Fitty Shrimp on the Trail: July 2014

Greetings from Kent, Connecticut! I have now hiked more than two-thirds of the Appalachian Trail. But the most difficult portions of the trail lie ahead in the Whites of New Hampshire and the mountains of Maine.

Marley, good trail dog!

A couple weeks ago, I was strolling along and admiring the view of Sunfish Pond, a glacial lake on a ridgeline in New Jersey. As I approached a rocky section of trail, I turned my attention to my footing and realized my next step would land directily onto a timber rattlesnake, already coiled up and ready to strike. The snake saw me well before I saw the snake. I was able to stop my momentum, but I was still too close to the snake. In my rush to run back the other way, I tripped over a rock and fell, bloodying up my knee and the palm of my hand. The snake, probably as shaken as I was, slithered off into the brush.

A couple days later, I was ascending a mountain just past Branchville, NJ when I found myself face to face with a large adult black bear, no more than 15 feet away. We stared at each other for a bit, and then I said calmly, "Go on outta here, bear." The bear turned and sauntered away from the trail, and I walked on. But we both did one last lookback before he disappeared over the ridge, kind of a show of mutual respect... man and bear coexisting peacefully in the wild!

Every day, we face a number of challenges and dangers. Just in the past week, I met two different hikers, Bison and Ghost, who had recently returned to the trail after leaving to undergo treatment for Lyme disease from tick bites. Recently, the mosquitos have been particularly abundant and aggressive, increasing everyone's awareness of the dreaded West Nile virus. But so far, I have been able to avoid any serious injuries or illnesses.

But word spread about an event earlier this month that shook the tight-knit hiker community all along the trail. I met a hiker from Kansas City a while back by the name of Mocha Pot. On the Fourth of July, he and some other hikers stopped at a cliff line in Pennsylvania known as The Pinnacle. I had stopped there the day before for a water break, but I was very uneasy with the large gaps between the rocks that comprise the cliffs, so I moved on pretty quickly. It would have been a nice spot to view fireworks displays at the different towns between there and the Lehigh Valley.

On the evening of July 4th, Mocha Pot went off on his own to explore the cliffs. A while later, a couple of day hikers heard moans coming from below and went to alert the other thru-hikers in Mocha Pot's group. He had fallen 40 feet to the rocks below, and then rolled another 200 feet down the side of the mountain. Special rescue teams were called in, and it took six hours to reach Mocha Pot and have him airlifted out. 80 people were involved in the rescue. The rescuers said that the last two calls to this area were to recover dead bodies. Mocha Pot was lucky; he suffered a concussion, a lacerated spleen, six broken ribs and several broken vertebrae. He will make a full recovery, but it will be six to twelve months. Here is a news story about the incident...

Hiker Rescued After Serious Fall

I'm not the thrill seeker that Mocha Pot is, and simply hiking the Appalachian Trail from end to end will be enough for me. I estimate that I will complete the trail in the next two months, summiting Mt. Kahtadin by the last week of September. It's hard to believe how far I've come and how near the end is (even though it's still more than 700 miles). I'm starting to feel a bit sentimental, having met so many incredible people and new friends.

Here is my most recent video blog... Kurt's Trail Video #15

If you would care to support my fundraising effort, please click here... we're now over 80% to goal! A Kidney For My Cousin

Thanks once again for all of your kindness and support!

Fitty Shrimp

p.s. Enjoy the photos!