Brett arrived in Carlisle, PA on Friday. Brett's friend Don, a former coworker who lives just a few miles from the trail, had invited Brett to stay with him a few days when he passed through. Brett stayed at the house with Don and his family. He was able to do laundry and get clean again.
On Saturday Brett helped Don do yard work. They worked hard outside, but Brett said it was nice to do something different with his muscles. He said it also felt like a weekend. At home Brett would be very likely to help out a friend with a weekend project. They also watched a movie ("We Bought a Zoo"), which he enjoyed.
I had made a dentist appointment for Brett in Carlisle, but the earliest time I could get for him was Wednesday. I thought that was pretty good, considering that it was Memorial Day weekend. However, in the end, Brett decided to cancel. His tooth has not been bothering him as much, and he didn't want to wait that long. One of two Zero Days is okay, but then the thru-hiker feels the itch to get back on the trail and keep moving.
Brett ended up leaving Don's on Monday.
Showing posts with label tooth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tooth. Show all posts
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
(Tue. 5/22/12) ?, PA - Becca/Brett Exchanges
5/22/12 Text from Becca to Brett:
Sitting at the ball field thinking of you. Will try to type our family news soon. Sorry it's been a while. Wrens left the nest today. Miss you when I watch them. Hope to talk to you soon. Love you!
5/22/12 Text from Brett to Becca:
Crossed into PA today and left the comfort of the south. I was also thinking that I really do miss you. The past two days have been solid rain. I want to dry out. Dry is a feeling that I take for granted when I am at home.
5/21/12 E-mail from Becca to Brett:
Sitting at the ball field thinking of you. Will try to type our family news soon. Sorry it's been a while. Wrens left the nest today. Miss you when I watch them. Hope to talk to you soon. Love you!
5/22/12 Text from Brett to Becca:
Crossed into PA today and left the comfort of the south. I was also thinking that I really do miss you. The past two days have been solid rain. I want to dry out. Dry is a feeling that I take for granted when I am at home.
5/21/12 E-mail from Becca to Brett:
Brett, I was just looking through the book and noticed this description of Pine Grove General Store (1095.6 mi., “home of the half gallon challenge”):
“open 7 days Labor day to Memorial Day….”
First of all, I think it is supposed to say “…Memorial Day to Labor Day….” My concern is this: are you going to get there before Memorial Day [next Monday, 5/29/12]? And will they be open?
5/22/12 Email from Brett to Becca:
I have heard that they are open. If not I will do my challenge at Don's house. I should be there this weekend. If you could, get a list of dentists around Carlisle PA that take our insurance. My tooth is beginning to hurt again. But not worse than my feet right now. Two days of rain and walking with soaked shoes makes all the feet soft and wore three or four blisters today. But I am a few days from hopefully getting everything clean and dry.
Monday, May 14, 2012
(Tue. 5/8/12) Waynesboro, VA - Phone Update From Brett
Brett made it into Waynesboro, so he had reliable phone service. He was tenting outside of the YMCA. They allow hikers to set up tents outside and use the showers in the YMCA. He was expecting heavy thunderstorms that evening.
Brett had to replace his backpack. He had a new one shipped to Waynesboro. Brett had made some modifications to his first backpack. There was a few things, including a "poofy pocket" for a water bottle, that he wanted to add to this new backpack as well. So he ended up spending about two hours sewing the new pack until his fingers were bleeding. He whittled down some of his gear again and sent a box back home.
Brett has been hiking in his Chaco sandals for about 100 miles so far. He has always been a sandal person, and the weather is only getting better for them.
It was still early enough that Brett was headed to the library in town. I think he was looking forward to having some indoor quiet time for writing in his journal and maybe using the computer (if they allowed non-residents to use them).
Brett finished the Blue Ridge Parkway that day and would be starting the Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive. The trail in Shenandoah should be easier.
Brett is down at least 37.5 pounds, even though he's eating as much as he can carry. (Yes, he's taking his vitamins.)
Brett's tooth is feeling better this week. It's not hurting like it was. I hope that he will get it taken care of when he visits his friend Don in Pennsylvania.
I asked about wildlife. He sid that he is hearing more birds in the woods, but hasn't seen anything spectacular. He did see a black and white nuthatch that was pretty. He saw a big rattlesnake on top of a mountain. And while he was walking through Waynesboro he saw some pretty cute baby goslings in the park.
When he was staying at the Dutch House Hostel he enjoyed seeing the pretty goldfinches and hummingbirds at the feeders the owner had said up. Apparently, at certain times of the year the hummingbirds come through in such great numbers that the feeders have to be refilled daily.
What Brett has really liked seeing on the trail are the red/bright orange salamanders. He said the color is so unreal, they look like little gummy worms you could just pick up and eat. (I'll have to get him to identify the species when we get to a computer.)
I think Brett is looking forward to seeing more wildlife in Shenandoah, which is known for tame deer . . . and bears . . . and ticks. He has found about a dozen or so ticks on him, only two of which were buried in. The rest he could just brush off.
Brett is really enjoying the small towns on the trail: small-town America. He feels completely comfortable in these small towns and doesn't feel out of place. He does look a little out of place, though. Brett said he definitely looks homeless: long hair, long beard, dirty, smelly, with pants that keep falling down. He had been sitting by the side of a road. Someone passing by stopped and offered him a beer saying, "You look like you could use one." (Brett graciously declined.)
Brett did comment on the sad dental state of many a small-town West Virginia/Virginia resident. He was shopping in a Dollar General recently, and the young, pretty girl at the cash register had just one front tooth. Brett said these kind of toothless smiles are, sadly, prevalent.
I asked Brett whether he has been keeping the same pace with any hikers. He said "Buzz Kill" is still around. They started at Springer on the same day and have leap-frogged each other throughout their hikes. The last few days he enjoyed keeping up with a retired Marine from Virginia Beach. The Marine was a section hiker who would be getting off in Harpers Ferry, I believe.
Brett's attitude is definitely getting better. I can hear the difference in his voice as we talk. He said does not have the big doubts that he had earlier in Virginia. (Those of us at home never doubted him!)
Brett had to replace his backpack. He had a new one shipped to Waynesboro. Brett had made some modifications to his first backpack. There was a few things, including a "poofy pocket" for a water bottle, that he wanted to add to this new backpack as well. So he ended up spending about two hours sewing the new pack until his fingers were bleeding. He whittled down some of his gear again and sent a box back home.
Brett has been hiking in his Chaco sandals for about 100 miles so far. He has always been a sandal person, and the weather is only getting better for them.
It was still early enough that Brett was headed to the library in town. I think he was looking forward to having some indoor quiet time for writing in his journal and maybe using the computer (if they allowed non-residents to use them).
Brett finished the Blue Ridge Parkway that day and would be starting the Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive. The trail in Shenandoah should be easier.
Brett is down at least 37.5 pounds, even though he's eating as much as he can carry. (Yes, he's taking his vitamins.)
Brett's tooth is feeling better this week. It's not hurting like it was. I hope that he will get it taken care of when he visits his friend Don in Pennsylvania.
I asked about wildlife. He sid that he is hearing more birds in the woods, but hasn't seen anything spectacular. He did see a black and white nuthatch that was pretty. He saw a big rattlesnake on top of a mountain. And while he was walking through Waynesboro he saw some pretty cute baby goslings in the park.
When he was staying at the Dutch House Hostel he enjoyed seeing the pretty goldfinches and hummingbirds at the feeders the owner had said up. Apparently, at certain times of the year the hummingbirds come through in such great numbers that the feeders have to be refilled daily.
What Brett has really liked seeing on the trail are the red/bright orange salamanders. He said the color is so unreal, they look like little gummy worms you could just pick up and eat. (I'll have to get him to identify the species when we get to a computer.)
I think Brett is looking forward to seeing more wildlife in Shenandoah, which is known for tame deer . . . and bears . . . and ticks. He has found about a dozen or so ticks on him, only two of which were buried in. The rest he could just brush off.
Brett is really enjoying the small towns on the trail: small-town America. He feels completely comfortable in these small towns and doesn't feel out of place. He does look a little out of place, though. Brett said he definitely looks homeless: long hair, long beard, dirty, smelly, with pants that keep falling down. He had been sitting by the side of a road. Someone passing by stopped and offered him a beer saying, "You look like you could use one." (Brett graciously declined.)
Brett did comment on the sad dental state of many a small-town West Virginia/Virginia resident. He was shopping in a Dollar General recently, and the young, pretty girl at the cash register had just one front tooth. Brett said these kind of toothless smiles are, sadly, prevalent.
I asked Brett whether he has been keeping the same pace with any hikers. He said "Buzz Kill" is still around. They started at Springer on the same day and have leap-frogged each other throughout their hikes. The last few days he enjoyed keeping up with a retired Marine from Virginia Beach. The Marine was a section hiker who would be getting off in Harpers Ferry, I believe.
Brett's attitude is definitely getting better. I can hear the difference in his voice as we talk. He said does not have the big doubts that he had earlier in Virginia. (Those of us at home never doubted him!)
Friday, May 4, 2012
(Sat. 4/28/12 late) Daleville, VA - Phone Update from Brett
After seeing the beautiful photo of Brett on McAfee Knob, I was hoping that things were going better for Brett. Not so.
It started pouring rain about a half-mile before Brett got in to Daleville. He had lunch at Pizza Hut and went shopping for supplies. He talked to Ed on the phone. Ed was ahead of Brett on the trail, and they hadn't seen each other in a few days. Ed was heading out of Daleville when the downpour started. He continued six miles on the trail before he decided he was done. Brett asked Ed walk back to Daleville. Then the two of them went out to dinner and chipped in on a hotel room. It was almost midnight EDT when Brett called me.
It sounds like Brett and Ed had a good conversation over dinner. There is a big wave of drop-outs in Georgia, and another in Virginia. Brett said he saw two other hikers walk off the trail that week. The "Virginia Blues" are hitting everyone. By the time you get to Virginia you have seen just about everything you are going to see: rain, snow, hunger, blisters, hills, and more hills. The vistas all start to look the same. You start to ask yourself, "Why am I here?"
Brett hit a wall last week, and was still in a funk the next day. Then he was climbing a hill in the rain and said, "I've got to change my attitude." He started singing out loud one song after another. Before he knew it, he was at the top. He had a dry hostel to look forward to and was starting to feel better.
Now, however, he has started questioning himself again. He saw how relieved and excited Ed was about going home. Ed was happy with his decision. There aren't many guys in the same situation as Brett and Ed. Most people on the trail don't have families and a home to be homesick for. It makes it a little tougher.
I had told Brett how people ask me whether Brett is having fun. Brett said he thought about that some more. There are a lot of things at home that Brett has fun doing. Throwing the frisbee with Copper is fun. Fishing and hunting are fun. Going out on the boat is fun. Sleeping in a warm, comfortable bed, while not exactly "fun", it sure is nice. Hiking and going up hills is not fun. But the experience is more rewarding than temporary fun is.
Brett know that this experience will be very rewarding, but feeling good about the hike "now" is a more difficult. It doesn't help that Brett's body is starting to feel the stress of hiking every day (he crossed 700 miles the day prior). His feet are starting to do better, but four days previous to the call his left knee started bothering him. It especially hurts when he is going up or down steps (hate those hills!). His tooth is also bothering him. We'll need to find a way to get him to a dentist on the trail.
Now Brett needs to reevaluate his hike. He will need to work through his emotions this week and find his answer to the question, "Why am I doing this?"
It started pouring rain about a half-mile before Brett got in to Daleville. He had lunch at Pizza Hut and went shopping for supplies. He talked to Ed on the phone. Ed was ahead of Brett on the trail, and they hadn't seen each other in a few days. Ed was heading out of Daleville when the downpour started. He continued six miles on the trail before he decided he was done. Brett asked Ed walk back to Daleville. Then the two of them went out to dinner and chipped in on a hotel room. It was almost midnight EDT when Brett called me.
It sounds like Brett and Ed had a good conversation over dinner. There is a big wave of drop-outs in Georgia, and another in Virginia. Brett said he saw two other hikers walk off the trail that week. The "Virginia Blues" are hitting everyone. By the time you get to Virginia you have seen just about everything you are going to see: rain, snow, hunger, blisters, hills, and more hills. The vistas all start to look the same. You start to ask yourself, "Why am I here?"
Brett hit a wall last week, and was still in a funk the next day. Then he was climbing a hill in the rain and said, "I've got to change my attitude." He started singing out loud one song after another. Before he knew it, he was at the top. He had a dry hostel to look forward to and was starting to feel better.
Now, however, he has started questioning himself again. He saw how relieved and excited Ed was about going home. Ed was happy with his decision. There aren't many guys in the same situation as Brett and Ed. Most people on the trail don't have families and a home to be homesick for. It makes it a little tougher.
I had told Brett how people ask me whether Brett is having fun. Brett said he thought about that some more. There are a lot of things at home that Brett has fun doing. Throwing the frisbee with Copper is fun. Fishing and hunting are fun. Going out on the boat is fun. Sleeping in a warm, comfortable bed, while not exactly "fun", it sure is nice. Hiking and going up hills is not fun. But the experience is more rewarding than temporary fun is.
Brett know that this experience will be very rewarding, but feeling good about the hike "now" is a more difficult. It doesn't help that Brett's body is starting to feel the stress of hiking every day (he crossed 700 miles the day prior). His feet are starting to do better, but four days previous to the call his left knee started bothering him. It especially hurts when he is going up or down steps (hate those hills!). His tooth is also bothering him. We'll need to find a way to get him to a dentist on the trail.
Now Brett needs to reevaluate his hike. He will need to work through his emotions this week and find his answer to the question, "Why am I doing this?"
Sunday, April 29, 2012
(Fri. 4/20/12) Pearisburg, VA - Phone Update From Brett
Brett called from Pearisburg, VA. He had stayed at Woods Hole Hostel, about 10 miles from town. He came into town town to resupply, and will go another 7 miles to the next shelter. He said some bad weather was moving in. Brett gave me a list for a mail drop for Daleville, VA for the following week.
Brett thinks he may have a cavity (his first), which will be a little difficult to address on the trail. He's going to give another week and see how it feels.
Brett met up with Ed at the hostel, but they split up again with Ed moving forward more quickly.
In answer to the question, "Is Brett enjoying the trail?" Brett came up with kind of an analogy. He guesses it may be similar to childbirth on the "fun scale". Do you enjoy it? No you don't enjoy the pain. Brett doesn't enjoy every minute of the trail--certainly not every hill or storm. But ultimately, he is enjoying the trip because he is proud of what he has accomplished and is accomplishing.
Brett thinks he may have a cavity (his first), which will be a little difficult to address on the trail. He's going to give another week and see how it feels.
Brett met up with Ed at the hostel, but they split up again with Ed moving forward more quickly.
In answer to the question, "Is Brett enjoying the trail?" Brett came up with kind of an analogy. He guesses it may be similar to childbirth on the "fun scale". Do you enjoy it? No you don't enjoy the pain. Brett doesn't enjoy every minute of the trail--certainly not every hill or storm. But ultimately, he is enjoying the trip because he is proud of what he has accomplished and is accomplishing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)