An Unprecedented Day in the Blogosphere

At the risk of freaking everyone out, I am taking the radical step of posting two days IN A ROW. Settle down, get another cup of coffee, and prepare to be dazzled. Well, maybe lower your expectations for "dazzling" first....

This is part two of the New England road trip/hiking extravaganza from August. As I was planning my trip to NH, I learned that our dear friend and hiking buddy, Deja, would actually be in the neighborhood around the same time. This was pretty extraordinary news, since I haven't seen her since we summited Katahdin together in 2011 and she's been teaching in Japan for the last couple of years. But in an incredibly happy coincidence, Deja planned to thru-hike the Long Trail in Vermont during her term break, beginning the day after the MLS program wrapped up in NH. After a bit of logistical wrangling, we arranged to meet in Montpelier, VT, and I would hike with her for the first 35 miles.

It's much easier to stock up for just two days on the trail.

This was super exciting--not only a chance to get back on the trail with Deja, but a return to VT, a state that I love, love, love. I mean what's NOT to love? Artisan cheese. Craft breweries. Insanely, ridiculously cute little towns. Oh--and Ben and Jerry's. Love. Vermont. For those of you who haven't been, Montpelier is the state capital. It is also about 5 square blocks big, with a lovely river running through and a statehouse that looks like a tiny model. The whole place is smaller than the Atlanta city government facility. I did, however, become mired in what passes for a traffic jam in downtown Montpelier, as I drove in circles, trying to find the surprisingly elusive Greyhound station to meet Deja. Unlike Atlanta, though, there was never that concern that another driver would embrace the road rage and shoot you in the face. In Vermont, they're more likely to roll down the window and pass you a joint or some sort of vegan bakery product. So small and friendly. Did I mention my love of Vermont?

One of the many reasons to love Vermont....

After I finally found Deja and her friend Jan--a fellow thru-hiker who lives nearby--we headed to various stores to buy supplies, then headed north to the trailhead. Here begins the educational portion of the post....
The Long Trail is the oldest long distance hiking path in the United States and an inspiration for the development of the AT. It was laid out by the Green Mountain Club between 1910 and 1930, running 273 miles from the Canadian border, the length of Vermont to the Massachusetts state line. The southernmost 100 miles of the Long Trail are contiguous with the AT, so I've already done that part. Another important point is that the two trails are identically blazed, with the white rectangle so closely associated with the AT.

We hit the trail at the Canadian border, pretty deep in the middle of nowhere. We kept joking about how hilarious it would be to emerge from the woods and find a border control dude sitting there in a lawn chair checking papers. Happily, we were all alone. Since I had only a couple of days, we left my car in a parking area about 35 miles south. After a late afternoon start, we reached our first shelter. Like the AT, the LT has small lean-tos at regular intervals. The ones that I saw tended to be a bit smaller than those on the AT, with very few decent tent-sites--not surprising, I suppose, given the more remote nature of the LT at the northern end.

Ready to go.

The trailhead at Journey's End, VT.

The monument at the Canadian border. The
line marking the border is visible in the background.

Very swanky signage.

Very threatening signage.

Hitting the slopes. At Jay Peak.

Rainy day lunch break.

Unfortunately, I had to abandon Deja for the two day drive back to Georgia. She carried on alone and completed the trail faster than anticipated--yay, Deja! It was awesome to be back out on the trail, though sad to be without Pancho. Maybe another adventure soon....

Parking lot re-supply, before my departure.

The end of my hike....

One last shot.

Back in the saddle

After a lengthy absence from the blogging scene, Nachita returns. Hopefully, this is exciting news to at least a few of you, aside from my mother, who is biologically required to be enthused about my blog.

Since my seasonal job as a ridgerunner with the ATC ended in May, I've been seeking another organization willing to pay me to hike and/or deal with historic stuff. Sadly, I remain in the ranks of the not-so-employed. This has, however, allowed for some time on the trail, so not a total loss.

In August, I spent some quality trail time in New England, covering all the colors of the mountain rainbow--in the Whites and the Greens. I was delighted to be an instructor this season at Mountain Leadership School (MLS) for the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), in Crawford Notch, NH. Last year, I participated in the inaugural dayhike leadership program, and was invited to return this year as an instructor. For five days, we were based at the Highland Center, working with a group of five students. Most of the participants in this program are members of local AMC chapters and are required to undergo leadership training in order to lead hiking trips. We had a great group and I was SO fortunate to be paired with a super experienced and absolutely hilarious senior instructor, Rich.

Our MLS group at the Crawford Notch Depot. My co-instructor, Rich,
is in the red shorts. He is almost certainly singing some classic rock
stadium anthem.

Three first-timers on Mt. Lincoln. For Jose, in the middle,
this was her first 4K.

One of the best parts of the program was the day we summited Mt. Lincoln, then headed down the Crawford Path, which is contiguous with the AT. I ran into 6 or 7 thru-hikers, some of whom I remembered from the start back in April. It was really tremendous to see those hikers, still putting one foot in front of the other, and only one state away from their goal. They are hopefully all done now, safe, showered, and home with family. Congrats to all y'all!

Nachita returns to the AT.

I love hanging out with the other instructors at MLS, all of whom are WAY more experienced than I, and all of whom also teach at winter mountaineering school in the Adirondacks. They spent a lot of time trying to convince, cajole, and browbeat me into coming to winter school. For those of you who have know me a while, you most certainly realize that that ain't. never. gonna. happen. Talking about building a cooking platform in the 10 foot deep snow and cutting through the ice to get water are not strong selling points for me. I am perfectly happy to limit my bad-assery to warm climates.

I also had a very happy surprise at the Highland Center--running into my friend Tammy, who was in my MLS group last year. She was up for a weekend of hiking with her daughter Emma. Any of you who are Walking Dead fans will be familiar with Little Ass-Kicker. Well, that should be Emma's name, cause she is one badass 11 year old. She was planning to hike 3 4000 footers that weekend--her 16th of the 48 in NH. She's already done several in winter, making her way tougher than me. Sadly, she didn't bag those peaks, because during a dicey stream crossing one of her boots got sucked off and washed away. Did that slow young Emma down? Hell, no. She hiked the rest of the way in her socks. And to add to her coolness, she's already planning an AT thru-hike. Coolest. Kid. Ever. And way to go Tammy, for being such a terrific role model!

With Tammy (center) and my fellow instructor Katherine (right)
at the Highland Center. Unfortunately, I failed to snap a photo
with Tammy and Emma, but just shrink Tammy a little
in your mind--Emma is her mini-me.

The ubiquitous White Mountains Death Sign....

That brings up another thing. The 4000 footer thing in NH. Obviously, the winter is way too long up there, cause everyone is sitting around trying to figure out the most bizarre circumstances for bagging all 48 peaks. In winter. In summer. In every month. At night. Wearing an evening dress. Good grief. Of course, there is a really great event happening this weekend--Flags on the 48. Hikers from all over gather to place American flags on each of the 48 peaks, in remembrance of 9/11. I have a number of friends who will be taking part and I wish them all a great day on the mountain. For more information, please check out www.flagsonthe48.org.