DOWNLOADING INFORMATION

David Goggins said that through pushing his body to physical feats, he is “downloading information.” At first I laughed at that quote. What is this guy talking about? It makes him sound like a robot.

Well, this quote provided me with some comic relief when the going got tough on this section, and I think I partially understand what he means.

The biggest mental challenge of my thru hike was returning to the trail after getting sick and feeling ready to quit. My biggest physical challenge was on this past section of trail. I hiked through extreme heat and humidity, on the brink of heat exhaustion. I frequently felt light-headed, losing mental clarity and absolutely needing some relief. I had never been so hot for days on end in my life.

That relief came in the form of water. Fresh, cold, mountain water. I ditched the decency of trying to keep my clothes dry and resorted to dumping liters of water all over myself every few hours. The feeling of cooling off instantly transformed me into a new man. It is honestly one of the best, purest feelings that I’ve had in my life. With my life stripped down to its bare necessities, surviving in the wilderness, I’m realizing that the simplest pleasures are some of life’s most powerful.

My version of “downloading information” has been elevating my comfort level and learning to survive in extreme heat.

6/19 Morgan Stewart Shelter to Ten Mile River Shelter (20 miles)

I didn’t sleep much last night. I was tracking John Kelly’s whereabouts every hour. I knew that I was camping right around where he’d end his day yesterday. There was no way that I was missing him, so in case he passed by in the middle of the night, I was going to make sure that I’d be there to see him. By 2 AM it was evident that he stopped at a parking lot a few miles south of me. So I slept for a few hours. The excitement of seeing him woke me up naturally by 5 AM. He starts his days pretty early. Again, I wanted to make sure that I was up early in case he passed by.

I came to a road crossing a few miles in and saw a group of people hanging out by several cars. I knew immediately that they were some of John’s crew members. I chatted with them for ten minutes. I’m grateful that they spent any time at all talking to me – I know that they had a much more important person approaching soon that they’d have to take care of. Anyways, I enjoyed meeting Jody and Brent, two of his crew members who are ultrarunners themselves. Jody showed me a picture of John’s feet from that morning. His feet had the worst blisters that I’ve seen in my life. Each step for John must be agony. Jody watched John pull one of his toenails off yesterday. His crew also showed me the master spreadsheet which John put together. He planned every part of his FKT attempt, including mileages, nutrition, sleep and support.

I was hiking near Nuclear Lake a few miles later, when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and saw John with his entourage of three pacers. I was so excited! I cheered him on and even got a video fist bumping him. He wished me a good hike, which was super nice of him. I wouldn’t have been offended if he didn’t say a word to me: unnecessary speaking is exerting energy, and he needs to conserve every bit that he has. I kept up with the back of his pack for close to a mile, because there was a climb after Nuclear Lake, and he power hikes the climbs. The climb flattened out briefly a few times, where he opened back up into a trot. I followed suit, 50 pound pack and all, just to see how long I could keep him within my sight. Overall, getting to meet John and witness history being made (hopefully) was one of the coolest moments of my hike. I wish John the best of luck and hope that he gets the FKT!

With all the excitement of the morning, I had gone 8.5 miles before stopping for my first snack. I’d never gone that long before. My legs were tired the rest of the day since I moved so quickly on the climb following John. In the afternoon, I entered Connecticut! It was almost 90 degrees today. There was a nice stream by the shelter that I cooled off in.

6/20 Ten Mile River Shelter to Cesar Brook Campsite (22 miles)

Excuse my language, but it’s a fully transparent portrayal of how I felt at the end of today.

Let the large words for today’s journal entry set the tone for my experience today. I rarely curse. My family and friends can all testify to that. I curse in my head plenty, and today, maybe more than ever before.

Today was one of my hardest days yet, both physically and mentally. It was slightly above average in terms of mileage, and I did do a lot of elevation change (5100 feet of climbing and 4700 feet of descending), but what made it hard was the fact that I resupplied in Kent, CT. That process took about an hour and forty five minutes. I still wanted to reach the Cesar Brook Campsite, though.

I entered the pain cave at around 5:30 PM, when I had roughly 4 miles left, with 4 substantial climbs, totaling 1500 feet of gain. I’m usually done hiking by 5:30. Every single step for that 4 miles was a mental battle. My mind was screaming at me to stop the entire time, which ended up being almost two hours. Every excuse to stop crossed my mind – stopping at an earlier campsite, or taking a dinner break and finishing in the dark. I didn’t listen to my mind. For those final two hours of hiking, I tapped into willpower reserves that I didn’t know that I possessed. The feeling felt more insurmountable than the “walls” that I’ve hit in my marathon and 50 mile ultramarathon. I’m proud of myself for completing the day. I definitely became stronger.

In terms of today’s terrain, it was very steep! Especially the climb out of Kent and the four climbs at the end of the day. The descent from Caleb’s Peak was very technical. It had a multitude of two-plus foot step downs, going from rock to rock; the surfaces of which were angled downhill. Prime slip and fall territory in wet conditions.

I enjoyed my time in Kent. I resupplied in a local grocery store. It had a deli and I got a great reuben sandwich for lunch.

Once I got settled at camp, it was like a switch flipped and I felt all better after going through a mental wringer for the past several hours. I dunked my legs in a stream, which I was looking forward to all day (it was another hot day). I also noticed fireflies for the first night of my hike so far!

Overall, today was a very productive day. I powered through a difficult situation. Thoughts of David Goggins and Navy SEALs were in the back of my mind when the going got tough, because my experience today would be a cakewalk for any of them. Today makes me confident that I am capable of overcoming challenges in my life after the trail. I’m forcing myself to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I doubt that any normal/daily life situation after the trail will be nearly as uncomfortable as I was today.

Today’s stats

6/21 Cesar Brook Campsite to Riga Shelter (23 miles)

Repeat that same four letter word from the start of yesterday’s entry.

I hit the same wall as yesterday. I did a lot of elevation change again (4800 feet of ascent, 4000 feet of descent).

At least today I hit the wall with only three more miles to hike. It was at the base of Lion’s Head. I always get through the climbs without a problem. It’s the sitting and staring at FarOut before the climbs that kills you. It triggers the voice that says “this climb is going to suck” and “this climb looks steep.”

I felt myself overheating during the climb. Heat exhaustion/heat stroke is definitely something I have to be careful to avoid. Doing the climb in cooler weather wouldn’t have been an issue. The heat and climbing combination is tough.

It reached a point that I was so hot that I stopped at a stream, filled up my Cnoc with 2 liters of water, and dumped it all over myself, clothes and all. I repeated that several times. That was the birth of my strategy for dealing with heat, which would be essential to my survival the next several days.

Today concluded a 5 day, 112 mile stretch. That is the most mileage that I’ve done in that time span. I’m planning on taking it easier in terms of mileage for the next few days.

I hit mile 1,500 today!

6/22 Riga Shelter to Route 7 into Great Barrington, MA (17 miles)

My last few miles in CT included Bear Mountain, which is the highest peak in the state. The trail enters Massachusetts near Sages Ravine, where there was a powerfully flowing, picturesque stream. Next up, I climbed over Mount Race and Mount Everett. The trail went right along cliffs on Mount Race, where I had a great view of Mount Greylock, the tallest peak in MA which I’ll be hiking in a few days. The view looking east into MA was beautiful. I saw the full form, from base to peak, of distant mountains. I got trail magic from a kind lady named Kate, who made me a bagel with cream cheese and delicious homemade brownies!

It was yet another hot day, and I continued to utilize my strategy of dumping cold water on myself at streams. I observed that my heart rate stays higher than usual in the heat. It doesn’t go down on flats and downhills like it does in cooler weather.

I initially was planning on going the cheaper route of camping and showering at the Great Barrington community center, and doing laundry at a laundromat. With how hard the past few days were, I decided to splurge on a motel room for the night. I’m glad that I did. It was refreshing to have my own room, a bed with clean sheets, and to be in an air conditioned environment. The cheaper option would’ve been a lot more hectic, and I felt like my time in town wouldn’t have been restful at all. I spent my evening finishing an entire pizza and watching baseball.

6/23 Great Barrington to Shaker Campsite, Heat Advisory Day 1 (17 miles)

I am laughing writing this, but I almost want to tell you to disregard my statements above about hitting the “wall” and reaching the absolute limit of my comfort zone. Because it gets even worse. If that wall was drywall then this wall is made of cinder blocks. Enter the heat. Not the heat that I dealt with for the past few days. Brutal, heat advisory level heat. Temperatures near 100 degrees and tons of humidity. People being told to stay inside. In the next few journal entries, I dig deeper than ever before to complete the miles each day.

The morning started out hot, but wasn’t terrible. I had something to look forward to – my friends Nate and Michael picked me up at a trailhead and we went to a diner for lunch. The hour of air conditioning was luxurious. Then they hiked for a little while with me. It was great to see them. Nate brought me the most delicious homemade beef jerky. It’s like I’m eating steak on the trail! Their positive energy was a huge boost for me. It helped me get out of Great Barrington. Part of me wanted to take a zero day since I was getting burnt out the previous few days, and knowing that today would be heat advisory day 1.

I spent the afternoon stream hopping. Luckily there were lots of streams, so I hiked two to three mile stretches, stopped at streams, and doused myself with water to cool off.

My strategy for dealing with heat deserves some additional recognition. It makes me feel like a brand new man! I’ve been spending so much of these hot days red lining, on the brink of heat exhaustion. Without a method of cooling off, I would pass out. I wouldn’t be able to hike.

The feeling of cold water flowing down my body, soaking my clothes, is literally one of the best feelings of my life. Mainly because of the transformation that I undergo. I go from being at my absolute limit, losing mental clarity as heat exhaustion sets in, to feeling completely rejuvenated and ready to hike. As much as being in the heat has sucked, this act of reviving myself is a laugh out loud moment every time. This shows me the power of water, and makes me appreciate the simple pleasures that I enjoy on the trail.

Hiked with my friends Nate and Michael today!

6/24 Shaker Campsite to October Mountain Shelter, Heat Advisory Day 2 (18 miles)

Same conditions as yesterday. Hot and humid as hell all day. Upper Goose Pond was a perfect midpoint and lunch spot. I skinny dipped in the pond! I lounged in the refreshing water, enjoying the scenery, for a while. Then I ate a nice cool lunch on the shore enjoying the breeze coming off the pond.

My main challenge for the afternoon was getting up and over Becket Mountain. The sun was pounding down on me the entire time. I was even willing to carry my full Cnoc up the last 0.6 miles of the climb, so that I’d have some water to pour on myself at the top. I knew that there weren’t any more streams until I reached the shelter.

I was kind of disappointed by the stream at the shelter. Cooling off at streams at the end of the day has been the best part of my week. This stream had tannins in it. I looked it up, and tannins are natural organic substances found in streams but they are not harmful to health. So although the water had a questionable yellow tint, I poured it all over myself anyway to cool off.

The mosquitos have been pretty intolerable in this weather. I spent most of the evening sitting in my tent so that the mesh kept them away.

Another adaptation that I’ve made in this heat is a new sleep strategy, called sleeping on the floor. Literally. My sleeping pad provides too much insulation so I’m too hot sleeping on it. Instead, I realized that laying directly on the floor of my tent gets me closer to the cool dirt on the ground. I’m more willing to sacrifice the physical comfort of my sleeping position than being insanely hot.

Swimming in Upper Goose Pond!

6/25 October Mountain Shelter to Father Tom Campsite (20 miles)

I stopped at the Northern Cookie Lady’s house in the morning for a few cookies and a refreshing, cold hibiscus tea. The trail went through Dalton, MA, where I stopped at a trail angel’s house named Tom Levardi to eat lunch on his porch in the shade. On my way out of town I passed a Cumberland Farms, where I ate two chipwiches. Cold streams and ice cream have consumed most of my thoughts recently. To get out of town, I first had to complete a mile road walk, on sidewalk, in the direct sun. Before the mile was over I was already overheating, and I still had a big climb coming up. It was not the way that I wanted to start that climb. By a stroke of good fortune, I passed a building with a water spigot right at the edge of town. That water spigot saved me. I took a pit stop and did my cold water dumping process several times before entering the woods. I probably looked like a maniac to the people driving through the neighborhood going about their everyday lives.

The trail goes through another town, called Cheshire, which is where tonight’s campsite is. The Hoosic River runs right next to the campsite. I swam in it as soon as I got to camp.

Today’s view of Mount Greylock. It’s amazing that I’ll reach a place that looks so far away tomorrow.

6/26 Father Tom Campsite to Sherman Brook Campsite (16 miles)

I absolutely FLEW up Mount Greylock this morning. I completed the 8 mile climb by 10:30 AM. The heat finally broke. It made a world of a difference. It was cool and cloudy all day. I took in the view at the summit, which I’ve enjoyed a few times before, and then hung out in the lodge at the summit with some other hikers before continuing my hike.

I passed a trailhead where I set out on my first solo backpacking trip two years ago: a two day, one night trip around Mount Greylock. I remembered the exhilaration and fear of the unknown (especially camping alone) that came along with a solo backpacking trip. I’ve come a long way since then.

In the afternoon I reached the main road between Williamstown and North Adams, MA. I got a ride from a local trail angel named Jimmy to the outfitter in Williamstown, and then to the Stop n Shop to complete my resupply. Jimmy is one of the kind members of the community there who helps to keep constant inventory at their trail magic coolers along the main road, including snacks, first aid supplies and toiletries. I saw Troy, NY on a street sign, which is where I went to college!

On top of Mount Greylock!