Breaking the Rules...

OK, I admit that in the big picture I am new to this long distance hiking.  I have always been a day hiker:  climb up the mountain, take pictures, eat lunch, read a little, take more pictures (in the different light), then climb back down, go home and sleep in my nice comfortable bed.

So to prepare for this hike I did some research.  And, I found out that there are rules.  Now, I appreciate rules.  I'm a "rules" kind of guy.  In fact, many of the rules to hiking the AT are similar to my own personal rules.  

For example; "Leave No Trace."  This is a good rule.  They say, "Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures."  This is a good rule and I agree with it.  In other words-- don't litter.  Whatever crap you bring into the woods, be sure to bring that crap back out.  That includes your cigarette butts!  No offense to anyone who might be reading here, but smokers are the worst offenders.  Maybe I'll make that rant in a future post, but for now I'll step down off my soap box.  You get my point.  

Some other good rules:  Be Respectful.  Be Courteous.  Share.  We all want to have fun, but not at the expense of others.  Sometimes "fun" can be loud.  Generally 9 PM is considered quiet time.  Most hikers wake up with the sunrise.  

On the subject of sharing shelters...  They say most shelters sleep six (but whoever decided that was thinking about Dopey, Sneezy, Doc and the gang.)  But they really sleep three or four comfortably.  But the rule of thumb is:  on a rainy night, the shelter is not full until everyone is inside.

Enough about Rules for now-- I could do a whole post on Trail Ethics.  Generally speaking, the people walking the Trail are some of the friendliest, most down to earth folks you will ever meet.

The point that I want to make today is that sometimes you HAVE to break the rules-- and sometimes you CHOOSE to break the rules.  Let me start with having to break the rules.

The day I got dropped off for this section turned into an adventure of its own.  My mother, my niece, and my nephew were nice enough to make the road trip with me to a deep dark corner of Western CT near the NY border.

As a way to thank them, I offered to treat us all to dinner.  What was supposed to be a quick stop turned into a marathon thanks to the worst waitress of all time.  In the spirit of always trying to be positive and "looking at the bright side," I will spare you the details of that nightmare.  

The end result was that it was VERY dark outside by the time we finally escaped from the restaurant.  

You have to understand that in this little part of the universe, there are no street lights and the roads are not well signed.  The people who live there grew up there.  They already know the names of the streets-- so why clutter up the countryside with signs?  

Eventually we did come to a sign that said, "State Park on right."  There was a nice big parking lot (just like the guide book said there would be.)  So we pulled in.

It was a cloudy overcast night so there was no moon and we couldn't see past the circle of light generated by the car.  

We jokingly took pictures in the dark which almost came out thanks to the flash, but we could not see what was in the view finder until the flash went off.  Then we said our goodbyes (which is an event all its own.)  At family gatherings the goodbyes can take as long as the main event.  It was not too bad on this night as there were only four of us and I really wanted to get them back on the road home.  

So I unloaded my gear from the trunk-- including my trusty head lamp (which is awesome!)  I could see some of the fear leaving my Mom's eyes when she saw how powerful my headlamp was.

Finally they were on their way home and I made my way into the Park.  I was reassured when I came to the typical sign that you find in these kinds of parks with a map showing the different trails and landmarks.  But just for a minute... because that's when I realized my dilemma.  

The map sign clearly stated that I was in Kent State Park which is one of those dawn to dusk day hiking parks with no camping allowed.  To make matters worse, according to my map, the Appalachian Trail is on the other side of the river!  

This is a time for decision making.  Do I (1) use the cell phone to have them come back to get me, consider this a fun day with the family and try again tomorrow?  (2) Brave the unlit (no sidewalked) country roads in Western CT at this late hour?  Or (3) make a conscious decision to break the rules and camp out in a no camping park?

You guessed it... the big winner is option #3!  

I'm sure the family would have been happy to come back for me.  We all would have added just one more laugh to the many laughs we enjoyed on the ride out, but it was already late and I think they were tortured enough for one day by our waitress earlier-- so option #1 was not really acceptable to me.  Option #2:  Too dangerous.  I like adventure but not necessarily life risking adventure.  That's why I do indoor sky diving and don't jump out of perfectly good airplanes!  

That leaves option #3.  I followed the powerful beam of my headlamp into the woods, being careful to stop moving and turn the light off whenever I heard a car coming.  No need to attract any authority figures.  I went fairly deep into the woods , almost to  the top of the mountain.  I didn't go over the top as I was just going to have to climb back down in the morning to make my way to the AT.

Somewhere near the top I came across a nice flat, leaf covered clearing just off the side of the trail in the center of an outcropping of rocks to block the wind.  And to add to the experience, I could hear a babbling brook not far in the distance.  Perfect.  

This is the first time I ever set up camp in the dark, but the headlamp made the job easy.  I even found the perfect tree (not too close/not too far) to hang my bear bag.  

After making a few phone calls to find everyone safely home, I slept like a baby.  It was beautiful.  I considered removing the top cover of my Big Agnes tent to sleep with just the netting, but realized that with the cloudy sky I wouldn't be able to see any stars and there was the potential of rain-- so I left the cover on.  

As a side note:  I didn't stake my tent because I didn't want to leave holes in the ground so close to the trail.  "Leave No Trace."  Rule #1 (especially when you are bordering on the criminal.)  

In the morning I broke camp at first light so I could be gone by the time the rangers came through.  I fluffed up the leaves so no one would ever know I was there and carried my pack down a little way to a bench overlooking my babbling brook to consult my maps.  

To my absolute delight, I found out that my "babbling brook" was a raging waterfall.  It's the last picture I took before my batteries died.  You can see this photo in the previous post.

As I was consulting my maps the first two hikers of the day stopped at my waterfall.  As it turned out they weren't hikers at all.  They were Trail Angels.  You can read their story in an upcoming post on "Trail Angels."

My Kent State Park story is an example of having to break the rules.  Next is a story of choosing to break the rules.

Right now in CT there is a 3-mile Orange Blazed Detour on the AT at the road crossing over U.S. 7 near Conn. 112, just below Sharon Mountain.  This detour, according to the southbounders I passed and/or camped with, follows a country road that is nice enough (for city folks) but still a road.  Had there been a store to buy batteries or a restaurant to sit in (while my phone was charging...) I would have been happy to go the extra three miles.  There are neither.

But, again according to the southbounders, cars are driving across the bridge.  It's just closed to pedestrian traffic.  

If I walk three miles out of my way I could still make it to a campsite by nightfall.  But if I choose to ignore the Orange Blazed  Detour, I could make it to the next shelter!  

At the road crossing where the detour is, I met John who owns the garage at the intersection  and Phil (the auto detail guy).  You can read their stories in the "Trail Angel" post when I get to that.  For now let's just say they gave me the information I needed to get across the bridge to ignore the detour.

Happily, I am uploading this post from home and not from the Danbury Prison.  Obviously I made it across and continued to follow the original White Blazes without incident.  Some of the other hikers were saying that they thought hitchhiking was illegal in CT but that if you stand at the side of the road and look pathetic enough, sometimes people will offer you a ride (which is very different from hitchhiking.)  

But I just chose to walk right across.  If you are going to break the rules-- do it like you mean it.  There is an old Buddhist saying:  "Whenever you sit, sit.  Whenever you stand, stand.  Whatever you do-- don't wobble."  In other words, if you make a mistake (or in this case- break a rule) do it with the full force of your whole being.  Or as I like to say, "Live life on purpose!"  In dance we have a similar term:  "Own the movement."  Meaning don't be hesitant in your dancing.  Move with conviction, in a way that says, "I meant to do that."  

So there you have the difference between HAVING to break the rules, and CHOOSING to break the rules.  Hopefully you won't think too badly of me for being a radical rule breaker.  Especially since I would break both of these rules again in similar circumstances. 

Having mentioned so many "Trail Angels" I think that should be the focus of my next post.  

I have also decided that I will continue to do 3-5 day sections.  This seems to be comfortable for the legs.  And being in New England it is fairly easy to access many sections of the Trail.

Hope you are enjoying my adventure as much as I am. 

Peace and Love,

-----Nick

 

Pics from Day Hikes...

These are some shots from my Day Hikes to Mt. Battie in Maine and to Mt Monadnock in NH:

This is the view of the early morning fog rolling in off the water from a small outlook on Mt Battie 

Later in the day from the same spot is a beautiful view of Camden, Rockland and Hope Maine.

By walking out to the end of this breaker...

You will find... this lighthouse!

It is worth the walk.  I won't bore you with the pics I took of the birds, boats and people at the nearby park....  Just go there if you are around and see it for your self.  If you are in the market to buy a house in this area of Maine, I can hook you up with two really great opportunities!

Here is the view from my lunch spot at the summit of Mt. Monadnock.

And the answer to the question... how much does a kite cost these days?  Free, if you are creative enough to turn someone's trash into a treasure.

And you can read the story behind this little gem in tomorrow's post on "Breaking the Rules..." 

Enjoy... 

Peace and Love,

------Nick

What is a White Blaze...

A White Blaze is a two inch wide by six inch high rectangular swatch of white paint.  Usually these white blazes are found on trees, but you may find them on rocks or telephone poles or anywhere, so keep your eyes open.

"On telephone poles?" you ask.  Yes, it's true, the AT crosses over some back roads as well as some busy roads (including the Mass Turnpike.)  Occasionally, there are times when you need to walk along the road for a while before heading back into the woods.  But don't be lulled by cars and civilization because your only warning to get back on the Trail is a 2" x 6" white blaze on a random tree (that may or may not have a worn path nearby.)  

It's these white blazes alone, that keep you trekking in the right direction.  In tricky spots with an awkward turn, you will find two blazes on the same tree (rock, etc.)  One blaze is slightly higher (starting about mid-blaze.)  If the higher blaze is on the right, the Trail makes a random right turn.  Of course, if the left blaze is higher the opposite is true.  

In places where the Trail is less obvious, white blazes will be found closer together.  Sometimes you can see the next blaze from the one you are standing next to.  

At other times, when the Trail is more obvious (at least according to the ATC Trail Runners who paint the blazes) they are more spread out.  Sometimes as much as a quarter mile.

This can be frustrating because it is easy to imagine missing a blaze.  It's not like you can stop and ask for directions.  Some days I only saw two or three people all day.  And sometimes they are going the opposite direction.

In these sparsely blazed sections, a white blaze is a beacon calling to you.  It easily adds a spring to your step.  It also squashes that thought of having to retrace your steps up or down a mountain, just to re-climb from a different angle.  

While planning my hike I thought it would be fun (or at least interesting) to create some sort of ritual of touching each blaze as I walked by (or at least counting them.)  

Touching each blaze is not practical.  In fact it's probably impossible.  Most are at eye level, but some are very high up in the trees to be more visible.  Some, as I said are on the rocks, which from the bottom of a hill appear to be at eye level, but once you climb to the top, you find that the rock is of course, low to the ground.  Trust me, no one wants to bend down to the ground with a 40 pound pack on their back-- no matter how cool a ritual it might be!

So I took to counting my blazes.  I got to fifty blazes before I decided it was stupid.  I have better things to think about than how many blazes there are from GA to ME.  

The lesson here is to plan carefully, but be flexible.  Now I am just grateful that they are there.  The blazes are a tool or a guide.  Not unlike our habits in real life.  We build good habits (or bad habits) and these habits guide us in our decision making.  We don't think about them much, but they have a huge impact in our lives... This is the White Blaze.

Intersecting with the 2,178.3 miles of white blazed Appalachian Trail is a whole network of Blue Blazed Trails.  These trails are mostly maintained by the local Forest and Park Services or by Volunteer Groups.

Mostly, a blue blaze will lead you off the Trail toward a shelter, campground or water source.

Occasionally, a blue blazed trail is a trail unto itself, looping around to connect back to the starting point (often a parking lot) and is situated not far out of a town.

A good example of this is the 24 mile Mohawk Trail in CT.  Some of the Mohawk Trail used to be white blazed until the Trail was relocated in 1988.  

Now it is a spider web of connecting trails that are great for day hikers of various ability and looking for different levels of challenge.  

Thru hikers will follow the blue blazed trails to get into a town to resupply, to treat themselves to a night in a motel (with indoor plumbing and a shower) or even to find a restaurant or bar for "town" food or social interaction.  

And then there is the little known Orange Blaze.  This is the DETOUR BLAZE.  I'll write more about this in the next post:  "Breaking the Rules..." where I'll discuss the art of illegal camping and ignoring the Orange Blazes.  

Why are you still sitting at your computer?  GO OUTSIDE NOW!

Peace and Love,

-------Nick

I have the power...

Sorry to be out of touch for so long.  Modern technology is great, but without power, it's just extra (useless) weight in your pack!  My cell phone battery died the day after I got dropped in the woods!  And to make matters worse--my camera batteries died, too.  I do pack spare AA batteries but somewhere in the packing process, one of the batteries must have fallen out.  One battery isn't enough.  

Anyway, this has been a great section.  I'll take the next couple of days to fill in some of the details for those who are interested.  

I was hoping to be out on the Trail for another week but I am taking my own advice.  Many of you have heard me say this over and over again:  Listen to your body!

And my legs are saying, "That is far enough...."

The good news is; I didn't pull anything this time out.  I did occasionally feel some cramping coming on, but after stopping, resting (and massaging!) I could continue on.

I have found that I actually enjoy hiking in the rain.  There is something mesmerizing about it, but the slipping/sliding is not good for the leg.  So it was careful baby steps and a very short walk on that rainy day.

The next day was a little slippery to start but improved as the sun came up and dried things out.

Realistically, I could have done another day (or maybe two) but not much more... When the opportunity for a ride came up-- I took it.

Speaking of opportunities, I have been presented with a business opportunity which I will post as soon as the details are worked out and it's a "done deal."

So, check back over the next few days to read about some Trail Flavor.  We'll probably start with the basics.  Topics like:  "Following the White Blaze," "Trail Angels" and "Tools of the Trade."  

I will be spending the rest of the day unpacking, doing laundry and taking about ten showers.

Peace and Love,

------Nick

It's pretty official...

For the past couple weeks I have been doing little "day hikes" almost daily.  Some have been shorter than others, but today I made it official by heading back up to Mt. Monadnock.  The campsite is still closed (as I said in the last post) but I got up there early enough to make it home for the night.  

Monadnock is no Mt. Washington (in the White Mountains) or Katahdin (in Maine) but it is a pretty good challenge and I'm thinking if the leg can handle this, then I can handle some of the flatter sections of the AT.  

Also, I got to hike with the gear.  I went from mini waist pack to "day backpack," to hiking with the big pack with about 30 pounds of gear.  So far, so good.  Today I went back to the mini waist pack to hike Monadnock.  And I'm glad I did.  It was very slippery from the rain yesterday and I got to see first hand why the campground is closed.  The trees were down everywhere.  It looked like a tornado went through.  It was a bit of an obstacle course.  But I managed, just fine.

So, here's the new plan...  

I will be staying in town this week Monday through Friday.  Then I will be going to CT on Sunday (I figure I might as well hang out with Mom for Mother's Day since I'm here.)  Then early next week-- I start logging some miles on the Appalachian Trail.  

That means that this week (Monday through Friday) I will be available to do massage.  So feel free to spread the word.  But schedule your own appointment first as times will fill in quickly! 

To schedule an appointment, please call me at (617) 543-0482 or send an e-mail to nickrepoli@gmail.com .  Please do not try to schedule your appointment on this website by making a comment.   

So finally, about six weeks later than planned, I will be out on the Appalachian Trail for the first real section.  Then it will be official.

Peace and Love,

------Nick

Bear Alert!

This post is an update to let you know how the progress is coming along.

I've been really pushing the leg a little more than I would push other people.  But I feel like it is paying off.  For the past few days I have been in Maine visiting a friend and taking some "day hikes."  Mt. Battie is a small (approximately 1000 foot) mountain along the coast of Maine.  I thought that would be a good trial run.  

What made this hike more eventful than the other day hikes I've been taking closer to home... is that this is the first time I put the pack back on.  So I made it up and back down without incident and the leg still feels pretty good.  I was hoping to do two days in a row but that did not happen.  

My plan was to go to my old stomping grounds to hike Mt Monadnock (which would be more of a challenge at 3000 feet.)  Unfortunately, the campground was closed due to the ice storms that hit NH this past December.  So I am off to find another spot.  I'll do two days in a row... with the pack.  Then I will be ready to hit the Trail for real.

As a side note, I have been following along on the Trail websites and found this update at www.appalachiantrail.org :

Neals Gap to Tesnatee Gap --  Due to recent bear activity, the U.S. Forest Service has closed this 5.5 mile section to camping.  Camping ban will remain in effect until the end of April.  (Posted on 4/08/09.)

This stretch is in the Georgia section of the Trail... so I could potentially have been hiking through at the time of the ban.  

Also at that same website is a pretty good interactive map of the Appalachian Trail.  It may be powered by Google Maps.  It has similar satellite and hybrid capabilities.  

When I finish the next two hikes, I'll post some photos.  On the upside, I have been spending a lot more time outside than I have in the past.  It really feels good to be a part of "nature."  I think everybody should spend more time outside.

OK, I'm headed back "into the woods..."  (a little pun for all my theater buddies!)

Peace and Love,

------Nick

New York City...

Here are some photos of my NYC trip...

Starting with a few landmarks-- First St. Patrick's Cathedral (which is under construction right now) viewed through the sculpture of Atlas.  

Next-- How do you get to Radio City Music Hall?  Practice, practice, practice....

And the Prometheus statue at Rockefeller Center, sculpted by Paul Manship (a local Rockport, MA artist.)  Of course, the huge Christmas tree is gone but they still have ice skating until today (April 19th.)  Just a little Nick Repoli history...  Somewhere there are pictures of me (as a teenager) performing under the Prometheus sculpture while on tour with the American Children's Theater.  That was a long time ago.

Another fun stop was the Apple Store!  For any Mac fans, it's a must see.  This place is huge.  Most Apple Stores have three or four seats in front of the "Genius Bar" but this location has a whole wall of Geniuses!  It's a crazy place.

The photo of the boardwalk was a side trip to New Jersey.   I went to the Garden State Film Festival with my friend Paula who does some work in the film industry.  One of the films that she worked on was being Premiered while I was there.  I was very impressed.  And I sort of felt bad about all the times I said mean things about NJ.  This one little spot on the shore was actually quite nice.  

I heard a rumor that the horse and buggies may soon be a thing of the past, so I tried to get a bunch of shots of the different styles.  The first shot is a photo of a passenger taking a picture of me taking their picture.  Lots of folks wave as they ride by.  

And, as you can see in the second shot, talking on the cell phone is not limited to drivers of cars.  

There are some great spots to kick back and enjoy nature in Central Park.  The trick to enjoying them is to not look up!   It's an interesting contrast to have all this "nature" and then look up to see the skyscrapers.  

There are not only great sculptures and art in the Park, but some very interesting arches and architecture spread throughout...

You can't really see it from the picture but the sculpture on the right is actually a water fountain that has no water in it.  It seems funny because there was no water in the "Reflecting Pool" between the Lincoln Monument and the Washington Monument in D.C.

One of my favorite things about the City is the variety of street performers.  

The Statue of Liberty was taking too long to do anything so I didn't wait to see if he did anything more than just stand there.  But... All of the street musicians were awesome.  

The first musician played what appeared to be a home made multi-level xylophone.  

The next guy with the flute also played an ancient one string instrument (that you see on his lap.)  He played both equally well.  So well, that I bought two of his CD's (for $10!!)  I will use them as massage music.  

And the sax player was the best of all.  If he had any CD's, I definitely would have bought one.  Of course, he had the benefit of the acoustics of the archway.  He really knows how to pick a spot.  I think he picked this spot for his own enjoyment.  The sound was great but the traffic was not.  He was not making a lot of money on this day... but he was really enjoying himself.  

There are plenty of other pics but don't want to take up too much space here.  One of these days I'm going to learn how to do the Picasa thing or maybe Snapfish so I can link to more pictures.  

The update on the leg is that in general it's pretty good, but I have to admit that after a few days of walking the City streets... I was feeling like I was pushing a little too hard.  So I am thinking about another side trip.  I am checking airline prices for a flight to sunny Florida.  Maybe the warm weather will help with the stretching...  I know it will help with my mental well being.  

I will continue to keep you up to date on where I am and how the leg is recovering.  Thanks for all of your concern and support.

Peace and Love,

-----Nick