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Glen Brook to Brassie Brook Lean-to
9.3 milesRock at the Massachusetts border, atop which Big County sat in 2004 (2015)And here he is, sitting on the rock in 2004This morning I stayed by myself at the shelter till eleven. The thru-hiker...
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Brassie Brook Lean-to to Bearded Woods Hostel
5.8 milesAt the White Hart Inn, 11 years later--civilization and beer!Tonight I share the hostel with several thru-hikers: Giuseppe, on his third thru-hike in so many years, Brother Louie, Luke...
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Fwd: Bearded Woods Hostel to Falls Village, Connecticut
8.2 milesI'm at the Falls Village Inn, where Big County and I ordered pizza and night-hiked past the shelter so many moons ago. I love sitting here with my well-poured pint, remembering those nights...
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Falls Village, Connecticut, to Pine Swamp Brook Lean-to
9.0 milesMountain laurel, 2015Tonight I am camping with two flip-floppers from Harpers Ferry (Blood Blister and Pack) and a section hiker finishing off his thru-hike (Vermont Visitor), who got off at...
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Aroostook County, Maine
Last days in Massachusetts, summer at Mary's PondIt's probably not obvious that I've been slowly posting my log from my Appalachian Trail hike, which lasted three weeks and took me to about the...
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Pine Swamp Brook to Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to
11.0 milesSewing up my backpack--my body is not the only thing eleven years olderI got a late start this morning, dawdling in the shelter, repairing my backpack, which is ripping out more every day in...
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Stewart Hollow Brook Lean-to to Kent, Connecticut
7.2 milesBackpack along trailA good day. Even in old thru-hiking times when I could do a short day into town but still kill some miles and get things accomplished in town, it was a good day. In trail...
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Kent, Connecticut, to Mount Algo Lean-to
1.8 milesA single white blaze, preserved and framed, in KentI camped in town last night, camped for a second time in someone’s backyard. I ate breakfast by myself at the diner bar like a truck driver....
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Mount Algo to Ten Mile River Lean-to
9.4 milesMisty, rainy vistaToday I walked in the rain for two hours, breaking my own rule: never start in the rain. Maybe this is a difference between section- and thru-hiking, too—sometimes...
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Ten Mile River Lean-to to Webatuck Shelter (Wiley)
4.1 milesView from the shelter in the morningCrossing the Connecticut-New York border (in 2004)My idea for today was again, knowing thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon, to do a short-mileage...
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Webatuck to Telephone Pioneers Shelter
10.3 milesAgain I'm at a shelter completely crowded with people. Many flip-floppers. The Appalachian Trail Conference is evidently encouraging flip-flop thru-hikes as a way to combat congestion in...
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Telephone Pioneers to Morgan Stewart Shelter
18 June 20157.8 milesI find that people have one of several reactions when they concede that yes, climate change is happening. They say:1. It's too late to do anything, so why try? We may as well...
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Morgan Stewart to RPH Shelter
9.9 miles Morgan Stewart Shelter, this morning's starting placeTonight a man at the shelter questioned the legitimacy of my relationship and also told me I am too old to have children. I have been...
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RPH Shelter to Clarence Fahnestock State Park
6.9 miles RPH Shelter interior--amazing how I remembered this shelter as grubby and everyone kept going on and on about how nice it was. It was nice. The pizza was nicer.So I write tonight as I have...
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Clarence Fahnestock State Park to Graymoor Friary
13.8 miles Overcast sky and American flag at vistaEverything in my tent is wet. I actually did an excellent job pitching for the rain last night and stayed perfectly dry through the tropical storm...
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Graymoor Friary to West Mountain Shelter
22 June 201512.9 milesTurns out yesterday I didn't go far enough, as usual. I went far enough today, maybe too far. Maybe I'd have been better off camping by myself at one of these lovely camping...
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West Mountain to Fingerboard Shelter
9.1 miles23 June 2015My last day on the trail. Today was excruciating—my knees and feet and shoulders are in pain—and I'm feeling fatigued and I had chills all day and I'm worried about Lyme even...
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Fingerboard Shelter to New York City to Providence to Marion, Massachusetts
Wednesday 24 June 20154.1 milesToday I hiked past the Lemon Squeezer, which, if I'm honest, is the whole reason I decided to hike this section. In 2004, this was the first white blaze that I...
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Ice dance
My baby nephew Stephen Andrew Henry died seven weeks ago today, after ten weeks of life. I have been fighting the urge to use words to reconcile myself to his death because his death is...
View ArticleI’ve been drifting along in the same stale shoes
Today I continue to struggle with the inadequacy of everything I have to say. On the other hand I continue to SAY it. It’s the human impulse, to spurt out our innermost selves, to have them validated...
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I wish I lived in the power and the light
Mother nature's daughterI miss the days when everyone poured out their heart on epistolary MySpace blogs. I also miss the Reagan administration, for different reasons, so that should come as no...
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Every man got the right to decide his own destiny
A new post, my first since Sagan's birth, and she is nineteen months old, so that's a nineteen month hiatus. I suppose that's about the length of time it takes for things to normalize. Not that they...
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Upon the bitter green she walks
Why feminism is worth fighting forMy second post of 2018, and my first since June. I am writing less briskly but I am still writing. That’s important. Last year we moved to Wareham, Massachusetts.I...
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Two three break
A perfect exampleWhat I want for my daughter, from friends and family, for her second birthday (or for Christmas, or any subsequent gift-giving occasions):-Above all, clean air, water, and earth: to...
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Well it’s back to the battle today
“It is not enough for the teacher to love the child. She must first love and understand the universe. She must prepare herself, and truly work at it.” —Dr. Maria Montessoriwe try out some...
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