Douglas Douma

I usually try to write about three things that have happened since my previous post, and I put those items in the title. I don’t know what to list on this post. Really, I’m just still hiking. It is completely and utterly ridiculous. No one should do this. I’ve been posting some nice pictures on

“If my mother saw me right now she’d probably have a heart attack”, I thought while hanging on to a tree root with one hand and jumping with both feet to the next position up the rock cliff. This trail is no longer a hike. It is mostly climbing. Our poles are put away in

Our Gang of Four resumed climbing yesterday up a steep 3,000 ft from Crawford Notch and then over Crawford Path (the oldest trail in the US) eventually landing at the Lake of the Clouds hut. At the hut we stayed for free and did dishes and various chores to compensate. The clouds came later in

We hiked possibly the best section of the AT over the last two days. Franconia ridge, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Lafayette, and Mt. Garfield. It was fairly easy to get up to the ridge as far as 4000 ft climbs go. Along the ridge we had fog clouds quickly rolling in and out with temperatures in

We started the challenge of the White Mountains two days ago with the climb of Mt. Moosilauke. It was a perfect day with great views on the summit. Over 50 people were at the summit, many of them who walked up a side trail from a nearby lodge. There was also at least five dogs

Rolling, rolling, rolling; keep them miles rolling. Yesterday we were joined by Susquehanna Slim, a nearly-retired IT Diector from New Jersey. He’s on board with the DBP – the Don’s Brother Plan. As I told Don’s Brother, the DBP is an MVP. Thus it was an easy decision for Slim to join. We hiked 9.5

Matt Pater is a friend from high school who happens to live on a street which crosses the Appalachian Trail. So I’m lucky to have a place to stay for a few days. And since my brother is here with a car I’m still making miles down the trail each day. Matt lives just miles

This was pretty much the best day on the trail yet. Pilgrim, Don’s Brother, and I got dropped off at the trailhead by my brother the chauffeur. Although we started the day with bugs and 80 degrees a cold front finally came through and the temperatures moved into the 70’s for the rest of the

We started off at 7 AM on the trail after getting a ride from Jeff at the Green Mountain House hostel to McDonalds for breakfast. Since Don’s Brother and Pilgrim are often voting for McD’s breakfast I’m collecting the monopoly game pieces. We’re pretty close to winning a million dollars, a 2014 Fiat, and tickets

We climbed Bromley Mt. today which had a fairly gradual approach until the last bit where we walked up a steep ski slope. Once on top we saw the ski gondolas used on the other side of the mountain. The black flies were out in force so we quickly moved on. We met up with