10/20/08: One-hundred-sixty-nine miles to go. The weather is changing rapidly. Crampons is in my immediate future. Most mornings are in the high teens or low 20s. I’m hiking on fumes, and my body is rebelling but onward I push.

10/07/08: “Five to one Baby one to five, no one gets out alive.” Jim Morrison must have written those lyrics after hiking the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

While beautiful at times – when there was no rain – the Whites are rugged. My knees, or at least what’s left of them, were brutalized. And now the hard part starts.

I am 14 miles from the Maine border and 21 miles from the infamous Mahoosuc Notch. The Notch is one mile of house-sized boulders that you have to crawl up, down, and under, and it looks like I’ll be doing it in the rain. Oh joy.

Since my last update, I have continued to meet some incredible people, like George at a shelter in Vermont who makes sure people act right at a shelter near his home.

Chuck and Orla Loper who loaded me up with Cliff bars, soda and water.

Shizuko, who is perhaps the most incredible hiker so far. She hikes all over the world and carries a pack that is only 2 pounds lighter than mine. After meeting her, I felt compelled to finish my hike in a dress! She called me “baby-faced grandpa.” I gave her the trail name “Jiffy Pop” after seeing her sleep under a foil thermal blanket.

And then there was the “Connecticut Four,” a group of women I met in the Whites. Jean, Jennifer, Sherrie, and let’s not forget Dominatrix Debbie who barked orders at me to “hurry up” when I began hiking one morning. Thanks again for the ride ladies.

Healthwise, considering what I am doing, things are good. Biggest issue continues to be the knees.

I am definitely at the tail end of the north bounders. The south bounders are dwindling as well. I am beginning to see the light at the end of the trail, but the hardest miles lay ahead. Keep the well wishes coming, they do matter.

Hiking on!
- Hell on Bad Wheels

Deluxe hiker accomodations

Four peaks

How considerate of the trail maintainers

I thought podunk was mythical

Sadly, it’s not a bar or a band.

A scenic view