Mel and Mike Hike

It’s well past hiker midnight, and it’s actually well past real midnight too, so I’m wondering how in the world I’m still awake. Must be all that practice I’ve had over the years of being up late in Brooklyn or something…NYC represent, represent-zent! Maybe I’m up late because I just want to savor every second of real life that I can. (Or maybe because I don’t want the bottle of wine I bought tonight to go to waste). Either way, don’t get me wrong, I’m lovin’ the trail life, but I think what comes along with day and night after day and night of being exposed to the elements is a true appreciation of the little things that regular, modern life has to offer.

Take for example, this motel we’re staying at in lovely Buena Vista, VA. (That’s Buena pronounced like “tuna” by the way, go figure). Anyway, there’s laundry facilities, wi-fi, our room has a kitchenette where we were able to spread out and clean up and the owners are super-friendly folks who are in touch with what hikers need — a clean, dry room with space enough for all of our gear, HBO on the tv and food right nearby (they also run the Subway restaurant next door). Trust me when I say I’m not being facetious here, I really do appreciate all of this stuff in one location! I don’t have to go and filter my water, I don’t have to re-hydrate my food and I don’t smell like a mildewy goat! It’s pretty refreshing.

Out on the trail over the last 10 days, we’ve had a lot of damp, a lot of rain and not a lot of cell service. It’s kind of been a mix of cold San Francisco fog and muggy tropical rainforest, but with less rainbows and no monkeys. I did actually see a rainbow through the trees a few nights ago and it was fantastic! But as far as scenic vistas go, we’ll just have to come back to this section someday since we couldn’t make them out below the layer of cloud we were walking in. And our socks — yeeuuck! Ever accidentally leave your sweaty gym clothes in a plastic bag for a few days? That’s about what we’ve smelled like.

Some good things about the last 100+ miles though have been a.) the rhododendrons have finally come out to bloom, they’re beautiful and are out in full force, b.) we are continuing to up our average daily hiking mileage, and c.) the people just continue to be super awesome – both hikers and locals alike. We even got to stay at our hiker friend Sprout’s home in Catawba, VA! Special thanks go out to Papa Sprout for the delicious breakfast and all the hospitality.

So we continue to rack up the miles, we continue to take lots of photos (when it’s not too wet out), and we continue to learn about ourselves, our strengths and our limitations on a daily basis. There’s really a lot to be done out here when you think about it like that. All I really have to do is keep reminding myself that rain equals water sources and water is the key to life out here. (That and the lovely addition of tetra-pak organic malbec which I’ll be carrying out with me in the a.m.!)

As always, thanks for the support, the comments and the well wishes. And check out the latest page of my photos under the “Click’s Galleries” heading.
~Mel, Melissa, Click

We’ve decided it’s time for an AT quiz so you can test your knowledge and familiarity with our adventure. Ten simple multiple choice questions!

1 – When in town, you can easily recognize other AT hikers by: (a) they smell like sweaty goats. (b) they’re in the laundromat wearing rainsuits only. (c) they have voracious appetites, eating giant meals including any crumbs that fall on the table. (d) all of the above

2 – Proper footwear for the trail consists of: (a) heavy duty boots. (b) lightweight trail runners. (c) footwear? bare feet are best! (d) any of the above

3 – For lunch, hikers are known to combine: (a) peanut butter and nutella. (b) slim Jims and peanut butter. (c) string cheese and canned frosting. (d) all of the above.

4 – “Privy” options include: (a) pit toilets. (b) moldering toilets. (c) 4 to 6 inch deep “cat holes”. (d) all of the above.

5 – Dishwashing is performed by: (a) thorough licking. (b) wiping with a wet tea bag. (c) rinsing with a splash of coffee. (d) all of the above

6 – To deal with a snotty nose, it’s perfectly acceptable to: (a) use your sleeve. (b) use your bandana. (c) blow a “snot rocket”. (d) any or all of the above, in any sequence.

7 – If you are following another hiker, it’s best to stay about six feet behind so that: (a) if one of you falls, you won’t both go down. (b) if he/she http://www.mtmorton.com.au/?page_id=319 “whiffs” with a trekking pole, you won’t catch it in the face. (c) you avoid his/her body odor. (d) all of the above are good reasons.

8 – If a hiker is complaining about the miseries of the trail, he should (a) alter the way he laces his boots. (b) lighten his pack load. (c) leave the trail and go back to work so he knows what real misery is. (d) any of the above may be a valid remedy.

9 – When showering at a hostel, it’s perfectly okay to: (a) use soap left behind by another hiker. (b) use one’s bandana as a washcloth. (c) change immediately into raingear (no underwear) so you can go do your laundry. (d) all of the above, singly or in combination.

10 – You know you’ve been on the trail a long time if you: (a) weigh less than you did in college. (b) associate regularly with folks called such names as Badger, Road Runner, Captain Caveman, Dingleberry and Brave Little Toaster. (c) smell like a three-day-dead goat and are not bothered by that. (d) all of the above.

Well, that’s the quiz! Now for the scoring. All of the correct answers are “d”. If you chose any others, you might consider: (a) reading more of our posts. (b) hiking part of the AT yourself, to enjoy the experience firsthand. (c) yourself lucky! (d) any or all of the above.

Cheers and Happy Trails! — Mike

Skinny Mike (aka LongTime) overlooking the outskirts of Pearisburg. (I've lost about 17 pounds and am trying to not let that trend continue!)

I’m sitting in the office of the Holiday Motor Lodge in Pearisburg, VA at around 9 AM on Sunday.  It’s Mother’s Day.  Happy day to all of you to whom it applies!

A group of mainly teachers, lunching on a rock ledge near Pearisburg, VA

We got into town about 6:30 PM yesterday after a short (10.4 mile) day on the trail.  It was a day full of nice views and a nice bit of “trail magic” offered by a group of teachers, Appalachian Trail Conference folks, one from the National Park Service and a reporter from the Roanoke Times.  They were hiking a bit of the trail, developing some course material to incorporate the Trail into their teaching.  The reporter interviewed several thru-hikers, including Melissa, for an article https://sgs.nsw.edu.au/cialis-online/ that should run in early June.  They were well-stocked with extra food, and gave us each bananas, cookies and chips.  Hit the spot!  They were perched on a ledge with tremendous views.  The weather was perfect.  They may have gotten a rather pleasantly-slanted view of the trail experience, with most of the hikers coming freshly from a nearby hostel; well fed, clean, and all smiles – it ain’t always that way!

Today, we plan to do a bit of shopping, and leave town around 11 or so, to hike about 12 miles to a campsite.  After a night tenting at the hostel, a night in a good motel room, and lots of good food, we don’t want to spoil ourselves.  It becomes tough to leave town if one stays too long!

We’ve covered about 626 miles of the trail now – just 1555 more to go (a big chunk of that still being in Virginia).  Until next time… Mike

If anyone ever tells you that sleeping on the ground is uncomfortable, well then, they’ve never walked 125 miles in 9 days. I’m so snug and bundled up inside my mummy sleeping bag right now, I may drift off any second. But then of course, I wouldn’t be able to give a good update on our progress.

We are now 596.4 miles into our 2181 mile journey. Over the last week or so it has really felt like we’ve been making good time and the miles seem to be ticking away. The last time I posted we had just crossed the 400 mile mark and early tomorrow we cross into the 600’s. It’s pretty unbelievable. I don’t know where the time has gone actually. It seems like so much has happened and yet looking back it also seems like nothing at all. Days have started to blend together, miles have added up, we’ve gone up mountains and we’ve gone down them. Being on the trail is a bit like being in a parallel universe. We cross paths with our normal lives once in a while, but ever so briefly, and then it’s right back to being in the woods.

Take for example Monday morning — we were sleeping at a shelter with 5 other hikers. We got up, made our instant oatmeal and via coffees, packed up our gear and threw it on our backs like usual. But just 4 miles north up the trail was a restaurant where we were all sure to go for a meal. When we each got there at our own paces, we found Fox News on the tv and Bin Laden dead. “Hmmm, I kind of forgot about him,” I thought, “what about Libyia or the Japanese earthquake?” and then proceeded to order a 16 oz hiker burger with the works and onion rings. And then I kind of forgot about it. I made a couple of phone calls, walked to the hotel to use their washing machine, drank a couple of cans of beer with other hiker laundry doers (because why not?), resupplied at the gas station mini-mart and off I went for 7 more miles on the trail. Had I been in my apartment in Brooklyn, I would have had WNYC (the local NPR station) on in every room, getting all of the up-to-the-minute commentary and information.

So I’m not really sure what to make of the world news. It certainly doesn’t affect me out here. It doesn’t seem to matter what I know or don’t know about the latest crisis. All I really need here is the weather report (and even that I can figure out on my own). It’s nice also to know when and where we’re getting our next food drop. And to maybe find out what other hikers are ahead or behind so we know who we’ll be seeing and chatting with. It’s certainly no vacation out here with all of the physical work we’re putting in – but it is a break of sorts from the norm. But I guess I knew that already — sometimes I’m just reminded of it more than others.

~Mel (Click, Melissa)

In response to some voicemails and emails, I just wanted to let everyone know that Long Time and I are a-ok. If you watch the weather channel it does appear that the entire southern half of the Appalachian Trail is in the thick of a band of pretty bad weather. There has been some wind and some thunder tonight, but so far our tent is dry and we’re tornado-free. We checked the local weather via iphone and this storm will be out of our area by 1am. Fyi, we’re about 2-3 miles north of Damascus, VA. We left town this evening to get a jump on a few miles and a few hikers. But thanks for your thoughts! We’re glad to have you out there keeping an eye on us!
~Mel (click)

Oh! I finally put up a gallery page – check it out! It’s called “click’s galleries.”