Dover Sicamous here,
Sunday May 22
Got dropped off at 2:45 in Norwich mile 443.3
Passed Happy Hill shelter around 4:15, so kept going. Did not make it to the next shelter, stopped and set up tent around 6:45 because the last thing I want to do on the first day is be caught out at night. Weather was good, mix of sun and cloud. Maybe high 60's. Stopped roughly at mile 453, between West Hartford and Joe Ranger Rd. Was all set up in camp by 730, so the rest of the night sucked. Just waiting for it to be dark enough to be able to sleep, alone in a tent, wishing I had not gone alone.
Monday May 23
Started pouring around midnight. Thankful that I had the foresight to put on my raincover for the tent. Rained nonstop until around 9. Was up since 7, waiting for it to stop so I could at least pack up when it was not raining and keep my gear dry. Regardless, the tent is soaked and won't dry anytime soon, same with my shoes which were pressed up against tent wall and got the full brunt of condensation.
Left around 945, everything is soaking, all the trees are dripping, air is really humid, wet, and foggy. Hopefully it dries up some once the sun gets higher so my stuff will dry off.
Met Marathon Man at the Thistle Hill shelter around 11, going the opposite way.
Got lost at some point during the day. Must have ended up on some kind of logging road instead of trail, realized when it led out into someone's back field. Got down to the road Vt route 14 which the trail intersects as well. Figured out I was only about a half mile from where the trail was. Cost time, its already 430 and I have 4.4 miles to next shelter.
Got to Winturri Shelter at 615. Weather was lousy all day. 100% cloudy, heavy fog, intense dew on all the grass. I passed through a lot of big open meadows at the top of the ridges I was passing, very cool looking with the fog, but my shoes are pools of water. Small blister on the heel, big toe hurts, but not a big deal. Shoulders hurt a lot from the pack, I wish I had weighed it before I left. Trying to estimate by comparing it to dumbbells I use, I want to say its between 45-55 pounds.
Spending the night in Winturri Shelter with The Frenchman. 49 year old from Montreal, who works as a social worker. Has three kids, newly a grandparent. First started hiking the trail in 1984 with then girlfriend, came back in 2004, and finished the Long trail in 2009, 25 years later. Does a lot of hiking and biking around quebec during the year with kids and then girlfriend now wife. Very cool guy, heavy French accent, I guess this yearly week trip to the trail is his only time to practice english other then helping tourists.
Went to bed at nine after talking a while. Bottom of sleeping is wet, probably was pressed against tent wall yesterday in rain. oops.
Tuesday May 24 "The day from HELL"
Woke up around 630. Mouse ate a hole through The Frenchman's gorp mix, I gave him a new bag, he gave me some shortbread his wife made. He also informed me that the Tucker Johnson shelter was burned down. Which means the only shelters coming up are Stony Brook in 9, or Churchill Scott in 19. Based on pace the last two days, I want to go for Churchill, thinking I could be at Stony Brook by lunch.
First 5 miles goes fast. Next four suck. Talk to mother about coming home this weekend. I'm missing enough crucial equipment to put a damper on the trip, and my feet are getting worse. Stop in Killington for the night, because last few miles feet were very painful. Swelling, black toes, blisters, chilblains, alternating numbness and hotspots. Basically I have early symptoms of trench foot.
But other then the death of my feet, the trip is going well! Killington is nice, and I am able to relax for several hours. Located at Kent pond and Gifford State Park. I stay in the park, which has showers and campsites. I have dinner with a family of 5 that are camping out on vacation, lots of fun.
Coming home on Friday. A little disappointed because other then the shoe problems, things have been looking up. Having a lot of fun with people I meet, enjoying myself more now that I have slowed down, my shoulders are stronger too. But my feet are really bad right now, and there is no way to dry them out when on the trail all day, so if I continue they will just get worse.
Just going to explore Killington, do some side trails, go to Pittsfield for a night, just hang out while keeping Killington as my home base, because the next town on the trail is too far to get to by Friday with feet.
I am very glad I did this. Week seems to be a good time frame for camping in the future, and I know a lot more about how to make it more enjoyable for next time.
5.26.2011
5.22.2011
Dover Sicamous presents: Gear List
As comprehensive a list as I can manage right now. It will surely be missing a few random things already in my bag. Originally this was going to be pretty with color coding and pictures. pssssh good times right?
-High Sierra Trek 45 backpack
-Tarp, blue
-Ultralamina 15 rating sleep bag, blue
-Eureka Apex 2xt tent <3, but not blue </3
-2 1000ml water bottles, one is blue
-water bladder, blue
-bandana, parts are blue
-hat
-2 pairs performance boxers
-2 shorts, shirts, polyester blends, one is blue
-2 smartwool socks, one is blue
-lantern, BLUE
-MSR pocket rocket stove and fuel
-cool shades, blue
-multitool, green. lol jk its blue
-compass, first aid, maps, etc etc a bunch of crap that largely is not blue
-Pot (The cooking kind)
-utensils, 3 for many distinguished guests
-tea, hot coco, 6 each
-oatmeal, a shitload
-dried fruit and vegetables
-multigrain and clif bars
-chicken cutlets
-pepperoni
-apples, 3
-loaf of bread
-tortillas
-rice
-cheese
-bacon
-the most ridiculous trail mix ever
-3 mountain house dehydrated dinners
-camera
-bags, etc
-High Sierra Trek 45 backpack
-Tarp, blue
-Ultralamina 15 rating sleep bag, blue
-Eureka Apex 2xt tent <3, but not blue </3
-2 1000ml water bottles, one is blue
-water bladder, blue
-bandana, parts are blue
-hat
-2 pairs performance boxers
-2 shorts, shirts, polyester blends, one is blue
-2 smartwool socks, one is blue
-lantern, BLUE
-MSR pocket rocket stove and fuel
-cool shades, blue
-multitool, green. lol jk its blue
-compass, first aid, maps, etc etc a bunch of crap that largely is not blue
-Pot (The cooking kind)
-utensils, 3 for many distinguished guests
-tea, hot coco, 6 each
-oatmeal, a shitload
-dried fruit and vegetables
-multigrain and clif bars
-chicken cutlets
-pepperoni
-apples, 3
-loaf of bread
-tortillas
-rice
-cheese
-bacon
-the most ridiculous trail mix ever
-3 mountain house dehydrated dinners
-camera
-bags, etc
5.21.2011
Dover Sicamous presents: The six month plan
The next few posts will be by guest and friend, Dover Sicamous about his plans for the future:
Everyone has their bucket lists. Everyone says they are going to do them. Let's be honest, that works out about as often as a celebrity marriage. Well I am going to change that right here. Over winter break, I first outlined my plan for doing the things on my bucket list, and at the same time, for preserving time to enjoy my life. Here's the plan:
Every six months, I will accomplish something on my list. No exceptions.
Every summer, I will take two weeks to go on a trip, nice itinerary or simply driving somewhere I have never been, relaxing or hectic, touristy or running away to explore something new.
That's basically it. Deceptively simple, but as anyone would know, hard to stick to.
The six month plan came to be under the influence of several factors. I have been slowly making and accumulating my bucket list, realizing as a kid I didn't have the ability to do most of them yet. So I chalked them all up to when I was in college, and would have the freedom necessary to do them. However when I got to college, the next thing I knew it was January and I had done nothing. It's extremely easy to just fall in the groove of classes during the week, parties, sports, and random other meetings during the weekend. And then you go home for the summer, get a job and then you're stuck there until you go back and repeat the process.
It only gets worse after college. You don't even have the potential of summers to do anything, because there is no summer. You work year round year after year, and so there is no 'down' month to make you take initiative and go somewhere. So you end up working for a while, until you get used to it, or until you get settled, until years have gone by.
You know the feeling. When you're a kid, summers last forever, and you have tons of memories. Get to highschool and get a part time job, and they seem much shorter, and it feels like you didn't do as much. College is even more hectic, a job, sometimes summer classes. They start to roll together a bit. Once you're in the workforce, years go by without remembering anything. Summer vacations serve as a break, a reset button. You get to break your life up into semesters, and so associate different memories with freshman, sophmore, or junior year. Out in the workforce, there is nothing to break it up. No time to say, the start of the new year, what is this one going to be known for? And so it all meshes into one big mess that eats away the years.
That is the primary motivation to make the plan as I did. For two weeks around the same time each year, take the time off and do something and go somewhere I will really enjoy. Keep dividing my life up, and accomplishing my other life goals, so I don't look back and say, what the hell have I been doing the last twenty years? Instead I'll remember the year I hiked the Appalachian Trail, the year I went to Alaska, the year I ran in Bryce Canyon, the first year I bought a kayak and paddled hundreds of miles down a river, the time I tried surfing. By the end of it all, I'll truly be a wisened, content old man.
I've talked to several like minded individuals who gave input on their ideas, who helped give confidence to this idea. I've talked to people who have already given up, "It's not like we would ever have ended up doing any of that stuff" scalding the air as it comes out of their mouth.
I'm determined to hold true to this ideal. I started by accomplishing one thing before the winter ended; the river dive in snow water. I am on the eve of starting the crucial, pop the cherry virgin trip for myself: the Appalachian Trail. Tomorrow, I am being dropped off at the Vermont-New Hampshire border, to hike for two weeks and get as far as I can. Tentatively, I am looking at about 230 miles to take me through Vermont and deep into Massachusetts. My parents dislike it, my friends dislike, coworkers dislike it, because I will be on my own for two weeks in the woods, presumably being raped by bears every two hours. But I have to do it this way, and I love them all and am extremely grateful that they support me in the end.
This will be my primary mode of communication the next weeks. This is where I'll write about how things are going, and all that fun stuff. All of my friends, family etc, refrain from texts everyday of "OMG you're hiking for two weeks? Thats crazy omggkfgfihj" and "Hey I know I just texted you an hour ago about how you were but now I have an awesome story I would like to talk about for hours." My phone will barely be on during these trips. When I do turn it on, I want to save battery, maybe just make a quick call. Having it buzz and vibrating for ten minutes from all the messages will with my luck, be some kind of giant death spider mating call. I am not Frodo, so I don't plan on carrying a sword with me. Nor will I have magic armour to reveal that I am fine even after having a ten minute death monologue on the floor. I will instead simply be dragged away by Shelob, and probably not to work as her housekeeper.Because I'm not Barbara Ehrenreich either.
But I do love comments, so go crazy with those if you want!
Everyone has their bucket lists. Everyone says they are going to do them. Let's be honest, that works out about as often as a celebrity marriage. Well I am going to change that right here. Over winter break, I first outlined my plan for doing the things on my bucket list, and at the same time, for preserving time to enjoy my life. Here's the plan:
Every six months, I will accomplish something on my list. No exceptions.
Every summer, I will take two weeks to go on a trip, nice itinerary or simply driving somewhere I have never been, relaxing or hectic, touristy or running away to explore something new.
That's basically it. Deceptively simple, but as anyone would know, hard to stick to.
The six month plan came to be under the influence of several factors. I have been slowly making and accumulating my bucket list, realizing as a kid I didn't have the ability to do most of them yet. So I chalked them all up to when I was in college, and would have the freedom necessary to do them. However when I got to college, the next thing I knew it was January and I had done nothing. It's extremely easy to just fall in the groove of classes during the week, parties, sports, and random other meetings during the weekend. And then you go home for the summer, get a job and then you're stuck there until you go back and repeat the process.
It only gets worse after college. You don't even have the potential of summers to do anything, because there is no summer. You work year round year after year, and so there is no 'down' month to make you take initiative and go somewhere. So you end up working for a while, until you get used to it, or until you get settled, until years have gone by.
You know the feeling. When you're a kid, summers last forever, and you have tons of memories. Get to highschool and get a part time job, and they seem much shorter, and it feels like you didn't do as much. College is even more hectic, a job, sometimes summer classes. They start to roll together a bit. Once you're in the workforce, years go by without remembering anything. Summer vacations serve as a break, a reset button. You get to break your life up into semesters, and so associate different memories with freshman, sophmore, or junior year. Out in the workforce, there is nothing to break it up. No time to say, the start of the new year, what is this one going to be known for? And so it all meshes into one big mess that eats away the years.
That is the primary motivation to make the plan as I did. For two weeks around the same time each year, take the time off and do something and go somewhere I will really enjoy. Keep dividing my life up, and accomplishing my other life goals, so I don't look back and say, what the hell have I been doing the last twenty years? Instead I'll remember the year I hiked the Appalachian Trail, the year I went to Alaska, the year I ran in Bryce Canyon, the first year I bought a kayak and paddled hundreds of miles down a river, the time I tried surfing. By the end of it all, I'll truly be a wisened, content old man.
I've talked to several like minded individuals who gave input on their ideas, who helped give confidence to this idea. I've talked to people who have already given up, "It's not like we would ever have ended up doing any of that stuff" scalding the air as it comes out of their mouth.
I'm determined to hold true to this ideal. I started by accomplishing one thing before the winter ended; the river dive in snow water. I am on the eve of starting the crucial, pop the cherry virgin trip for myself: the Appalachian Trail. Tomorrow, I am being dropped off at the Vermont-New Hampshire border, to hike for two weeks and get as far as I can. Tentatively, I am looking at about 230 miles to take me through Vermont and deep into Massachusetts. My parents dislike it, my friends dislike, coworkers dislike it, because I will be on my own for two weeks in the woods, presumably being raped by bears every two hours. But I have to do it this way, and I love them all and am extremely grateful that they support me in the end.
This will be my primary mode of communication the next weeks. This is where I'll write about how things are going, and all that fun stuff. All of my friends, family etc, refrain from texts everyday of "OMG you're hiking for two weeks? Thats crazy omggkfgfihj" and "Hey I know I just texted you an hour ago about how you were but now I have an awesome story I would like to talk about for hours." My phone will barely be on during these trips. When I do turn it on, I want to save battery, maybe just make a quick call. Having it buzz and vibrating for ten minutes from all the messages will with my luck, be some kind of giant death spider mating call. I am not Frodo, so I don't plan on carrying a sword with me. Nor will I have magic armour to reveal that I am fine even after having a ten minute death monologue on the floor. I will instead simply be dragged away by Shelob, and probably not to work as her housekeeper.Because I'm not Barbara Ehrenreich either.
But I do love comments, so go crazy with those if you want!
5.03.2011
Obsession of the Day: Craigslist
Dear Craigslist,
You are totally awesome. Nowhere else can you find such a versatile mix of thrift, commercialism, entertainment, and community. You can seriously be used for anything. Nothing beats the thrill of racing out the door to be the first to get to "Curb alert: moldy seat cushion addition." As a poor college student, your boundless collection of for sale items is like a orgasmic combination of seedy back alleys and cheap cleaner smelling department stores that I can visit while eating cheetos in my underwear. The last week I have entered various levels of commitment to buying a snowboard, a giant pile of camping equipment, and a questionable boat made of Styrofoam peanut-esque material. Some people swear by ebay, but craigslist is just as cheap, and I feel like its much more exciting awkwardly trying to extract information from people. Setting up dates to meet in random parks and suppressing the "You're going to get butt-raped" reflex really gets the blood flowing.
And the wonders that await when I wander out of the for sale section. Craigslist, you provide options for every situation in life. Need a date? Screw the cute girl in your physics class, surely all the real catches can be found posting ambidextrous descriptions and blurry camera phone pictures in the personals!
Need a job? I've applied to more jobs in the last month then I have the last 5 years thanks to you, craig. And you make them all sound so easy. Computer law consultant needed? That sounds pretty chill, I can do that! Protection and control engineer and design specialist? I took a year of CAD in high school, and if they're posting on craigslist their standards must not be too high, I'd better apply!
Desperate and lonely? Peruse the missed connections section and try to rationalize with yourself why each person could, theoretically, have been you.
Seriously craiggy, your more addictive then crack. Scratch that, then STUMBLEUPON. I could read the best of craigslist all day. This is how I wasted my hours at night away the last week. And when I realized by clicking on a nearby city I could start the whole process over again, I swear my roommate threatened to torch my laptop if he heard " 'w4m you were the high pitched fetus-y looking thing in the huge winter jacket on a 60 degree day, with two almost empty water bottles in your backpack. I watched you study biology in the library for 5 hours straight, and then watch Glee.' - why Joey this could definitely be you! You should call her!"
Update: There is a free ferret being offered on craigslist! I love ferrets, I want it so bad!!
Update Update: The ad for the ferret has been taken down already, nooooooo :(
Update Update Update: I am second priority to get the ferrets!
You are totally awesome. Nowhere else can you find such a versatile mix of thrift, commercialism, entertainment, and community. You can seriously be used for anything. Nothing beats the thrill of racing out the door to be the first to get to "Curb alert: moldy seat cushion addition." As a poor college student, your boundless collection of for sale items is like a orgasmic combination of seedy back alleys and cheap cleaner smelling department stores that I can visit while eating cheetos in my underwear. The last week I have entered various levels of commitment to buying a snowboard, a giant pile of camping equipment, and a questionable boat made of Styrofoam peanut-esque material. Some people swear by ebay, but craigslist is just as cheap, and I feel like its much more exciting awkwardly trying to extract information from people. Setting up dates to meet in random parks and suppressing the "You're going to get butt-raped" reflex really gets the blood flowing.
And the wonders that await when I wander out of the for sale section. Craigslist, you provide options for every situation in life. Need a date? Screw the cute girl in your physics class, surely all the real catches can be found posting ambidextrous descriptions and blurry camera phone pictures in the personals!
Need a job? I've applied to more jobs in the last month then I have the last 5 years thanks to you, craig. And you make them all sound so easy. Computer law consultant needed? That sounds pretty chill, I can do that! Protection and control engineer and design specialist? I took a year of CAD in high school, and if they're posting on craigslist their standards must not be too high, I'd better apply!
Desperate and lonely? Peruse the missed connections section and try to rationalize with yourself why each person could, theoretically, have been you.
Seriously craiggy, your more addictive then crack. Scratch that, then STUMBLEUPON. I could read the best of craigslist all day. This is how I wasted my hours at night away the last week. And when I realized by clicking on a nearby city I could start the whole process over again, I swear my roommate threatened to torch my laptop if he heard " 'w4m you were the high pitched fetus-y looking thing in the huge winter jacket on a 60 degree day, with two almost empty water bottles in your backpack. I watched you study biology in the library for 5 hours straight, and then watch Glee.' - why Joey this could definitely be you! You should call her!"
Update: There is a free ferret being offered on craigslist! I love ferrets, I want it so bad!!
Update Update: The ad for the ferret has been taken down already, nooooooo :(
Update Update Update: I am second priority to get the ferrets!
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