I'm John Rambo, Jambo, TBird, or Tee, and for the past 4 years, I have been having a contemptuous affair - with backpacking. In 2011, I was accosted by the fat face of failure while attempting an Appalachian Trail thru-hike. Cold and alone, I returned to my home state of Massachusetts, finished my degree in History at Hampshire College, and brooded about what could have been. In April 2014, I reemerged, this time on the Pacific Crest Trail. Defiantly, I completed a continuous footpath on the west coast counterpart of the AT. Yet here I am again, on the east coast. And I say: HEY! Appalachian Trail! I'm callin' you out! 2015 will be the year my feet crumble the Trail that once crushed me. I invite you to follow along as I put this east coast rivalry, the AT vs. Tee, to bed.
Posts
Climb the Mountain, See the Valley: Reflections of My Life on the Appalachian Trail
Surrounded by empty coffee cups that have compounded around my laptop at this big name coffee chain, the evil opposite of the Appalachian Trail, I
One Who Wanders
Most of us on the Appalachian Trail want to believe we're not transients, vagabonds and drifters. We're on a mission. We have a goal. We're
1500 Mile Marker Struggle: The Rant of a Masshole
Last week we left New Jersey for good, then overcame the challenge of the rocky roller coaster called New York, forged ahead through Connecticut, and
Almost Out of Pennsylvania! (Pennsyl-ROCKS-YA)
Unofficially HalfwayWe hiked into Harper's Ferry, West Virginia on July 2nd. Harper's Ferry is the unofficial halfway point -
Mail Magic? Trail Magic in Virginia
July 1st, 2015After a long day of chores – resupply, laundry, hittin’ up the Dollar General, feasting on rainbow trout and eggs at Uncle
Glasgow to Waynesboro – Completely FLAT!
View from Spy RockGlasgow and Waynesboro are two very hiker friendly towns - and therefore, hard to escape. Free camping, friendly locals, hiker
Daleville and 1500 Miles of Brand New Trail
Here I am at the HoJo in Daleville, typing at the very same computer I used to buy my bus ticket home in 2011. I have a lot of feelings about this.
Hiker Care Package (live from Erwin, TN)
Erwin, Tennessee is a small town in all aspects of the term, except for one: it's kinda big if you have to walk it. Therefore, Uncle Johnny's Hostel,
Baltimore Jack: A Sighting
Baltimore Jack image courtesy of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (Folks, by this point I think we all know it's true: the hiker community is
Hiking by Numbers (live from Hot Springs, NC!)
"What time is it?" Perhaps the most inane question on the Trail. "Judging by the position of the sun," I begin, wetting my grubby pointer finger