Living under a rock

So apparently I have been living under a rock for the past few months...or under a forest. I thought the Bruins had lost the Stanley Cup but apparently they won! Woohoo!!!

I was at Rite Aid today and there was a sale on 2 Liter bottles of soda. You could buy 3 for $1.33 or you could buy 1 for $1.69. Somebody tell me what is wrong with that deal?

Goddard Park



Goddard Park at Sunset

My brother and I went for a little bike ride last night and we ended up at Goddard Park. We headed over to the beach area and it was pretty as the sun was setting. There were a lot of people there though and 2 girls came over to us, they were maybe 12, and wanted to get their pictures taken on our bikes. Whaaaaaaaat? I said, well you can take a picture next to it. So they had their friend (or brother) take their picture while they stood next to my bike. Totally random and totally weird.

Well we got a busy week lined up. Hopefully camping and hiking up at Monandock Monday night into Tuesday, visiting my Grandpa on Wednesday, then a backpacking trip up in NH for the 3 day weekend (at least in Rhode Island it is a three day weekend!).

8 Mile Road

You can just about see the Boston Skyscrapers in the distance

Our first hike back from the trail was a success! We hiked 8.0 miles of rocky terrain along the blue blazed Skyline trail with a slight detour along a yellow trail to see one of the two CCC towers and eat lunch at a picnic table. Unfortunately the tower was closed off (and full of graffiti). I had forgotten how rocky the trail really was and we had to use our hands to climb up in several spots. The longest climbs are only a few hundred feet but they are steep so I felt like we got a good work out. We were lucky weather wise as it was overcast and without the clouds the sun would have depleted our energy quickly. As it were though, we still sweat up a storm. 

It only took us 4.5 hours to complete the 8 miles and we would have done more had I not realized that Boston plus rush hour equals not a fun situation, especially with a manual transmission. The most fun would be on a bike, in traffic, with a passenger, which I have experienced many times. Balance is key Daniel-san. Anyways, our original goal was to hit the eastern end of the Skyline trail but we turned back with a mile to go. We usually park in the middle (where the bathroom is, which is very important when hiking with a woman) and travel in either direction, looping around and such, but we have not hiked the whole of the skyline trail which runs the length of the park. It gets boring to hike the same trail over and over again so we are trying to mix it up and even when we have seen all of that trail there are a lot of other trails to tackle.

On the way home we stopped to get soda and candy (skipped the ice cream this time) and I realized that most of my money has been spent on soda and candy. That was how it was on the trail, why should it be any different when I get home? Another thing about being home is showering. Sometimes I have to force myself to take a shower, especially if I have not done any physical activity that day. On the trail you only get a shower once a week or so and you get in the mindset that if I have not hiked, I am not dirty and thus do not need a shower. I guess it is all part of getting back to civilization!

Going Hiking!!!!

I am very excited today because we are going hiking!!! And we are going backpacking next weekend in NH!!! The extra exclamation marks are because I am very excited. We have not hiked in almost 2 weeks and I must say I am anxious to get back out there. Today we are going up to Blue Hills, just outside Boston, and will be doing 7 or 8 miles with full packs except sleeping pads (don't want people to think we are camping out you know!). The Blue Hills Reservation is close by, has an observation tower and other hills with good views of Boston, and the terrain has a lot of short up and down. None of the climbs are long, but we find it to be excellent training ground. Well, we tried to train there for our AT trip but most days the trail was covered in snow and ice, since it was March. Nonetheless, it should be fun seeing all the vegetation, and going hiking again. Then next Friday we will get to hit the real mountains up North.

Yesterday we went to the beach for a few hours. It was nice to relax but even on a weekday the beach is very crowded. I didn't see anybody staring at my caveman beard, but I am thinking that is because they were awed by Joyful in her black bikini, rocking the hiker body. Yeah, my hiker body doesn't really impress anybody...

Black Hawk Down (well...up actually)

After a rainy end to my bike ride yesterday, I was blessed with great weather for my ride today with Joy and my brother (and another friend met us there). We rode down to Fort Wetherill in Jamestown, a lovely state park with many cliffs and the remains of an old Fort, with some of the ruins going back to the Revolutionary War. Sadly, most of the Fort has graffiti on it so I did not take many pictures.

There was a cruise ship docked in Newport and it dwarfed everything around it. We got to see it coming out past the state park and like I said, it dwarfed everything. There was a Blackhawk circling the ship, not sure what was going on, but we were thinking (and hoping) it would land on the ship. That would have been cool. But it was not to be and we soon saddled up to start the ride home, luckily avoiding most of the notorious RI beach traffic. I am really really really hoping to do some sort of hiking tomorrow. Really hoping. So hopefully I can get off my butt tomorrow and get the legs going!

Kyle in the bunker

Black Hawk Up!

Killer Bees

The past three months most of my days have been spent like this:


wake up
eat
break camp
hike
eat
hike
setup camp
eat
sleep


Most of our time was spent hiking and free time was practically non-existent. These past few days I have had an overabundance of time and I thought I was going to get bored pretty quickly. But it turns out taking naps and doing nothing takes up a lot of time! Well it has not been nothing, I have been amusing myself with many a things from video games, reading, watching movies, eating, playing on the computer, etc., but I guess I have not been really active. I would like to do some light hiking up at Blue Hills and perhaps camp up at Monadnock so I don't lose this awesome physique I have. Ha, awesome physique, like being overly skinny with long hair and a gnarly beard is what people want. I just want to keep my stamina and trail legs. I can't let 3 months of exercise go to waste!


Anyways....


I got to take the bike out for a ride yesterday with Joy. The first real ride with insurance and full gear on. I was to drop Joy off at her friend's house in Lincoln, then pick her up later. But of course I could not really remember a good way to get there so I ended up going through Providence...where there was plenty of traffic. Nothing like going on your first real ride and being in stop and go traffic with a passenger. Then on my way home I start seeing dark clouds everywhere. Then the rain starts. Then I see lightning and even hear thunder. Yes, I get a little wet, but it doesn't pour and I don't get zapped so I figure its all good. Riding is like hiking I think to myself. It could be beautiful at the beginning of your hike/ride but the weather could change in an instant. And you can either stop and wait it out, or just keep moving, because you are going to get wet anyways. Although I suppose on a bike you can always park under an overpass or run inside a business. When we were hiking we had trees, but when it started to pour or hail, they didn't protect you for long. If we were lucky, which was almost never, there would be a shelter in sight. But that is the way of the true traveler and you have to learn to enjoy the road (or trail) under all circumstances.



So the bike was out for the return trip. I pick up Joy and head to the gas station before jumping on highway. I swipe my card, open up my gas tank, and see a wasps nest. Yes, yes, for some reason these insects love making their nests in dormant cars. And although my car has been driven a few times, it obviously sat long enough. I immediately flash back to my latest wasp encounter, a week and a half ago, and do not want to get stung again. But my car needs gas so I arm myself with an ice scraper and start the dirty deed. My ice scrapper is the really short one so I lunge at the nest and jump away so as not to get stung. The people at the gas station must think I am an idiot. After a few lunges the nest is still in there, but a wasp emerges. He appears to be in a stupor and is not protecting his nest very well. I stab him with the scraper and he goes down hard. This may be easier than I thought. Another emerges and he joins his comrade on the ground. I finally get the nest out and do some reconnaissance. I don't want any surprises while pumping gas. Sure enough, there is one left, but he soon meets the same fate as his friends. Phew! I pump my gas, happy that they didn't put up much of a fight, and hope that Joy's car doesn't have the same issue... 

Android App for the win?

I just installed the Blogger Android App from the Market and this looks like a winner. It is made by Google and has a very simple, lightweight interface that let's you post, edit, set a location (mine says the dentist which is 4 houses down), add links, pictures, take a picture, etc. Sweeeeeet!

Testing from the DROID2

This is a test post from my Droid 2 (R2D2 limited edition!) to see if it works. So far so good and I will even try a picture for good measure. Did you know that on my AT hike I wrote an entry every night, usually from my tent, on my Droid? The droid rules! Ok, so it looks like the picture part doesn't work. Hmmmm, I think you can email it in so I will work on that.

Back to Civilization!

I just got back to RI from Joyful and I's 3 month hike of the Appalachian Trail. We backpacked over 1000 miles from Georgia to Harpers Ferry, WV. All the details can be found at postholer.com/desertwurm. But since that part of our life is done (for now) I will be posting our upcoming adventures here. Stay tuned!