Breakfast

My First Marathon

Be proud. Be very proud. Gregory Robert Simpson did a total of 28 miles today to get into town and to catch up to someone he could hike with. I am very tired tonight, but my legs feel good. They aren't sore(yet...) and my mental status has brightened up compared to the last couple days. I'm back to enjoying the trail :) well goodnight y'all. No pictures today cause my phone was almost dead all day.

Empty Shelter

Day 44
Looks like I'll be spending the night by myself in this shelter. It'll be the first time since being on the trail. I'm fine with it. It's nice and peaceful at this shelter and because of a 25 mile day today I'm pretty wiped. I am very excited because I crossed the 500 mile mark today. A little milestone, but one nonetheless. That means I'm about a 1/4 of the way done with the trail. Time flies when you hike every day haha. Tomorrow is another long day into town. 24.6 to be exact :/ but it will be nice to sit down at a restaurant and unwind a bit. I'll be in Dalton, Massachusetts in 5 days where I'll either zero or nero. It's 6 right now and I'm gonna start getting ready for bed. Another 5:30 wake up tomorrow. Goodnight.

Mass. on my Mind

Day 43
It's 7:15p.m. and I'm finding it hard to sleep tonight. D-Train and I have an early and long day tomorrow (5a.m. and 25 miles) and I know I need as much rest as I can get, but I can't seem to clear my mind and go to sleep even with the rain rhythmically beating on the tin roof of the shelter. It's not like I'm thinking about one specific thing. More than anything I've been thinking about the monstrosity of this hike that I've decided to take on. I got discouraged yesterday because I felt that I should have gone farther than 480 miles in 42 days and that I was on track to finish never. I got a pep talk today from some northbound thru hikers saying that I'll be amazed how quickly the miles will fly by soon enough. That feeling can't come soon enough and I'm getting very impatient at the pace I'm forced to go at now. I think also that I'm starting to miss my family and my friends more too. I will be seeing mom and dad in a little less than a month which will be very nice, but it will be a while before I get to see all of my friends back in Louisville and Bowling Green. Well I'm done for now. Maybe I'll wake up later and have something else to add. Goodnight for now.

Good ole' Vermud!!!

Today was the sad day that forced us to leave Hanover. It was really nice being back in a college town. I guess it had something to do with what I get to look forward to in the Spring. I was actually ready to come out of town today. It was really weird. I was talking to Anchor on the way to the shelter today and I was saying how much more at peace I was being out in the woods than being in town. Like I was meant to be in the woods. I didn't like the noise, the complexity, and the speed at which things happened in a real town. Things are just so much more simple out in the woods than they are in town. I have truly found something and somewhere that I love and I'm going to cherish it for as long as reasonably possible. I also realized how easy it will be for me to finish the trail in a little over 4 months. Maybe I'll be home sooner than we thought mom and dad :) so far the trails in Vermont are amazing. They're packed with pine needles so it's almost a shock absorbant. Well, time for bed. Goodnight all. Pictures of the trail tomorrow.
Day 42
Today is another 20 miler. I'm up at 645 ready to get a good start on the day. I set two alarms and the guys aren't even awake yet. Awesome
Today was the first real day I've thought about quitting. I haven't been this dehydrated, this hungry, or this tired as I was today. It was a 20 mile day, but I underestimated the terrain and got my butt kicked by a bunch of up's and down's that weren't much on the elevation chart, but constantly going up switchback after switchback all day really took its tole. Tomorrow is a shorter day through the town of Killington and Rutland. I need snacks so I'll be getting enough to last me till Manchester Center. Then from there it's off to Dalton, MA for some much needed R&R. Goodnight and please keep me in your prayers. This hike is more mentally taxing than I ever expected. I need lots of mental fortitude to complete this journey.

Hiker Trash

Here is the hiker trash picture as requested.

The DOC(Department of Corrections, Disciples of Christ, Dartmouth Outing Club)

Day 26
Today we officially exited The White Mountain National Forest today. It was definitely bittersweet because of the beauty of that mountain range. It was really hard to leave town today. A lot harder than it has been in any other town. I just had to pull out my lists of why I'm out here to remind me why I am out here and what I want to get out of my hike. I am pretty excited because I am pulling my first 20 mile day tomorrow and there's a possibility we'll be getting to the New Hampshire state line in 2 days!!!! Today we climbed up and over Mount Moosilauke Which is the last above 4500' mountain we climb in a long while. I am quite happy about that! Anyways it's bed time. Here are today's pictures. Goodnight.
Day 27
Today was our first day over 21 miles. It was an absolutely awesome day with a little bit of rain to cool me off and make the day more bearable. Mentally, today was a good day. I think that the excitement of pulling our first 20 mile day really helped the length of the day. Sorry there aren't any pictures today. The rain was pretty constant the whole day.
On a side note I want to open this blog up for discussion. If any of you reading this ever have a question about my hike or anything about my hike that interests you feel free to shoot me an email. I will be able to check it periodically. Well it's 7 so it's time to start getting ready for bed. Tomorrow is a 24 mile day into Hanover. Goodnight!
Day 28
We be in Hanover chillin' at the Phi Delta Alpha house. What a hook up!!!