(Jott from Ben Thompson) Hi, today I am calling fr...

Well it's a free service afterall, but the signature line when posting to a blog is obscenely long...

Sent via Jott:

Hi, today I am calling from a new service that I found out about called jott.com, it's just a [the] kind of service I would have been looking for when I had(?) [hiked] the trial(?) [trail] last year, you can call and leave a 30 second voice mail which is transcribed and it can be e-mailed to you, or you can tell it to post to a blog such as Blogger like I have done here. I am just trying it out, but so far I am pretty impressed.


[revisions made by me online afterwards]

Ben Thompson

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Appalachian Adaptation

Looks like Robert Redford is going ahead with the Walk in the Woods adaptation, afterall.

I can think of plenty of reasons why this could have a negative impact on the trail. The only upside I can think of would be a heightened awareness of our natural treasures in the public consciousness. And and maybe additional funding if Redford chooses to give a little back to the A.T., unlike the book's author.

I remain skeptical.

Here's a link to my previously posted comments about the book.

Will Work for Beer

On one sweltering June afternoon we emerged from the trail at a road crossing in southwest Virginia, and took a short roadwalk to a nearby convenience store.

Over a few cold drinks and junk food, we exchanged pleasant conversation with the proprietor. Then, the sawmill across the street emptied for the day and we witnessed a fascinatingly disturbing cultural phenomenon; the 4pm beer run.

The scene goes something like this. Two guys hop out of the pickup and leave the ignition running. They make a beeline for the back cooler, plunk down their hard earned cash at the register and each walk out with a six or twelve-pack in hand, presumably to finish on a Thursday evening before returning to work the next day. One car after the next.

Sounds like a tired stereotype, but unfortunately, we witnessed it first hand.

Gear Review: Patagonia Nine Trails Shorts

Patagonia nailed it with their nine trails shorts.

The blend of 86% polyester/14% spandex is what I would consider to be an ideal material for hiking shorts.

They're extremely soft and have a generous stretch, which perform amazingly under thru-hiking conditions. They wring out well, dry unbelievably quickly and breathe nicely in warm weather. I wore them nearly every waking hour and never got tired of them, and had absolutely zero chaffing problems.

After 5 million steps, mine are still going strong. I am considering buying another pair just to have on hand, since the best products are inevitably discontinued.

My favorite feature was the three zippered pockets, which securely handled snacks, flashlight, money and other small items that I did not want to lose.

The only complaint would be the liner they come with, but a pair of scissors easily took care of that.

7.1 oz (Men L) 3.8 oz (Women S) with undie-liner removed.

At $52, they are pricey, but I felt a worthwhile investment for a thru-hike.

Drips vs. Drops

On our first rainy night of the trip, Lauren and I chose a protected site, climbed into our tarp, and watched and listened in awe as a thunderstorm blasted through.

By the morning, the ferocity of the storm had passed, and we were engulfed in a thick fog that reduced visibility to about 50 feet. The pitter-patter on our tarp lulled us back to sleep and made a nice excuse for a late start.

Finally by 8am we decided it was time to face a day in the rain. We spent a little extra time putting on our rain gear and breaking camp.

Once on the trail, we realized that we had made a rookie mistake. It wasn't actually raining; instead the leaves had been collecting condensation, releasing heavy drips every so often. We quickly overheated in out unnecessary rain gear.

After a mistake like this we quickly learned to tell the difference between drops and drips.

Reflecting

On the trail, Lauren and I each kept a daily journal, that we wrote in before going to bed. At the time we were unaware what the other was writing about, and now post-tail we've been taking our time going through and sharing them with each other. It's quite an enlightening experience to relive the same events through the memoirs of another.

Today we went to a coffee shop and continued our journal recap, making it to mile 430 in northern Tennessee.

It is rewarding to reflect on our early trail experiences and to so clearly see our character development... to see our trail rhythm and teamwork establish, to see how Lauren's mile-driven mentality eased over time, and to remember those physical hurdles I encountered early on.

I feel so blessed to have been able to make this incredible journey in 2007. It was an investment in ourselves, our marriage, and our future. I also am so grateful that we made the commitment to document our highs and lows so faithfully.

Andy's Great Western Loop

While we were hiking our 2,174 miles this summer, Andrew Skurka was tackling a 6,875 mile journey of his own, the so-called Great Western Loop. Lauren and I took the LA Metro Rail to Long Beach yesterday to hear Andy give an overview of his trip.

As a thru-hiker, it is fascinating for me to hear fellow hikers tackle the all encompasing question, "So, how was your trip?" I mean, how do you begin to sum up a trip of such magnitude, with all of the intense highs and lows?

Andy is an organized presenter, and his photography is quite good, which meant the 50 minutes went by too quickly for me. I think Andy did a good job of conveying the exuberance of great moments, and what it feels like to push through intense adversity. I think I would have enjoyed hearing more about the connection he felt to the landscape.

In 2006, when Andy was giving a recap in SoCal about his Sea-to-Sea hike, I took the opportunity to go for a day hike with him in the San Gabriels. Andy is a focused and driven person with an approachable demeanor, and I very much enjoyed my time with him.

Congratulations on accomplishing your goal, Andy.

Back into the Hills

This morning Lauren and I went out for our first real* hike since finishing the trail. We went out for 6 mile loop, on a fire road that looks over Glendale and the San Gabriel mountains. We easily handled the climb, and were encouraged that our trail footwork was still sharp for the dicey descent.

*morning walks in Griffith Park, and the woods in New Jersey, notwithstanding.

I'm Feelin It

I realized today that my left big toe is mostly not-numb anymore. That's about four months of recoup time for a common trail side-effect.

Candida

After several weeks on the trail, Lauren was probably right around her ideal weight, but by the end, she had gained around 30 pounds. Somewhere around the halfway point of our hike, Lauren began losing muscle tone, gaining weight and feeling bloated.

Clearly some of that gain would be expected with muscle growth, but that still didn't explain everything, and became an increasingly frustrating aspect of our summer for Lauren. While most other hikers were jumping in at the AYCE buffets, and losing significant weight, she was eating modestly and becoming increasingly concerned about her own physique.

This became a point of tension for us, both on the trail, and in the months following. Then, about two weeks ago, Lauren remembered a friend from the past who was diagnosed with Candida and that was the breakthrough that she needed.

Candida is a yeast that each of us have in our systems, typically in balance, but if it grows out of control, it can cause problems.

The more Lauren researched Candida, the more things began to make sense. Below is a list from Dr. John Dommisse of things to avoid for treating Candida, and description of how Lauren's regimen was essentially the opposite.

1. Avoid sugars - With a name like Figgy, and her half pound of figs each day, this sounds like the perfect food for the Candida to multiply out of control
2. Avoid starches - Hiking 20+ mile per day without starches? Not likely.
   
3. Increase saturated fats - Flax oil and sardines didn't make it into our trail diet.
4. Avoid Antibiotics - After the tick incident in New York, a two week round of antibiotics probably polished of any of the remaining 'good bacteria' that may have been keeping her intestines in check.

For two weeks now, Lauren has been eating no fruit and absolutely no sugar, wine, vinegar, yeast, coffee, or black tea. She is also taking oil of oregano and probiotics to reestablish the internal balance. After the first week we didn't notice any results, but after the second week Lauren has lost 6 pounds.

It feels good to be finally making progress.

2008 Companion

If you're thinking about hiking the trail in 2008, you'll probably carry a data book to help calculate mileage and find services in town.

Most people carry the A.T.C. companion or the Thru-hiker's Handbook (formerly by Wingfoot, now published by Bob McCaw). I also heard a rumor that Whiteblaze is publishing a guide book, but was unable to verify that.

One very important factor to consider when purchasing your guidebook is what the cover looks like. I personally think that the 2008 cover of the A.T.C. companion looks the best, but maybe that's just me.

We carried the Wingfoot guide in 2007 and were happy with the data for the southern half of the trail, but it is common knowledge that Wingfoot has not set foot on the trail in over 10 years, and the northern half of the handbook was strewn with misinformation.

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UPDATE:
"A.T. Thru-Hikers' Companion" is published by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, however it is compiled, written, and edited by volunteers of the Appalchian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA).

April Plans and ADZPCTKO

It was nice to hear from our friend, Clearwater, who contacted us last week. He will be hiking the PCT in 2008 ("at least California," he says), and wanted to know if we can take him to the trailhead in Campo, CA.

He booked his flight for mid-April, and will stay with us in Los Angeles for a couple days for final preparations. Then we'll drive a couple hours to the PCT monument at the Mexican border.

If it all works out, we may be able to attend ADZPCTKO (Annual Day Zero, PCT Kick Off). And if the planets are in alignment, we may actually be able to walk the 20 miles into Day Zero with Clearwater.

Wheels in L.A.

We gave away our car before leaving for our thru-hike and have been fortunate to not to have needed our own since arriving back to Los Angeles. For the last two months, we've had an unbelievable streak of car-sitting for generous traveling friends, so Lauren has been using their cars to get to work.

I've been doing quite well on my new bike, although riding a fixed gear is like learning to ride a bicycle all over again.

Tonight my friend Austin reminded me about Flexcar. Here in Los Angeles, an annual membership of $35 gets you access to car rentals on a micro level, just $5 per hour. Their locations map shows that I live just one block from two available flexcars ( a "sports car" and a "wagon").

All this convenience, and I don't even have to worry about gas, insurance, maintenance or parking. Pretty sweet deal. I'm going to have to check this out.

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UPDATE: When I checked the cars in person, the "sports car" was a Mini Cooper, and the "wagon" was a Scion Xb.

ATJ Profile

Our friends Sally and Ellen at from the AT Boundary submitted our names to be profiled in an upcoming Appalachian Trail Journey Magazine. The brief article about our two days on the trail corridor in the Mahoosucs will run this month.

If you'd like a sneak peek, you can check out this downloadable PDF file.