Dartmouth

The trail led us right through Dartmouth College. It was pretty neat, everyone in the town was super nice and helpful, it was almost like we were celebrities! Parents pointed us out to their children, people offered us to stay at their house and home cooked meals, restaurants gave us free food, and the outfitter gave us snickers! It was a blast and hard to leave, but the trail beconed. I have been hiking with a great group, pork steak, and somer sault from st. Louis, Beowulf who I've been hiking with a while, smiley who I hiked with early on in the smokeys, and hot sauce. The whites are days away and quickly approaching, but we have a plan and are in shape and ready for them! 425 miles to go, still hard to believe, and still having a blast.

I knew it would happen.

Dear Reader,

I knew this day would come, and to be honest I thought I would have been sooner than this. But alas hear I am in the middle of Vermont, and my funds are basically out, I have about $70 left. My trip is NOT in jepordy I already have the food I need to finish, all this means is that I can no longer go into town. Towns are a break from the trail, as you know I have been eating a 1lb burger in every state I go to (except MD ). It is also nice to take a shower, do laundry, have a beer, and sleep in a real bed occasionally; but these are all luxuries. I do not need money to finish, but I do not see myself coming back to the New England area any time soon. I would enjoy a beer and a big juicy burger at Dartmouth (we go right through campus), and a lobster in Maine (that's what you do there right?). After I summit Katahdin I do not want to have to walk another 20 miles to the closest town, hitchhike to Bangor, or stay up all night at the airport because I can not afford a cab, a bus ticket, or a cheap hotel room. So, like I said, I will finish this adventure the only question is will it be as comfortable and fun as it has been so far. Again I do not need money but if you want to help me out, buy me a burger, a hotel room so I can shower and do laundry, or just send a little money my way I would be eternally grateful. If you want to do this please send it to: Kelly Cremins
710 st john ct
Knoxville, TN
37934
Also please attach your address so that I may thank you when I finish, and if you want to buy me a nice Maine lobster when I'm done to celebrate, write it so I know. Thank you so much for reading, only 33 days left, but don't worry I'm sure the adventure is far from over, and the blogs will keep on coming.

Humbly, and gratefully yours,

Liam Cremins (SNARF)

I'm in VT?

Less than 550 miles to go, I've already walked over 1600, 2 more  state lines to cross, 3 1lb burgers, the whites, and of course Katahdin! That's all going to happen in the next 34 days, wow hard to believe this is staring to come to an end.
Yesterday was hot, like 94 and humid, hot. But water is abundant and the tree coverage is good so it is manageable. In hear the whites this time of year get down to the 30s at night so I'll be getting some cold weather gear back, hard to believe at the moment. Sharkey and Rummy caught up, but only for a second, still great to see them. This area is very swampy, muddy, and buggy, but looks like a postcard of the northeast with mountains and a pond, the only thing missing is a moose (fingers crossed). Sometimes the only thing keeping a pond from overflowing onto the trail is a beaver dam. Well time to hit the muddy trail, NH next Wednesday.

I love the A.T.

A few days ago I found a waterfall you could jump off if you wanted, or just sit under and enjoy a relaxing massage. That's exactly what I did, I was underneath and behind the falls, and I'll never forget it!
The next day I entered Massachusetts and walked through the oldest darkest forest I've ever seen in real life. It was like something out of a scary movie, but it wasn't scary, it was amazing!
Yesterday 2 miles before the shelter I was staying at for the night was a beautiful pond. I stood for a moment to take some pictures, and I heard a loud slap on the water. When I looked towards the splash I saw a beaver swimming around near his house, it was so cool. Then another one showed up and they both swam around while I watched and took pictures. When I finally did leave I arrived at the shelter a guy from Germany was there named Euro, I made a fire, drank a beer I carried out and we played darts into the night with our headlights.
Today I hiked 14 miles to a shelter on a lake with canoes, went swimming, and have been hanging out with friends all day. This place is so nice it feels like one of those fancy summer resorts, you know the expensive kind, well all we had to do was walk 1527 miles. Another great surprise happened when a guy named smiley came walking up that I haven't seen since the Smokeys.
The weather has been fantastic, the company better, and I'm headed north for more!

A surprise

I let out a sigh.
"That's what I like to hear!" Sharkey said excitedly
"What, defeat?" I asked.
"We'll be back tonight." He said as I got out of my sleeping.
Walking 11 miles that day to the train station(that crossed the trail) gave me a lot of time to think, and I ultimately decided I would have a better story going with Sharkey and Rummy. I was the first one to the train station, which was just a small wooden platform that said Appalachian Trail. There was a garden center near by that let us shower, and we put our pacs in the back under some tarps. At 2:45 the train pulled up and we were excited to get on and sit for 2 hours in cushioned seats, and I had never taken a train anywhere. The train got more and more crowded the closer we got and by the time we stopped it was packed but we had a blast being the loud group. When we got off the train it was extreme culture shock, tons of people all moving different directions, and no white blazes to follow. Our first order of business was to get our return tickets on the train back at 9:45. When we got to the front of the line we were informed that trains back to the A.T. station only ran in the mornings. Sharkey was convinced his guide book said 9:45pm but there it was in black and white, AM. We were trapped until morning! Luckily I went to college with a girl who lived in the city Annie, and her roommates were gone so we were able to crash on her couches. We left Grand Central and headed towards time square to meet my friend. We passed the library and walked up 42nd to time square, and met her surprisingly easily. First order of business was food so we went a few blocks over and got a good New York pizza. Then we walked down 5th avenue to the Apple store which is next to central park, and across from the plaza hotel. We passed the empire state building, and rockefeller center on the way, we also stopped in St. Patrick's Cathedral. After all that walking we were hungry again surprise surprise, so we went to junior's and got some cheese cake, another NYC must. It was getting late, so we found our way to the subway and rode it uptown to 86th then walked a few more block's to Annie's apartment, by the time we got there it was after midnight. The next morning we got up at 5:45 to catch the subway back to grand central to get our tickets back to the A.T. We even arrived early enough to have time to get some bagels before we left. Over all it was a great trip! Having bear bell chicken with us made it even more special. Thank you again Annie!!!

My boots

When I first thought about hiking the A.T. I never considered a sponsor, but when I began gathering all the gear I would need I realized this would be a pricey trip. I already had most of the equipment, but a lot of it desperately needed upgrading. I needed a new sleeping bag (thanks Rich!), a new pack, rain coat, water purifier, phone, and boots.

Kelly was the Merrell representative at the store I was working at, and when she saw me at the Merrell store one day in a different mall she was confused. A few of my friends worked at the Merrell store and I was visiting them/drooling over all their sweet gear. When Kelly walked in she looked at the 3 of us and was probably wondering what I was doing there, since she normally saw me at my store. After a quick explanation and a laugh I casually asked what someone had to do to get sponsored. She asked what I was doing and after I explained she said she would see what she could do. A few weeks later, right before I was supposed to leave, I had new Merrell Perimeter Gore Tex boots. They were similar to my old hiking boots having a full leather upper, but throw some Gore Tex under that and I thought these things were bomb proof, they felt like it too. I wore them a few times to play frisby golf, and to work once or twice with no issues or blisters. When I got on the trail they were fantastic, waterproof, comfortable, and durable. They made it 1393 miles, and they would have made it farther if not for those darn Pennsylvania rocks. My poor boots had been absolutely soaked (almost to the point of being filled with water), and then dried out, they saved my feet during the snow storm, and had basically been climbing shoes while I was bouldering through southern NY. They were put through the ringer, and like the giving tree had nothing left to give. When they began to wear out I called Merrell, explained the situation to them, 150 miles and a week later I was picking up my new boots. When I took them out of the box they were unrecognizable because I was used to seeing my old trashed ones. It is always a good feeling to put on new shoes, but putting on new boots to hike 17 miles a day after hiking next to bare foot for 100 miles is incredible! I was a little bit worried abbot blisters but have had no problem. From fresh out of the box to 17 miles on the Appalachian Trail is pretty impressive. Thank you Matt, Chauncey, Mindy, Kelly, Laura, and everyone at Merrell. To Katahdin!