From Eileen: I am sad to say that I am seriously lacking in information for you all this evening. I am assuming this is because our intrepid hikers have no cell service, not because they are having too much fun around the campfire to remember those of us who are pining for stories and photos…I can tell you that they left Crawford Notch, NH around 9:45 this morning and made it to the AMC Mizpah Spring Hut at about 2:30 this afternoon. Mizpah is located at 3819 ft, between Mt. Jackson and Mt. Pierce on the AT. When they arrived Rick was thrilled to receive a care package left for him three weeks ago by the Girl Scouts of Holden, MA as they hiked through the area! Thank you very much to these thoughtful girls for such a kind gift.
Matt, Carlos, Sean, Whit, Rick, Bill, Jay, and ThomasThank you to the Girl Scouts of Holden from inside the Mizpah Hut!
From Eileen: Rick traveled back up to New Hampshire this afternoon in preparation for what might prove to be the most challenging segment of his journey so far. Friends from near and far are assembling up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire for a three-day hike along the AT that will end at the summit of Mt. Washington. Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the Northeast at 6,288 feet, and is known for its extreme weather conditions. From the summit they will descend the mountain via the cog railway. I am so grateful to these wonderful friends who are hiking with Rick to support him and his goal to end ALS, and to the Appalachian Mountain Club for helping us to plan for this hike.
Mt. Washington (photo from the Mt. Washington State Park website)
We stayed at the Smarts Mountain Shelter last night, maintained by the Dartmouth Outing Club. It was a high-end shelter because it had four walls and a door, and windows with screens. So we had a good night’s sleep, and the bugs did not bother us. I know Ted wrote the blog yesterday and talked about Smarts Mountain. I want to add a statement about the climb yesterday. It was steep and rocky. We were both exhausted when we finally got to the summit.
We left at 7am today to meet Jay Weed — Batwing — who was going to visit Lou’s bakery in Hanover and then hike up to meet us on the trail. Before we connected with Jay, I fell into a swamp because I could not quite reach across a gap to the single board that served as a bridge. First, my right leg became covered in mud after my foot slipped off the board (my balance is off kilter). My boot was completely submerged, full of water and mud. So then I placed my left foot on a tree root for leverage, but it too slipped. I finally managed to pull myself, boot and all, out of the muck. It was a challenge but ultimately I succeeded. But my boot was full of mud, and my legs were covered in mud.
However, good times lay ahead. Jay reached us after we made it through the swamp. He brought us fresh coffee from Lou’s in Hanover, and he brought us food. I got a blueberry muffin, and we all split a maple-covered donut with bacon (yes, bacon). Batwing is now a superhero because he brought us this unique and wonderful breakfast.
The trail today was a gradual decline down to Jacob’s Brook; we crossed multiple tributaries and muddy stretches. After we crossed the brook, I asked Jay if he had a hose in his yard so I could clean my boots and legs without making his house muddy. He helped me clean up before I got into Ted’s car to come home. This is the first time I’ve ever fallen into a swamp, and hiked out the trail muddy and wet. Hopefully it will be the last.
Thank you to Ted Kellogg and Jay Weed for all they did to help me. We had a good campfire last night, after Ted and I climbed the fire tower on Smarts Mountain summit. It was an excellent hike over two days. New Hampshire is different from Vermont because it is full of granite and tree roots. Tougher to hike.
This morning Steady, Batwing and I set off from Hanover to climb Smarts Mountain, a four-mile push up some of the steepest terrain that we’ve hiked since leaving Bennington VT. Unlike the Bennington hills, however, the trail up Smarts is composed almost entirely of granite.
New Hampshire is known as the granite state for the rock-ribbed hills left here by the Laurentide Ice Sheet that formed them 95,000 years ago. You can still tell the direction the glacier took by looking at the scarring on the rocks that runs North-South along the bedrock (see picture below).
As a hiking surface, granite poses some challenges, especially when it’s wet and slippery. As you can see, Steady managed it beautifully even when the granite went practically vertical.
At the shelter we met Switchback, Elwood and Just Paul (Paul just got on the trail three days ago and is waiting for a name to “take”). After a hearty dinner of hot dogs and baked beans and candy we are settling in to a night of “hiker TV” — a campfire. Tonight’s episode promises to be a good one.
Many thanks to Batwing aka Jay Weed, my Kilimanjaro hiking buddy, who played Sherpa for us this morning all the way to Lambert Ridge and plans to meet us on the trail in the morning with delicious pastries from Lou’s. Now this is luxury hiking. Thank you Jay.
Wombat — 7/11/2017, Daniel Doan Shelter, Smarts Mountain, NH
From Rick: Today was a zero mile day. Instead, we went to Massachusetts General Hospital so that I could pick up my new temporary foot brace. As you may recall, my foot brace broke on Friday in New Hampshire. The brace supports my left foot, and keeps it from dragging and tripping me. I want to thank Jim Krupa, Clinical Director of the MGH Orthotics/Prosthetics Dept., for getting this temporary brace shipped in so quickly. Jim, like all of his colleagues at MGH whom I have encountered, is incredibly dedicated to his patients and has done everything he can to support me. I even managed to get back on the trail this evening…
(And the story continues, with a different narrator… ) Later this afternoon, just in time to catch the best part of early rush hour out of the city, the journey back to the green hills of New Hampshire began. In Winchester, Rick re-joined Ted for the drive up I-93 and I-89 back to Hanover. Finally back to the Appalachian Trail! But it was already so late in the day, all we had time for was a short walk along the Trail where we stopped for dinner. Our dining site was 20 feet off the trail, but there were other people there willing to make our dinner for us. We had real chairs, a table with a tablecloth, linen napkins and attentive servers. Yes, we were at the posh Canoe Club restaurant on Main Street, where, even in NH, Rick continues to order Vermont’s Long Trail Ale. After a lovely main course, somehow Ted convinced us to amble a few yards farther along the Trail to return to Morano Gelato, purveyor of the best gelato in the US, where this time Rick made quick work of his milk chocolate gelato, bestowing yet another two-thumbs-up review.
I’m Batwing, named after a favorite forest in Maine about which I evidently talk too much. My civilian name is Jay, and I am pleased to have Steady (Rick) and Wombat (Ted) at my house in Hanover tonight. Our post-prandial activities are sorting our gear and pre-cooking tomorrow’s dinner as we prepare for a two-day assault on Smarts Mountain in the next town north, Lyme. Even though Smarts’s summit is under 4000 feet, it is the ninth most prominent mountain in New Hampshire, meaning that is rises far above the surrounding terrain and the AT on it involves a lot of altitude gain. Probably need even a wee bit more carbo-stacking…
At the Canoe Club. Yes, in northern NH in the summer, shorts and t-shirts count as “posh.”Proof we are on the trail. The double blaze on the lamppost outside the gelato shop means that the trail turns left from Main Street onto Lebanon Street.Whenever one takes a picture of gelato, Wombat is in the frame.
From Steve and Walter, Saturday, July 8: We left Hanover, NH, around 8:00 am this morning. We were well nourished — a full breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, toast and coffee at the Hanover Inn. We left civilization and re-entered the forest. Our original plan was for all three of us to hike, but Rick’s foot brace broke yesterday. He started out with us without it, but quickly made the call to send Steve and Walter along to complete the hike while he did some ALS awareness marketing in Hanover (it’s possible that Rick saw the weather radar and knew what was coming).
The first 4 miles were pleasant — rocks, roots, some steeps and even a rope ladder. It was standard NH hiking. We had a couple of open vistas that looked out across some cattails.
The last 2 miles were a downpour. Now we understand why all the thru-hikers wear gaiters over the tops of their boots. If you haven’t walked in soaking wet socks and hiking boots — you should.
Steve’s wife, Ingrid, drove up to pick us up, stopping first in Hanover to collect Rick and next on Etna Road to pick up the soggy pair of hikers.
Thanks again to Rick for letting us join his adventure and cause. We had a great time.
We left the Happy Hill Shelter about 7:30am this morning. We hiked the forest, Steve, Walter, and I, and eventually crossed from Vermont over the Connecticut River into New Hampshire. A total of 5.9 miles. We took photos from time to time. We had lunch — BLT’s — at a grocery store. When we crossed over into NH, we made our way to Hanover, home of Dartmouth College. The Appalachian Trail cuts right across the Dartmouth campus; the Dartmouth Outing Club maintains the first 50 miles of the AT going north into New Hampshire.
On the trail today, we crossed multiple streams and rivers. It is supposed to rain tomorrow, but not till the afternoon, so hopefully we will be off the trail before then.
In Hanover we stopped, on Ted’s advice, at Morano Gelato for a snack. I had lime. Dinner at Murphy’s Tavern across the street from the Dartmouth Green. I had fish and chips and a Long Trail Ale. We split a brownie with a dip of vanilla ice cream. That is not trail food.
We are staying tonight at the Hanover Inn. We get to sleep in a real bed, and get cleaned up. Tomorrow we are hiking 6 miles to our pickup spot, and then heading back to Winchester for a few days.
My thanks to Steve Delaney and Walter Scully who joined me for the past several days.
(This blog from yesterday came through this morning.)
A trio of men of a certain age set out on the trail again, today, in Vermont near Quechee Road. We are staying at the Happy Hill Shelter. Happy is a good word to describe our day of hiking. The weather was good – not too hot – not too cold – it sprinkled just a few drops. No real problems — Steve gave Rick a piggyback ride over one tricky creek crossing. There are several thru-hikers at the site — from as far as Phoenix, Quebec and Florida — and one dog. One of the hikers is southbound.
As we sit around the campfire, we leave you all with 2 questions: 1). When you were a kid, did you ever write a blog while sitting around a campfire? 2). Do you have any trail name suggestions for Steve Delaney and Walter Scully?
Tomorrow, we walk 8ish miles, crossing the Connecticut River into New Hampshire and across the Dartmouth campus.
From Eileen: Rick set out on the trail today with Steve Delaney and Walter Scully. I know they made it to the Happy Hill Shelter in Vermont this afternoon, but that’s all the information I have. Looking forward to hearing more from them tomorrow!
The following is the first in an occasional series of guest blogs from friends who are hiking for me on days when I am off the trail. First up is the Pavilon family, who hiked yesterday, July 4th. Thank you to Renie, Tom, Avery and Jay — I am glad you had such a beautiful day for a hike! I hope you all had a Happy 4th of July with your friends and family. I look forward to being back on the trail tomorrow. Best, Rick
July 4, 2017
Happy 241st birthday to the USA! We had beautiful weather for a hike along a section of the Appalachian Trail in Etna, New Hampshire today. Our destination was Moose Mountain with its sweeping views of lakes and mountains in this part of the state.
When we think about the Fourth of July, several words come to mind: freedom, liberty, independence. Unfortunately, ALS takes all those things away from the people who suffer from this incurable disease. We hiked to support Rick’s courage and determination to beat down the cruel effects of ALS. Today we hiked for all who suffer from this devastating disease and the families who support them.
We are thankful for our ability to celebrate freedom and independence every day. We pray for Rick, Eileen, Henry and Philip and their friends who will take to the AT this summer in support of Rick and his efforts to help find a cure for ALS.
Rick's Hike for ALS 