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A Walk in the Woods (ECT Day 169)
- Hiked Today: 18.5 miles
- Appalachian Trail (1,434.5 – 1,453)
- Total Hiked: 3,385.4 miles
- Total Paddled: 99.5 miles
Weather: overcast, 65-89°F, sunny, clear, humid, hot
Elevation: 358 – 1,329 feet
RPH Shelter to Woods North of “Pastures”
Before getting on the Appalachian Trail, I just thought Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods was a clever title. Now having hiked about 2/3 of it, I feel it’s more; I feel it captures the essence of the trail quite well and gets at how it differs from the other long ones I’ve hiked. Maybe I’ve already talked about this, I’m not sure. To me, the A.T. feels much more of a forest walk than a mountain walk, whereas the PCT and CDT are the latter. Obviously, all have both, but I’m going general feel for this assessment.
Maybe I’ll change my mind further north, but today fit the walk in the woods persona. It was nice shaded forest all day until the end when things opened up to some sun-exposed fields. It made me very thankful for the shade of the green tunnel!
I must have been eager to get hiking again because I awoke before my 5:30 am alarm. My packing routine came back to me quickly and I was the first to leave the shelter at 6:00 am. In fact, I didn’t see anyone else stirring even. It wasn’t too hot that early in the morning, so I hoped to take advantage and cover a bit of ground. The AT welcomed me back with, shocker, uphill. I kept it slow and steady.
Within the first hour I found two ticks on my legs before I sprayed on some bug spray. By the end of the day, I’d locate seven total on my body and spot three others… one on a small blade of grass, one on the outside of my tent, and one on the inside of my tent!). I thought maybe the herd of hikers that had passed me by during my hiatus might have packed down the overgrown grassy trail that these buggers like so much, but those hopes were folly.
Overall, the trail was actually pretty nice today. Mostly, it was nice dirt and rock trail and only occasionally things got brushy. There were lots of streams spread throughout to keep me hydrated on the hot muggy day too. I passed by Nuclear Lake. And, I found a couple of overlooks throughout the day. Another unique find were two giant trees each with super wide bases. Very cool.
I grew up calling these black raspberries. They were everywhere in our little patch of woods, intermixed with poison ivy of course. I didn’t eat any despite being pretty sure that’s what they were. Y’all will have to confirm they’re edible before I partake.
Giant tree #1
More Hudson Valley rock walls today!
The trail got mighty close to some houses today.
“It’s about the cones” – Ben (Parks & Recreation)
Although I gladly accepted and am very thankful for the Coca-Cola classic, I’m still uneasy about the cooler trail magic method. Makes me think bears could get right up in there if they wanted.
I think the above stream must have been an outlet of Nuclear Lake and that’s how the little fishes got stranded there. The trail wound it’s way up to the lake soon afterwards…
And here’s the rest of the day…
Giant Tree #2
Unless it’s a UFO, I think the dark spot in the middle of the photo is a mosquito or a fly, both have been quite prevalent.
I’m quite confident this is a tick, but it looks interesting. I think the lower legs are clinging to the grass and the front are out wide to grasp on to hiker legs?
Home for the night.
Started Audiobook:
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” by J.R.R. Tolkien and narrated by Andy Serkis
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Comments 8
Glad to hear you were able to sort out your health and get some well deserved R&R as well! Looking forward to following the rest of your journey.
Stevie!!! You are the Wonder-Man! I was particularly alarmed when you reported a
6.6 Hgb. Glad you got tanked up and are feeling well. I’ve been following you since Key West and am looking forward to your journey, whatever it looks like! I don’t typically follow AT hikers. I grew up in S Jersey so I’m very familiar with those kind of woods. Humid and buggy. I’ll stick with ya, love from mountainous Colorado ♥️
O happily surprised to see you’re back!! I’ll be watching for you now & have a great time continuing on the AT!
Hey. Yes that’s most definitely a tick, a female dog tick to be exact. And you are right, that tick is in “questing” mode, holding on with bottom legs and reaching out with top legs to grab on to a passing host as they brush by. Good spot. I use my poles to push as much brush out of the way as possible so I don’t have to make contact with it, but some areas are just impossible like the pic you showed like that overgrown boardwalk. Stay safe!
Nice post. I also call them black raspberries and I eat them. Just my non-expert 2 cents
Definitely black raspberries. Best ones are always surrounded by poison ivy! The cause of more than a few calamine baths in my youth. Some of us kids never learn!
I would have guessed those are blackberries, but the real test is to pluck one. If the berry is hollow when it slides off the stem, it’s a black raspberry. If it’s solid, it’s a blackberry.
Black Raspberries – Edible and very delicious. They are just ripening here in Michigan and I have all the bushes noted along my dog walking path!