Another Visit With Michael J. Fox

Some wear bug nets, while others spray DEET and accept the fact it eats through clothes, still others, such as Mike, use nothing, “It’s a Zen challenge…you have to get through them eating you” he explains with a chuckle.

Being a male, Mike explaines that hitch-hiking without a backpack resulted in no ride, hitch-hiking with a backpack optimized your chances and hitch-hiking with a girl equated to getting picked up 100% of the time. I guess a woman sometimes does need to rescue a man.

Aside from Campsuds, there is Dr. Bronner's which is also advertized as a four-in-one cleaner; you can get your clothes washed, teeth brushed, body scrubbed and dishes cleaned with one bottle of this biodegradable substance. Mike suggested I test it out as toothpaste before I commit.

There are several legends, he assured me I would bump into on the trail. Warren Doyel is a 60 year old man who has hiked the trail 16 times. He takes up to ten students and slack packs—has a van follow and hold gear so that he can travel with a day pack. Baltimore Jack is a chubby and out-of-shape thru-hiker who likes to party. He has hiked the trail 8 consecutive times. “That’s what must draw people back to the trail…the simplicity of life. Once you’re out there, there are no worries.”  Mike misses the simplicity of life on the trail yet enjoys everything at home, “this is better than oatmeal” he says as he looks down at his breakfast sandwich and ice coffee.”

What happened on a daily bases was "trail magic" done by "trail angels" anything from someone leaving a soda on the side of a trail to filling a few car loads of food.” A way people can reconnect with the trail even though they can’t hike it, offered Mike.  

Two weeks before Mike flew to Georgia, he contracted pneumonia. He had planned to go hiking to train for his trek but resorted to “watching Man v.s the Wild and eating a lot of ice cream” given his condition. Still on antibiotics, Mike hit the trail as planned. Mike never experienced backpacking before he headed out.

One night Mike woke up to the sound of a raccoon chewing through his food pack. “Get!” Mike shouted, but the fury bandit didn’t budge. Instead his eyes locked on Mike’s in a stare down at which point he proceeded to drag Mike’s food pack away from the tent. Oh no you didn’t, thought Mike and he flew out of his tent and punched the raccoon in its side. “I had him for breakfast” Mike joked. Of course I believed this at first. I attribute my gullibility to my unfamiliarity with Mike. He got me again when he explained his sewing kit came in handy when he had to give himself stitches.  

Power of the Pink

Mike A.K.A Michael J. Fox— named after his celebrity lookalike, is an AT thru-hiker who just completed the trail September 16^th.  Five months ago while sitting in his accounting cubical, he decided to set a change of pace and opted to literally live “outside the box.” I was lucky enough to talk to him while his experience was fresh in his mind and pick his brain about women, food and hygiene.

 After interviewing Heather it was amusing to get the guys perspective about women on the beaten path. Mike said that many people ask what you would change about the AT, to which he responds, “the ratio of girls to guys is about 1:5…I would like to switch that ratio.” (At least there will be good pickings for me!) He also filled me in on a term—Pink blazing- a label given to a guy that slows his pace to hike with the girl he’s interested in. This lasts until she pulls her hair into a ponytail and exposes her untamed armpits or until she flat out says “I’m done hiking with you.” He “missed clean shaven girls…some of them had hairier legs than me!” (Luckily I have blonde hair) “We would be sitting around at the end of the day and I would look across and think she’s cute and then she’d lift her arm and I’d think woooah!." Whereas, Heather, explained that girls discussed "food, digestion and pooping" Mike explained that guys talked about past girlfriends, the things they did with them and girls.

Mike, however, never got the label, because he set his own pace. He did no more than ten miles the first two weeks, fifteen the next two weeks, and so on. This way “you optimize your chances of finishing."  He promotes solo hiking as “the way to go, you can go at your own pace, you don’t need to be tied to anyone else’s schedule and you meet a ton more people. You are never alone because there are people you could hike with whenever you want.” When I asked him about firearms (living on the sketchier side of the neighborhood) he replied “If you don’t carry a gun on you now, you don’t need one.”

Mike's pack made it 2,179 miles without needing to be replaced.
"My gear was falling apart and just barely made it"

While we have food at our fingertips every night before we go to bed, Mike would never be hungry but also never feel completely satisfied” so when Mike went to town he would “go to town” and order three dinner specials in one sitting. Below is a list of food items Mike had in his pack for each day:

Breakfast- 5 packets of fruit and cream oatmeal

Snack- Cliff bars, trail mix bar

Lunch- Tortilla wraps, beef stick, cheese stick, hot sauce (Mike added this to everything)

Snack- trail mix, 3-5 snickers

Dinner- instant mashed potatoes, Rice pilaf, pepperoni

“What’s great about thru-hiking is that you can eat whatever you want and not feel guilty”

“After a point you accept the fact that you just smell bad. After about 800 miles your pack begins to smell and after it rains you smell the worst. It comes with the trail, you smell.” Mike was “fabreezed” by a clerk protecting the atmosphere of the lobby of her hostel, exclaiming, “pew, some of you hikers smell so bad!” Fortunately, there is Campsuds, an all-purpose cleaner; you can get your clothes washed, dishes cleaned, body scrubbed and teeth brushed with one product that is biodegradable. This way you can cut down on weight and cut out offensive smells.

Mikes kitchen consisted of a soda can stove, alcohol,
wind guard, and pot.

I told Mike about making a two-can stove and he suggested that efficiency was key, “if it only takes a ½ ounce of alcohol to boil two cups of water, you are doing well.” He offered whiteblaze.com as a phenomenal resource to get all your questions asked. 

Mike had a positive experience on the trail and is now ready to get back to ice coffees at Dunkin Donuts and hot showers. “Congratulations making the best decision of your life!” he said as we shook hands and parted ways. This is not the last visit however, I am allowed to come back with a list of questions so long as I bring another bag of fresh fruit.As I was leaving, one of Mike’s tenants, a young boy, looked at me and asked if that was Mike he just saw. "Yes," I said, “wow, his hair got long!” Then, Mike went to talk to him. I hope he fills the boy in on his experience to counter the young that don’t appreciate what nature has to offer.

Paper Is Made from Trees

Today my friend came to the stand with the young boy she was babysitting. I used to play outside when I was little but if this boy is representative of the next generation, which I hope he is not, instead of man hunt and tree forts it's can you name all 50 of the latest cell phones and their gadgets? He told me he loves shopping and doesn't need to work because his mom works for a millionaire and his father works for a billionaire. When the topic of my endeavor came up he  asked why I was such a nature freak and claimed that “nature is the worst thing that has ever happened.” Which was ironic because he seemed fully pleased as he gulped down his sparkling cider and sucked on his maple candies. 

Below is the fortune I received after indulging in a bowl of wonton soup and a spicy salmon maki tonight at dinner:

You are the only flower of meditation in the wilderness. 

Learn Chinese- Tofu- 豆腐 (dòufu)

Lucky numbers 32,31,46,27,38,2

Shelf mushrooms on the Wapack trail.

If it weren't for nature, he would not be here and nor would this fortune.