2.5 days of solid effort (and sore fingers) later, they’d pretty much used up the whole kit.

Hiking

Kayaking

Kayaking with Boppa

Swimming/Snorkeling with Boppa

Fishing

“Birdwatching”

Sculpture Climbing

They reported that, between the two of them, they saw 199 species of birds (they each saw 198, and each saw one that the other did not see). Apparently, there are “as many as 450 species of birds” in Alaska, which means they saw 44% of the species that inhabit the state.

I guess they’ll have to go back to finish the job.

The preliminary report of their trip did not include any data as to how many of these birds were new to their life list, but I’m sure that information will be provided in a subsequent report (or at least as a comment on this post).

He is thrilled with it.

Well, somehow, that evolved into Alana needing a bike, which became an early Christmas present from Boppa and J for her. Shocker…it’s pink!

J made several laps around the cul de sac teaching Alana that, to stop, she needed to just turn the pedals backward instead of putting her feet down.

Within two days, Alana had mastered the bike, and she now not only cruises the cul de sac endlessly, but she’s done larger loops on the bike trail with big brother Benton.

For as long as I can remember, and becoming a more openly discussed topic after Kim and I had left home and my parents were back to travelling as a couple rather than as a fullblown couple-with-kids, my dad’s engineer/early-riser/better-safe-than-sorry approach to trips has been, “Figure out how early you can start packing…and then start a day or two earlier.” My mother’s approach has always been, “If it wasn’t for the last minute, a lot of things wouldn’t get done.”

They headed out yesterday for a trip up towards the Arctic Circle. That means that, in a span of just a year or two, they will be putting themselves in a fairly small group of civilians who have spanned this broad of a range of latitudes. An excerpt from the e-mail that my dad sent out on Friday that gave Julie and me both a good chuckle:

Well, we are off to Ottawa on Saturday and your mother has been packed for a couple of days – first time ever. We are actually going to a live show and dinner tonight. I just got an email that we won’t be boarding our ship in Resolute, but in Nanisivik, instead, due to ice near Resolute. Perhaps they are being overly cautious due to the tour boat that hit ice in the Antarctic earlier this year and sank. Or, it may be that the mild earthquake caused by your mother getting herself packed and ready early shook the ice loose.

Happy travels, folks!

Jack and Ed went to Costa Rica with my parents earlier this year, and Jack has now guest-written about the experience on the 10,000 Birds blog. It’s an interesting read, with some great pictures from the trip. The second of the two pictures that includes humans — about halfway through the post — features the backs and Tilley Hats of my parents.

5/18/93 — Tue.

For the first time, I am sitting in exactly the same spot for two consecutive journal entries. It feels good, and I now have a greater appreciation for a day of rest. I read all of Harmful Intent, by Robin Cook. I do not think it was nearly as good as Brain, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. I do miss pleasure reading, and I look forwar to having the copy of One Man’s Meat (E. B. White) to tote along.

My pack is prety much all loaded up after round two of picking out the “non-essentials” (round one was at Walasi-Yi Center). The pack still does not exactly feel light, but it felt comfortable when I put it on — probably more from having carried it for ten days than from the reduction of its mass by a collapsible wash basin, a pot lid, a plastic spoon, a plastic spatula, and about five other small, virtually weightless items.

My body has certainly appreciated the rest. My left heel/Achille’s tendon is still just a bit tender, as is my right hip, but they feel much better than they did yesterday afternoon.

Dad an Dan are being shuttled to Ashevilled tomorrow morning (Dad – plane; Dan – bus), and the rest of us are going to head on down the trail. Troll’s Achille’s tendon is still bothering him, but we have until Friday to make it the 30 miles to Wesser, which is pretty light hiking. Hopefully he will be as good as new by the time we reach Fontana.

We didn’t do much today — sat on the porch and talked with Dan a lot. He’s a sharpt guy with a quick wit, and I hope that tomorrow morning is not the last I ever see of him.

I’m meeting Julie in Wesser on Friday, and the time between now and then is one of those quirky things in that it is both a long and a short period. It is long because I wish I could see her now if not sooner, but it is so much sooner than June 9. I do lover her.

I no longer have a mirror with me (the toilet kit returns with Dad), which means two things: first, if I become lost and a plane flies overhead, I will have to build a fire or use the face of my watch (as a mirror) to attract attention. Second, I will not be able to watch the growth of my facial hair, which is not missing much. As far as I can tell, my facial hairs grow at a reasonable rate, but they only cover about 5% of the “normal” facial hair area. I am one of the few people who could actually count the hairs on his face if he actually wanted to (I have no such desire).

My handwriting has been deteriorating since I began this journal. I will make a conscious effort to remedy that, so as to save my eyes and mind in years hence, when I try to reread my thoughts.

My handwriting has continued to deteriorate over the years. By comparison, the journal, thus far, is remarkably legible!

5/17/93 — Mon.

We made it to Rainbow Springs early this afternoon and rented a little cabin. Some surprising things have happened:

Troll twisted his right ankle, and then trussed up his boot laces so tight for support that he strained his left Achille’s tendon, so he made it here last night, stayed today, and is staying tomorrow. he is going ot meet his girlfriend in Wesser instead of Fontana Dam so he can really take it easy for a while. I talked to Julie (she’s in Sour Lake), and she is up for driving down to Wesser to meet me. My body is feeling the effects of ten days of tough hiking, so I am going to stick with Troll and take it easy for a bit.

We have finally decided that my boots are too small (nice move — I have an almost new $135 pair at home)… but Dad’s fit quite well. Potentially add the boots to the thinsulite jacket and Tilly Hat (things I have actively inherited).

Dad is probably going to go straight from here to Knoxville and buy a new ticket. Dan is probably going to go, too, and take a bus home. He really is a nice guy, so hopefully he and Dad will figure out some way to stay in touch.

Bushwack, who we had decided must be far behind us, took a shortcut on the Kimsey Creek Trail (7 miles vs. 25 miles) and got here yesterday. I have no idea what his plans are.

It does feel good to get off the trail for a bit, and I am excited at the prospect of seeing Julie so much sooner than I had planned. At the same time, I am sure that I want to continue hiking the A.t. Dan and Dad have had enough, but I am hooked. I have yet to see bears or rattlesnakes (Dan & Troll have both seen black bears — Dan has seen a rattlesnake, too), but hopefully that will change once I am on my own.

A stream flows over rocks nearby, making a sound not unlike radio static, yet very unlike it. It is a peaceful sound.

A light fog rolls in, brining with it the chill of the night.

Troll saw a good sunset. I have not…yet.

5/16/93 — Sun.

We made over 16 miles today, leaving just over 10 miles to get to the Rainbow Springs Campground. We went so far, I think, partly because it was relatively level, and partly because the campground (showers) is a pretty big carrot dangling in front of Dad’s and Dan’s noses. We are camped tonight at Betty Creek Gap.

Tomorrow, it’s Rainbow Springs, and then I will be on my own. Hopefully, I will be able to make Fontana Dam by Friday, and meet up with Dad there.

My thought/idea for today was to write a play about someone hiking the A.T. I didn’t get much farther than that, but it seems like all I need is a good idea for a main character, and I’d be off and running. I’ve got several months to get ideas from people I meet on the trail. We stayed last night in the shelter with a guy named Bush-Wack [sic] (real name: Victor). He had been hiking with Troll, but couldn’t quite keep up. He’s kind of a "free spirit," as Dad says with a certain amount of distaste. He was in the Army (stations in Panama for three years), has hiked a big chunk of the Pacific-Crest Trail, and most recently comes from working in a hotel in California. He doesn’t carry a stove — cooks his dinner on the fire every night. Every night he eats lentils, beans, rice, and barley (the same recipe Dad has) boiled for 30 minutes in water. For breakfast he eats oatmeal and hot chocolate mix mixed in cold water (yuch!). Sometimes he throws some Ramen noodles in with his dinner mix, for variety. He doesn’t eat lunch. It’s probably the cheapest way to go, but worse than any diet study I would ever do. When at a shelter, he still sleeps outside on clear nights (likes to sleep under the stars), his machete stuck in the ground near to his head (yes, his machete — almost 2 feet long). It’s probably a good thing that he sleeps outside — Dan says he’s one of the loudest snorers he’s ever heard, although it didn’t bother me. He’s an interesting character, all right.

There are also three guys who we have heard about but not seen: Turtle, Snail, and Slug. They started the day after we did, and they are loaded down with juggling equipment. Apparently, they’re quite good…at juggling. Rumor has it that their whole trip is planned out on the computer, but they are already down to one box of macaroni & cheese and are supplementing their diet with edible plants. They’re from Las Vegas, which just goes to build up my belief that that city produces some real wackos [sic]. Bets are that they haven’t made it out of Georgia yet and have little chance of finishing the trail. Bush-wack [sic] even said they were a strange bunch!

As it turned out, two of the three jugglers did indeed drop out fairly quickly. The third one continued on and actually flip-flopped. He’ll crop up some time in September, I think, as I spent the night with him in a shelter in New Hampshire or Maine. We’ll see if I manage to cross-link back to this post when we get there!

The play…never even got started. I’ve learned in the past fifteen years that, while I’m a decent writer, and I enjoy it…that’s only for certain types of work. I haven’t had a solid idea for a piece of fiction since I was in college, despite how much I enjoy reading it.

As for the diet study reference, while I was in college, a number of my fraternity brothers and I made some money on the side by participating in medical studies at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. Most of the studies we did were ones where we were a control group for some sort of geriatric-oriented study. The exact format of the studies varied slightly from one to the other, but most of them meant we had to eat the same three meals — low sodium, and with portions measured out to the fraction of an ounce — every day for anywhere from 3 days to a couple of weeks. We had some input into what the meals were, but, let me tell you, nothing tastes good the fifth day in a row that you’ve had it for dinner! These studies were win-win, especially during MIT’s "Independent Activities Period" (IAP) every January — our house didn’t provide meals then, so this was a way to get paid several hundred dollars while also having our meals taken care of.

One downside was that, not only was there strict monitoring of our intake, but there was strict monitoring of our liquid output. For many of the studies, we spent every night in the hospital, but we were out during the day — lugging around a backpack with a gallon jug with a very good sealing lid.

We got to know the nurses in the Clinical Research Center (CRC) fairly well. Apparently, working in the CRC was a fairly sought-after gig, as the majority of the patients were actually…healthy. Occasionally, there would be overflow from the other beds in the hospital, but, for the most part, we had the run of the place and all enjoyed flirting with the nurses, who were very good sports.

One other aside about that whole experience. There were enough of us from the same fraternity cycling through on studies that were managed by the same doctor, that she noticed a pattern of anemia in her "healthy" test subjects. She actually put many of us on iron supplements and, if I recall correctly, called up our cook advising him to try to work some additional leafy vegetables and red meats into our menu! I don’t know that that did much good, as we payed poorly and wound up with a couple of real characters as cooks.