I'll just go there. I have plans to hike Mt. Mansfield in the fall so throughout the summer and fall I will have peak bagged NE (Bear Mnt. CT was on the section of AT I did). I am more about enjoying hikes than the glory in it, but it is a neat thing to be able to say. I apologize for the length. I promise they won't normally be this long. I just wanted to put that out there as much for myself to be able to go back and look than anything else. I will be posting my gear testing that I will be doing in October to see how it hold up to cold weather. We have a frost warning here tonight so I'm sure come October I will have some pretty cold weather to test in. - EP.S. I will be posting pics of some of the summer hikes.