We made it! We paddled and hiked for ten months, traversing from Key West Florida to Halifax Nova Scotia.
Read along by clicking on the selections to the right, or scroll on down to read the blog entries from the finish back to the to start.
I'm often asked questions about the trek, and the answers form a nice summary.
Read along by clicking on the selections to the right, or scroll on down to read the blog entries from the finish back to the to start.
I'm often asked questions about the trek, and the answers form a nice summary.
Q. Best Part?
A. Kayaking. We just love the intimacy and physicality of being in nature out on the water.
Q. Scariest moment?
A. The stormy seas in Sarasota Bay grew beyond the level in which we could do a rescue if we capsized, and worsened while we tried to find a place to bail off of the water.
Q. Scary animals?
A. We saw alligators, bears and rattlesnakes (and moose, skunks, coyotes and porcupines) but had no serious encounters. The only problems were ticks and mosquitoes.
Q. Friendly people?
A. There were lots of friendly people, but Liz Price of the Big Bend paddling trail and the people of Suwannee Florida, Sarasota Florida, St John New Brunswick and Moncton New Brunswick were particularly amazing.
Q. Luckiest moment?
A. A gale force thunder storm unforeseen by the weather service appeared out of nowhere while crossing Florida Bay, but it came at night while we were safely holed up on a heavily forested island. Six to eight hours earlier or later would have been disastrous as we couldn't handle that storm on the water and would have had no place to bail out during the open water crossing. Yikes.
Q. Most exhilarating?
A. The subapine areas of Mt. Moosilauke and Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire, with the delicate lichens and tiny vegetation growing among the barren granite, and the expansive views of mountain range after range.
A. The physical exertion and spectacular finish of the Appalachian Trail on Mt Katahdin.
A. Manatee kayak encounters.
A. Wave riding (surfing) in the kayak.
A. Wave riding (surfing) in the kayak.
Q. Hardest emotionally?
A. Weeks of no energy in the hot humidity, paired with Lyme Disease, really tested my resolve.
Q. Hardest physically?
A. Mike after mile of rock climbing and boulder scrambling demanded both strength and balance. The hardest day might have been coming out of the Northern Presidentials.
Q. Surprise?
A. I was surprised that the Appalachian Trail is in such poor condition most of its length. Erosion has left much of it to be a rut of rocks and roots.
Q. Did I lose weight?
A. I quickly lost twenty excess pounds, then stabilized by eating everything I could get my hands on whenever I dipped lower.
Q. How long did it take?
A. Ten months to cover the 4,000 miles.
Q. What's next?
A. No plans yet. Likely involving travel or kayaking.
Q. Going to write a book?
A. Would you buy it?
A. I might have enough short stories from the three hikes to assemble a collection. The night with the mountain lion, the fall down the snow chute, the lightning on the ridge, ..., inspiring people, beautiful places, ....
A. I'm not a writer, so would need help.
Q. Triple Crown.
A. The neat part is doing it with one set of ultralight gear that lasted all three trails (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail).
Q. Funniest question?
A. "What kind of bet did you lose?"
A. When walking through isolated backwoods areas of Georgia, being asked by multiple people (including one Sheriff), "Ain't you seen the movie Deliverance?"
A. When telling Southerners I am headed to Halifax, "Is that in Virginia?"
A. When telling New Englanders I started in Key West, "So you hiked the International Appalachian Trail?" <no, Florida is actually part of the US>
A. When telling Southerners I am headed to Halifax, "Is that in Virginia?"
A. When telling New Englanders I started in Key West, "So you hiked the International Appalachian Trail?" <no, Florida is actually part of the US>
Q. Oddest moment?
A. While resting during a road walk, a passing motorist called 911 to report an old man passed out on the side of the road.
Q. Where did I camp?
A. While kayaking and on the Appalachian Trail I mostly tented, and on the other parts mostly slept in our RV. Overall about 60% camping and 40% RV, with less than 5% hotels, hostels or homes.
Q. Regrets?
A. I made the hot stretch harder than it had to be by waiting weeks to get medical help when I was exhausted and achy, which turned out to be Lyme Disease.
A. A thru hike trip this long dictates a pace too quick to fully see places or meet people.
Q. Miles per day?
A. Typical was 20 miles per day, less in areas of rough trail or heat. Zero days varied from zillions during kayaking to no days off during the final ten week push.
Q. Water treatment?
A. I drink the magnificent cold, clear water from springs or small streams without treating. I treat other water with Aqua Mira. When kayaking we carried water from towns.
Q. Hike alone?
A. I hike solo on the long trails, but there are hundreds of other hikers so you can either stay in a crowd or walk in between them for relative isolation. I tended to walk in isolation.
A. We always paddle in groups of 2-4 for safety.
Q. Equipment? Pack weight?
A. Less is more and simple is best. Base skin-out weight is about 15 pounds: ULA pack, TarpTent, homemade stove and cook kit, Summerlite sleeping bag, clothes depending on season, emergency poncho and plastic garbage bag rain skirt, little homemade emergency kit.
Q. Food?
A. Breakfast: homemade granola, whole milk
Morning snack: homemade peanut butter cookies, electrolyte drink
Lunch: crackers and cheese
Afternoon snack: GORP nuts and raisins
Dinner: one pot boil meal.
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