Laundry Stories

From Helen via phone conversation with Sarah and Jay:

Jay's shirt here is much cleaner than when it arrived
in the mail.This was from near Buena Vista, VA.

After posting about the dirty laundry sent to me by mail, I have to follow it up with these funny adventures Jay and Sarah mentioned to me... They were in a town and Jay encountered a hiker he hadn't seen in weeks. Understand that several weeks makes a big difference in the appearance of hikers sometimes: grime, hard hiking, and tough living can change a fresh well-groomed hiker into a besmudged and tousled veteran. The hiker stopped and stared at Jay for just a second before saying, "Jaybird! I'd know you anywhere! You're the only hiker out here stupid enough to wear a white shirt!" He was teasing, of course, but Jay had been wearing the same long-sleeve thick t-shirt since the beginning of the hike. (It was one of the items we got to launder.)


Jay also said that on one particularly rainy day, when the rain was still coming down in sheets as they got ready for bed, there was no place to hang wet clothes. He decided to put his sopping wet shirt under his therma-rest pad on the floor of the tent in the hope that body heat would dry it a little. In the morning the tent was filled with a strange smell... like ammonia. Somehow the dirt and sweat in the shirt had combined with the moisture from the tent and the ground underneath to produce a strong foul odor that Jay said even prevented HIM from wearing the shirt after that!

Vermont

From Helen:
Jay and Sarah have passed through Manchester Center, Vermont. They stayed there for a couple of days and ran into a trail friend - Peregrine. Sarah will be leaving the trail soon and making her way back to the start of her school year. What a wonderful month this has been for them!

Setting a Pace

From Jay:
As I got used to walking all day on hilly terrain, I found that I needed to decide on a daily mileage target. Trying to go too far would result in poor performance over the following days. I also wanted to avoid gradually running myself down over the 4-5 remaining months of the trip.

Sunfish Pond - southernmost glacial lake on the AT

I discussed daily mileages with Superman, an older gentleman who has done the PCT and AT as thru hikes and the CDT as a section hike. He has legs that resemble tree trunks. I met him as I was approaching Virginia, reputed to offer easier terrain, and i mentioned that i thought I would try to average 20 miles a day. "Why 20?" he asked. I told him I wanted to practice for the PCT, where it is 20 miles between water sources during the first leg. He said "You're comparing apples to oranges," meaning the AT with its comparatively rough terrain and tread is harder to make 20 miles/day on compared to the PCT. "You think if you walk twently miles, beautiful women will run from the woods and shower you with fresh fruit and moon pies?" he quipped. I responded, "No, but maybe Barney would be there with balloons."

Jay is eating trail angel Doritos on top of Arden Mountain.

As our conversation continued we came upon a really rocky section of the trail. In my attempt to keep up, I took a careless step, slid on a slanted rock, and fell head long off the side of the trail, collecting a nasty gash on my left shin. I took a break at the next creek to clean the wound and cover it with duct tape. Toward evening, after I had walked an arduous 15 miles, I came upon a handmade sign in the trail that said "Thru Hikers, Come Eat!" Following the side trail to which the sign pointed, I found a table and chairs. Two attractive women were cooking potatoes on an open fire. One said, "Help yourself to the strawberries and moon pies."

As the weeks have gone by, I find that 20 miles is a reasonable daily mileage target. I generally get up at 7am and start walking at 8am. I divide the daily hike into four 5-miles sections, each of which takes 2-21/2 hours depending on the terrain and the weather. After completing each 5-mile segment, I eat a snack and rest for 20-30 minutes. I usually finish around 7pm. During really hot days, I find it best to take a siesta from 2-4pm and finish hiking a little later. Hiking during the heat of the day risks heat exhaustion and uses up a lot of water. About every 4-5 days I resupply, leaving the trail to buy food in towns within walking or hitching distance. On resupply days I generally walk 15 miles on the AT.

Boardwalk - 8/10 of a mile long through a swamp. Nice!

The 20 mile target seems to be popular among most of the thru-hikers I have met in Virginia and northward. As I walked through Maryland and Pennsylvania, the 20 mile target felt sustainable. However, now that Sarah has joined me in New Jersey we will take things a little slower. I think I will enjoy having time to read and write, and to enjoy treats from the stores and delis near the trail.

One place to eat that is worth mentioning: the Appalachian Deli has GREAT food for hikers. Don't miss it! It's in the companion book.

Who Goes First?

From Sarah:
Jay hikes much faster than me, so who should go first? Sometimes he spurts ahead and says, "I'll wait for you in one (or two) hours." Then I have the peaceful joy of hiking alone, no one needing me, the world of nature all around. This joy only appears when I have the underlying knowledge that I'll be seeing Jay in a certain amount of time, able to share the wonders I've seen. (a blue-tailed lizard, a striped caterpillar, a bright orange fungus...)

Often Jay hikes behind me, letting me set the pace and mostly content to walk at my slower speed. This, too, is a time full of joy, as we startle deer together, share stupid jokes, or just walk in companionable silence.

Good thing they tell people things like this!



The Appalachian Trail is marked by about 80,000 white painted blazes along its length. Hiking together is very helpful when we come to a confusing conglomeration of trails, or the trail gets very faint over yards of rocks. Jay is apt to say things like, "Are you sure you're on the trail?" To which I reply, "I'm expecting to see a white blaze any minute now." "That is not very comforting to hear," he sputters. Another time he might say, "Are you following the white blazes?" I triumphantly point to a mark on the tree and he tells me, "That blaze looks blue to me." I peer through the green-filtered light and reply indignantly, "Well, if it's blue it's BABY blue." (He was right; we had taken the wrong turn and were following baby blue blazes.)

Jay at the first NJ swamp for northbounders.
Reason for his smile: the trail goes around it, not through.

One day, as we hiked together, I began catching cobwebs across my face and arms. "I know why you are content to walk behind me; it's so I can clear the cobwebs out of the path," I teased. "Oh!" Jay replied, a little startled, "I hadn't thought about that. But there haven't been many cobwebs lately, anyway." "How would you know?" I demanded, "I'm the one in front catching all of them!" After a few minutes of thought, Jay teased, "Yeah, I guess you're my bodyguard, catching cobwebs, finding snakes, collecting ticks, chasing off bears."

So, for couples trying to work out how to hike with differing paces, as you can see, there are advantages to both methods.

Connecticut and Dirty Laundry

From Helen:
Sarah and Jay have passed through Salisbury, Connecticut and are enjoying the trail. I recently received several writings and some pictures from them, so I'll post those in the coming week.

Along with the camera they mailed me, I got a phone message from Sarah asking if I could wash some dirty laundry they were sending me in the same package. In the background I could hear Jay saying, "I'm not sure the dirty laundry will get through the biohazard sensors at the post office." Well, it all arrived undisturbed. I haven't gotten the pictures back from being developed yet, but we'll see if the camera was affected by the laundry in the same box! I'm kidding, of course. We're just glad Sarah and Jay can lighten their load a bit by mailing things back here.

Their voices on the phone sound like they are having a great time. They are still at least a couple of weeks ahead of their listed itinerary. Very impressive!

New York

From Helen:
Jay and Sarah have passed through Ft. Montgomery, NY. They are still about 20 days ahead of schedule. They have seen several bears now, without mishap. They make into a town about once a week to restock. Things are going well!