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Posted by the Comet, October 3, 2007  The Big K
Ah Mt. Katahdin. The Holy Grail of the Appalachian Trail thru-hike. It is the last mountain and most challenging climb of the entire 2174 miles. Bring it on. Posted by the Comet, Ausgust 24, 2007  The Maine EventAnother thank you to P. Dawg and Mrs. Dawg for the very generous gift I mentioned in the last podcast (the quilt that has kept me warm over the past few 40 degree nights). I'm in Stratton, Maine and will soon be meeting up with (get ready...he has a trail name now!) "The Professor" in Monson. We'll tackle the 100 Mile Wilderness together and summit Katahdin sometime around the 1st of September. The past few days have been pretty decent as far as weather, but before that it was pretty wet and I even got caught in a hail/thunder and lightning storm. That was an adventure I don't need to repeat anytime soon! Chopsticks and Alright should be pulling out of Monson today and heading for the big finale. Today if I am not mistaken is Alright's birthday. Happy B-day! Sagbutt is in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Tonto...where are you Tonto? Maybe MA? Okay, I can smell food from the pizza place across the street and I need to order and eat everything on their menu NOW. Comet-out. Posted by the Comet, Ausgust 20, 2007 The Inside Story on the Outside World  I'm in Salisbury, CT for a late morning resupply town stop. This weekend I'll take my 4th and 5th zero (non-hiking) days of the trip at Mrs. Comets parents home in MA. She will be flying up to help me eat lots of food and relax before I hit the last chunk of the trail. There will be some gear tweaking as well. Oh yes, and the Simpsons movie. Oh yes!Speaking of gear, here is a general idea of the gear changes thus far... Sent home: long sleeve shirt, possum down socks, rain pants, headnet, gloves, Gatewood Cape and stakes, bivy, various toiletry items, one of the stuff sacks Picked up: Sleeping Hammock, 2 oz. groundcloth Retired the Defeet socks for new ones, three pairs of trail runners in (almost four) That's all for now. Keep emailing and keep watching the Comet Posted by the Comet, July 24, 2007  SUB 1000No, not 1000 subs (unfortunately). The short story... I am in Vernon, NJ. The hammock after 3 nights of testing, that is sleeping, has been fantastic. Edit to an earlier post, Sagbut, not Saggy Butt is the name of the other May hiker who I've been with since Duncannon, PA. I got a call from Alright tonight. He and Chopsticks are just past Bear Mountain, PA. That's about 2.5 days ahead of where I am now. I'll have to pour on the miles to try to catch them! Well I said it was a short story, so that's it. -Comet Posted by the Comet, July 16, 2007  The Chase is OnAfter an awesome and relaxing week hiking with the crew from back home the chase is on. The chase to catch up with Chopsticks and Alright. Chops is about 3 days up and Alright 6 or so. Over the past couple of days I have met a couple of other people who started in May (translation-the are moving along very fast!). Unicycle Pirate and Saggy Butt both started more than a week later than me. It's no suprise that they both have very light packs as well. Now that I am past the halfway point, technically it's the home stretch...so piece of cake right? Next week when I get into Delaware Water Gap, PA I'll be picking up a new pair of trail runners (the 3rd pair) that my lovely trail wife has sent, as well as my new sleeping arrangements. A backpacking hammock. More news to report on that front once some testing has been completed. That's all the news from the trail for now. Time to brave the heat and put some miles behind me! Posted by the Comet, July 8, 2007 Lazy Bones Since I am actually in a town it's easier to compose my basic ramblings in the form of a text journal rather than a podcast. I do promise to call in more podcasts soon. I'm about to head into the Shenandoah area of VA. It is comprised of 107 miles of trail that ends close to Harpers Ferry, WV. It was a hike in those very mountains last year with my wife that we decided 2007 would be the year of the AT hike. After a visit in WV with the Bugaj's I will put my legs in motion for the "Maryland Challenge" (hike the 41 miles of the state in a day). The next adventure will be a week of hiking with the guys I mentioned in my previous post. During that week we'll be passing the official midpoint of the trail for the class of 2007 hikers. To celebrate the occasion it is tradition for thru-hikers to eat a half gallon of ice cream at Pine Grove Furnace Campground in PA. Who am I to turn down tradition? Anywho, hope you are all well and keep doing what your doing...or do something better. Time to walk... Posted by the Comet, June 20, 2007 There is Beauty All Around This past weekend I finally got to see my husband for the first time in 7 weeks! I drove a long winding road up to Montebello, VA and picked him up at the Dutch Haus Inn. I also got to meet the famous Chopsticks and see what an amazing guy he is. Three other thru-hikers rambled in while I was there and although they looked tired and dirty they all had the same goofy, satisfied grins on their faces that Chopsticks and Comet did. It's very inspiring to be with people that are living their dream. Although all of us may not be hiking the AT we are all on our own personal life journey. It never hurts to be reminded to always make an effort to be present in the moment and witness all the beauty around us. I feel very blessed to have my wonderful husband leading me by example. I'm very proud of him. Posted by Nicole, June 19, 2007 Double Zero! I took my first full days off the trail this weekend to see Mrs. Comet and rest my feet. 809.1 miles down and...many, many more to go. We stayed at a wonderful B+B in Lexington, VA and hung out in town during the days. The weather was great, and so was the company! Chopsticks and Alright have moved up the trail and I hope to catch up with them somewhere in northern PA. We had a great week being supported by Alright's dad (Rev. Alright). He fed us many wonderful meals and took us around the little trail towns to get resupplied. Then I was careless enough to leave my trekking poles in the back of his truck. Oops! The next planned "rest" is in Harpers Ferry where I'll drop in on the Bugaj family, then I'll have guest hikers for the week of the 4th of July. Big Wheel, Prarie Dog, Indie, and Achilles are slated to join me for that holiday week. More pictures are on the way as well. Talk to you guys later! Posted by the Comet, June 17, 2007  Six Two Two Point OneWell hello all. Thank you again for all of the emails and encouragement. I arrived with my trail friend "Chopsticks" in Pearisburg, VA earlier this evening and we hit the Mexican restaurant in the middle of town. Tomorrow I'll go to the post office and pick up a package from my awesome wife containing among other things - some yummy food (including trail mix courtesy of Pete D), a new set of trail runners (the second set so far), and the mp3 player. I should also have the replacement pack from REI waiting at the post office. Same pack as the one I started the hike with, but smaller size and better fit. Yes Johnny Blaze, this means we will have the exact same pack, so I might not be able to hike with you unless we say we are brothers. Sweet. Now it's time for a MUCH needed shower. Talk to you all ASAP. Keep doing things. Comet out. Posted by the Comet, June 7, 2007  Comet Hits VA With A Bang!Greetings from Damascus, VA. Additions to yesterday's podcast before I head back out on the trail... A huge thank you to the family I bumped into on Memorial Day at the beach for feeding me. I think the final count was something like 4 chili dogs, a burger, 2 bottles of water, and a cold Coke. That was some awesome holiday trail magic. Speaking of trail magic, a thank you to Croosh for the company and meal at the burrito place earlier today. I am resupplied for the next four days, have a full belly, the rain has subsided...so I think I'm ready to put in some night hiking by the full moon tonight. I hope you are all warm and safe. Posted by the Comet, May 30, 2007  Welcome y'all to Hazzard County! The Comet called me last night from Gatlinburg, TN. They ended the day at 203.6 miles in Newfound Gap in the Great Smokies Mountains National Park and hitched the 15 mile ride into Gatlinburg to spend the night and resupply. He was really excited to find out that Gatlinburg has an original General Lee, which he immediately sent me a picture of shown above. They are enjoying the beauty of the Smokies and so far have only seen one bear! Posted by the Trail Wife, May 16, 2007  Nantahala RiverI'm very fortunate that I have a husband that likes to communicate. Yes ladies, men like this do exist! We he can get a signal on his cell phone Dave does call and give me updates on their progress and sends pictures. Here is one from today of him hanging out in Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina. Other news reports are of how happy he is, the mice in the shelters and the all you can eat restaurants they have been able to eat at so far. They are about 134 miles in on the trail. Go Comet and Limo!! Posted by the Trail Wife, May 10, 2007 North to Katahdin I've arrived at the hostel where I will spend the night before hitting the trail (www.hikerhostel.com). The hostel is amazing, the owners are awesome, and their dog Maggie is great. On the way here I got burgers and a hot dog from Five Guys. If you haven't eaten there before and do eat meat, find one and eat there. You won't be disappointed. The flight into Atlanta was smooth and no luggage was lost, so a success there. Limo arrives tonight and will stay the night here as well. We're getting dropped off at the trail head tomorrow. We will likely be doing the 8.8 mile approach trail...which is basically a lead in to the AT. Our first re-supply will likely be at Neels Gap, around 30 miles in on the actual AT. The first week or so we'll be taking it easy on the miles as our bodies adjust so it will probably be a lazy 3 or 4 days. After that we'll pick up the pace and get ready to tackle the Smoky Mountains. Thank you to all those who have already emailed me at theComet2007@gmail.com. The support and positive wishes go a long way. Posted by the Comet, April 30, 2007  South to Springer MountainHello all, tomorrow I leave for Atlanta and meet up with J-man, aka Limo. He'll be my first guest hiker and join me through the Smoky Mountains (approx 240 miles). I'll send pictures home to Nicole to get posted to the site ASAP. Today is last minute preparation...going over the gear one last time, figuring out mail drops for re-supply etc. Food re-supply will mainly be done in trail towns along the way, but there are plenty of things that I'll want and can't find out there. Most of my updates will likely be in the form of podcasts as I can call them in from any phone. Journal updates for me are tricky since I don't have a computer in my pack! If you have questions or comments about the site, the hike, or whatever send your feedback to theComet2007@gmail.com That's all for now... Posted by the Comet, April 29, 2007  Abandoned WifeMany people are shocked when they hear that I'm "letting" Dave hike the AT. Truth is, it was my idea for him to do it! One of the first things Dave told me when we first met was that hiking the AT was one of his dreams. So in November of 2006 we were hiking in the Shenandoah's I told Dave that if he was going to quit his job and move to DC to be with me, he might as well hike the AT before he moved. When in his life was he going to find the time and a job that would let him take 5 months off of work? So after much thought and consideration, we decided he would do it! That was also the day that we decided that we would also get married before he left for his hike. That was a perfect day and I'm so excited to be a trail wife and support Dave in his dream. Posted by Nicole, April 23, 2007 |
Mark My Words