Thru hiker #579

After the time off last weekend, and wow was it wonderful, I am back in it baby! Looking at the map I'm again filled with anticipation rather than an underlying dread and anger at the Trail... I guess it is all part of the process.

Last weekend was very domestic, and it was what I needed. Cara and I spent quality time together, mowing the lawn, going to Lowes, spreading mulch. I know that might not sound spectacular, but honestly it was very fun. I highly enjoyed myself. It was such a change from walking everyday to just stay in one spot and do some hard work. We also had a yard sale, made friends with the neighbors up the street, and had a BBQ with them and the next-door neighbors. I am learning that, while I really LOVE travel and adventure, there's just something about home that is just incredibly nice too. I feel that is one of the strong lessons the Trail is teaching me.

So early Monday I drove to Harpers Ferry and got a shuttle south to Front Royal to hike back north to my car. This worked out well, but shuttles are always pricey, and I didn't get back on the Trail until 3pm so it was another NERO (near-zero). I wanted to stop early anyway since I brought my hammock and wanted to see about setting up the tarp tent over top of it. It worked surprisingly well - as a test it even rained all night and I stayed comfortably dry and insect free off the ground... there might be something to this hammock thing! As the week progressed I got better at hanging and covering the hammock. With plenty of room to sit on the ground under the tarp and hammock to cook or hang out if the weather is crummy and a comfortable dry place to sleep, I think I will keep this setup. I thought about purchasing the pre-fab Hennesy hammock system, but at over $200 I wanted to make sure it would be worth it. I think I will stick with the setup I have now, however, as I like to have both options, either hang or tent, with carrying no additional weight. Plus I spent a lot on the Black Diamond tarp tent and I'd like to get my moneys worth out of it. I did stop at REI on the way home to return my car yesterday and got a hammock that has an integrated bug net, nice! Better than sleeping with the netting on me like I did last week (in the heat, even that was too much of a 'blanket' on me).

Summer really is here! Going through the Roller Coaster was fun, but wow was it HOT! The last couple days were dangerously hot. In heat like this I must plan for fairly low mileage days, if it isn't as hot and I can do more, well, bully; but you can't expect to hike big days with heat like this. There comes a time where it is no longer just foolhardy to push oneself like that, but it becomes stupid and unhealthy. I moderated my pace well, stopping for sodas and a nice long rest break at Bears Den hostel, I climbed the hills slowly to keep my heart rate down, and I stopped at every water source to refill bottles and pour some over my head. Some guys had setup their hammocks and were waiting out the worst of the heat. The day I made it back to Harpers Ferry it was as hot the previous day, even at 6am when I started to hike I was sweating, but I still beat the worst of the heat (99 degree high) by hiking 10 miles before 9am! That's the way to do it. Hike near 10 before 11am, wait until 3 or 4 and hike another 10... when heat like this is forecast, that is absolutely what I've got to do!

I went to the ATC headquarters and got my picture taken in front of the sign! That is big to me, really big! And encouraging. One of those landmarks on the Trail, probably the most meaningful one as of yet. I felt rejuvenated, and while the first day was again boring, the Roller Coaster spiced things up. And that's when I figured it out - the combination of too easy trail and missing Cara and home made me crank up the miles too much just to get it done. The difficulty, even the heat, made it more challenging and more fun! So after getting to see Cara last weekend and this one, plus the promise of my birthday weekend spent with her, I will be well armed to get through Pennsylvania. With luck, by my b-day weekend  when she comes to get me I will be in NJ or possibly right at Delaware Water Gap! Also I have the promise of my friend Jon B to come and visit between now and then... I'm thinking I'll try and get him to come out when I'm close to the Yuengling Brewery...

Photos are still being slowly uploaded, 10 or 20 more are up now in Picasa/Google+.

Max Patch

Almost to Harpers Ferry - BURN OUT!

So a lot of good things have happened. I saw lots of cool and rare animals. What I didn't see and haven't seen much of is other hikers, the mythical bubble was right in front of me supposedly, by a day or 2... but then again that has been the case since Woods Hole hostel prior to Daleville. I haven't seen them.
I began doing larger and larger days after Daleville. First a 15 through James Face Wilderness - this was a half day of hiking; then a 24 a 26 a 28 followed by a 22 to get to Waynesboro. I was feeling good and doing big miles. The terrain was completely mundane, with some nice spots going through Three Ridges. Mostly though the scenery was nothing to write about, just head down miles up.

'Old' pic from down south, but still nice!

I got to Waynesboro to a waiting box I'd shipped from Daleville when Cara was visiting the weekend prior. Thus loaded, I headed out from the Quality Inn and a ride from a Trail Angel (I think Waynesboro is more of 'The friendliest Hiker town' than Damascus, if possible!) and into the Shenandoah's, promising myself I would slow it down and recuperate. I did that the first day. Eight miles to the first shelter, a less than half day. The shelter was empty and stayed empty. I was incredibly bored in camp. Not much to do but futz with my bug net. No one to talk to, and just one mundane book left in the shelter. Why am I trying to slow it down again? So I can be bored to tears? The longer I daly the less likely I'll ever see the bubble just ahead of me. Why am I at camp when I could've done 20 today to get to the next shelter area? Which brings me to why Shenandoah sucks.
The rule of the 'back-country' (never more than a quarter of a mile away from the Skyline drive) you are allowed to LNT camp anywhere you please if you are 20 yards from the Trail, and a certain distance from roads, structures and water sources. Good rule. Except there are very very rare places like that - and most of those 'apparent' sites are illegal because they are too close to the Trail - if there are other places, well, 60 feet off the Trail is too far to see from the Trail so they go unused. So basically hikers are stuck going to shelter areas, which are unevenly placed. "Shall I go 8 miles today? Or 24?" Another issue with hiking through Skyline - it is designed to suit the motorist, they get the views. Often the Trail will go below an overlook - it's a clearing, you can hear the traffic right above you, but our view... doesn't exist. The Trail couldn't be routed through a couple of these overlooks? Something other than constant green tunnel might be nice!
So I wake up, or rather, decide to get up, early at the empty shelter area. Lonely and a bit frustrated I wasted the previous day. I get it in mind to hike to the first wayside in the park to treat myself to some yummy calories and these great shakes I've heard tell of. Loft Mountain Wayside is 22 miles away and they close at 7pm - I gotta book the whole day. I make it there with plenty of time, I see a bear, I don't worry about the camping situation until later. Maybe I will go to the shelter, another 4 miles beyond the Wayside? I decide to do that rather than backtrack back up the mountain to the paid spots in Loft Mountain or to try and find a legal camp between here and anywhere (there were none anyway). I did see a few benches and the thought of hobo-style camping crossed my mind as well. The Wayside received 25 of my dollars for a soft (hard salt-less) pretzel, a blackberry milkshake, a soda, a bbq pork sandwich, and sweet potato fries. Not cheap! But after 22 miles I was getting my reward, damnit. I make my way to the shelter, a few guys are already passed out in the shelter, a few older gents tending fire. I set up my tent and come back to mingle, they aren't too talkative, I think not wanting to bother the guys already in their sleeping bags.
The next day I wake later than I wanted to. I had taken a Ib-PM and I was too groggy to do anything more than eat and fall back asleep at 5am. I wanted to try and make it to Big Meadows so I could get a room or a tent-site. A shower and/or a bed would be great, as well as a BEER!
I still had the idea of doing the 29 miles as I hiked through the morning, stopping for lunch at the one view of the day. I chatted with a couple ladies for awhile on top and down at the parking lot - human interaction is a wonderful thing, and something I was sorely missing. Cell reception was spotty to non-existent so I wasn't getting as much Cara talk as I needed, on top of feeling isolated from other hikers. The day was good though, I saw a adolescent bear run away from me, I saw a BOBCAT, and a flying squirrel. So the day was giving me good things, if not views. The Trail is so mild, both hills and condition, it is nearly like walking on a sidewalk through the park. I got service on the phone after going close to a gap and half-jokingly asked Anthony and Liz to come see me. He agreed to meet me at Big Meadows the next morning bright and early for breakfast. Now I had a deadline - it was 4pm and I had 13 miles to go. I was going to be hiking into the night.
I jogged and speed walked into the afternoon, determined to get as far as I could before the gloom of night made the travel more difficult. Just as night was falling I jumped on the Skyline drive to skip Hazeltop Mountain and not get stuck on a mountain after dark. While hiking the Skyline the overlooks looking west astounded me - so perfectly gorgeous, the blue hazy mountains melting into the distance, the soft sunset light making the scene magical in appearance - the scene I NEVER would've actually seen from the Trail. The scene that would've been obscured by trees and mountain since the Trail gave preference to the road. A bit after the second awesome scene in under a mile (double what the Trail had in the last 20+) I saw a mother bear and 2 cubs just off the road! I waved down a few motorists and pointed them out before hiking on into the growing gloom, a traffic jam beginning behind me. I made it to where the Trail crossed over the road again and decided roadside hiking was becoming a bit too dangerous even with the flashing red headlamp on. With only 2 or 3 miles left I headed up the dark Trail - seeing nothing but the next step, making noise and talking aloud so I wouldn't trip over a critter. Soon enough, or rather, a time later, I made it to Big Meadows - right at 10 pm, almost 14 hours of hiking and 29 miles later.
I walked to the front desk of the lodge, both lodge and adjacent campground were totally full. Not really caring about where I slept, I went down to the Taproom and had dinner and a few beers getting to listen to some live music. After the place closed down and kicked me out, I walked down the connector trail back to the AT, down below the picnic area I found a viable illegal camping area, I set up my tent and got to bed after midnight. I didn't sleep much, a lot of that had to do with wanting to get up at 5am to break camp before getting caught with the lightening sky.
I met with Anthony and Liz for breakfast. We had a great day of day hiking eating and visiting - so good to be with friends! I was so busy running the day before to get to Big Meadows I literally ran past a blue blaze that went up and over a rocky peak with a great rock scramble and perfect 360 degree views. We went back there to see something I really wanted to do but didn't have time to concern myself with at the time in the name of 'Big Miles' - again, or rather as usual. That is definitely one of my gripes of the Trail, not having enough days in the year to actually stop and look at the cool things the Trail goes past. I had them drop me off at Skyland, hoping they would have walk-in room availability. They did! I got to have in bed sleep. Anthony also gave me a couple cigars - so Knob Creek whiskey, a cigar, a bed, and cell service to talk to Cara? All good stuff.

Look closely, you are being watched!

Apparently one day of rest wasn't enough though. I slept well and got a late start after a good breakfast. I wanted to do another 24 mile day, I wanted to get nearly out of this park, I was sick of it. Tired of being close to the road. Tired of too many opportunities to spend money on over-priced food. Maybe a change of scenery would buoy my spirits? Plus Harpers Ferry was just a few days away over some familiar Trail! I can get there in 3 days, right?! Wrong. By 3pm, after the rain had started and the mist blew in, I was still 14 miles short of where I wanted to be - there was a Wayside that I might make it to before they closed - that whole schtick again! I packed up and started the jog to get there. I made it through the mist and rain by 6:45pm. My mind already made up to take a few days off in Harpers Ferry, to assess whether I was still having enough fun to stay on the Trail, or what I could do or change to make it more fun. I was depressed, disheartened, and lonely. The blackberry milkshake and pork bbq did little to change that. The next designated hut area was 7 miles ahead. At 7pm that would me an hiking into the night with rain and mist and that would be dangerous, my headlamp doesn't do well in mist, I can see nothing! Or I could hike a mile off Trail to get to a NO amenities campsite (Matthew's Arm) and pay $14, not that I had that much cash on me, or I could search for a non-existent LNT camoing spot... or I could go to the PATC cabin a mile up the next hill and hope a)no one was currently using it and b) it had a front porch or and area around it I could illegally camp.
I opted to look for camping spots but head for the cabin. Not surprisingly, no camping spots presented themselves prior to getting to the cabin. No one was there. There was a front porch of a sort. So that is where I stayed. Alone again on a damp misty night, at least a roof over my head and dry unless the wind blew. I woke to more rain, but it was still warm out. I was determined to get OUT of the is park. Somehow some way. I don't know, maybe trumpets and bunnies waited at the border. But wasn't I doing really big miles prior to getting to the park to get here? I'd been asking myself, "Why the big days?" Am I rushing to get to the end of the Trail? rather early for that and completely unsustainable. Am I doing it just because I am now physically able to and it feels good? Am I rushing from one good night sleep to another, since I seem to be getting little sleep on the ground? Am I doing big miles to catch the bubble ahead of me, and because why be in camp if I'm just alone and bored in camp anyway, so why bother stopping early when I could be making miles? All these questions had begun to swirl in my head even before getting into Shenandoah, but they really sunk in through the park. I would've liked to be in a group that had decided to aqua-blaze. But, hell, being in a group at all might be good... or maybe not good at all. I haven't been around enough people to fall into a group. My erratic pace seems to throw off any possibility of meeting and sustaining relationships on the Trail. I will see a couple people one two or three days in a row, then I move ahead or they do, and I've been about doing my own thing , not seeking out the party or seeking out a partner.
So here I am walking through a wet very early morning (5:30am start), determined to somehow get out of this park today. I walk along the Skyline at some points in the mist and rain as it is easier to stay cool, make miles, and keep the feet dryer between where the Trail crosses back over the road. Plus, I refuse to hitch, but maybe some angel driving by will ask to give me a ride. At times I get back on the Trail, other times on the Skyline, they are close, parallel, and much the same in the mist and rain. A pickup truck, the only vehicle I've seen, slows and asks if I need a ride - I let the words come without thinking - my options are "No thanks!", "Sure, take me to Mile marker 10!" (the last time the Trail crossed the Skyline before exiting the park), or "Front Royal, please!" I say the last one, knowing a shower, a cheap room, a bed, and town food wait. Here I am yellow blazing though. As bad and disheartening as the big miles, both basically skip parts of the Trail. Both make it less enjoyable and are just useless ways to get to Maine. This instant decision only reinforces my need to re-assess my approach. At the Quality Inn I check my phone, Cara has sensed my feelings and asks if she should come earlier that Thursday and bring me home instead of coming for the weekend. I tell her I can wait until the weekend if she doesn't want to stay out late on a school night. She insists on coming Tuesday night. Ok, I will take a few days off then.
I want to continue the Trail. I will continue the Trail. But I must enjoy it. I have to find out why I've not been having fun, and what can I do to change that?! For now I am home for a few days. I want to go back on Monday, with my car and get a shuttle out of Harpers Ferry south and hike back to my car. At that point, possibly hike north or shuttle north and hike back to my car again. At this point I will figure out how to get the car back home, or decide if I'm going to drive up to New Hampshire and hike the Whites before heading south. I have the time, I have the will. I just need to find the sweet spot for fully enjoying the Trail. I don't want to zoom past all the fun stuff with "Big Miles"  being chanted. I gotta change things up to make me want to finish this. Sheer stubbornness isn't enough if I'm hating every step and running between every town.

I have uploaded 1/3 of the pictures so far. More are on the way over the next several days. Currently they are on my Google+ page, I will link here.

700 Miles - in Daleville VA

Wow you still follow this blog!? 


4/29
Thanks! I truly do apologize for the rare updates, after a long day priorities are basic, and trying to
conserve batteries is one of those. I did 24 miles today, working my way to Daleville where i will spend the weekend with Cara!       
To rewind a bit: the night i posted last i got sick and stayed sick for a few days. I zeroed in Damascus before meeting my friend Dan ~ he hiked for a week and we had a great time playing with ponies in the mist and
admiring all the awesome unique trees out here. His trailname is Woodteeth. The weekend of Trail Days I took Dan home and went and saw Cara for the first time in 40 days. Being her birthday weekend it only seemed right to have it not have to do with the AT!
This past week i have been really focusing on maintaining weight, after losing 20 in 40 days i began worrying it could make me get off Trail. Jim sent me protien powder, Cara had some great ideas for supplemental foods, and I am carrying only whats needed, rather than enough to last for weeks! I have began carrying not as much processed bars - I have been carrying bagels, wraps, cream cheese, pepperoni, tuna salad, Snickers, and other good stuff. 


4/31
I got into Daleville Va last night and Cara is here now. We are going to do chores and enjoy the weekend before I start back on the Trail on Sunday afternoon.


A word about gear: Less is more!!


I am carrying almost nothing that I started with, I have shed pounds of gear! Some of it has been due to gear failure, either breakage or failure to work. Here's a quick run down:


-Steripen - stopped working after I changed the batteries
-MSR Hubbahubba - It leaked too much and was heavy
-Osprey EXOS 58 - frame began breaking through the webbing


Those three I changed out for Aquamir water drops, a Black Diamond Mega Lite tarp tent, and the Osprey Talon 44. Between those biggies, I have gotten rid of a lot of odds and ends that I haven't ended up using. Also changing to summer gear saved both weight and space. I need to re-weigh, but my pack is in the low 20's with no food and water. 


I hope to be able to update more often... but don't hold your breath on daily or weekly updates! I am really enjoying my time on the Trail, I have been learning a lot about everything about me - all I've got is time to think about everything!


Thanks for following

Making good time - 400 miles in

I have been doing big miles, trying for 20 or so each day. I am meeting a
friend in Damascus and want to hike low miles with him so i am getting
ahead, but it is taking its toll! My energy level today was really low, so I stopped in a Hostel right off the Trail and ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a pizza. I also bought some cheese and Moon Pies for extra food to get me to Damascus. I slack packed from Hemlock Hollow hostel and skipped Uncle
Johnny's, I think I made the right call skipping Erwin ~ I didn't like
the vibe there and heard people stayed up and partied until 4am, so I'm glad I skipped!

I just crossed mile 404! That is a lot of miles! I'm looking forward to getting to Damascus and Virginia and seeing Dan and slowing down; then, a week later, going to see CARA!!! -for her birthday. It has been hard not seeing her for over a month. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, is true.

I feel so much stronger and on a good day 20+ miles doesn't seem like a thing, even over several big mountains. Then, like today, a listless day sneaks in and 16 on supposedly easy ground kicks my ass! I always feel better after getting enough calories, and the longer I stay away from towns and hostels the more my energy flags. I will be going 22 tomorrow about the same after that and then float oh so smoothly into Damascus on Thursday afternoon. One big mountain, Pond Flats, stands in the way for tomorrow afternoon and then the terrain is relatively easy - so much so many people do a 44 or 32 mile day into Damascus.

The days have been very pleasant and the rain has come fairly regularly during the day and overnight. The Hubba Hubba leaks, and I am looking for a change out. Gaitors do nothing and you just gotta hike in wet feet, they are going back to REI. Legolas hasn't been getting much action, and may decide to go home. I can't wait to change out to my summer gear. My pack is beginning to fall apart around the edges and the waist fully cinched no longer fits my waist... so I will be taking it to REI for a new one - it really smells, so I apologize in advance!! I have lost 13 pounds, looking cut, but I can't lose more! I gotta eat more somehow.

Until next time! Hopefully I will be posting pictures soon, 3 weeks max ;)

The Smokey's!

My friend Jimmy, aka Flip, showed up to hike the Great Smokey National Park with me. We hiked the length of the park, some 72 miles, in 4 and 1/2 days, beginning well after noon on Monday and hiking out to a shuttle to get him to his car on Friday.
The first day was chilly, very windy, but at least it was sunny. On the second day the wind didn't quite, nor the elevation gain. Soon enough we hiked through swirling snow! But we still had good views - as well as making miles to Big K less than 2000!!
We stumbled into a shelter after 18 hard miles through snow and wind, over mountain tops - to find the shelter crowded with over 20 people. I set up the tent and we slept well. The group at the shelter was slow moving, doubtful we would see them again. The next day I crawled out of the tent to see a bear run past. Later we talked with a turkey and scared a wild boar away. The day turned clear as we acheived the highest mountain on the AT. We had a nice lunch and 11 more miles to go! After yogi-ing some water from a very nice couple we crossed Newfoundland Gap, as we did the sky clouded over suddenly and rain let loose! Torrentially. We put our rain gear on and climbed the 1000+ feet up to the shelter, the rain petering off as we arrived. Again the shelter was packed! We setup the tent just as night fell on a 21 mile day.
The next morning we wanted an early start, as I completed putting the tent away and Flip got water, the sky opened up again, this time with hail, gale force winds and lightening. We ran with our gear in disarray to the shelter and waited an hour for it to abate. This day rained multiple times, as well as hailed golfball- sized hail at one point. The Smokey's were testing us! The trail is just a stream, and poorly designed that. We arrived earlier this time and had room at the shelter. I made sure everyone that arrived had room in that shelter, we easily fit everyone from the last shelter plus a few more, 20+ people. But on a foggy wet night that loomed I couldn't be ok with turning people away!
The next, and last day, began with fog and dripping trees. Maybe another all day sogger? We left very early, wanting to make it out of the Smokey's! We made great time, by the third small climb the sun broike through. As we began plunging from 6000 feet to under 2000 the day warmed the sun broke free and it became a great day! We made 18 miles by 3:30pm! I'd called earlier from the top of a mountain and got a shuttle lined up for us at the I-40 highway.
We got shuttled to Hot Springs, a town I will be hiking thru in a few days. From there we drove to Asheveille. There are buffets, cheap hotels, and an REI I can return my ineffectual gaitors to!

All in all the past week has been a great adventure. My body is changing, I can see I have lost weight. My legs are much stronger. I have had some knee pain and shin pain - but nothing to slow me down much. The countdown to Virginia is on! Soon I'll be close enough for Cara and other's to come see me with some regularity!

Until next time!

-Johnny Walker

(that's right, I have a Trail name)

Update

I've been on the Trail for 10 days - taking a zero today. This is my first time in town since the start. Having a great time and not really missing the internet that much!!

I have plenty of hand-written notes from my adventures so far. Needless to say I've been exposed to amazing people, great views, Trail Magic, and awesome times. I will be posting some of these highlights as days go by, but probably not regularly until I hit Hot Springs on the other side of the Smokies - I've been putting down the miles and staying out of towns!

Pura Vida!

Arrival
Cara and I flew out of Reagan airport from DC after staying at my friend Jon's house. We had a a connecting flight in Miami that my parents joined us on out of Nashville. Together we all flew into San Jose Costa Rica and waited for a bit for Cara's parents to join us. We headed over to the rental car place and learned that the quoted price was off by half. There was mandatory insurance that more than doubled the expense of the cars. We decided to reduce the cost a bit by getting 2 economy cars rather than the SUV we were originally going to use. The car with my name on it was a POS! Things literally hanging off the car.
All hungry, and a bit mad at the rental process, we stopped at a place right down the road for a bite to eat. It was typical Costa Rician food, though not a very good rendition of it. After getting confused with Colones we figured out the bill and headed out of the Central Valley.
Costa Rican drivers are, to an American, completely insane. The pass without qualm. They merge with no blinker. They beep to thank you. And they don't get mad. There's no anger or short temperedness. People aren't yelling out windows or flippin the bird. They just GO! I felt harried and frazzled not being used to it. My dad was getting angry and driving a bit aggressively in response to their style of driving. After a few turns we got on a toll road and made good time out of the mountains. We stopped at a Fruiteria and got some awesome mangos, a red fruit with a spiky exterior, and some pina. On the journey to the house we missed the turn to get the key, turned around and found the place, we eventually made it successfully to the house, tired worn and ready to be out of the car!
The house is fantastic. There is an infinity pool in the back, a very large open living space, small - but well stocked - kitchen, 3 master suites, and a (unused by us) computer room. Cara and I got the up-stairs suite, as we didn't mind running up and down the stairs.
Jim, dad, and I went across the street to get some bottled water and beer in Esterillos Oeste. We found the grocery store after being unsure if the dirt road in lead to anything.
Saturday
We woke to no water in the house. This became an on going issue, though it really hardly bothered me at all. An afternoon dip in the pool and pool water to flush was all we needed. I won't continue with daily updates on this. Apparently one family living here blamed the cows escaping from the next property over on stomping the water line. The property operators said it was more likely a recent earth quake. Either way they had to dig up the street, find the leak, refill our cistern. We had water back on on Thursday, our Costa Rician 'camping' expirience.
We didn't have a plan for the day to begin with, so we decided to go to the closest big town araound - Jaco. Also billed as one of the premier tourist towns in the country. We parked on a dirty busy road, and walked around town. There is a Red Lobster as well as some other American chain restaurants. After we all exchanged money into Colones we walked down to a dirty beach and ended up at a highly recommended Soda - Soda Flor. I enjoyed my plain meal, but the others were not terribly impressed. It didn't help that the loud music blaring was throwing a discordant vibe into the meal.
We went next door and picked up some grocery supplies. All of us hated Jaco and were quite ready to get out. We traveled back south towards Esterillo and stopped at an ocien view over-looking Jaco. The distance made the town prettier. We also checked out some macaws hanging out in the trees above us. We pulled into the beach of Esterillo and walked the beach. My dad knew there was a Geocache up the beach and we went beyond the giant mermaid statue in the surf to find my dads first international cache! He was very excited to leave some travel bugs and take some too. After the cache we stopped and had a beer at Lowtide Bar, run by some Americans.
We heard there was a man named Rafa: Father of the Monkeys that was supposed to take people on a boat ride to Damas Island, a mangrove studded peninsula. Cara called Rafa and he is a VERY odd guy on the phone, messing with Cara and giving her the run around, but in a friendly, though obstinent way. We reserved 6 spots for 8:30am the next morning.
Sunday
My parents went to Sunday Mass in Esterillos Oeste as Janet, Jim, Cara, and I went in search of the Father of the Monkeys. We were to meet him at a gas station almost an hour south, just north of Quepos. Rafa was waiting. He sent us across the street to get some coffee from a place called Rancho Leon, we were so impressed with the people and the nice setup we decided we would come back for lunch.
All others of the group had since arrived, so we followed Rafa to the boat launch, just down a gravel road just up from the gas station. We all climbed into a flat bottomed boat and set off up the estuary. We saw many birds around, on the shores and flying about. Once we got close to one particular shoreline Rafa started yelling 'Come on babies!!' As well as some stuff in Spanish. Not seeing the monkeys he turned into a narrow track up into the mangroves. On our way I saw several 'Jesus lizards', known for their ability to run across water. Towards the end of the waterway the troop made itself apparent in the tree tops. We were excited to catch a glimpse of the monkeys. Little did we know that they would soon get woed to clamber onto and into the boat. One licked banana from Janet's hand.
The monkeys were fantastically cute and well mannered. They came and said HI and grabbed a few bananas. One monkey urinated on his tail and twirled his tail, getting pee on me - symian pee is a first! After awhile we motored around the mangroves some more, spying a baby crocidile on a mangrove root. After an enjoyable few hours, Rafa brought us back to the cars.
We went to Rancho Leon and had a great lunch before heading back to the house and arriving at the same time they did after church concluded.
After a few hours we went and had dinner by the ocean at Esterillos Este in a resort called Del Mar.
Monday
We woke with the plan to first go to Rainmaker, a hiking trail with swinging bridges, and then going to Manuel Antonio afterwards. Rainmaker was a very nice walk, about 2.5 miles, much of the time up in the tree tops walking on cable bridges suspended between trunks. the place didn't have too many people there and we enjoyed an unhurried pace through the Preserve. The cable walkways were sometimes 100's of feet in the air, swinging gently as you crossed. They did a good job though, enclosing the bridges so those with a fear of heights weren't put off by the extreme height. We saw a couple poison dart frogs, beautifully colored green and black, we saw leaf cutter ants carrying their treasures along little ant highways, and lots of lizards. I jumped in a swimming hole below a waterfalls at the end of the hike, refreshing!
Manuel Antonio is closed on Mondays, which we hadn't put into our planning, so instead we walked the town and shopped around, though we bought nothing but a coconut for it's milk.
Since we'd eaten out twice the day before, we decided to get some more groceries at the Maxi Pali, owned by Walmart.
Tuesday
We got a late start, not really knowing what to do next, and not knowing what everyone else might want to do. I decided that we could go north to Carara National Park and check that out. This was our only other excursion, besides the first day to Jaco, that we went north from the house - everything is south and everything keeps getting better the more south you go.
We first stopped right before the Rio Terrcoles bridge, since we heard crocidiles liked to gather there. We parked across from a policia checkpoint and walked along a narrow concrete strip onto the bridge. Traffic zoomed by a few feet away. Occasionally sections of the bridge had bent or broken railings. Half way across I could see a log that may have been a croc. As we got closer I saw it was indeed a croc. Surrounded by 1 or 2 buddies. During a lull in traffic we crossed to the otherside and were amazed by the crocidiles sun drying on the sand bar on that side. The size of these dudes was amazing. I have never seen them this big. A few probably reaching beyond 15 feet in length. There are pictures, but I doubt they will do justice to these massive beasts!
After crossing the bridge completely we found several little shops selling the same trinkets as was in Man.Ant. the day before; it's like they all use the same supplier to get their wares! Same carved frogs, same wood place mats, same art work. All of it is not even made in CR. I kept looking for something unique, but hadn't stuck upon it yet.
We walked back across the bridge and got back in the cars and headed south a couple kms to the Carara park visitor center. The park isn't too impressive, though they told us about a boat tour to feed the crocs - I was the only one that thought that could be fun! - and about a few km long hike through the forest. Being really hot out we all consensused to not go for a hike, but keep that in mind for future activity. We never came back, and I reckon we didn't miss too much.
We drove south a ways from Carara to Playa Herradura and Los Suenos resort. From what I had read the resort changed the coast line in the area and was the premier resort in the country, costing $40 million to make. It was exactly as I expected, almost like a little pool of the US abroad. Golf course, sweeping palm lined cobble streets, fake waterfalls rushing down faux-cliffs, every blade of grass manicured. We wound our way through this opulence to the marina with public parking and shopping. The shopping area was an open air mall with a few restaurants and not really all that much to see. We strolled along, taking our time to kill some time and finally after quickly exhausting the area decided on a late lunch at the Italian food restaurant. I got more Costa Rician 'typical' food.
After eating we drove around to Playa Herradura proper outside of the resort. Many locals gathered here, and it felt much more real the the contrived falsness of the resort. Jim, Janet, Cara, and I decided to walk down the beach to see if we could get on to an island. My parents decided to drive on and see some other stuff on their own. We walked along way down this gray-sanded beach (much cleaner than Jaco) but didn't make it to the island before reaching some to slippery to cross rocks so we headed back. From here we drove south some more to Playa Hermosa, and its black sand beach. We parked at a hotel and walked through pool side to the beach, much more relaxed here, no guards no gates. We watched some kids surfing as the sunset behind a bank of clouds throwing out one last brilliant shard of light.
Wednesday
We got up very early to hit Manuel Antonio before the day got too hot or the park too crowded. We parked at the cul-de-sac at the end and a guide we spoke to on Monday became our guide for the park. At first we were leery of whether or not we would need a guide. Cara and I were leaning towards not needing one. It turned out to be good to have one, as Henry carried a high-powered telescope on a tri-pod, and he had the eyes of long practice to see many sloths of 2 varieties, frogs, beehives, crabs, 3 kinds of monkeys, coati, toucan,and even a black squirrel. We would have walked right by a lot of these critters or, had we seen them, it would have been a distant and unclear view. This park is dripping with animals! And the beaches are over the top amazing! Most places had very rough surf and gray or black sand. This beach had white sand backed by turquois water and very gentle wave action. At the end of the tour the girls decided to sit on the beach, Jim decided to head back to the car, and my dad and I do an extra hike around Cathedral Point. My dads motivation a cache, mine the joy of walking! There were good views, and not too many people, after almost an hour of walking through Primary forest we made it to the end of a loop with one lone monkey taking a nap right over our heads.
We headed back down one last long beach to a shallow driver crossing of no more than 6 inches, there were several boats ferrying people across for a few Colones, but we just waded. If there is a way to make money here, even the smallest unexploited nitch, people step up to do it! Industrious people.
On our way out towards Quepos we stopped at a restaurant that had a large airplane as its center piece with a bar inside of it. Cara Janet and I walked up to a small art store and browsed while the others looked at the great view and sipped on some Cokes. we ordered appitizers once back, the calimari was so good, best I've ever had!
We got back in the cars with the destination of Dominical, somewhere south of us. We'd heard it was a nice little town but we didn't take that to heart as much as we should've. Of all the places around I liked Dominical the best. The town parallels the main road on a dusty gravel lane. To the right the ocean waves pond the shore. The scene of the town was great. Everyone was friendly, the town quaint but with enough to make it interesting. The art was good, Cara bought a mask. We spoke to several Americans that had setup shop in town, this is where the hippies come to play. The coffee shop and yoga place were run by roommates, the information desk was operated by an American girl that spoke fluent Spanish. Down on the beach a hippy grass market, selling all the typical tourist trinkets, was setup. Hostels abounded in the town. If I were to come back to CR to do some hosteling, this is the destination!
Before leaving, the chick at the info center called Rafa for my parents and he gave her the same run around as he had to Cara this time to someone speaking his language! Too funny.
Thursday
My parents went down to see Rafa. We set out shortly after to see some things before meeting them for lunch at Rancho Leon. First we drove to Playa Payo Seco just south of Parrita and found it to be a highly of the beaten path stretch of beach mostly known of by the locals. We saw nothing worth stopping for so drove as far as we could and headed back to the main drag. Being Holy Week and a national holiday most businesses were closed up tight, but there were a couple places opened in Quepos, one being an art gallery with lots of original local paintings. I found 3 to bring home! One, mostly green, jungle and mountain scene that I just loved, and 2 small very colorful ones that I think work well as a set that Cara also enjoyed. Jim and Janet purchased a nice oil painting as well. We setup a zip line for Saturday as well.
After meeting my parents for lunch we cam back to Si Como No (sure, why not) a hotel, resort, restaurant, and tour booking agency. There was one little blurb in Lonely Planet about an eco-tour in a mountain range close by. It sounded interesting to me as it was off the coast, and so probably much differnt than other things we had been doing. Everyone else seemed open to it, so we wanted to check out pricing and package deals. Si Como No is the most beautiful hotel I've seen here. Perched high on a ridge over looking Man.Ant. and the Pacific it is placed steeply on a hill so all the accomodations are up and down winding stairs. The architecture is fantastic as was the breeze. In addition to the place itself being fantastic, the package deals were good too. If we went and did the Santa Juana villiage to do hiking, horse back riding, waterfall swimming, fishing, and eating local food we could package it with a zip line course on our way for deep discounts. We decided to do this and paid up right then. My parents decided to opt out of the zip line course, but do the rest.
I should say, Rafa worked some magic on my parents. They were giddy with the joy of playing with monkeys. One perched on my moms head for a photo. But I bet she wasn't lucky enough to get peed on!
After booking at Si Como No we stopped at a place called La Hacienda, a restaurant we heard was good, and there was another art gallery there. We didn't go in the reataurant but when we got there we saw a couple squirrel monkeys crossing a rope above the road. I heard tittering coming from the back of the place and peeked through to see many moneys climbing in the trees. We all went back there and a guy handed out a few bananas and the monkeys with babies on their backs came down and mobbed us and robbed us of our fruit!
We headed back to the house for an early evening since we had to set alarms for 5am the next day to make the tour at Si Como No.
Friday
We arrived with plenty of time before our guide, Amelio, showed up to take us on the tour. We climbed into a 4x4 and headed into the palm oil plantation. The dirt road was good condition and fairly smooth, crossing over several very sketchy bridges until we came to some river fords that the bridges had washed out. The road became rougher as we got past the palms and into the foot hills. Soon enough we came to the zip line tour. There was also a butterfly garden there to occupy my parents as we zipped through the forest. We did one very short zip across a stream and then we did a walk uphill to where the course actually began. The guides pointed out cinnamion and other spices, as well as different types of trees, such as the walking palm - a descendent of the Ents.
The zip line course was a lot of fun and I always felt safe. The guides always made sure we were clipped in at least one place before pushing us down the line. The tarzan swing and the rappels were the most adreniline pumping to me, the zips were great but I just enjoyed them, didn't get my heart pumping quite as hard. We were many stories up, traipsing among the tree tops. The good natured guides showed us a great time.
Once back to the beginning we climbed back into the back of a pickup truck and started going up into the mountains, there were no longer foothills! At one point we were stopped by a Catholic procession doing the stations of the cross. Soon enough we reached the sugar cane mill and we stopped to watch how the locals used oxen to mill the cane. We also got to chew on cane and drink the freshly milled product. Next we went for a 45 min hike down through the forest seeing bats and lizards and learning about many of the folk remedies of the local flora. At the end of the hike we came to a waterfall and swimming hole. Cara, Jim, and I jumped of the 21 foot high ledge into the pool. Bad-ass Janet had to show us up by jumping off the 45 ft ledge! This was something on her bucket list she got to check off though! She's braver than I!
After we swam around for a bit the 6 of us plus the 2 guides walked over to a tilapia fishing pond and tried our hand at hooking one. Jim got one quickly. And I kept feeding the fish with my bait, but not snagging one!
Next we got on horses. Storm clouds seemed to be gathering just over the mountains and the guide was pushing us to get done, I think. We got done and saw no rain though. The horses carried us up a very long and steep hill to the actual villiage of Santa Juana near the peak of a mountain with a panoramic view of the ocean the mountains and Manuel Antonio. We had the best typical Costa Rician food yet. And drank (and bought) coffee that was grown in the garden around us. A spectacular finish to an awesome tour. This was THE highlight of the trip. A completely wonderful time in the mountains of C.R. We made it back to the house a few hours later weary and sore, but no worse the wear; everyone was happy with the day.
Saturday
My parents left, as their flight was leaving at 1pm. Traffic was supposed to be bad between the coast and San Jose, even worse for us the next day. We planned on leaving even earlier.