8/31 Bar Harbour Maine

I'm not sure why we came here, but we somehow settled on going to Bar Harbor. Cool little town which reminds me of Annapolis. We went up Mt Cadillac which is the highest coastline mountain peak in the US. Then we went on a nature viewing cruise. Originally we were going on a whale watch cruise, but it was cancelled due to bad offshore weather conditions. We ended up seeing harbor dolphins, bald eagles, cormorants, seals, and had a nice little tour of the bay. It was amazing how good it felt to be on the water again. I've always said that I could live in the mountains or by the sea, but I think I've got salt water in my blood. The boat wasn't any great shakes, but the smell and the feel of the town was right. This part of Maine is beautiful, rocky shores of granite plunging down into clear, deep water. The hills topped with pine, and cool crisp weather. Lots of old houses and buildings, and a rich history from the beginning of the US of A. But tomorrow we move on !
to somewhere else...at this point TBD!

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/30 What a long strange trip it is

The Plan was good. Plan 'K' was ticking along like clockwork. It was working, and we were actually following it. The plan was leading us on our slow, but inexorable, march to Katahdin. Could anything stop the plan?

Yup.

I write this from Bangor, Maine....no, Bangor is not on the trail....no, Bangor is nowhere near the trail. A scheduling conflict back home meant that the 14,15,16 was out for a summit date. Now shooting for the 21, 22, 23rd of September. So, now I have an extra week to kill, and while Rangeley was a nice town, a week there would be boring, so I hitched 45 miles to Farmington, rented a car and took off for parts unknown. OK, well, I know (kind of) what I'm doing, but we'll see if it works out. So, if you just want to read about the trail, skip a couple entries.
If you want to go on a different adventure in Maine for a week....read on!

Oh, and it took about 32 seconds to talk Churchmouse into it....luckily, his father's schedule was flexible enough to accomodate the change in plans.

So awwwwaaaaaayyyyy we go!

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/29 Rangeley, ME

Short day today, only about 10 miles. We're in Rangeley resupplying for the next chunk. Still no moose sightings, tons of moose 'sign' (read poop and tracks). Just so you all know, moose poop looks like mega-sized Cocoa-Puffs and for some reason the meese (plural of moose?) love pooping on the trail.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/28 Sabbath Day Shelter

Well, today was a very nice day! First off, crystal blue skies 80 degrees and not a breath of wind.
The Maine countryside is unlike any terrain we have passed through so far. The trees are all short needle pines, with an odd birch here and there. The trail consists of tree roots, rocks and mud. Maine is incredibly damp. If it was down south, it would be a muggy, swampy, bug infested mess. But, up here, no bugs and not enough heat to really swampify the place. With the dampness, you can really get wide ranges of temps. If you are in the sun you can be gloriously toasty, and in the shade be chilled. The woods here are actively logged, every vista we have you can see entire mountainsides denuded of their trees.

Ponds are all over the place, we are camped next to one tonight, the loons were calling to each other a while ago as the sun set into Long Pond. Nice!

Anywho, Maine is remote, still raw in places and quiet! Even more quiet than the other New England states. I was sitting alone pondering my naval today and realized I could hear an ant walking by my foot. Now, I do have dog-like hearing but it was so quiet, no airplanes, no birds, few flying insects, and not even the distant hum of traffic. Nice!

Maine is sorta growing on me...

229 miles to go
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

ps the plan has us in Rangeley, ME tomorrow, then 4 10 mile days in a row, I'm gonna go crazy... Did 18 today

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8/27 Slackin

We slacked south today, 10.1 miles, so it was an easy day.
The plan for the rest of the trail:
Rangeley, ME -- Aug 29th
Stratton, ME -- Sept 1st
Monson, ME -- Sept 6th & zero 7th
--- 100 mile wilderness ---
Katahdin (Birches Campsite -- Sept 14th

246 miles to go!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/25 Andover, Maine

Well this morning Churchmouse woke up with the cold back in full force so he took a side trail down the mountain and hitched to town. I took off for a long day. Today had me going through the 'toughest mile on the trail', Mahoosuc Notch.
Finally something lived up to its reputation, it took be an hour just to get through. Mahoosuc Notch would be a great place to go out for the day and do some boulder climbing. Huge boulders jumbled together in a gorge with towering walls on either side. I'm not sure it really belongs on the AT. It certainly is not a foot path! A couple times you have to take off your pack and squeeze through/under/around boulders.
Also, in the notch, I saw my first Moose. Unfortunately it was dead, and had been for a while. The carcass was right on the trail and you had to boulder around it. If it had just been on the trail you could scoot by quickly, but here it took a minute or two or you would slip and tumble 10 feet down....onto the moose. uggg I won't describe how bad it smelled or go into the details, just imagine the worst and you've got the idea.
The Mahoosuc mountains, which we are in now, are really tough, tougher than the Whites if you ask me. They aren't as high, but you are going up and down steeper slopes on rocks, roots and mud. All day! No worries, it can't last forever!

256 miles to go
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

8/24 Carlo Col Shelter

MAINE!! We crossed the final state line today! Tough day but we made our miles and finished off NH.

Did 17 miles out of Gorham. We ended up staying another night because Churchmouse came down with a cold. He seems to be on the down side of the bug.
Tomorrow is Mahoosuc Notch, reputably the toughest mile on the trail, then into Andover. We've been hearing from some folks back on the trail, Bigby is doing well, he is hiking with Grizzle, thay are currently in North Adams, MA.
Circadian is about 2 days behind so he should be catching up soon. He is planning on the same summit date. Looks like it will be quite a crowd on the 15th.

280 miles left, last state!

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/22 Stealthing

Just after Imp Shelter. Windy and cold tonight. 10mph breeze and we're at about 3300 ft elevation. Not too bad though, I've got my hammock strung in a good protected spot so no worries.
We went up Wildcat today, I seemed to be the only one who didn't have a bad day. We really made lousy time, only averaging 2 mph all day. Oh well we got our miles and have another small day tomorrow. Believe it or not, we will be back in Gorham for lunch! Gorham is at the crossroads of NH 16 and NH2 with the trail making up the third leg of the triangle. So we'll hitch in, do a quick resupply and grab a bite to eat. All this town time may start to get on my nerves, it is suppose to be relax time, but it seems to just delay getting this adventure done. Not to worry, this is all part of the plan and is built into our estimated summit date.

305 miles to go!

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/21 Gorham, NH

We burnt a zero today and stayed in Gorham. 1/4 Moon seemed a little burnt out so it seemed prudent. Our pace has really slowed down. In some ways it is bugging me but it may be for the best. We have a plan that hits our date and doesn't push big mileage days, but for me at least, it is frustrating. We are so close, I get the itch just to finish this thing off as soon as possible.

Funny to think that in 3 weeks, I'll be at home with this behind me. That will be a tough adjustment, but I really want to get home to Char and Isaac and all those comforts of home. It seems like everyone is slowing down, we are creeping along, yet are still passing people...go figure.

I heard from Mystic, he finished the Long Trail, but the rest of his crew ended up getting off trail. Chill's knees were bothering him so they pulled the plug.

Next up is Wildcat, a ski area that we go 'up' then the Mahoosics. They are the next mountains that everyone swears will crush our very souls....getting tired of that! Every time we finish something someone comes along and swears the worst is to come...we'll see, I don't believe anything anyone says anymore about the trail until I see it myself!

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/20 Mt Washington

I spent the night last nigt at Lakes of the clouds Hut. Pretty nice, I got what is called 'Work for Stay'. Which basically means you do a chore or two and don't have to pay the $89 that the guests do. I had to organize the game box. Anywho, Ohm and I left this morning at 7:30 and were on top by about 8:30. We are going to hang out here for a while then head on to Pinkum Notch.

The weather is benign today, 120 mile visibility, 8mph wind and 32 degrees. Yesterday the peak gust was 67mph and 32 degrees.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/18 Crawford Notch

WARNING! Weather in the White Mtns can change suddenly!

We awoke this morning to 35kt winds, 40 degrees and rain...Perfect hiking weather! NOT! Oh well, tomorrow should be nice. We'll be hiking up to Lake of the Clouds then hitting Mt Washington and Mt Madison. The weather on Washington was nasty today! We hit one of the AMC huts for lunch (all you can eat soup and bread for $3) and they had weather reports for the summits. 0-15 degrees with wind chill...glad we weren't there! Let's just hope for decent weather.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/17 Stealth Camp, Mt Garfield

WOW. What a day. We have gone 1812 miles, and today was the best yet.
This morning we started at Franconia Notch(1450 ft) and hiked north. First up was Liberty Mt (4250) then along a saddle and up Little Haystack(4760). At about 4000 ft we emerged from the scrub pine onto bare ridge and began a long ridge walk up Mt Lincoln(5089') and Mt Lafayette(5249'). We spent several hours on Lafayette eating lunch and hanging out. Bright sunshine, a few big puffy white clouds and a variable 10kt wind. It was still chilly, call it 60 or so at the top, less with the winf or when a cloud blocked the sun. We moved on to Mt Garfield (4488') and then down to below treeline to hang our hammocks. Really a great day all around. We only did 13 miles as we had planned to spend a long lunch and really enjoy these peaks.

And for the record, the White Mtns are not that hard to hike. They have been built up by everyone we meet that have done them. But honestly, it ain't that tough. Granted, I'm in great shape right now, my pack is light and hiking towards spectacular peaks really gets your blood moving, but, that is true of any NOBO at this point. I think everyone is moving well and not so knackered by climbs that you don't enjoy the mountains.

We saw Mt Washington (6288') today. I'm looking forward to that, although we got confirmation that some snow is expected the day we are there. Apparently they had half an inch a week or two ago. It would be very cool to get some snow in Mid August!

I can't really convey how great it is to be here, finally. This section is really what many of us are hiking towards. I'm close to the end, 80 more miles of NH then the 'wilderness' of Maine.

361 miles to go

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/16 Hiker Hostel

Success! We awoke this morning facing a long hitchhike. 35 miles to the nearest Walmart so that I could replace my camera.
It took a grand total of 30 minutes to get a ride, initially he was only going to be able to take us about half way but he ended up taking us the whole way. Really cool, because the further you get away from trail towns, the less likely you are to be able to hitch. People just aren't used to seeing hikers with their thumbs out.
Getting back was actually what was worying us, us being Churchmouse and I. We would be way away from the trail and several 'turns' away from our destination. Turns meaning changing roads. But after another 30 minutes, and the local boys in blue rolling past us several times, we were picked up by a former thru hiker. He asked where we were going, hesitated, because that wasn't anywhere near where he was going. But then said get in, and drove us all the way back. Amazing.
So back in North Woodstock, I was in search of a fleece. They are predicting some snow on Mt Washington the day we are going through, weird! 80 today, and in a couple of days 40-45 for a high (at elevation). So I added about 16oz of fleece and sent home a net of 7oz in broken camera (the new one is lighter) so plus 9oz but I'll be warm!
Tomorrow should be clear for our hike up Mt Lafayette and onto Franconia Ridge. Fun, Fun!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/15 North Woodstock

We arranged a slackpack for today, about 17 miles from Franconia Notch to Kinsman Notch. For all their reputation, the Whites are too bad. The hiking is very different, more rock scrambles and light climbing as opposed to the endless miles of green forest we have been travelling through to this point.
Typically you start in dense pine forest with small stands of birch trees at about 1000 feet elevation, then climb up, and up and up to 4400 feet. At that point you are in christmas land trees. At about 4400 feet you reach the treeline, the trees have shrunk from towering 50 footers to 5 foot, 2 foot, then nothing. The last holdouts are old trees with thick trunks but have not grown to more than a foot or so. These are real bonsai trrs. After that, all that is left is alpine mosses lichens and a little grass.
The weather change is wild, 75 degrees at the bottom and 45 or 50 at the top. 5 mph wind at the bottom, 35 at the top. Really wild .
We made good time today, but we all took fals clamboring over rocks. I had a spectacular wipeout when one of my poles didn't bite like I expexted. I ended up almost breaking my neck, literally, but escaped with only a bashed up shin. Another victim of the White is my digital camera. The viewscreen broke, so I'm hitching 30 miles tomorrow to buy a new one. Kind of annoying, but this is the most beautiful area we hike through and I don't want to miss it. Also, I'm picking up a fleece, it is really getting cold here, we'll be camping at elevation (3400 ft) for a couple days, the lows are expected to be around 40 in the valley, so we are thinking we'll be back near freezing for a while. With al this to do, and thunderstorms predicted for tomorrow, we are going to take a zero. Unexpected, but we have 5 in the bank according to our plan. Besides, we have almost 13 miles of above tree line hiking up next, and want some good weather. So far both Mt Kinsman and Mt Moosila!
uke have been clouded in when we summited.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/14 North Woodstock, NH

Well, we went over Mt. Moosilauke today, our first experience of above the treeline hiking. Very cool, the trees kept getting shorter and shorter, until they were no more. The wind was incredible and the temp was hovering around 50 degrees. The mountain was shrouded in cloud, the only cloud around, as the mountain makes its own weather. Hopefully the next couple summits will be clear and we will get some great views. 3600 ft climb, but it really wasn't that bad, I was able to roll up it without a break. We have all been building these mtns up in our minds to almost mythic proportions. It is good to finally be in them and mowing them down!

The weather has turned cold, 70 degrees during the day, 40 at night....at 1000 ft, we will be between 4800 and 6200 ft, so it will be considerably colder!

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/12 Hexacuba Shelter

Today we hiked 18 miles, and hitched into Lyme, NH just for giggles. OK, and 2nd breakfast <G>. But the big topic of the day was 'The Plan'.

Now frequent readers will realize that plans come, plans go, no one sticks to them etc etc etc. But this is a special plan. This is 'The Plan'. This is the plan that maps out the next 413 miles. This plan ends with the Big K. Katahdin. There are 2 variants and a sub-variant to the plan. Plan A has us summiting around 9/8. But with no zeros. Plan B is a week later with a good mix of neros and zeros and small mileage days around highlights like Mt Washington and the like.
The sub-variant is at my request, I want to knock off a 40 mile day so that may or may not be in there.

But it looks like plan B is the winner, so pencil in us arriving at Katahdin on Friday the 14th with a summit date of the 15th, and a rain date of the 16th. Of course, all is subject to change, but that is the plan.

413.2 miles, 34 days left
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/11 Mouse in the house

Churchmouse is back! After talking with Churchmouse we decided that the easiest way to get him up to Hanover was for me to rent a car and pick him up in Woodstock, VT. So after 2 lovely days in Hanover, I headed off to Vermont to pick him up. It is really great to have him back especially with the White mtns coming up. Already the craziness has already begun, we hitched into Etna, NH for snacks, probably the easiest hitches of the trail so far.
He seems to be doing well, ready to get this trail done. After talking a bit, it seems we both went through the VA blues when we were hiking alone. It seems that having a crew really helps keep folks going. Right now it is me, Churchmouse, Ohm, and Quartermoon. We all seem to be moving at the same speed, so we could stick together for a while.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/9 Hanover, NH

I finally heard from Churchmouse. He should be rolling into the Inn at Long Trail tonight. That puts him 4 hiking days behind me. Turns out he picked up a small injury (rolled his ankle) and hasn't been able to push the 30's to catch me. But, he is going to do another day of hiking then catch a ride up to Hanover and just skip the last bit of Vermont. That is really good news, if he hadn't, I don't think he would catch me by the end. So I'm going to be in town for a couple days, which will be nice considering we are on the doorstep of the White Mtns and resting up is probably a good idea. I saw the elevation profiles for the whites and they look quite intimidating...just massive and most of them end up above the tree line.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/8 Hanover, NH

OH YEAH! Another state bites the dust! I'm in Hanover New Hampshire, home of Dartmouth college. It is a beautiful town with a big college green in the middle and a bunch of little shops radiating out from there. Very hiker friendly, upon arriving we stopped first at the 'Brick and Brew' pizza shop and got our free slice of pizza they give hikers. Then I swung by the P.O. and picked up my box from home. Yep it made it here. That box went from Danby, CT to White River, NH to Manchester Center to the Vermont Sorting facility, then finally to Hanover. You should have seen this poor box by the time I got it. But, now I have rain gear and a stove so all's well that ends well.

I woke up this morning to torrential rains (and cursed my lack of rain gear). But in bad situations like that sometimes the best course of action is no action. It took until about 9a for the rain to stop, but stop it did and Ohm and I set off for Hanover. I had to be there by 5p (PO closes) and Ohm was getting picked up by his dad to get his hand re-xrayed back at home. Quartermoon caught up with us in Hanover and him and I will split a room tonight and wait for Ohm to get back.
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/7 Thistle Hill Shelter

I hate bugs. Really, I'm sick and tired of bugs. Vermont too for that matter. I haven't been impressed so far, and VT is over and done with tomorrow. Oh well, NH and Maine are suppose to be 'da bomb' so that will be nice.
Ohm and I did a gruelling 23 miles today. I'm not sure what made it tough, but we both were just dragging today. Ohm is off to get his hand re-xrayed when we get to Hanover, so I'll be flying solo for a while. That's cool, this is coming to an end and it is nice to just do your own thing sometimes.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/6 Stony Brook Shelter

Well, only did 10 miles out of The Inn at the Long Trail but was able to dodge rainstorms. We hung around the Inn until about 1pm, had lunch and watched the rain go by. We then dashed to here just in time to get under shelter as the storm threw us a parting shot. Nice to have some rain, but end up with dry shoes!
I had a nice visit from Bob and Janelle, they were in the vicinity to visit a friend of theirs and stopped in for the afternoon. They filled my belly and ran Ohm and I into Rutland for resupply. It is great to get news from home and see familiar faces. Even if it is just for a few hours it really reconnects you. Shout out to Chris, your mom says you should call more! <g>

Another good thing about hanging out at the Inn late today was I got to see my new friends 'The reunion crew' before they turn off the AT and continue up the Long Trail. The LT heads up Vermont to Canada while the AT turns right and heads for New Hampshire. Later days to Gator, Marley, Chill and Mystic, good luck on the LT! Tho, Mystic may show up in the White Mtns to hook up with us, who knows we might head off on another crazy side trip!

Speaking of the Whites, we are getting close now, we are only about 80 miles from the beginning of them. I can't wait, I've never spent time above the treeline, it should be quite an experience.

No word from Churchmouse, not sure if he is close or far. Also, we lost Quartemoon somewhere, either he is ahead of us or behind, but no one has seen him.
478 miles to go!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/5 The Inn at Long Trail

Well, the plan was to do 21 miles yesterday, then 13 today. But strange things happen. Ohm and I took off at 7am and cruised pretty wuickly through 12 miles. We hit a road crossing at about 11:30. On this road was a lunch restaurant 2.8 miles away. After hitching in and getting a bacon cheesburger, Ohm decided that he wanted to do a 30 mile day. OK I said. The problem was that Killington was right at the end of the day. 2500ft elevation change, OUCH! But we rolled over it and caught sunset near the top of Killington. This morning we decided to do a side trail that takes you up to another peak, Pico. Really great views from the top and it was fun hiking down the black diamond slopes of Pico Mt.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/3 Big Branch Shelter

16.5 miles today. It took about a half an hour to hitch out of Manchester Center (the trail is 5.5 miles outside of town). Easy day, we had 3 1000 foot climbs, one of which went up a ski run. Bromley Mtn, which had a great view from the observation tower.
We pulled up early because we are under threat of rain and wanted to beat it. We got some thunder, but so far no precip. I hope it hits tonight and gets done with by morning. Behind the rain should be some cooler weather, it has been unseasonably hot and humid up here. No cool crisp New England days and nights, we've been running close to 90 degrees with high humidity...ahhh makes me homesick for August in Northern VA....NOT!

No cell service, so I couldn't find out if my package finally arrived in M Center, VT. Nor could I let Bob and Janelle know where I am planning on getting to to meet them. Tomorrow we are doing 21 miles to another 'Secret Shelter' which is at the base of Killington, Vt. It is a long day considering I am suppose to be letting Churchmouse catch up, but it sets up the climb up Killington nicely. 2500 feet in 5 miles, and, since this is the AT we are talking about, we don't actually summit. This is pretty common, you get to within 100ft of the summit, but don't go up. We will go up this one, even thought it is a steep .2 mile climb, because there is a snackbar at the top! But that is day after tomorrow, so I won't start dreaming of cheeseburgers yet.

521 miles left!
--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/3 Manchester Center, VT

Stealth camped behind the movie theatre last night....interesting to say the least. We came in to resupply, and I needed to go to the post office. I had my raingear and stove sent back to me, originally to Danby, VT. But because I'm moving so slow right now, I thought I would call the PO and have it moved here instead. That way I could resupply and do the PO at the same time. It should have worked perfectly, except my package isn't here, or wasn't last night. So last night, with time to kill, and not wanting to shell out $120 for a room, I set up camp behind the movie theatre. And since I was there....went and saw the Simpsons Movie. Camping in town is a nerve wracking thing. Chances are the local PoPo's (police) frown upon it, plus you always risk some local yokel getting liquored up and going out looking for trouble. But all is well, I didn't hang my tarp, just the hammock, and I was nearly invisible from the road.

Once I'm outta here I'll be heading for Clarendon or maybe Killington, VT to meet up with Bob and Janelle. Long time family friends that have known me since I was knee high to a grasshopper.

With all these delays, both intentional and otherwise, Churchmouse should be right on my tail.

As for the gear changes, I got my stove back...hopefully, I was starting to crave mac'n'cheese so that's back. I'm not sure it is a weight gain or loss, when you are 'cold' (no stove) none of your food is dehydrated, so it maybe a push overall. As for the raingear, I'm sending home my town clothes (long sleeve shirt and pants). After talking with a couple SOBOs, they strongly recommended getting wind/wet protected so that you can enjoy the views at the top of thw White Mtns. Otherwise you will be hurrying off the peaks. Also, I'm sending home my filter. I had developed a gag reflex to the taste of AquaMira, but that isn't happening anymore (used some of 1/4 Moons) so that is a 11oz savings. Overall, I don't think I'm adding but an oz or two.

Or not....Just called the PO, no package, now I'm waiting to see if Charlotte sent it with delivery confirmation or a tracking number.

Well, Char, be the detail oriented person she is, did send it with tracking, but, all they can tell me now is that it was fowarded and is now in PO limbo. So I'm hiking on, hopefully it will catch up before I summit.
And BTW, to add insult to injury, it is suppose to rain today. At least my package will be dry.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/2 Bennington, VT

Had a good time yesterday, music, food beer. Quite a few of the hikers ended up showing up. Probably 40 or so, which for this far north is a respectable showing. Rob, our hero from Dalton, MA came up and brought a bunch of folks from further south. Tennessee Jed was there, I haven't seen him in a month. Now the challenge is to find our way back to where we started this adventure.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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8/1 Bennington, VT

Whaaaa? Weren't you just there? Yep, I hiked on, in fact, I'm actually up in Stratton Pond. But there is a hiker fest (read free food and free beer) here today. So me, a guy named Mistic and Ohm hiked a 22, then hitched 45 miles back to B'Ton last night. It was an incredible series of hitches to get here but we got back last night around 8p...pretty cool.

So a couple of nuggets, Ohm (broken hand) and Quartermoon yellow blazed up to Bennington and met up with me which is cool. I thought that I had lost them after Salisbury, CT. Also, I've been hiking with a crew that thru-hiked last year. They are out for a month doing a "reunion tour". They are hiking the Long Trail which shares the AT for 100 miles up to Killington. The AT turns right and heads to NH while the Long Trail heads north to Canada. Cool folks, Mistic, Chill, Marley and Gator. I have to add another type of hiker to my working list, the "Former Thruhiker". It has two sub species, the pos and the neg. The Neg will constantly tell you what they hated about the trail. For example, you can say, I'm going to XYZ shelter, or hostel or town etc. and they will say, "Oh don't do that, that place is a dump", or the water source sucks, or there are too many mice, or no view, or too many bugs, blah, blah, blah. The pos will rave about upcoming features of the trail!
, like the White Mtns, with barely concealed envy in their voice that you get to do it.
The "pos" really reinforces your resolve to continue, because they did it and it obviously inspired them. The "neg" worries you early on, but most hikers learn to tune them out pretty quickly.

Anywho, the reunion croo are really positive and have been filling my head with beautiful images of the upcoming trail. They don't sugar coat it, the Whites are a bitch, but you can hear it in their voices that the reward is worth the effort.

--Brian
aka "Bytecode"

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