Category: Virginia

Jim sent a bonus update yesterday which gives some fascinating insight about the logistics of hiking the Appalachian trail. Highlights: pack weight management, the economics of propane sales to people hiking on foot, trail food, and a most-Hobbit-like affinity for “second breakfasts.”

Jim writes from North Woodstock, New Hampshire, coming closer to the end of his through-hike of the Appalachian Trail: “It was a fortuitous time to receive my winter gear! Two nights ago, in a shelter, the temperature seems to have dipped below 40 (F), and it promises to get colder as we get higher. Mount Washington, the third highest peak on the east coast and the last time we’ll be above 6,000 feet above sea level, had recorded the highest wind speed on earth (231 mph) until two years ago, when Antarctica topped that.”

Jim Heaney, AKA Mothman, updated yesterday from Rutland, Vermont, where Chris Doyle has been apparently hosing him down. He notes that the Appalachian Trail was probably one of the few places in the Northeast that was completely unaffected by the power outage this past weekend. He also notes, “Strange to think ‘nearly over’ and ‘500 miles to go’ at the same time, isn’t it?”

Jim Heaney posts another update, only a week after his last, from Dalton, MA, which he notes has brought non-stop rain and mosquitos along with a comparative dearth of scenery to his through-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

My officemate reminded me that college football season approaches (quote, “I can’t believe the Vols’ first game is the end of this month!”), and I decided to check out VirginiaSports to see the game schedule. What should appear when I load the page, though, but an interstitial ad promoting Virginia’s Great Hope, Matt Schaub, as the nation’s “No. 1 Returning Quarterback” and offering a link to the site for his Heisman bid, Schaub4Heisman.com. Nice photos on the home page. I am glad, at least, that Schaub appears to be a true student athlete, working on his five-year bachelors/masters in economics and education.

I’ve added a live blogroll of Hoobloggers to my site, and you can use it too. Just copy the source code from the Hooblogs page.

Note: this is going to make my link list really long, and there are unavoidably some duplicates with my existing blogroll. But I think it’s worth it.

Jim writes, again from his New Jersey base of operations, after finishing the New Jersey/Delaware leg of the trail, and shares some advice about water on the trail.

If memory and Google serve me well, today is Greg Greene’s birthday. Stop by the Green[e]house sometime today and wish him well, won’t you? And tell him to update his freaking Amazon wish list.

It’s also Doc Searls’s b-day, and Wil Wheaton’s. If that’s not a trio headed for trouble, I don’t know what is.

Another Mothman Chronicles update this morning, this one from Jim’s temporary resting place of Mahwah, NJ, with the “Mothmom” (his word, not mine!!!). Jim is now well over halfway done with his through hike of the Appalachian Trail and spends some time today giving us a historical perspective on the trail.

Happy first blogaversary to Greg. So go, in my immortal malaprop sense, and spank the blog.

There’s a new update for the Mothman Chronicles, the continuing saga of Jim Heaney’s through-hike of the Appalachian Trail. In today’s update, posted from Duncannon, PA, Jim has passed the halfway point at Harper’s Ferry and consumed a half gallon of some unspeakably hideous ice cream. Will this affect his trail stamina? Stay tuned…

A new Mothman update today: Jim is in Waynesboro with Doritos and a twelve pack. He’s crossed the 40% mark. You can read the story so far of Jim’s through-hike of the Appalachian Trail from the Mothman Chronicles page (or subscribe in RSS for new updates!).

A new Mothman update today: Jim has reached Charlottesville in time for his ten-year reunion. You can read the story so far of Jim’s through-hike of the Appalachian Trail from the Mothman Chronicles page (or subscribe in RSS for new updates!).

Congrats to Greg on taking the Green[e]house to a new level and a new home. He has some interesting discussion on what prompted his move:

Blogspot turned slow last week — if you think that posed a problem with reading it, imagine posting under those conditions. My RSS provider got testy around the same moment, interrupting hundreds of feeds with a tacit warning to pull the plug.

Between those issues, periodic trouble with Haloscan, and a burgeoning interest in Movable Type, I decided over the weekend to take the adage that “you get what you pay for” to heart…

Having discussed the joy of living on a free Manila server with a couple of other EditThisPage veterans, I’ll second that last thought. A hearty welcome to greenehouse.net.

I’ve written before about my friend Jim’s hike of the Appalachian Trail this summer. What I didn’t realize when I got the first email was that he planned to keep a regular email “road journey.” We’ve been getting two to three email messages a month from Jim, or “Mothman” as he’s known on the trail for reasons yet unrevealed.

With Jim’s permission, I’ve reprinted his emails, unedited save a few personal details, in a new section of my site: The Mothman Chronicles. (As with all my new sections, you can subscribe to the updates via RSS). So far Jim’s hit three states and is “621 miles into the 2,172 mile journey.” He’s on track to hike into central Virginia in time for his ten-year reunion at the University of Virginia (oh, to be there…). I’ll keep the Mothman Chronicles updated as I get news from Jim.