It's done. The hiking is finally over. I have officially thru-hiked the AT, so this will be my last post. My Dad and I summited Katahdin with Hazard, Spoon, and CrocStar on Tuesday, Sept 8th. So that makes for 121 days on the trail; a little under four months. 109 days of actually hiking and 12 days off. Which is almost exactly 18 miles a day counting days off. Not too bad.
I've taken the last week or so to adjust back to normal life. It was pretty weird at first. Waking up and realizing I don't have to hike 20 miles is something I haven't yet fully gotten used to. I have so much time on my hands and I'm sure what to do with it yet. When there was free time on the trail, you tried to do as little as possible. The less you moved, the better lol. Every day, there was a job to do. Now, I come home and I'm unemployed and not going to school so I'm just bouncing off the walls all day. I have to say, I kinda miss it.
Finishing the trail was bitter-sweet. A couple months ago, I never would've guessed I would miss it at all really. But as time went on and I came closer to finishing, I realized there were a lot parts of the trail and the lifestyle that I would miss. The hiking itself wasn't that great, but living in the woods was pretty freakin cool. There's a simplicity to it that is liberating.
I think my favorite thing about the whole trip was the people. I met a lot of great people. The hiking community is relatively small so most of the time, everyone knows everyone. I found that hikers are typically very friendly, warm, outgoing people. What was even more uplifting, were the generous people I met who weren't hiking. Several times, I was brought in by strangers who gave me a bed, good food, a shower, and laudry and expected nothing in return. The trail really helped me developed more faith in people.
When I wrote in Monson, I mentioned hiking with Hazard, Spoon, and Crocstar. I hiked the last 3 weeks or so with them and it was a great way to finish the trip. I love those guys. They're some really fun people to be hiking with. We had a lot of good times together. I plan on seeing them next year at Trail Days (a hiker's reunion in Virginia).
There's a million things to talk about but I dont want this to get out of hand lol. I want to thank everyone who followed me and gave their support on my hike. It helped me keep motivated. I especially want to thank Dan for hiking with me for the first 7 weeks. You definately made that part of the trip more enjoyable for me. Thanks man.
And if anyone is ever thinking about hiking the AT or anything nearly as absurd, well; I won't tell you not to, but I'm not really gonna recommend it. Its a pretty dumb thing to do. Just go car camping lol. Thanks for reading!
-Nick

Dont have too much time to write but we're in Monson, ME, which is the last trail town before Katahdin. I'm hoping to summit on Sept 8th but as with everything else on the trail, we'll see how it goes. For the last couple weeks I've been hiking with three guys I've known since pretty much the beginning. Spoon, Hazard, and Croc Star are some really fun guys and we've been having a blast hiking together. I think they'll stay friends for while. anyways gotta go. see everyone soon.

So I stayed last night in a frat house at Dartmouth College here in Hanover, NH. I hiked into town with a few people and one of them was a brother in the same frat so he got us in. It was pretty cool. The place was trashed from one of their parties and we helped clean it up as kind of a thank you for letting us stay. They set up a bunch of leather couches for us in their living room and we slept on those. We were woken up a few times by their very loud party that was happening downstairs but it was still pretty sweet lol. Hanover seems like a really fun place to be. I plan to stay pretty late today but I still wanna get going at some point because a zero in this town probably wouldn't do well for my motivation.

So that makes 12 states down, 2 to go! New Hampshire should be fun. I'm pretty psyched for the whites coming up even though I know it could be miserable if the weather's bad. I'm hopin for the best.

I have no idea how many chances I'll get to use a computer from here on out. I'll do my best but I can't make any promises. Take care everyone.

After a whole bunch of time off I've been back on trail now for about five days and I'm feelin' good. I'm starting to get back into the rhythm of things. My body feels strong and I'm actually enjoying my time out here. Vermont is pretty cool. The scenery is starting to pick up and the hiking has been pretty easy. Its also starting to get cooler, which has been really nice. The nights can get kinda cold but it makes the days a whole lot better. The best thing about the cooler temps is the lack of bugs. In Mass, the mosquitos were brutal but the last few days have almost been mosquito-free, which has been awesome!

I just found out yesterday that I have lyme. I started feeling crappy way back in Waynesboro, VA. I didn't bother going to the doctor, I just started taking the meds, but apparantly that didn't kill it. I was still feeling a little sluggish when I came home for those few days so I got a blood test done. Got the results yesterday and now I'm back on the meds. But like I've said, I've been feeling pretty good so I'm not worried about it.

Right now I'm in Wallingford,VT. I met a really cool family (Doug, Cathy, and their two daughters Amelia, and Izzy) last night at the shelter and they invited me over their house to clean up, get some food, and sleep in a bed. They even slacked me 9 miles! (they took my pack while I hiked the next 9 miles then they picked me up down trail). Doug and Cathy own a very nice house thats sitting on 73 acres. They even have a pond, tire swing and a 100ft zip line. I think this is my dream house lol. They're great people and they're very fun. I feel right at home. All the hospitality and kindness of strangers on the trail is something I'll never forget. I really look forward to paying it forward someway or another. Good stuff. Well desert is on the table and its almost hiker midnight so I'm out. Take care guys.

Yesterday was my second day back on trail after taking three days off vacationing in Vermont with my family. It was awesome seeing everyone, playing with my little cousins, spending some time on the lake and eating a whole bunch of food.

A bunch of my friends came and visited in Kent last week. That was great too. Everyone was there. Dan, Dobi, Blake, Harris, Thurman, Webster, Dave, Jackie, Hilary, Lauren; even the Bolt made an appearance. We all got lunch and they didn't even let me pay! We even found a field and spent a couple hours playing wiffleball, frisbee, and kickball. It really reminded me how great a bunch of friends I have.

After all that time off with my friends and family, these last two days back on trail have been really tough. It's really made me question why I'm doing this. Before I got to CT I was enjoying my time on trail more than ever but lately I've been pretty homesick. For the first time I've thought about leaving trail. I always thought the best part of this adventure would be getting to Katahdin but now I think the best part might be learning to fully appreciate everything and everyone you have at home. At this point I dont feel like I have much to prove but there's still part of me that wants to know what it feels like to get to that stupid mountain in Maine.

Anyways, my new boots have torn my feet apart the last two days and I decided I wasn't gonna hike another mile in em for now. To give my feet a rest and to switch boots I thought it would just be easier to come home for a couple days. So I caught a train into Hartford today and I'm chillen in Naugy for a couple days. The plan is to get the spirit up and then get back to the tail to finish the job.

Hey everyone. I am in Unionville, NY. Got here yesterday after a long day and I'm staying at "The Outhouse" AKA "The (former) Mayor's House." This is one of the best hostels on the AT. The people are awesome. When I got here, I was told, "This is your house, and you will act as such. If you dont, we will bust your ass. If you do, we'll probabaly still bust your ass. We expect you to bust our asses right back. We'll let you know if you go too far." lol. They do your laundry, feed you dinner and breakfast, and showering is a requirement (which isn't a problem). They even have a bunch of movies to watch and a computer with internet fore hikers to use. All this and they dont charge anything. They do accept donations so I'll definately be giving them one cuz this is just too nice of a place. I wasn't really planning on taking a zero here but my feet could use a day off and this place is the perfect place to take one.

I finally got my trail name. One of the other thru-hikers here gave it to me yesterday. It's "UCOC." Pronounced "you-cock," it stands for Uconn Outing Club. Its written on my shirt and some of the other hikers think its funny so thats what they started calling me. I'm sure anyone from the club will find it amusing. People have started just shortening it to "cock." I cant' help but laugh when someone greets me. I think its a good one lol. I'm just glad to have one.

So the last couple days in Pennsylvania were brutal. Just 30 miles of pointy/jagged rocks. It was either walk on the rocky trail or walk on the brush to the side of the trail but the brush still had rocks underneath so it was no better. There was very little dirt to be found and it took a toll on everyones feet. I'm sure they'll feel better through the next couple states.

So I'm coming up on CT and theres some people asking when I'm gonna be at different places. I think it would be cool if we all met at the same road to keep it simple. We'll just have a little party on the side of the street or somethin. Right now I plan to cross CT 55 very early on Sunday the 26th. About 7 or 8. Or the better option would prolly be CT341 that goes by Kent. I should be crossing that one around maybe 1130-1230 the same day. If Monday is a better day then I should be crossing CT 4 near Cornwall Bridge, CT around 8 or 830AM on the 27th. Those are my best guesses right now. If I think thats gonna be a lot different, then I'll do my best to post before that and let everyone else know. Maybe you guys can talk it over on the facebook group. For those of you planning on coming out, I'll see you soon. I look forward to it. Take care.

My parents have to come to visit. We're staying in Mechanicsburg, PA at a pretty sweet hotel. So I've been living the good life since mid-day yesterday. Mechanicsburg is about 30min from where they picked me up. Their original plan was to pick me up in Boiling Springs but I was a little ahead of schedule so we met at a road crossing. So far I've done about 1,145 miles, while leaves me with something like 1,035 to go.

For those of you who dont already know, Dan left trail in Waynesboro. We knew that was the plan a couple weeks beforehand but I couldn't post about it because he wanted to surprise the guys. I was glad to hear that went well. I definitely miss him. He hiked 850 miles with me and there were a lot of good times. I'm already looking forward to our next adventure lol. He'd planned to hike to CT with me but he knew he wouldn't be able to go the whole way since he had to get back to uconn for the fall semester. We both agreed that if you cant go the whole way, then whats the point. The trail can be mentally and physically stressful. If your not going the whole way, anything more than maybe a week long trip just seems pointless to me. I would've done the same thing.

Spending some time in front of the tv with some real food and sleeping in a bed can do wonders for the spirit. I think I'll be ready to hit the trail tomorrow morning. Looking forward to seeing more people and taking some more time off when I come through CT in a couple weeks. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. And remember not to take any of the small things for granted (like a hot meal, a real bed, or a shower lol). You really learn to appreciate them when you dont have 'em for a while. Take care.

hey guys, we've made it to waynesboro. Dans parents were originally gonna meet us here Friday but they're awsome guessed we might make it here early and decided to get here today. They were right, we decided to push it and get here a little early. We thought we were gonna have stay at a hostel so this is great.

sorry about that last post. someone had an appointment for the computer in pearisburg so i got kicked off. Lets see, we've met a lot of people but haven't been hikin with anyone else on a consistent basis really. Two guys we did hike with for a few days, Spoon and Hazard, have a much better blog if you wanna check that out. The website is www.mountainsunderfoot.com. They are really cool guys. Check it out if u wanna see what a real AT blog is like.

So we're at about 850 miles here in Waynesboro. Not too shabby. Our beards have grown and we look pretty homeless. Some guy tried to give us 10 bucks when were sitting outside rite-aid today lol. We couldn't take it but it was pretty funny.

We've gotten showers, food, and have a real bed waiting for us here at the Best Western. FACT: the mattress = the greatest invention of all time. Since we here a little early we're gonna be takin a couple days off. Get some good food, rest, and maybe even see a movie. Then its back to the trail Sunday morning or maybe even Saturday night. We'll have to see. Its pretty late though so I'm shuttin' her down. Maybe I'll post a little more tomorrow if I remember some funny stories or somethin. Take care

Hey guys, I'm posting from Pearisburg, VA. We got into town this morning and we're just relaxing a little before taking off again for the next shelter. I was gonna post in Damascus, but the library was closed by the time we got there Saturday and it was closed all Sunday so no luck. Sorry about that. I know Cheryl Farrell was a little upset.
We got the word that a buddy of ours (who will remain nameless) has called us slackers because he thought we only did 26 miles in 4 days. First of all... shove it. Secondly, you cant just look at the map, scale it out and think you know how far we've gone. The spot only shows where we end up, not where we actually walked. Since the trail is not too straight, it could look like we did 25 when we did 80. Crap gotta go, my time ran up... sorry . later guys. take care

April 28th

Hey everyone, hows it going? Its been a while, there's a lot to cover, lol. A couple days after Hiawassee we met a kid named Dave at one of the shelters. After talking with him for a little he invited us to his Dad's house the next day to sleep in a warm bed and get some real food. We couldn't say no lol. He had his car parked at one of the gaps a little bit down trail. It shortened our day a bit a little but it was well worth it. When they talk about "some good ol' southern hospitality" they're not kidding. He made us foot baths for us to soak our feet in. I dont know if ive been treated to well as a guest. On a whim, Dave decided he was gonna try to go to Maine with us lol. He wasnt very organized but we we're glad to have him along. He was with us for few days but he had to stop in Fontana and we haven't seen him since. We're hopin he catches up.

The Smokies were really cool. We saw a bear our first day in. It came out on the trail about 50 feet in front of us. When I saw it, I just stopped. Dan said, "whats up?" I just whispered, "bear." It turned and saw us, then slapped the ground as if to bluff charge. We just slowly turned around and started walking away. We were with an older couple at the time, who were on their second thru-hike, and the guy just kept walking towards it and it ran away. I saw another one yesterday morning on our way to Hot Springs. I put my hiking poles up in the air and gave a little shout and it ran away. They really are much more afraid of us than we are of them.

We stayed at a cool hostel right outside of the Smokies a couple days ago, called Standing Bear Farm. The guy who runs it built a bunkhouse, cabin, outdoor kitchen, laundry room and a booth for interenet/phone use. The people were great. We tried to post there but the computer was a piece.

So now we're in Hot Springs. Got here yesterday. We took a nice to soak in their natural hot spring water, got some good food and stayed the night at Elmer's house. Its been nice to relax and let our legs recover. They're getting stronger and our pace has gotten a little better but our bodies definitely still have some more adjusting to do.

All in all, things are well. Well, we gotta hit the trail so we can get to the shelter before dark. I know it was a little long but thanks for reading! Take care.
-Nick

Gettin some rest in Hiawassee

So we hitched into Hiawassee today. We didn't pan on stopping here but after a few days on the trail we've learned a lot and we're making a big change in strategy. If we're gonna do this we need to lighten our packs by resupplying more. I shipped some stuff home today and I know Dan threw out a lot of stuff too. Some people would prolly call me crazy for not carrying some of the stuff but I'm wanna do everything I can to get to Maine. We're lookin forward to gettin back to the trail with lighter packs! No hostels here in Hiawassee but we're splittin a hotel with a really cool thru-hiker from Texas we met. His trail name is Two Lions (He looks like one and he carries a stuffed animal lion with him lol). Lots of other cool people out here on the trail. Its crazy how an overwhelming majority of the people out in the woods are really cool. We're takin our first zero day tomorrow to give our bodies some rest. This hotel is pretty nice and everything but honestly, I'd personally rather be in the woods I think. It's a little too intense for me lol. All in all we're livin the dream out her on the AT (my dream anyway as Dan would tell me lol)Well there are other hikers waiting for the computer and we have an "all you can eat" buffet watin for us but we'll try to fill you in again as soon as possible. Take care everyone, we miss you.
-Nick

Hey everyone, I just put up a link on the right side of the page for anyone who wants to see our location on a map. My parents bought us a GPS tracker and I'll be sending a signal out once a day that'll show where we are. Its pretty sweet. I've been following another AT hiker I met who has it and his seems to be working pretty well so hopefully you guys can have some fun with it. There's no dots on the map yet but in a few days you should be able to just click on the link and see where we are. Take care and enjoy.
-Nick

Welcome!

Welcome to our Appalachian Trail Thru-hike journal. On May 11th we'll be flying to Georgia to start our 2,178.3 mile trek to Maine. For anyone who is interested in seeing what we're up to, we'll be updating this page with what's happening on our hike. We'll only be able to post whenever we can find a computer to use in town but we'll do our best catch you up on everything that's going down. Take care everyone and enjoy!
-Dan and Nick