go hike a mountain

May 22, 2008

We started packing everything for our N/S Trail thru-hike on Thursday night. The plan was to leave for Rhode Island as soon as I got out of work on Friday. This is the pile of supplies and food laid out although a few more things were added later like 2 platypus 2 liter pouches and Jesse changed his mind about which pack he was taking just before he left. He was the smart one. Although my pack weighed 13 ounces, it had no hip belt and skinny shoulder straps which meant no support and the 25 pounds I ended up carrying really dug into my shoulders. I also added a ‘fanny’ pack to carry my camera, cell phone, money, maps, chapstick and other small items I needed to have handy. I have to admit that although I felt ridiculous carrying it, it was very handy.

May 23, 2008

After I got home from work, Jesse and I finished packing, ate a little, then drove out to Burrillville, RI, to meet Jesse’s father, Eric. He was going to shuttle us down to the southern terminus of the N/S Trail at Blue Shutters Beach. On the drive out there, we got a few large spatters of rain on the windshield, but nothing to deter us from our trip.

We had driven out to the southern end the weekend before to see if it would be possible to park our car here and hike from north to south instead. We decided that because it was Memorial Day weekend, we were more likely to get ticketed or towed here for leaving a vehicle for multiple nights, so we parked at the north end.

Jesse’s father snapped this photograph of us just before he hopped back in his car to drive back to Massachusetts. We set out at 9:15pm. Notice the waist pouch.

The first mile of the hike was on a paved road that lead to the beach and was lined with houses on either side. We had the red lights on our headlamps turned on so people driving down the road could see us. After crossing Rt. 1 we entered the Burlingame State Forest area where we were planning to find our first campsite. There was a little bit of confusion about trail markers and direction, but we found our way into the woods and shortly after found a suitable area for sleeping.

We rolled out our sleeping bags and tarps at about 10:30pm. The temperature was a little cool, but not enough to drive the mosquitos away. We had to cinch down our sleeping bags as far as we could and cover our faces to keep the bugs away.

This ends our first night on the trail. Check back soon for the rest of our trip report.

18 of 77 miles done. could really go for some corky’s right now.

Sorry, this post is long over due. We’ve been back from our road trip for a month and a half now and Jesse and I have finally gotten all of the figures from our trip together to share with you.

We were gone for 60 days and covered 10,800 miles of highway, byway, city streets and country roads. We spent 1300 dollars in gas. We drove through 24 states (8 state capitals) and within those states we hiked or drove to 14 new high points. We visited 34 people and 23 dogs. We made our way to 4 national parks and crossed the Mississippi River 6 times. We attended 3 NBA Basketball games and 1 Arena Football game. We saw the only 3 whale sharks in the United States. Jesse drank +/- 40 iced coffees. We used the camp stove to make a meal once and didn’t used the tent at all. We did, however, sleep in the car for 15 nights, and got our best sleep there. We shot 300 minutes of video and 3467 pictures. Most of all, when you add these figures up they equal 1 unforgettable trip.

I also wanted to let everyone know about our next feat. We will be hiking the North South Trail in Rhode Island on Memorial Day Weekend. The trail is 77 miles long and is the length of Rhode Island, basically following the western border with Connecticut. We will have to cover about 32 miles the first day to make it to our first campsite, and then 22 miles a day for the next two days to finish.

We’ve been preparing for this trip by taking long walks (10-15 miles) on weekends and also walking/running 5 miles each morning around the park before work. Jesse has noticeably lost weight with all this exercise but I haven’t…just grown some stronger calf muscles. And he’s not fond of waking up at 5am, but I’ve found getting up early and exercising makes me feel more awake throughout the day.

We’ve been checking the weather the last couple of weeks and it looks like we’ll have partly cloudy skies on the trip (but no rain!). We’ll be carrying a tarp for ground cover and another for overhead cover but no tent to conserve weight. I will be wearing one pair of running shorts, a sports bra, and shirt for all 77 miles. I’m planning to take long johns in case the mornings are chilly and a moisture-wicking long sleeved shirt along with a rain jacket/windbreaker. Besides the shelter and clothing, we have food and some basic necessities like a first-aid kit, matches, and a knife. The heaviest thing in our packs will be water.

If you check back around this time next week, I should have some photos up from this new trip. Wish us luck and good weather!

March 29, 2008

Our second day in Washington, D.C., was reserved for the Adventure Expo. It was in a convention center and there were rows of booths set up with travel information for several of the states and many countries overseas. We grabbed a few brochures on hiking and kayaking and made some new friends. The whole point of attending the expo was to hear Andrew Skurka talk about his last achievement, The Great Western Loop. You can read about his adventures at http://www.andrewskurka.com . He’s basically one of the fastest and most light-weight hikers there is. Last year he was named National Geographic Adventure magazine’s Adventurer of the Year. He covered almost 7000 miles by foot in about 7 months, so I bet you can imagine why. Anyway, Jesse has been reading a lot about him lately. He got to have his picture taken with him, too.

After Skurka, we listened to Gordon Wiltsie, an award-winning expedition photographer talk about his travels and treks. We bought a copy of his book afterward.

In between speakers, we chatted with a fellow named Trevor who will be on his way to Africa soon to do some cave exploring and research. He gave us some very good advice about looking for sponsorships. We didn’t get his email address and I don’t think he has a website, so I unfortunately cannot let you guys know how his adventure is going. I did manage to find his portfolio (it’s amazing what you can squeeze out of a google search: trevor cave africa national geographic) which you can view here . Perhaps he’ll email us when he returns so we can let you know if there are any publications about the trip. But we hope he’s safe.

After the convention, we decided to visit the monuments and grab a bite to eat. The hotel we stayed at was in Chinatown and this elaborate sign forms an arch at one of the ends.

This was a statue outside of one of the Smithsonian Museums.

Here is the house where Abraham Lincoln died.

The White House.

The World War II Memorial.

This is the Lincoln Monument from one side of the reflection pool.

And this is the Washington Memorial from the other side.

I guess I didn’t realize Lincoln’s statue was so large.

The Korean War Memorial is pretty spooky because these statues are just looming there in the darkness. Every now and then a flash from someone’s camera would fire and look like flashes of lightning on the soldiers.

We returned to the hotel by 9pm and got our last night of sleep on the road.

March 30, 2008

We couldn’t visit Washington, D.C., without trying for the extra-credit highpoint. I found some directions and a description of the area which said the actual highest point is fenced off. We found the place. We climbed a hill. It was pretty windy.

When we returned home and I read another description of D.C.’s highpoint, I’m not so sure we really found the exact best spot we could stand in, but we know it’s in the same area.

With this last highpoint, it was time for us to make the 8 hour drive back home. It’s not easy getting back to the daily grind, but we made it home okay and Jesse and I have both returned to work. We’re safe and nearly broke, but happy. Thank you everyone that has left kind words on our page or shared a bed or a hot meal. And to our families, especially, we love you all. I’ll try and make another post soon with a summation of our trip.

postscript: One of the speakers at the expo had mentioned that he couldn’t finish one trip without already thinking about the next, and Jesse and I are just the same. We’ve already made plans to hike the North-South Trail which is 77 miles - the length of Rhode Island. We’ll attempt to cover the trail in 3 days (that’s an average of 25 miles a day), the Memorial Day weekend. Check the site soon so you can read about how we’re both trying to get in shape for the hike and what kind of gear we plan to take.

postscript 2: Look at how different Jesse looks in just 2 months of being on the road.

Day 1

Day 59

We awoke later than normal this morning and drove the last few miles into Washington, D.C. I had read in a guide about the National Zoo which is free to the public and just north of the D.C. downtown area. You only have to pay for parking or take a bus in from the city. We figured there wouldn’t be much to see for a free zoo, but we ended up spending the whole day there. Here are all the animals we saw.

I think the panda is scratching his butt on the wall here.

This is some sort of pheasant we saw in the bird building. He was chasing a female and spreading out his feathers in some sort of mating dance. You can just make out what he looks like with all of his feathers splayed in that third photograph, but he was moving so fast it was hard to take his picture besides through that tree.

These are a pair of birds that are closely related to pigeons.

This is a cassowary. It has a crest on its head that looks like a tooth and has mixed discussions about its purpose (aid in communication, protection, etc.)

The park is full of cherry blossom and magnolia trees.

Here is a yawning meerkat. I think its head looks an awful lot like my mom’s dog Sheila.

We left the zoo and headed straight for the hotel. After checking in, we showered and planned to walk around a little to find dinner and something to do for the evening. The hotel happened to be a couple of block north of the Verizon Center where the Washington Wizards play and when we walked passed it, we realized the Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus was in town.

We bought tickets but had a couple of hours to kill before the show so we walked around a bit.

We also happened to catch the weekend of the cherry blossom festival, so they were in full bloom.

When we approached the White House we noticed the road in front of it was being blocked off by a mounted police man. We stood around waiting to see what was going on and within about 5 minutes we could hear helicopters approaching in the distance. There were 3 and when they got close enough, one went and landed in the White House yard and the other two turned away and went back.

We found out later President Bush had been throwing an opening pitch at a baseball game. They still hadn’t opened the street up for a while, so we left to check out the Washington Memorial. It was really windy on the hill.

We realized it was close to time for the circus, so we started walking back toward the Verizon Center.

I had to stop for a McDonald’s ice cream cone. They sure do make ‘em big in D.C.

The circus was a lot of fun. There were a number of times that there were so many things happening in front of us we weren’t sure what to watch.

Stacked elephants? Pretty impressive. We saw so much and had such a full day we were ready for some good sleep.