4-8-06 -- Karen returned to the trail today! She is starting at Kent, Connecticut where she left the trail last November. She is hiking with Bear Bag. She hopes to hike for about three weeks. Here’s the email she sent to her support group a few days ago:
Hi Folks!!!!
It is spring and my feet are itching for the trail! I will return to the trail Sunday, April 9, beginning at Kent, Conn. where I ended last November. God, weather, feet, etc. permitting I will hike to just south of Glencliff, New Hampshire where I had jumped up to last summer to hike the White Mountains with Nails. This will close the gap I had leapfrogged and put me almost to the Maine border. WOW! My hiking friend from my 2004 - 1000-mile section, Bear Bag Hanger, will join me for this hike. I am looking forward to having a companion on this section. My brother Wayne will have my web site up and running for this journey. Check it out and again thanks to Wayne!!! Love and joy to all of you all on your own journeys, Scarf
They actually got on the trail a day early on Saturday, April 8.
4-11-06 -- Karen left a message that Bear Bag is getting off the trail because of knee problems, but she is continuing on. She said it is nice weather during the day, but cold at night. She hopes to be at a phone on Thursday, 4/13, to call in and give us a more detailed report.
4-12-06 -- Karen called about 2:30 p.m. today from Tyringham, MA. She only left a short voice mail saying it was difficult to continue alone, but she was determined to do so. She hopes to stop tomorrow and get a room and shower.
4-14-06 -- Karen called about 7:15 a.m. this morning. She spent the last two nights at a hostel in Dalton, MA., called The Birdcage. The trail has been hard, many hills, not long but steep. The temperatures have been in the 50’s daytime and 20’s nightime. She walked for three days without seeing a single person. She said the effect of this solitude was to produce a surprisingly strong desire for human contact. She had to settle for a porcupine who made eye contact with her while trying to hide its 8 inch wide body behind a 4 inch diameter tree. Karen noted that few of us have probably ever gone for three solid days without even seeing another human being. She has passed many beautiful lakes (called ponds by the locals). At one point she had to take an unmarked detour for a considerable distance, using only a map, to go around a railroad wreck that was blocking the trail. It has only rained one night on her while on the trail. But she stayed the last two nights at the hostel in Dalton because of rain. The host of The Birdcage hostel has been very accommodating, taking Karen to the grocery and on other errands. She hopes to skip to another part of the trail tomorrow, then on Sunday come back and do the current section which includes the largest mountain peak in Massachusetts. That way, she hopes for a better view from the mountain top since the weather is suppose to be clear by then. After that, comes Vermont, often called Ver-mud by hikers. She’s hoping this year’s lower rainfall means it will not live up to its nickname.
4-15-06 -- Karen called in from North Adams, MA. She spent last night (Friday) and will spend tonight at a hostel there because of stormy weather. It would also be too muddy to hike. She plans to continue on Sunday morning. She just just passed Mt. Greylock, the tallest point in Massachusetts and said the view was spectacular. Tomorrow, on to Vermont!
4-19-06 -- Karen called today at 9:00 a.m. from a hostel in Manchester, Vermont. She has been making good progress - 21 miles Sunday, 17 miles Monday, and 20 miles Tuesday (yesterday). Last Saturday she was delayed by thunderstorms. That delay meant she had insufficient time to make the next shelter, so, the hostel host arranged rides so she could slack pack just the section over Greylock Mountain. She said the lightweight daypack made this section so much more enjoyable. But nights are still very cold. Snow and ice is still about a foot thick everywhere above about 3000 feet. She slipped on what she thought was marble but was really ice. Walking is difficult as her boots punch through crusty snow, hardened through the winter by many cycles of partial melting and refreezing. She said she has fallen dozens of times. On one occasion she cut her leg as her boot punched through the snow and scrapped a jagged rock. She reached Vermont on Sunday and finally met another person on the trail. “Stops for Berries” was from New York and was out for just a two day hike heading south. This is the only person Karen has seen on the trail since Bear Bag left. Tuesday she passed over Stratton Mountain. The nights are very cold. She finds it easier to walk long days, sunup to sundown. If she stops too early, her clothes are damp from sweating in the warmer daytime temperatures, then that moisture freezes her during the night. Because of the cold nights, constant snow above 3000 feet, and hiking alone, Karen decided yesterday to get off the trail here at Manchester where she spent last night at a hostel. However, she has since discovered that this small town has no bus station so she has no way to get home or even out of town to a bus station. So, she’s now considering continuing. She said if she didn’t call me later today (which she didn’t) that means she decided to continue. So, I presume she is back on the trail. It will be three days journey before the next road crossing and an opportunity to call again. She asked my opinion and I advised her not to continue hiking alone, but... well.... you know Karen. Pray for an early spring heat wave to hit the northeast this week.
4-20-06 -- Karen called tonight at 10:30 p.m. from a motel near Rutland, Vermont. As you can see, she chose to continue hiking (no surprise there). However, she said the snow is treacherous. On one occasion, she lost the trail on top of a mountain due to snow. She could not find the white blazes anywhere (diamond shaped trail markers). The ground was very slick, she fell, and slid about 40 feet down the mountain on her rear, soaking her clothes, and finally stopped only by a large spruce tree. After coming to an abrupt halt, she looked up, and there was a white blaze - on the very tree that stopped her rapid descent! (I guess each hiker has their own personal method of navigation.) That fall scared her badly and she now says she’s not hiking any more sections this week above 3000 feet which is where the snow starts. She said she should have known she was headed for trouble that day when she hitched a ride to the trail and the driver was also headed for the slopes - with his skies in the back! After her frightening fall, she got off the trail at Vermont highway 103. Her plan for tomorrow is to get a ride around Killington Peak (I wouldn’t climb a mountain with a name like that) and then continue hiking northward on the other side where there are lower elevations all under 3000 feet. Then, next week, she will get a ride back and hike over Killington which is 4235 feet. She’s been told that with the expected rain, the snow will probably be gone by then. She hasn’t seen the mud everyone warned her about in Vermont. The locals say it’s due to low snowfall this year. Temperatures have been 50’s day, 30’s night. She has been wishing for a moose sighting, but is disappointed that she has not yet seen a single moose. However, she has seen lots of moose tracks and moose poop (now there’s something you don’t see every day!) She hopes to get to Glencliff, New Hampshire on Tuesday. Then, return to cover Killington mountain and be done by next Thursday. That will catch her up with Nails, her best-buddy-hiking-partner who went ahead last year when “Scarf” had to get off the trail. Someday soon, they hope to finish the trail together through New Hampshire and Maine. Karen said she would try to call again on Sunday from Hanover. (Right after Hanover, I see the map shows “Moose” Mountain.... maybe she’ll get her wish.)
4-25-06 -- Karen called tonight around 10:00 p.m. She is at a hostel in Glencliff, New Hampshire. She has hiked the last four days in the rain, not pleasant hiking, but she did attain her goal of reaching Glencliff where her and Nails can continue together in the future. Mt. Cube was icy yesterday as she climbed the 2911 foot peak. She said it was new ice from all the rainfall. She plans to get a shuttle tomorrow back to the road crossing south of Killington Peak and then finish the section over Killington that she skipped last week due to hazardous snow and ice covering the trail. Hopefully, the snow will now be gone. Weather permitting, she plans to finish on Thursday and head home. She was very tired and had few details to share on this call. Maybe we can all read her memoirs some day.
5-3-06 -- Karen finally remembered that some of us might be WORRIED about her!! She called today about 11:20 a.m. to say she finished the Mt. Killington section last Thursday, 4/27, as planned. After getting a ride back from Glencliff, she hiked the 17.3 mile section in one day with a light pack. There was still snow present, but much less than it would have been a week earlier. She said it was difficult hiking because of all the downed evergreen trees. After reaching the summit, she was disappointed that there was no view. It was totally obstructed by evergreen trees. She traveled a total of 309.5 miles this spring trip. She reports that she did finally see a moose, even though it was a baby one. Not on Mt. Killington, but earlier on Bear Mountain. (I know... wrong mountain.) She said the bus ride home Friday and Saturday was exhausting. But she was happy to see all the “green” of spring after nearly three weeks of bleak rock, mud, snow, and ice. She slept all day Tuesday to finally catch up on her rest. She is excited about continuing the trail this summer with Nails. No more “solo hiking”, she says. By closing the gap to Glencliff, her and Nails can now resume where they finished together last year near Crawford Notch, NH. They hope to hike one week this summer during her vacation, then eventually finish Maine together. Maine is about a 4 week trip with one section over 100 miles with no opportunity to get off the trail. She said many consider Maine the most difficult and most beautiful part of the A.T. She will be sending pictures soon of her journey these past few weeks to be posted on this site. So, farewell... until the next leg of Scarf’s adventure....