Ellsworth ME, Home Again Hello All
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This will be the final post for the ECG trek, which ended Thursday, Sept 23, 2010 when I took a commuter train from Rowayton CT into New York City, an hour’s ride and maybe 40 miles, (2 – 3 days of walking) .   The next day, Sept 24, I left NYC and traveled all day by bus to return home to pick up clothes, computer, and car to go visit my friend before sesshin.  My decision to cut the trek short came from the coming together of many factors once more, and included being almost 3 weeks ahead of schedule, a rapidly decreasing pocketbook, a growing sense of urgency to get to PA, a relative lack of interest in city walking, and not least, a weariness arising from increased levels of anxiety caused by walking in unknown areas, through rough areas alone, and the unsolicited warnings I was receiving from locals on a daily basis.  When the ECG passed right next to the train station Thursday, I knew it was time, and I bought my first commuter train ticket by myself and experienced for the first time, coming into the MTA main station (Union Station?) in New York City on the island of Manhattan.  This foot journey from Maine to New York has been extraordinary!  I am so grateful to have had the opportunity, and ability, to make this trip, to see the sights, to meet the people.  I hope all of you...

Westport Inn, Westport CT Well, it's been an interesting morning so far.  I find myself at today's destination and its only 9 am.  This time, the early arrival is due to a proactive decision on my part.  This morning, less than an hour into my walk, I was spooked by the activity in the area in which I was walking, and in particular, by several boys on bikes.  I ducked into a convieience store for a moment and asked the proprieters about the neighborhoods ahead.  Their answer was to suggest I take the bus that passed right in front of their store.  As I turned around to leave, there the bus came, and instant decision, I hustled to join the other 2 people boarding.  As we got moving, I asked the driver about where the bus went and he asked about where I wanted to go, and in exchanging information, we found out he went right by the Westport Inn, exactly where I was headed.  I took this as Universe's invitation to use today as a zero day, (hips, feet and legs are cheering in the background :) which is probably a good thing as tomorrow's hike to Stamford will be a longish one.   Later   All set to go in the morning.  Have again slept a good portion of the day away and the lower extremities say they are ready to go back to work  :)   See you all tomorrow...

New Stratford Motor Lodge, Stratford CT

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Today has been a long day and the legs, hips and feet are now having meetings about going out on strike.  I can hear them in the back room of my being discussing the pros and cons  :)   Really though, it was a long day on very hard concrete which led through many interesting areas. 

The early morning's walk took me right down to the water's edge in West Haven, (where I kept looking for the dock where Bilbo and Frodo left with the last of the elves of Middle Earth ), and kept me there pretty much all day.  The beaches were sometimes public and sometimes private, sometimes redish sand and sometimes golden.  Areas along the coast were sometimes cityscape, sometimes residential and often, empty-feeling post season vacation towns.  There were salt marshes galore, (which I love), and a treasure of a State Park, Silver Sands, in Milford, the long stretched out area between West Haven and Stratford.  (Milford will be going on my coming back to see more list.)

Super 8 Motel, West Haven CT Lots of Greenway today as I followed the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail to its endpoint on the Yale Campus in New Haven /Hamden CT   I think it will be the last corridor of "forest" I will walk during this trip. 
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The trail began to change character as I entered the city and became a series of small parks linked together by this path.  Posts with emergency lights and call buttons in each of these parks made me suspect I was in a troubled part of town.  I had to leave the greenway a bit before its end as another construction project on the Yale campus closed it off to foot traffic.  Took me a little bit to get my bearings, but when I got oriented, I had a short but delightful walk through part of the Yale campus.  I must have hit the area just as classes were letting out for that hour and was engulfed by young people talking about friends, boyfriends, clothes, parties and homework, to which I shamlessly eavesdropped  :)  Then, suddenly, I was on the other side of town looking for the Vision Trail. This took me through an interesting older section of town where I found the Smoothie Foundation Garment Factory in an old red brick building which seemd to still be in operation.  I don't really know why it caught my fancy, maybe It was remembering ads for this company in my Mom's old McCall's magazine.  Anyway,...

Sept 19 Stealth Camp, off of Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, near RTE 42 south of Brooksvale
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Today's early morning walk took me through city with curbs and city with no curbs. Then it was back onto the Greenway once more.  Saw many, many chipmunks darting across roadways and bike paths today, (they always make me giggle with their little tails stuck straight up in the air), as well as grey squirrels and bunnies.   The greenway now extends further than the cue sheets say, though it is still under construction.  Ran into, and walked a bit with a retired policeman and a retired correctional officer and they assured me they had been beyond where my directions said to get off.  (They walk the greenway everyday for 4 miles - kudos gentlemen!) Soooo when I hit the turn off at W Main in Plantsville I kept going.  Ran into a group of bicyclists that belong to the East Coast Greenway Association on this portion.  They had been keeping an eye out for me and we chatted a bit.  One of the members gave me an apple and I got invited to their yearly meeting in april. Then it was on again after the break with my new friends and the greenway stayed good until  US 691/84.  There it just petered out in underbush.  I backtracked and picked up Canal Rd.  As I crossed 691 I could see the old rail overpass and just beyond it what looked to be a new...

Avon Police Station, Avon CT
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Early morning stop to charge battery a bit, get water, directions to coffee and use bathroom.  The ECG runs right by their door. The person on duty here doesn't know if the little cocker spaniel was found last night.  I had a hard time going to sleep last night after the police and animal control officer left, (imagine 3 squad cars and an animal van just for little ole me - tee hee).  A bit after they left, the dog's owner came along the road above me calling for their dog just as the last teensy bit of light was leaving the sky and I called up to him.  Found out the dog's name was Linus and promised to keep an eye open for the little guy.  Turned out I couldn't see anything, but my ears were listening and I kept waking at every new sound.  Poor thing, never did hear him. Advance Motel, Plainville CT Shortish day today.  Hit Plainville around 1 pm and decided to see what was available here, was feeling kinda tired with being back on asphalt and the broken sleep last night.  Found this cheap motel, and while its not as bad as the Bates Motel wanna-be I stayed at on the AT, it sure is a close second .... lol  But it has clean sheets, hot water and privacy.    Not much to say about the walk today, nice bikepath through residential areas, with a couple of popouts. ...

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Stealth camp, Nod Brook WMA, Off the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, near Avon CT Well, I'm in but not hidden too well.  This wildlife management area has turned out to be as busy as JFK airport!!!  Hope I don't get rousted. Getting out of Hartford was a snap today and the ECG led me through areas of great old homes, great wealth and housing projects.  I took a look at the proposed route once I got out of town and decided to head off in my own direction along a road by the name of Terry's Plain Road.  Great decision on my part as the road had little traffic, was in a rural area and eventually turned into a real path over the ridge.  Had a ball and enjoyed the little climb.  I would recommend this route for walkers. Picked up the ECG again on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.  Nice area, but mostly town and residential and the trail is asphalt again. :( Not much more to report tonight.  So goodnight and sleep well all. Later... Well, I do have something to add.  All the hubbub tonight was about a missing cocker spaniel.  The animal control officer saw me and reported me to the Avon police who then called the Simsbury police.  Three police cars arrived and they all decided I was harmless and could stay the night.  lol  Too bad, I was thinking a jail cell would be a good place to sleep  *grin*   I hope...

Mark Twain Hostel, Hartford CT
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After a wonderful night of sharing travel stories, loads of laughter and lots of good food, I slept like a baby and left Laurie and Jim fully replenished in every way.  Had to be one of the best nights on the trail so far.  Thanks guys! When I left, I was able to hop right back on the ECG and made my way across the rest of Manchester on the city's bikeways. They took me by  streams, baseball fields, freeways and through Manchester Community College, where by the way, the ECG cue sheet directions fell apart.  This portion is in need of serious update.  For example, there is no longer a dirt path that is part of he ECG, it's now asphalt and the EGC is marked to send you away from it through a loop in old pine trees anyway.  (If you do follow the dirt path one does run across like I did, it takes you out and leaves you at the backside of the athletic fields.)  Throughout here, posted markers are in conflict with markers on the sidewalk, so head's up. (Seems to have a lot of new roads/construction through here).  Actually today was the worst day so far for head-scratching at directions and markers.  Later on in East Hartford, the ECG takes you by the Huskies Stadium and Capela's, the primo outfitter, (didn't even go in but sure did salivate all the time it was in sight!). Here someone had...

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Steele's Crossing, Hop River Trail CT After getting back on the trail at Pucker Rd, I've been on it all morning.  (By the way, the path onto the trail from Pucker is steep, might have to carry a bike.)  The path has gone from a single file footpath to a maintained bed plenty wide for a car at times.  All of it has been through beautiful forest only popping out for a bit in Andover CT.  This has been the nicest stretch yet for me as a walker.  Am seeing more bikes now on the trail too. Home Stay at Laurie's, Manchester CT As careful as I was today, I still have arrived a couple of hours early and am waiting for my host to come home.  Met a fellow at Steel's Crossing and he and his dog walked with me to where the trail ended in Bolton Notch.  The guy Jim, was a retired university professor and I got quite the hsitory lesson about the area on this 2 mile walk.    The rest of the walk today was still through wonderful forest though on road but it didn't get busy until the last half mile or so.  I didn't remember until today how much I liked the Connecticut forests when I did the Appalachian Trail.  The past couple of days have reminded me  :) Fall is here all of a sudden: leaf covered roads and paths, red and yellow leaves in the trees and breath you can...

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Thread City Diner, Wilimantic CT Before I forget, I want to tell all of you hikers to be sure and fill up with water before you get on the Air Line Trail.  There are not many streams and since railbeds are designed to avoid water any it does go by or cross are a long steep way down. Another nice walk into Willimantic.  I am so happy to be in Connecticut and on trails away from cars!  About 5 miles out of town I ran into my first trail bicyclists.  They were on mountain bikes and were having no problem with this segment of the trail. When I got into town one of the first things I saw were huge frogs on pillers of what turned out to be thread on a bridge that crossed the Willimantic river.  In talking with folks here at the diner I found the frogs come from a town legend that says in 1754, in the middle of the night, there was a great cacophany of noise and the settlers thought they were under indian attack or that judgement day had arrived.  They armed themselves but nothing happened.  In the morning they went in search of what had made such an awful racket and found a pond almost completely dry with hundreds of bullfros dead around it and others making their way towards the Willimantic Riaver.  I guess the story of what happened was a source of amusement for their neighbors for decades  :) ...

Camped at side of Air Line Trail, Just north of RTE 6, Near Clark's Corner CT
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Great Hiking Day! Started by getting turned around in Putnam while attempting a short cut to join the ECG without having to backtrack. :)  Got to see more of the city than I had planned, and what I saw I liked.  Putnam is going on my "To return to" list. (Great old houses). Caught up with the ECG at the pedestrian bridge over the Quinebaug River. (Saw 2 more Blue Herons perched in a tree above the river as well as a V of ducks and another Osprey)  After crossing I had to hunt around for awhile to find the start of the Air Line Foot trail (the old rail bed). Its not marked and you have to scramble up a hill to get to it.  Also, you have to turn LEFT when you get over the bridge, only the bike path goes right.  Again, it was some folks who lived in the area who pointed me in the right direction and told me to watch for the 4 wheeler scramble  Thanks gutys. The trail was great. Saw a half dozen lackadaisical deer on it as well as another curious hawk. This the second hawk on this journey that has  spent maybe 10 minutes just flying up the trail a bit in front of me to sit and wait then do the same thing when I got under it.  If I stood still...

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As I'm getting ready to go I have CNN on and Larry King is having a program where he asks, "Where were you on 9/11?"    I was in San Jose, Costa Rica having breakfast at a local cafe.  The TV was on when the first plane hit the towers and we all, the customers and staff, started taking about what had happened. Everyone was thinking it was an accident...... then the 2nd plane hit.  There was shock and then tears and people began turning to me and expressng their shock and condolences, (I was he only American in the cafe at that moment).  I remember walking in the streets afterwards and people crying everywhere.  I remember being suprised that some of the tears were from fear, fear that the USA would unleash Armageddon. Side of the Road, Rte 12, Wauregan CT Canadian geese are still flying north and west, honking as they go and making my heart smile  :)   Have seen 2 more Great Blue Herons so far today.  I have never seen so many as I have on this walk.  I bet there have been more than 30, easily.  Some are very shy and fly away as soon as they sense me, but others have given me the great gift of sharing their time with me, and I don't know about them, but I always leave such encounters in a profound state of peace. Picnic Table at a Sunday Closed, Day Care Center, Dayville CT Have been reading...

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Kinda cool this morning, am wearing a fleece vest for the first time.  The sun is rising noticably later and setting noticably earlier......seems fall really is at the door. Knight's Inn, Moosup CT Woo Hoo!  We're in Connecticut.   Rhode Island is a pretty state and is densely populated.  The state seems to have been hit hard by the recent economic downturn.  I was suprised at the number of check cashing places, pay day loan businesses, buy your gold and pawn shops, and the road litter was much more than I had been seeing elsewhere and contained many beer and hard liquor bottles.  All of that speaks volumes about hard times to me.  The bike paths through so much of the state suggests far seeing care for and by the folks who live there and are well used. Today's hike continued on the path even when it turned to dirt (executive decision).  The ECG turned back to the roads then (117), but I decided to follow the old rail bed.  Dirt path, green tunnel, away from traffic noise, etc.  The Ayoho owners had given me a head's up that the trail continued all the way until Connecticut, but weren't quite sure where in CT.  Their knowledge stopped not too far beyond where a large trestle was uncrossable not too far up.    Found the trestle and there was a path leading around it.  I followed the path until it began to pull away from RTE 117 by the Coventry Fire...

Subway, Warwick RI
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The first order of business this morning was to get a hat of some sort.  As I emerged from the motel I saw that I was in a shopping area and it even included an Eddie Bauer, but unfortunately all the stores wouldn't open until 10 am.  Too long to wait and way too late of a start.  I asked the motel owners if there was a cap in their lost and found that I could have but there was only a jacket, a couple of books and some chargers.  So I packed up and started walking on Rte 2 around 7am, stopping into coffee shops and stopping strangers wearing baseball caps to see if they would sell me theirs.  Starbucks and Panera Bread were unhelpful, but a man walking into Starbucks, wouldn't sell me his cap but gave it to me....  So i have a cap again which is good as it is getting cold. I'm loading up on a big late breakfast as I didn't have much for dinner and I still haven't passed a grocery store.  Trail food is good, but GORP and cheese for dinner isn't quite enough  :)  I will take a sub with me for dinner too. Am tired today, guess I did more walking than I realized yesterday.....even if some of it was in circles.....lol  The weather has cooled off and this makes for pleasent walking. I will be mostly on bike path or country roads today. Ahoyo Campground,...

Days Inn, Cranston RI
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What a day!  I started to write that my run of  incredibly good luck had come to an end, but that's simply not true; while there were some frustrations and challenges today, there were also more strangers lending a helping hand.  So where to start?  I guess with the fact that somehow, even though I was wearing long pants, I picked up some poison ivy when I went out to explore and clear some minor trails on the PZC acreage yesterday.  Had no idea I was infected again until I reached down to itch this morning and found it behind my left knee , on top of he knee and on the calf.  Then, I found out the change in diet (for the good) and maybe water at PZC which had caused a little gastric quick two step distress the first day or so I was there was still with me.  Had thought it was all cleared up until this morning's walk had me ducking in and out of bushes for the first few hours  lol.     Then things began to look up as I reached Ashton on the bike trail heading to Pawtucket.  The morning had been grey and muggy and thunderstorms had finally moved in.  While I sheltered under an overpass I asked a couple of older women who were walking the bikepath too where I could get breakfast and wait out the storm. They told me about a place in a little...

Providence Zen Center, Cumberland RI Today will be my last day here in this peaceful oasis.  Thank you all at the Providence Zen Center for this bit of respite  :) As I prepare to hit the road again, I find I am once more getting ahead of myself, already yearning to be in Connecticut where there seems to be long stretches of hiking trails to traverse.  I have finished more than half this journey now, and while every step has been engrossing, I now know I prefer to walk in wilderness punctuated from time to time with civilization :)  At least this will be true until the ECG gets off more roads. One of the great suprises and delightful gifts this walk has brought me has been the return of an experiential memory of being a child in an urban setting, exploring and finding hidden spots no one else knew about, or at least that was the fantasy of my adventuring mind back then :)  Early on in this trip, looking for, and needing, hidden spots in towns and cities to relieve myself or just rest away from the hubbub, brought back the physical/visceral/emotional memory of hiding under bushes or in deep grass by sidewalks and alleys where people bustled past never suspecting I was there.  I can remember holding my hands over my mouth as I giggled at the thought of them not knowing I was there like some little hidden mouse.  On this trip I  re-experienced this childish...

Providence Zen Center, Cumberland RI
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I will spend the day here in this beautiful, peaceful setting.  It feels a bit strange not to be strapping my pack on or studying maps.  At the same time it feels utterly normal to be sitting and chanting in a zendo again  :)  The past couple of days I have been thinking about the difference between being lost and not knowing where you are.  Its perhaps just semantics, but for me there is a difference.  When I am feeling lost, I have a specific destination in mind and usually a time table to adhere to.  My vision gets a bit selective as I look for known landmarks and perhaps specific names on signs.  Internally, I can feel a slight tension I identify as anxiety and I have noticed when I am in this state, I am less present with people, usually unintentionaly limiting my interation with them to gathering information I need that they might provide. But when I don't know where I am, usually there is no rush to be anywhere and I have time/am open to being interested in whats around me just the sake of its being there.  This is when I connect fully. Everything, including people, becomes much more substantial and real if you will, but of course, this is true only because I am giving them my full attention :) A spinoff of my detailed maps for Massachusetts not arriving in New Hampshire is that I was pushed...

Odds and Ends
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I have been meaning to mention that I ran into ECG markers through the Charles River Reservation section and that they did a really good job of marking the trail when it had to surface onto city streets.  The markers disappeared again though once I left the Reservation. In my AT journal I remember saying that Massachusetts would forever be bogs and marshes to me and this walk hasn't changed that impression.  In many places I saw signs saying "town water supply" and "watering banned" as well conservation signs for even small pockets of marshy pond.  This state recognizes the wealth they possess and they are protecting it.  Kudos guys! (Now can you please do something about making walking a little safer?  :) I looked over my new maps last night and realized I am about 2 weeks ahead of schedule!  I know I have been walking further each day than I had planned to, but didn't realize how far ahead of myself I have gotten.  Part of it has been due to walking on highways that don't invite lingering, and part of it has been the insecurity of not knowing where I am going to sleep acting as a kind of goad.  This has been the hardest part of the journey for me so far and exhaustion has actually helped me a little in this area, as its uncomfortableness overtakes and supercedes the anxiety I have about asking for space and/or just finding a patch...

Woonsocket Motor Inn, Woonsocket MA
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Woohoo!  I'm in Rhode Island tonight and in a motel now that a new friend's backyard was too wet to camp in.  :)   That's another good thing about today, it's raining and that means it's gonna cool off.  (Haven't seen a report on Hurricane Earl yet.  Hope it wasn't too bad on the coast today). It was a hot and sticky night last night and even though there was cloud cover this morning it was still hot and terriably muggy today. Wasn't the best sleeping conditions last night and I woke up tired.   The bonus for not sleeping well was hearing cries/calls of birds I have never heard before, and being by the lagoon last night meant there was a lot of night traffic of small animals scurrying through the undergrowth. This morning, just before dawn I was rewarded with a sighting of a doe getting a morning drink.  Then walking out of the park I saw long necked turtles on logs, and another majestic heron.  I think the Blackstone river must be pretty healthy. :) The walk today was pleasent enough but a bit confusing as the numbers on my cue sheets didn't jive with what I was seeing. This section and yesterday's section will have to be checked for accuracy.  My focus  this morning was getting to the post office in Blackstone, where, thank God, my maps were waiting for me. Amazing how a few pieces of paper can make me feel...

Semi stealth camp, Riverbend Farm State Park, Blackstone Canal Towpath
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This is a dawn to dusk park but one of the rangers said it was ok to camp..... so I found a little spot hidden from the path near a lagoon complete with leopard frog! It's been hot, Hot, HOT today, and again, a day on fire with the kindness of strangers. I started off early from the Linh Son temple and hooked up again with the ECG at the Worcester Train Station (Union Station).  Beautiful building on the outside so I went inside to see what I could see. The place fairly gleamed and looked brand new with its shining granite? and marble? It  reminded me of the days when I traveled by train with my mother and we would walk through great vaulted stations like this one and they would be filled with people, with life.  Not today. I was in too early and the ticket windows weren't open yet, so didn't even get any idea of  what kind of service was offered from Worcester. Got a bit more homey slice of history when I stopped for a big breakfast at the Miss Worcester Diner.  Found out this diner was the model that sat in front of the factory that had made Miss Worcester Lunch Cars right across the street. After I ate, I went over and you could still read the company name, but barely.  The rest of the morning was walking out of Worcester and...

Linh Son Temple, Worcester MA
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Tonight I am staying in a Vietnamese Buddhist Temple thanks to the hard work of Jeff Bailey of the Worcester Tibetan Buddhist Sangha.  Thank you Jeff for arranging this and thank you Abbess Suko Teewa  for taking me in for a night *deep bow.* Today was both a "love it" and "hate it" day *grin*  The "I wish I didn't have to do it" part was the 98 degree temperatures I walked through.  It was 80 by 8 am and the temperature just kept climbing all day!  One dog in Berlin MA liked the effect all this heat was having on me though and licked my legs and hands clean of all the sweatly salt residue.  Berlin was the high point of my day as the ECG got back on country roads and into residential areas.  I was so grateful to be off those busy, busy no shoulder roads!  No mp3 player necesssary here. There were many, many rest breaks today and several water refill stops as well.  It was a day of doing little beyond what was necessary. The wooded areas  I walked through are still raining acorns and some of the trees are beginning to turn red and orange and yellow.  Fall is here even though today was a bikini day. Had another kind suprise from a stranger today in Shrewsbury.  I had stopped in a little diner called Dinky's to escape the heat and get a late lunch.  An older man...

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This is a little ribbon of park and countryside all the way through the greater Boston area, and some of it, like now, is more wild and much less groomed than other parts.  Love it!  Saw my first rabbit today, here of all places, and based on my experience here, have decided Canadian Geese are as adaptable as Peregrine Falcons, Norwegian Rats and Grey Squirrels.  Have watched several gaggles of these beauties hunt bugs on median strips right next to morning rush hour and several baseball fields  I've passed have been covered with them  :) I will be sorry to leave the Charles River today, it feels like an old friend now and its incredibly still morning waters have awakened in me a deep desire to go noiselessly rowing on them with a lantren at my feet, as the sky begins to lighten. Waltham, MA, Park Bench I hate to say it, but I am really glad I am out of the Big City!  I would love to come back to the Boston area sometime and explore, but I want to do it from a stable base that I can retreat to when I get tired of all the incessant, interesting things going on. Oh, I forgot to tell you about my Lithuanian friends yesterday!  I met Edgarus, Ignacius and Brutarus early on when I crossed the Mystic River from Everette into Charlestown.  They are 3 university students here working for the summer.  They had to walk the same...

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What a beautiful park!  It runs all along the Charles River, with areas for baseball, playgrounds for small children, circut training for adults, sun-bathing, frisbee tossing, etc. etc.  On the river I have seen fishermen, rowers, scullers, folks in canoes and  kayaks as well as folks in sailboats and on yachts. On the paths there have been walkers, runners, skaters, and of course bicycles and skate boards.  On the grass there has been Tai Chi and yoga practitioners.  Bostonians sure do use their parks!   Right at the beginning of the park, near Nashua Street, I watched amphibians rigged for sight seeing take tourists into the St. Charles River for a tour.  That was a first! The city is getting busy now, but for most of the morning, I've had it pretty much to myself.  I love walking streets of big cities early on Sunday mornings.  Something magical about it like walking through the sleeping giant's bedroom in, is it Jack and the Beanstalk?  Bad part of the early Sunday strolls is that a lot of places aren't open, like the USS Constitution Museum this morning. The harbor walk before the bikepath was cool too, as was crossing the  Charles River using the lock system.  This part of the riverside is full of townhouses and today, Sunday morning, dog-walking urbanites.  At this point I think I follow this bikepath pretty much out of the Boston Metropolitan area. I got off of it today at the River St. Bridge to ...

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Today will be a long day, maybe 17 - 18 miles and all city I think.  I will get an early start and with it being Saturday, the traffic might not be too bad.  I like walking in cities, but it can all begin to run together when all the stimuli gets to be too much. Okay, later: Flax Pond Park, Lynn, MA Taking a break in this pretty park where people are fishing for bass and where swans, geese and ducks call home, and I'm  wondering what yesterday was all about.  I'm halfway through Lynn and I like it just fine.  Have gotten to use my spanish today and try my few words of Mandarin :)  The neighborhoods have been well kept and they are clean and pretty.  Everyone has been right though about churches, inns, etc not being on the route, so far. Kane's Dounuts, Saugus MA Having a late lunch break.  This place is quite the little bakery and the broccoli cheese croissant I'm eating is very good! First, apologies to Lynn, MA  You have a nice little city folks.  When I was being warned off yesterday I began to have visions of inner city Detroit post riots when portions of the city looked like bombed out war zone and where drug addiction had made human predators out of some suffering folks.  I grew up in the Detroit suburbs and I see the associations still are deeply imbedded. I have been in city all day and...

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Panera Bread, Beverly MA Having coffee and charging the phone :)  so I thought I would get down a few houskeeping details I keep forgetting about:  First, I haven't seen an ECG sign/blaze since I left Maine.  Second, for the most part, I have passed at least one convience store every day since I crossed over into NH.  Third, Rte 97 in Massachusetts , while pretty scenery-wise, is a high attention road to walk; curvey, wooded, no shoulder and motorists who drive quite a bit over the speed limit. Clipper Ship Inn, Salem, MA All the walking today has been in city.   I'm having a hard time keeping to the city ECG route without the atlas maps, but I am muddling through with the help of the residents.  They always point me in the right direction.  A florist owner in Beverly MA, Pamala, not only got me on the right path to the bridge into Salem, but got in her car to catch me and warn me about getting caught in Lynn and to offer a bbq dinner and a room in her home for the night.  I said thanks but I needed to get into Cambridge Sunday so would  keep moving.   A little later, another woman asked me where I was going and I when I said Lynn, she told me all the reasons that was not a good idea; there were no places to stay, churches were downtown with no grounds and there were many gangs in...

I wonder what the world would be like if everybody scanned their days for what was right with the world and not so much for what was wrong or could go wrong? Stealth Camp, Off 97 near kayak launch This is going to have to be a short post tonight, battery is really low due to much use of the GPS today. The day was sunny, warn and washed fresh.  Got away from Adelynrood about 8:30 or 9:00, and again I must express gratitude for my 2 days respite there.  Thank you Ladies. Another reporter from Georgetown caught up with me around 11:00 after I had walked through some of the nicest residential areas I have been through so far; really resonated with my personality.  The areas seemed to be prospering and were obviously well taken care of without being precious; a cottage garden feel if you will. The reporter, Anne, and I had some lunch in Georgetown, and she walked with me a bit after the interview and even took me into meet "Old Nancy"; a canon dating from the 1600's.  Then I followed the ECG through some really pretty roads and by some out of the way ponds. Headed into Topsfield late, and because of that I think, I didn't have any luck getting a place in town.  A polieman on the street told me that while officially it wasn't allowed, if I camped in a park it should probably be ok. Then a couple of ladies told me...

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Adelynrood, Byfield, MA When I woke at 5 am this morning, the rain was pounding on the roof and the electricity was out.  There was an immediate, "Gosh, I don't want to go out in this", but I got up, stripped the bed and tried not to think about the rain too much.  Maybe it would be finished by the time breakfast was over, in about 3 hours.  I joined the Companions here in their morning services, and as I left the Chapel to head for the dining room, one of the ladies pulled me aside and told me she would be pleased to pay for me to stay another night if I would accept the gift.  I swallowed the lump in my throat and said, "Thank you so very much; I would very much like to stay another day."  To be gifted 2 days in such a inspirational place is well, a boon beyond reckoning    I spent the morning downloading detailed Google maps of the Boston area and marking out my route to Rhode Island.  Then, mid-afternoon a reporter from the Daily News, www.Newburyportnews.com called wanting to do an interview!  So the afternoon was finished up in that activity. We are now an hour away from dinner and I need to go remake my bed for tonight. If all goes as planned, I will be tearing myself away from here around 8:30 tomorrow morning.  Oh, by the way, it rained hard until about 4:00 pm today :)...

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Nancy's Marshview Cafe, Salisbury MA Living the trail is different than doing the trail.  I'm not quite sure, but I think it is about being more present in the moment, and not worrying about getting to the next whatever; just meeting things as they come, one at a time. Odd day today.  Pearly grey like the sky.  Got a slow start this morning, stayed in the motel room to work on the new maps until 7am.  I thought I was closer to Newburyport than I was, so didn't feel like I had to hurry. Have been feeling a little melancholy as I walk out of New Hampshire into Massachusetts.  I guess yesterday and today have been taking me down memory lane a bit.  Yesterday, all the mansions and private clubs had me reflecting on how I grew up; how private country clubs and yacht clubs, etc were the norm, and how I never gave it a second thought - it was what was normal for me as a child.  Then as I walked through Hampton Beach yesterday and today, I saw how much the town was about making money, (there was even an ATM on one person's front yard!).  This made me think about my very early 20's in Las Vegas.  Back then, it was hard to find a church or movie theater there, it was all casinos, live shows, restaurants and pawn shops, (at least that is my memory of those days).  Then moving through "tacky", fun, touristy...

Regal Inn, Hampton Beach, NH
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Cool and wet today, and the wind bullied me all day long, yanking me around by my pack  :)    Made for fast walking at times though.  Spent most of the day along the seacoast with wild waves spraying sea salt everywhere. There were postcard perfect towns and miles of old money wealth.  Overall a very attractive residental area but almost no place to get a coffee or candybar.  Didn't even see a gas station until I hit Hampton Beach. Late morning I stopped at Rye Harbor for a sandwich, a rest, and spent some time watching seagulls hover in the wind.  Very pretty harbor, but almost deserted.  One of the postmen in Hampton told me the tourist season is pretty much done in this area now, and as I walked into Hampton Beach, I saw some of the restaurants and motels were already closed with signs saying "See you next year!" Since it was cold today, and I was well rested, I had set my sights on Hampton Beach where my maps were supposed to be waiting at the post office for me. Well, when I finally arrived  ....... I found the map package was nowhere to be found, neither at this sub station or the main branch in Hampton.  Yikes! Now what?  Decided I needed to regroup and hunted up a motel who gave me a room at half price, and who, by the way, also let me use their computer and printer...

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Woo hoo!! The first 270 miles of this journey are complete and now two nights of clean sheets, hot sudsy baths and all the salad and fruit I can eat.  Today's walk through Eliot and Kittery, Maine and over the state line into Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was a pleasent walk through primarily residental areas and tourist towns.  Being a midwesterner, I am utterly charmed by this area.   It was a good day for walking, the sun was out, the birds were singing, and with it being Saturday, the traffic remained reasonably light until I hit a tourist traffic jam in Portsmouth. I crossed over the Piscataqua River using the Memorial Bridge and got the bonus of watching  it lift to allow a freighter through. Stopped for an ice cream in the heart of the historical, touristy downtown area and was able to find a good map of the New Hampshire seacoast I will be walking starting Monday. Now I will sleep and later try to catch up on some emails.  Tomorrow, I will rest for the most part.  Will do some laundry, maybe buy food for the trail if there is a market close by, and sleep some more.  I find sleep to be an enormously powerful medicine chest   :) Ahhhhh........... pillows!...

Okay, so what is it with these pay showers?  I ran into them for the first time in Spain this year and thought maybe it was a continent thing :)  But no, here they are right in the good old USA. I remember when water was free and there were drinking fountains everywhere.  When you went to a restaurant, from the lowliest drive in or diner, up to the swankiest, hi-tone places, the first thing your host/server did when they seated you, was to fill your water glasses.  But of course, the world has changed since I was a kid.  First, world population has doubled since I was born and is continuing to grow at about 250,000 people a year I read somewhere.  So scarcity is increasing.  Then we have become more green thinking, waste concious, at least in this arena, and this a good thing. 
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Walking these roads so close to inhabited areas and working farms, I wonder about the water in the streams, ponds and lakes I pass.  I am trying to make sure I get water from town sources, but once in awhile I get caught short and have to get some from a stream or creek, (flowing water is safer to drink than still water as a rule). Now, I have chemicals to treat the water, to kill any bacteria or protozoa growing there, but I have no way of removing fertilizer, heavy metals, etc.  Scarce, dirty water becomes a much more personal issue out...

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I now see the difference between "Adult" campgrounds and regular ones like these :) Activity level  lol. Regular ones have kids and teenagers and are pleasently awake and noisy until later.  Could hear kids playing basketball, teens laughing, etc. until 10 pm or so. Impressions: Maine is classic car country.  Starting on day 1 of this hike, I have been seeing model As, Model Ts, Cooper Minis, Barracudas and Stingrays, 1950's Desotos, Muscle cars, Mustangs,  MG Sportsers, Spider 800s,  1960s Long fin cars, and so on and so on.  There have been old time pickups, refurbished hot rods and even an old timey fire engine.  All in cherry condition. Most pass me by before I can get the camera out, too bad. Between the crows, the cars and the dark pine forests, I can see where Stephan King gets some of his inspiration; Reflections: Yesterday I found myself wishing for the um-teenth time that I knew the name of the bird, insect or plant I was seeing, and perhaps a bit of their natural history.  Now what in the world would knowing its name add to the moment? To the direct seeing, hearing?  Well, nothing, in fact engaging the mind like that might actually get in the way of direct perception.  So why was my mind continually going back to naming issues?  With that question I realized it was my wanting to be able to share my experience with others and maybe inspire folks to go see for themselves....

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I don't even know where to begin. So I will begin at the beginning :) Thanks to the good care of Rebecca and Terry at the Mindfulness Center, I awoke refreshed and raring to go.  Hit the road by 5:15 am and got to watch the sun top the horizon walking on the road.  Great way to start the dayand added to my enjoyment of  retracing my steps out in morning, distance seems shorter and I get to really see what fatigue blurred the night before. Then, walking through Saco, a police car coming towards me passed, turned around and passed me again and then pulled into a side road just in front of me, turned and parked the car to face me.  Oh - oh, maybe someone saw me at my last au natural bathroom break and was offended?  I strolled up beside the car and this pretty blonde policewoman waved and tossed out a "Good morning"  I replied with a "Good morning" of my own and added, "A great morning for a walk."  Well the policewoman, who turned out to Ashley, got out of the cruiser and we chatted a bit about hiking, the AT and the ECG, Saco and tourists.  I told Ashley I was going to come back and visit, and Ashley pulled out her card, gave it to me and said, "If you need any information when you come back, just give me a call."  She wished me well, and let me know she...

This is the time of the day I love most; early morning before the sun is up and most of the world is still sleeping.  Yet from where I am camped, I can hear a busy highway not too far off and the traffic on it didn't ease up all night.  All those cars and trucks drown out the crickets.  I have been fortunate enough to live in places where there are no busy highways, where one can hear the insects buzz and chirp, can hear the mice and voles rustle in the grass and jump a little when squirrels crash through forest undergrowth sounding like deer or something bigger.  These days my ears are country ears, but I can remember a time when I lived in big cities, when traffic noise was the constant white noise of my life, tuned out and not "heard".  With this contrast in life styles I can see how much effort it took to ignore the constant bombardment of mechanized sound.  We need our quiet but alive places. The world will be poorer if rural areas get smaller and absolutely barren if wilderness disappears. 
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Right now there is something small working its way around my tent.  Perhaps it smells some crumb of energy bar I overlooked, or perhaps I am camped on a favorite foraging trail.  If I were in a house now, I would be "Eek, there's a mouse in the house, get the live traps out before it can do any...

South Portland
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Woot!  Raining, warm apple fritter and a hot black coffee - perfect.  It's been a great morning's walk so far. All along the oceanside, by beaches, harbors and over bridges.  Saw early morning rowers and of course, runners. Even the walk by Portland's sewage plant was interesting. I like very much what this city has done with it's working waterfront and will be back another time to explore it more fully.  I did spend 20 minutes or so wandering around and found the ferries that service the islands around here.  The ticket office looked much like old train stations and bus stations, where some find shelter to rest.  Saw another hiker stretched out on a bench sleeping. Knee is pretty good this morning.  Sleep has done its magic, and I'm sure the ice didn't hurt either.  :)   Cut holes in the insoles of my boots this morning to accomodate the developing neuromas, so all in all, we are good to go. Wild Duck Campground Scarborough ME Today's walk has been mostly off road, (but still on asphalt - ugh), with the last couple of miles being in marshlands.  This area of Maine is definately ready for the ECG.  A little more infrastructure, and it will be perfect. It has rained pretty much all day, alternating from a misty spitting kind of rain to a steady light soaking rain.  Tonight though they are threatening T - storms so it is good to be in and set up.  Lucked...

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Reflections Yesterday as I walked through mile after mile of exurbia, an image popped into mind of me walking with Post It notes stuck all over my clothes. Each had one of my names written on it.  There was Mum for my daughter, KJ for my parents, aunts and uncles, Dr. Terzano for my professional contacts, Kanjo for some of my Buddhist friends, Karen for others, Kebby for childhood friends, Peregrine for my hiking community, and so on.  I am all of those people the Post It labels stand for, and none of them.  We all think we know people, but what we really know is an internal image of them we have built upon snapshots taken at specific times.  The more snapshots of them we have, the more information, though usually,  the information gathered only pertains to a few of those post it notes. So how DO we know others?  I think its through empathy, and can only happen in the moment.  For example, if we see a dog hit by a car and there is blood and the dog whimpers, we can infer it is in pain, that it has been damaged.  This we can know from observation. Yet we cannot feel what the dog feels, cannot see through its eyes, smell through its nose..  If we reach and touch a memory of how WE felt when hurt; the physical pain, the fear, the panic, then we know the dog in that moment.  But we must know...

Flying Point  Cemetary  East of Freeport ME
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This morning has just been glorious.  First, the route out of Brunswick has put me on a little traveled road which must be heaven for bicyclists; smooth, bumpless blacktop. In fact bicyclists outnumbered cars 10 to 1 until 9:00 am.  The second treat of the day has been smelling brine scented air as I made my way along the ocean.  Stopped for a bit at Wharton Point, and as the tide was out, got to watch some clammers work.  Several of them had airboats, and while that suprised me a bit, it made perfect sense. Winslow Park, South Freeport, ME Found this little gem only a mile or so off the ECG.  It is a non-hookup campground right on the ocean, and there are plenty of other tents for a change.  I was glad to find it as the communities I have been walking through today have been well to do for the most part, almost completely residential, with just a few hobby farms thrown in.  This means there was little in the way of stealthing available.  The one motel I did call quoted me $112 for a single, and that was the cheap motel  lol. Totaled 15 miles for the day which means I will probably have to spend the night in Portland tomorrow. Nothing really to report on the hike, except to say I saw the first ECG blazes today, and an almost bike-car accident as a driver tried to...

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Happy Friday the 13th! I lost a day out here and until I turned on the weather channel this morning, I thought it was Thursday, lol    Flipped to the news and it was business as usual, selling fear.  It's not that these "bad" things are not happening, they are, but news programs give almost no time to the remarkably "good" things that happen everyday, let alone report on all the ordinary good and kind acts that abound.  I wonder what we all would be like, if newspapers and tv news reversed their emphasis?  Remember: garbage in - garbage out. 'K, time to hit the road - later  :) Cotton Rd, Lisbon ME I've been having a great morning!  Weather has been perfect for hiking and, for the most part I have been walking by rivers and over countryside on very low traffic roads.  I've just been lollygagging along again today, listening to crickets, watching finches and exploring graveyards. The best moment so far today happened early this morning when I sat for a bit to watch the Androscoggin River flow by.  It was fairly slow moving and glassy surfaced where I chose to sit. I was noticing all the water bugs made it seem there was a slight drizzle going on as they bounced along the surface leaving rings as raindrops do, when BAM, a fish jumped out of the water, perhaps to catch its breakfast, or, maybe to avoid being someone else's breakfast.  Whichever, it was a...

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Maine is Crows. Every day, all day, I see crows, hear crows; even more often than sparrows. Rte 202, Leeds ME Picked up the ECG again just south of Monmouth and now am back on busy highway after an early morning spent weaving in and out of still country lanes.   Feet are very tired, but that's to be expected until they adjust to the increased milage. I fear more and more of this walk is going to be on these busy roads, and I am beginning to toy with the idea of doing greater milage each time I find myself on one, and then spend what days I have gained by doing this, being stationary for a bit.  I will be walking near Diamond Hill Monastery, near Cumberland/Providence RI and think maybe I will spend a few days there.  I have sat Kyol Che with them before and it would be nice to visit. Motel 6 Lewiston Maine Looooooong day, best I can figure, 22+ miles.  Thats about 7 too many for today.  Luckily, a Trail Angel happened by when I was about 3 miles out, perched on a boulder on a street corner, figuring out an alternative route, (shorter) to the motel 6.  This truck coming out of the side street asked me if I was lost, one thing led to another and I was offered a ride from a nice contractor. We talked 12 step til he dropped me off at the motel. As my dear friend...

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God! It's good to be alive. A little Benny Goodman to walk on top of, early morning long shadow sun, and being fanned by trucks and cars on Hwy 201. Can it get any better? I don't know about Stella, but Karen is definately in the groove :)

On the side of 201, south of Vassalboro

Reflections:

I'm gonna have to rethink cemetaries, graves and headstones.  I always wished I could be "buried" the Tibetan way, where they chop up the body and leave it for the vultures, (yeah I know, I'm a romantic).  We have laws that prevent things like this in the USA, so I settled on a paper mache coffin, no headstone, and a tree planted on top of me, (I hope to be good plant food).  No muss, no fuss, no upkeep. However, on this trek the roadsides have been peppered with old graveyards, and let me tell you, there is no better place for a hot and weary hiker to rest.  Always a patch of shade, a cool stone, and away from traffic noise.  It looks like both being a tree and being a headstone are useful ways to be dead.

Practical Stuff
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Before I forget, (days start to blend together after just 2 lol), both Albion and Benton have at least one convenience store  and Albion has a library right on the trail.  It was closed when I passed by, but there is a possible internet connection there.  Don't know if I mentioned it, but Unity has a bank. The trail goes right by Benton town offices and they have a lovely park there with a porta potty.  They let me plug my phone in for an hour while I kicked back and read my Kindle (luvin' the Kindle!). Then in Winslow, on the corner of Clinton Ave and Benton Ave, (you will go right by here) there is Poorman's PC & Repair where you can do internet for $2/hr. Okay, housekeeping done :) I am almost finished with today's 12 mile hike, and a good thing too, it's 87 degrees right now.  But good news, the feet, while tired, are happy.  I will be staying with a member of the old Waterville Zazenkai in Waterville, ME tonight. I think they are going to let me sleep in the zendo, will be like old times  :) I can feel myself relaxing into this hike little by little, and can observe my defensive shields becoming thinner.  I have never done a hike like this before, (unknown, unblazed and through urban centers), and I think this may be the first time since my drunken 20's that I have not known where...

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Under a tree about a mile north of Albion...

Gosh, I never know where to begin!  I am seeing so much and meeting loads of folks.

However, every day seems to end up with a predominant impression.  Yesterday's was environmental art, and coming out of Bucksport it was parakeets, (through town and several miles beyond, every house I passed had parakeet voices coming out open windows).  Well so far today its flags, and primarily American flags, though I have seen a few Canadian as well as the ubiquitous garden and house flags. The American flags have been mostly of the usual sort, but also there have been ones made out of fence pickets, one from aluminium siding, some were painted on rocks, and some were heart shaped.  Houses around here have signs on them that say God bless America and elderly oaks have yellow ribbons tied about them.

Unity House of Pizza, Unity Maine
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I am taking a break and waiting on takeout for tonight's dinner, which will be eaten where I camp, somewhere near Unity College's soccer field. This is a trendy little town and Unity College is a fantastic school, founded on environmental studies, (www.unity.edu) and all of thier majors are environmentaly relevant.  Gave them a call last Thursday to ask if I could rent a dorm room for a night, or set up my tent somewhere.  The dorm was out as they are refinishing floors, but they invited me to use their woods and said they would leave thier gym open so I could have access to water and take a shower.  Had to call their public safety when I got off trail, but no problem they said, they would adjust.  Imagine! I'm not far from the college now so it's going to be an early day.  Got a late start, (for me), and didn't quite know what to expect with the new boots so I asked my friend to drop me 5 or 6 miles beyond where he picked me up Thursday night. The new Keen Targhee (sp) boots have been good so far, (a much sturdier and stiffer boot, I went through 3 pairs of these on the Appalachian Trail), but the temperature is in the mid 70's, so I'm not swelling as much. Final judgement will have to wait. In the 6 or so miles I have walked today, I have...

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Reflections A couple of days ago, I passed along Bucksport Maine’s river walk, turned right, and headed north on Central Street, which turned into Bucks Mill Road as I left town. (Its name changed again to East Bucksport Road about 7 – 8 miles further out).  It was early morning and the mist was just beginning to burn off as I headed back into countryside. The wet air felt like cool chiffon velvet on my skin and I could hear plaintive Loon conversation as I passed close to Silver Lake. Sparrows were chirping close to the roadside.  Up ahead, I saw a Crow fly onto the road and start picking at something there.  When I got close, with a loud caw, Crow flew off to disappear into the trees.  I soon reached the spot where he had been and saw he had been breakfasting on a fresh, car-flattened mouse.  It struck me; I would never see this again; this crow, this mouse, this road, these weather conditions.  We had all come together for a moment, and we would not pass this way again; yet, though the moment was ephemeral, it was firmly anchored in history. I knew why I was walking, but why was I walking on this road?  Well, the ECG picked it for some reason.  Ok, why was the road here?  This question took me back to my earlier Penobscot River walk. I remembered an informational plaque I had just seen talking about a sawmill. So a...

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It's only 8:30 am and I'm already stopping for a long break.  I'm walking North Rd, and on my way to Unity Pond. It’s really HOT and uncomfortable.  Must be in the 80's already and the humidity must be near 100%, reminds me more of Costa Rica than of Maine. Weather.com promises T-storms this afternoon and I can't wait!  Have found a nice moss covered boulder back off the road, under a thick stand of trees and am laying here soaking up the coolness of the stone. Oh by the way, I lied to you about bird song I can identify......... I recognized Mourning Doves today. Have been walking by many streams, ponds and bogs.  Can hear gulumping frogs and some of them popcorn pop off lily pads and submerged tree limbs as I pass too close. I would have thought there would be more frogs here to lend their voices to the chorus. Maybe these mostly sing at night. On this road I have seen the first real working farms; mostly dairy and corn.  The eau de silageis in the air.  Lots of rolled hay bales too.  I wonder at the difference in farm country here and in Spain where I walked the El Camino this spring. There, I was surprised to see the landscape free of houses, and cropland would go for miles and miles with no buildings.  The only homes to be seen were in the villages.  Here in the USA, each farm has its own...

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A couple of notes before I get going for the day:  First, on the practical side, I found a convenience store in Orrington called Steve’s Kozy Korner.  You will pass right by it on Brewer Lake Rd.  It has fast food pizza, breakfast sandwiches, chicken nuggets as well as basic food items, a deli case, (they will make you a sandwich) and junk food.  This was the only re-supply food place I saw yesterday, and they do have picnic tables outside where you can eat your goodies when it’s not raining (like it was yesterday).  If you retrace your steps back just a few hundred feet to the Orrington Park/Fishing Point, you will find covered picnic tables in a more natural setting. In that same park, I ran into 3 students doing research from the University of Maine, (while I was there they were weighing dippers full of minnows and releasing them back into the stream).  They told me a hopeful thing: evidently a dam had just been removed in this park to allow salmon access to their home streams once again.  A real problem in the Northeast has been the disappearance of Atlantic salmon from their ancestral spawning streams and brooks, and it was discovered that the many small dams and culverts, which pepper the countryside here, were partially to blame.  The U of M students told me there is currently a State program to tear down these dams and/or build fish ladders.  Yay!  One point for the...

Only 90 minutes into the hike today and already have to take a break to let the feet dry out and toughen up again (callus softens when wet).  When they do, I'll put on a dry pair of socks and be on my way. It's been great walking so far (for being on asphalt), coolish and cloudy.  Oh, by the way cyclists, the sides of the roads have been sand so far, so careful.  I really don't know how you do it.  Walking on this road I can imagine a pickup or SUV racing up to just behind you, too close, because they want to pass but can't because they can't see far enough ahead, and you, the cyclist, have no where to go since to leave the road is to ride into sand and risk going ass over teakettle!  You guys are brave.  Me, I can just step into the ditch when I see or hear one of them approaching. OK, feet dry; more later. National Guard Amory, South Brewer, Maine 10 miles and I'm done for the day.  I am really going to have to adjust my expectations on this walk.  I’m accustomed to putting in 10 miles before my feet start hurting, but with all this road walk they are beginning to wail after 6 miles......hmmmmm. Today’s walk stayed on forested, very low traffic roads for most of the day, and for the second morning in a row, as I pass by hidden ponds, I have been...

What a great day!  I broke camp at dawn and was on the road, (Rte 1), by 6 am.  Cool, misty, and at that hour, a reasonable amount of traffic.  Early on, I sauntered through the small town of Bucksport and made a great discovery! There is a beautiful river-walk here!  It runs for a mile or so along the Penobscot River, across from old Fort Knox, (late 1840’s).  It took me a mile out of my way, but I walked it in the morning mist  ………………. magical. This path is not on the ECG, but should be for walkers, (not enough room for cyclists – sorry). When the path ended at the odorless Verso paper mill (I’m impressed), I backtracked and picked up Central St. and the rest of the day was spent on rural back road, the type with no shoulders but little traffic to worry about.  The kind of back road where ditches are filled with wildflowers and small homes punctuate pine forest. I hiked about 9 miles today, and then had some friends who live nearby pick me up and whisk me to their house where I will spend a couple of days doing slack packs.  Slack-packing, for those of you not familiar with the term, is when a hiker takes only some water, munchies and maybe a first aid kit (2 – 5 lbs) for a day’s hike.  The hiker is dropped off on the trail where they left it the previous day, and then...

Long walk today through pretty country on a busy road.  I see I am going to have to keep the milage down to about 10, not only because of the extra weight I'm carrying, but even more so to recuperate from all the noise and activity of the road.  I don't know how bicyclists do it! The extra 10 lbs I'm carrying is taking a  toll (total pack weight 29 lbs) as is the no shade conditions of highway walking.  Had to stop and duct tape feet and change socks twice.  Once in an old cemetary where I stayed to have lunch. Made it to Shady Oaks campground in Orland.  Basically an RV place, but they rented me a piece of ground in a patch of woods for $15.  Nice to be in a tent again. Nice people. Had a hot shower and a cold supper and am going to try out the kindle when I finish this post. I hope to get onto less busy roads tomorrow. Today was not fun. Impressions: More than half of the small businesses up this way on Rte 1 are closed and many of the houses are for sale.  The economic downturn of the past few years is evident in the for sale signs and boarded windows. Road litter was suprisingly little and this made me feel a little better about walking on asphalt. Let's see what tomorrow brings  :)...

The past few days I have been receiving emails from friends and other long walkers I have met along various trails over the years.  All wish me well, but most of them offer suggestions for alternative routes in order to avoid large cities and stay off busy roads.  Some have even suggested I use a bicycle on the ECG to make the trip quickly.  So why am I doing the ECG the way I am?  The simple answer is to steal George Mallory”s famous retort of, "Because it's there" when he was asked by a reporter, "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?”  But life being what it is, my answer is more complicated, (or not), and in spirit it more resembles Thornton Wilder’s book, The Bridge of San Luis Rey. That book’s plot is based upon a footbridge in Peru of 1714, collapsing with 5 people on it, dropping them to their deaths in a deep gorge below.  It looks at what brought these particular people to this particular spot at that exact moment, with the single largest question being,” Was it chance or was there some divine plan in evidence?” (When I read it many years ago, being a scientist, I added the question, “Did they cause the bridge to collapse?”)  But I digress. The decision to walk to New York on the ECG was born in a multitude of impulses, interests and life circumstances coming together.   I am a Naturalist, a Psychologist, a Zen Buddhist Monk...

As I Google Map the ECG route through Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, I am left with the impression, that one must be wealthy or willing to go many miles off trail to find sleeping accommodations.  There seem to be sufficient B&Bs, hotels and motels along the route, but they are better spaced for the bicyclist. For a hiker doing an extended trip, these shelters are not always within one day’s walking distance and the many days spent on the trail may make lodging prohibitively expensive.  Then there’s the camping.  I’m finding many of the listed campgrounds, private and state, prohibit tents!  I would have thought, at least in my home state of Maine, there would be a plethora of camping possibilities, but according to Google Maps, it just ain’t so. So part of my mission has now become to locate alternatives along the route if they exist.  I will be adding a new sub-routine to my normal day.  Starting around 1pm I will start asking folks I meet, where I might set up a tent for a night, or where there might be inexpensive lodgings. (I haven’t even put a foot on the trail and already I feel like a depression era hobo!). I hadn’t REALLY realized until I started looking into this trip, that the world just isn’t set up for walkers anymore.  To stay off highways where pedestrians are not allowed, and to find alternate crossings when bridges prohibit foot traffic is difficult, and...

The Bear Vault arrived today and I think I am going to have a love - hate relationship with this thing. It’s hard, and bulky, and heavy.  I won’t send it back because there are State and National parks which require hikers/campers to use them, but I don’t think it will come along on this journey.  I won’t often be sleeping rough in bear country, so I’ll put my food in a bear bag, hang it from a tree at night, and won’t worry if a critter walks off with it. I’ll never be far from a town, and besides, I have love handles to live off of.  **grin**

[caption id="attachment_403" align="alignright" width="162" caption="Rough outline of Karen Terzano's Route"][/caption]

Karen Terzano is a seasoned long-haul hiker, having completed the Appalachian trail and Spain's El Camino de Santiago.  This is the first of her posts about her impending walk down the first quarter of the East Coast Greenway.   We will be following her progress and adding the best sections of the trip to the trip library.  If you have any ideas or suggestions of where she should stay or eat along the greenway, by all means post a comment and let her know.  You can find out more about the East Coast Greenway at their website, and don't miss the weekendwalk interview with the greenway's trail director, Eric Weis.

Maine to New York on the East Coast Greenway: part 1

Today, I begin the final planning stage for the 740 miles I am going to walk on the East Coast Greenway. I will be starting August 1, 2010 in my hometown of Ellsworth, Maine, where the ECG passes through, and will be walking to New York City.

[caption id="attachment_406" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The East Coast Greenway In Connecticut"][/caption]

The "in process of development" Greenway is 3,000 miles long (currently, about 25% of it is on completed off road trails, the rest, being in some stage of

development, runs along existing roads and highways), and goes from the US - Canadian border at Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida. The Greenway is a long distance urban trail designed for human locomotion. It connects cities and towns, and has been designated as one of our nation's 16 National Millennium Trails.  (Read Weekendwalk interview with ECGW trail director Eric Weis.)

I learned about the ECG several years ago when I was planning my through hike on the Appalachian Trail (AT) and tucked the information away in a corner of my brain, where it has remained waiting patiently for me until now. A couple of weeks ago I was looking at my calendar. I had just finished doing 500+ miles of the "El Camino de Santiago" in Spain, and knew I was to be attending a Buddhist retreat in Garrison NY during mid October. Looking at the intervening weeks, I knew I didn't have enough time to look for work, but also knew there was way too much time to do nothing, and that's when the ECG popped into consciousness.............. What a great idea! Maybe I'll walk. ☺