Some Call it Winter

The rains are officially upon us. We woke up and looked out the window, excited by the promise of thick gray clouds and the cool dreary mood. I don't think it has rained in Los Angeles since we left seven months ago.

Rain is a rare blessing here in Southern California. I think we typically have only 10-14 rainy days all year, all within the months of November to April. Aside from the renewing and life-giving properties, when it rains, life is different. The pace of life slows down. People don't leave the house. Traffic comes to a grinding halt. It's literally headline news. People here react to a rainy day as a hardy new-englander might react to a severe ice storm.

I was a wimp this morning and decided to do some yoga stretching instead of venture out into the downpour. Quite a contrast to life on the trail, where we would venture forth regardless of the conditions. Lauren joined me, and then went out for a walk anyway.

As I look out our windows, I delight in the anticipation of what is to come. The scorched earth of the San Gabriel Mountains will be quenched and the threat of fire will fade away. The vegetation will once again begin to grow, and stabilize potential mudslides. Everything will turn lush and green. Soon we'll look out and see the snow-capped San Bernardino Mountains towering above 10,000' in the distance.

As a native of the east coast, it's a stretch for me to call it winter, but I love this time of year.

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UPDATE: This evening I happened to turn on the evening news to see a "special live report" from a news correspondent. He was showing viewers how to use their windshield wipers and check their wiper fluid. Surreal to say the least.

Katahdin Is the New Maine

(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)

Today is Monday, September 10, 2007. It’s the afternoon and I’m calling from Rangeley, Maine, mile 1,954. Yesterday, Lauren and I hiked through a lingering rain storm. It was a pretty chilly night and we were damp when we arrived into camp and we worked together to set up our tarp in the rain, climb inside, change into warm clothes and have dinner.

The terrain in this part of Maine is pretty unique to our trip. It seems that most areas have about 6 inches or less of soil and then beneath that it is solid rock. As it rains, there’s not much soil to absorb it and it all runs either into the trail or into a low lying boggy area. We were walking through quite a lot of slippery mud, exposed roots and “bog-logs.” After walking in the rain yesterday, it gave us quite a new appreciation for the geography that makes Maine so unique.



Today we are taking half a day off in Rangeley, Maine. It’s somewhat of a touristy town, vacation spot on a lake, quite scenic. We spent the morning sipping on coffee and catching up in our journals. This afternoon we are going to do some laundry and then we will be heading out of town, trying to make two more miles tonight before it gets dark. We’re having a great time. As of this moment we have 220 miles left to Katahdin and it’s pretty hard to believe! We’re coming up on two weeks left on our journey and I can’t quite fathom it.



One interesting thing that we’ve been noticing is that we can’t tell people that, “Oh, we’re walking to Maine,” which is what we’ve been doing. Lauren said that to someone already and they said, “Well, you’re in Maine!" Lauren commented in her journal that Katahdin is the new Maine. So that’s where we’re telling people that we’re headed now! We’re doing great.

That’s it for now. Over and Out.

Stormy Weather

(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)

Today is Thursday August 30, 2007.



I am calling from above 5,000 feet on the flanks of Mount Washington in the presidential range of the White Mountains. Today was an extremely exciting day for us! We got off to a great start and we saw our first moose of the trip near Ethan Pond. After that we hiked several miles and met up with our friends Josh and Sarah (aka He-man and She-ra). That was completely unplanned. We knew they were ahead of us, but it was great to see them again!



Together we climbed up the steep climb into the Presidentials and made it Mitzpah Hut. We made it there by lunch time and we knew that there were afternoon storms approaching but we decided to push on to Lakes of the Clouds Hut so that we could have an early start over Mount Washington tomorrow morning.

We made it most of the way to the hut before we were pelted by the brunt of the storm… including hail. We were pinned down for several minutes with no shelter in site, while we were being beaten by hail probably ½ inch to ¾ inch in diameter. We did make it to the lake of the clouds hut about 20 minutes later where we are staying now. We’re cozy warm, drinking coffee and out of the stormy weather now.



We are going to be doing a work for stay this evening and in the morning we will summit Mount Washington, which is well above tree line. It should be a gorgeous day tomorrow and we hope to be through the rest of the Whites in the next couple of days. Anyway it’s been a fantastic day and we’re having a great time out here.

That’s it for now. Over and out.

The Good Life!

(Phone Message Transcribed by Bethany)

Today is Saturday, August 11, 2007. Lauren and I are standing in North Adams, Massachusetts. I’m looking at East Mountain ahead of us, which is the border of Massachusetts and Vermont which we will hit in just a few minutes when we leave town here. It’s also the southern terminus of Vermont’s Long Trail which the AT coincides with for the next 100 miles.



Yesterday, it poured on us all day long. It was cold and rainy, but things cleared up in the evening and we were greeted with an amazing view and sunrise on top of Mount Greylock, which is the highest point in Massachusetts. Since then, temperatures have been amazingly comfortable; we’re looking at low 50’s at night and high 70’s during the day, without a cloud in the sky. It’s been quite ideal hiking conditions.



We’ve met up with our friends He-Man and She-ra, and we’ve been enjoying the morning walking with them. Life is good, and we’re happy to be out here. I guess you wait all summer for days like this! It’s hard to describe but everything is clicking and we’re feeling good.

Over and Out.

Singing [Joplin] In The Rain

Thirty miles into our journey at the Walasi-Yi Center, the owner, Winton Porter gave the advice that the best training anyone can do to prepare for the A.T. is to hike every chance you get in the rain. Afterall, beyond the first 2 weeks, the trail is more of a mental journey than a physical one. So, to prepare our minds for this summer of living in the elements, we've kept low expectations for the number of sunny-days.

A temptation, when hiking in rain, is to gingerly step on the dryest parts of the trail and tip-toe around puddles - a fruitless exercise in delaying the inevitable. While taking a zero day at the Kincora we read another hiker's perspective about hiking in the rain, taken straight from some Janis Joplin lyrics "freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose."

Freedom comes when your feet are so soaked, you walk right through the puddles and streams of rain coming down the trail, because it doesn't matter anymore. There is a feeling inside of us that occurs at the moment this freedom is achieved, and it's powerful and playful! All of a sudden, our mood lightens, the day's enjoyable, and we're kids again! But it's how quickly you allow this change to occur within that brings total freedom.

Down the trail in the pouring rain I hike, sometimes singing "Bobbie McGee" as loud as I can belt out! If anything, it lightens the mood and makes Stitch laugh. We've had quite a few days of rain now, even three rainy days in a row through the Shenandoah, but I am still in the learning process.

So far, we remind ourselves of these things to keep our attitudes in check:

• See the hidden beauty and each wet day as being the most beautiful in the rain
• Stop walking and look up to see how tall the mountain is above me, how far the mountain continues below me, and realize how tiny I am, not the center of the world, and I can deal with this
• Remember the importance of water and try to reflect of each of its life-giving properties
• Keep a perspective that "this too shall pass" - reminding us that all good and bad times will not last forever so enjoy them for what they are and learn what we can

Janis, thank you for inspiring our journey. And to our readers, please let us know if you can think of any more to add to our list.