Katahdin's Summit (July 23, 2011)

"This trip is the culmination of years of dreaming, and maybe weeks of planning." Me, 2/19/2011, In the Hotel in Georgia the Day Before I Started Hiking

 "Dick's Dome is too small." Teddy to Me in Conversation, 5/3/2011, Jim and Molly Denton Shelter

 "A lot has happened since I summited Katahdin on 6/25. I relocated from Chicago to Charlottesville, VA and moved in with my new fiancee, 15, whom I met on a mountain back in the ME wilderness. A pretty amazing + life changing journey this has turned out to be." The Rambler and 15, date unknown, Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

"I came I saw I took a dump." Denver, 4/21/2011, Punchbowl Shelter 

"Today is my graduation day...Life on the trail has renewed my faith in myself and taught me what life is about...Goodbye for now AT." Abel Nightwood stopping 1300 miles into a SOBO trip, date unknown, Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

"Who needs porn when you have naked pictures of Eric McQuade, even if Eric McQuade is yourself?" Yikes, Yikes responding to me when I offered to sext her some pics of myself after the hike, 8/6/2011

Top Left to Right, Windscreen, Yikes, Sensei and I. Spam, bottom. (July 23, 2011)

I slept amazingly well since I was so tired from our day of drinking. We were all up

Entering Maine, Meeting Southbounders (July 5-22, 2011)

"Southward bound where I stop nobody knows." GB, 3/17/2011, Rausch Gap Shelter

"Talking to SOBOs is like talking to a kid who has yet to crushed by the hardships of life." Elvis, 7/4/2011, Full Goose Shelter

Sensei (left) and Yikes with a Clear View of Katahdin (July 22, 2011)

Maine had a lot of rugged trail. One nagging problem I had was forgetting that Maine still

The Whites (June 25-July 4, 2011)

"Being unemployed has its advantages." GB, 3/18/2011, Peter's Mt. Shelter

Windscreen on Mt. Moosilauke (June 27, 2011)

 The Whites are stunning. I appreciated them more than any other part of the trail. They

Better Times (June 12-24, 2011)

"To all: get drunk, smoke, make love before 6:00pm." The Corsican, 5/21/11, Eckville Shelter

Tom Laverdi's House (June 13, 2011)
Sensei (black vest), Spam (light shirt in the middle) & Windscreen (Red)

In Massachusetts somewhat taller mountains reappeared. By taller I mean nothing

The Unforgiving, Never-ending Grind (May 23-June 11, 2011)

"I've come to barely regard expansive views any longer, I pass them quickly with a simple glance, yet I take great care choosing the stump I wish to sit on during lunch." Mancub, 4/23/11, Hightop Hut

Everyone at the RPH shelter in New York State (June 3, 2011)

In the mid-atlantic all optimism ceased. We found ourselves in a vast stretch of trail with

People Coming, People Going (May 6-22, 2011)

"Pretty sad morning, my hiking partner I met on Springer is gone." Youngin', 5/7/11, 501 Shelter

"Felt stronger this year for some reason but had more trouble with that thing between the ears." Anonymous, 4/26/11, Eagle's Nest Shelter

Rock Puncher (left) and Bear Jew (May 9, 2011)

When we strolled into the hostel in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia we were pretty much all

The Shenandoahs and Beyond (April 26-May 5, 2011)

Killing It in Waynesboro (April 26, 2011)

It was a damn fantastic feeling to walk into Waynesboro, VA and I'm quite sure no one

Bigger Days and Ferocious Animals (April 7-25, 2011)

"Approach the bears, do not be afraid. Offer them a treat." Anonymous, 9/19/10, Bearfence Hut

"The dominant primordial beast is strong in Mancub." Mancub, 5/13/11, Mt. Algo Shelter

Sensei at McAfee's Knob (April 18, 2011)

When you see a big river, you know a big climb is coming, Sensei says. The trail

The Cold (March 28, 2011 - April 6, 2011)

"It feels like I caught up with winter." Trail Blazer, 4/16/11, Rausch Gap Shelter

Overmountain Shelter (March 29, 2011)

At night it's cold. In the morning it's cold. That's understood. But now it's cold all day. I

Trail Legs (March 16-27, 2011)

"Always looking at the ground so I don't trip. I don't see anything but ground and now and then a newt, salamander or snake." LabRat, 5/30/10, Calf Mountain Shelter

"Deep in thought, walkin' the walk." Kimazoid, 4/23/11, Birch Run Shelter

Sensei (left) and Delaware Dave on Max's Patch (March 17, 2011)

After the Smokies we find our stride. It's not a real stride quite yet but it resembles

The Smokies (March 10-15, 2011)

"I still continue to be amazed that this is all free (so to speak) and how few people are on the trail excepting the thru-hiker. What a sham the billion dollar diet business is." Anonymous, 4/26/11, Eagle's Nest Shelter

The AT in the Smokies (March 4, 2011)

4 1/2 inches of precipitation hit the North Carolina mountains right before we entered the

Sharing the Trail with Friends (March 5-9, 2011)

"Suicidal hiked in the pouring rain. When I arrived there were tents everywhere and the shelter was full of boy scouts and their shit was everywhere so I layed <sic> down the law of the AT with their troop leaders." Suicidal, 4/10/11, Matt's Creek Shelter.

JT Hill on Top of a Bald (March 8, 2011)

The legend himself, Suicidal, had a meltdown over some teenage boys sleeping in a

Going to Town (February 26, 2011 - March 4, 2011)

"Stopped in for lunch after the most terrifying hitch ever with sidewalk surfers from Virginia Beach. Retreating to the safety of the woods." Dos XX, Jamie and Sloth-Dog, 7/2/10, John's Hollow Shelter

"A narrow victory as Landfill ate the 10 McDoubles and apple pie (4600+ calories) in the time allotted to claim victory...All it cost me was 12 hours of moaning on the grass by the YMCA, gasping for breath and praying for a merciful death." Landfill, 6/1/10, Calf Mountain Shelter

"I washed these clothes?" Little Foot, 6/13/10, Calf Mountain Shelter

Doing What I Do at the Laundromat (April 27, 2011)

Going into town usually requires hitch-hiking and hanging out at seedy places like Dollar

Trail Names (February 21 - 25, 2011)

"I should have made business cards with my trail name, hometown, hike specifics and occupation." Slowpoke and Peter Flakery, 6/25/2010, John's Hollow Shelter

Spam (left) and I (April 17, 2011)

Trail names are assigned to hikers for reasons unknown to me. I guess it gives the

Leaving Springer (February 20, 2011)

"Please don't tell anyone but this is my first night out in the woods alone." Yikes, 4/16/11, Jim and Molly Denton Shelter

Great conversation can stave off feelings of loneliness. It can take you to a good place quickly. It often drops you back where you were but it can be a balm for minutes or hours. Especially when it's your first scary night in the woods.

Dawn in Georgia (March 1, 2011)

I woke up in a hotel with my parents in Gainesville, Georgia and wasted no time

Trail Personalities

The Cast (subject to change)

Bear Jew - A guy we met in Maryland who started the trail with his fiancée in Harper's

Introduction

"Three robust young men stopping for water, rest and quiet contemplation amidst a cacophony of singing insects in this, the heartland of America." Anonymous, 8/16/10

"Oh AT, you have me by the heartstrings...You make me sweat all the sins of this year away." Tuesday, 11/4/10, Black Rock Hut

The quotes above were written in an Appalachian Trail logbook, a simple spiral notebook found at shelters sprinkled along the 2,181 mile trail. The logs, or registries, are a