“Hot from the press” before I start describing the past week.
Roadblock 5: Friends, here is the bad news! In Cumberland valley in southern Pennsylvania on soft farmland, I suddenly fell unconscious on Monday, 7th June at around 9 am after walking 5 miles on AT. I have no idea how I fell, but I do remember that I was feeling good immediately before and after this episode. Luckily, intersecting Ridge Road was within 0.2 miles. I walked slowly to the road, called 911 and went to the Carlisle hospital. They found nothing wrong with me. No concussion, no heart issues, no high or low BP, no reduced oxygen %, no pulse rate problems, no dehydration. Nothing! Nada! Zippo! It is possible that previous two days of scorching heat at 90-94F may have played a role. Now I am back in Michigan AGAIN to do whatever evaluation my primary physician needs to do. I am safe with blessings from Mr Ganapati Bappa, my family and all of you. It was sad to put the journey on hold. Oh well! It is just another roadblock! We will get through it! After completing all tests, if everything is good, I will be back on the trail in the next 2-3 weeks.
Let us move on!
I had slowly cranked up my walking in the last week. I did 73.5 miles with approximately 12,000 ft of climb up with no zero days. I crossed a 200-mile marker (and was at 259.3 miles or 417 kms) and crossed the Mason-Dixon line into Pennsylvania. Mostly the terrain had been moderate in southern Pennsylvania with some flavor of boulder fields, beautiful rock mazes and sharp drops. Unbelievable stories of thru hikers and trail angels continue to pile up. Animals, such as Juvenile bear (Yessss, another one!), small snake, deer, fawn, turtles, rabbits, zillion birds, trillion cicadas and camouflaging frogs continue to make my days “lucky”. I even watched a parade in a small-town America (Waynesboro, Pennsylvania) on Memorial Day!
Turtle right on the trail 
Where is the frog?
Trillion cicadas 
Brave rabbit
Now that I am back in Michigan, I noticed some interesting differences between my typical routine on the trail and my world at Michigan.
- I have 15,000 alarms set for 5 am every day on the trail. The tunes available on my alarm clock or on my cellphone cannot even compare to the spectacular symphony I hear on the trail. Period!
- I sleep for 10 hours on the trail among beautiful spiders, rats, lots of bugs, huge bees, snoring strangers, and individual sleeping pads that make huge crimping sounds with each toss and turn. Constant dribbling of rain, rustling sound of leaves, huge buzzing of cicadas and loud cracklings of falling branches add to the cacophony. I can barely sleep for more than 7 hours in my quiet Michigan bedroom.
- In Michigan, we have 9 taps for potable water (in bathrooms and gardens). Usually, I walk a maximum 10 ft to get water from any point at my home. Never mind, we have one million water sprinklers in my lawn. In the shelter on the trail, I sometimes walk 2,500 ft and climb down 500 ft to get water. By the time I am back to the shelter, I have lost half a liter of water just through my sweat itself!
- Google says that the average US person consumes 384 lit of water per day. On the trail, I consume 6 liters of water, 5 lit for drinking and 1 lit for cooking (excluding my weekly one shower in the town). Wait a minute, do I not gargle and spit out water after brushing teeth? No friends, I do not. As a good Samaritan of “Leave No Trace” principles on the trail, I swallow the toothpaste, drink water after gargling and after rinsing brush in the water in the pot. I also wash my pot after every meal and drink that water as well.
- Google also says that per capital per day energy consumption in USA for homes and car driving is 500,000 BTU. If my nerdy calculations are correct, I only need 500 BTU per day for my battery pack and gas canister.
- Today I counted 14 doors at my home, excluding kitchen cabinets and closets. There are no doors on the shelters and even on many privies (no kidding!) .. and literally no thieves.
- My kitchen on the trail consists of one 700 ml pot, one small stove (18 gms), one lighter, one gas canister and one spork. I decided not to take an embarrassing inventory of the kitchenware at our home in Michigan.
- In Michigan, I exercise for max 30 min a day. On the trail, I walk 6-8 hours climbing some crazy rock mazes and pumping my heart beyond my expectations!
- There is no music, no social media, no TV, no movies, no serial, no news, no stress, no violence, no hatred, nothing on the trail! I am calm, stress-free, happy, enlightened, entertained, rejuvenated soul with simple and beautiful life. Time just flies on the trail.
Yeah! I live in a weird “other” world .. in Michigan! I cannot wait to go back to my AT!
As usual great write up and beautiful pictures Nitin. Take care.
Wow, Dadhi! Amazing experiences, spectacular photographs, and heartfelt writing. Thank you for providing us this opportunity to enjoy the AT vicariously.🙏
Super Dadhi !!!!
We love the way you have described the virtue of minimalist living in the cradle of mother nature ! Each of your updates is such a pleasure to read …
Superb Dadhi Aka. Loved the photos too. Glad you arr alright! We too are waiting to read about more trail experiences! Get back there soon!
Hi Nitin, Thanks for the vivid descriptions. I feel like I’m on the trail. Trying to reconcile to mean between life at Michigan and consumption at the trail. Still trying to define what’s ‘essential’. So far, I thought I knew the meaning of this word! I deeply appreciate your decision to return home whenever your body serves a warning. Happy that false prestige and bravery doesn’t alter your course. Keep writing, as I’m also walking with you!
Wow great write up and beautiful photos 👍
Nitin, you are a gifted writer!!! Heard about your setback earlier, and I am glad you are taking the necessary precaution before heading back on the trail. But your writing… OMG! No words to describe!!
Keep it up and stay well!
Salute to your determination and will power. All the very best.
You are amazing. Take care of your health. I enjoy your updates
amazing post baba! and that mushroom picture is WOWW
Dadhi, Wonderful descriptions and pictures. Get the road blocks out of the way. Sooner the better. Recover quickly and chase the next one😄. See you in NJ soon.
Nitin,
I am glad that you are safe and sound under the wings of Anjali!
As usual We are enjoying your interesting stories and beautiful photos,
–Sudhirmama
Loved this, Nitin! Breathless, evocative narration, as usual. Best Wishes to you.
I loved those mushrooms. Are they edible😊Hope go see you soon👍👍
Lot of interesting stuff already and the story continues
.. wish you all the very best for the next stage…. keep enjoying and keep writing.
love the pictures Nitin. I look forward to your stories and wish you get back on the trail soon after some rest.
I think Anjali is literally tugging at your heart strings and pulls you back towards her every few days/ weeks for an “OK” ❤️ Just saying 🌹good 🍀 luck
The reader in my commends you and cheers you on to go ahead! The friend in me… WTF?! Do you really have to torture yourself like this?!
All the best for the next stretch. The pictures are amazing. Your capture of a scene from
Small town America is charming 🙂
Excellent writing as usual, Dadhi! Concerned about the fainting spell – If you had high carb low protein breakfast that day, it could lead to hypoglycemia that can cause fainting. In any case, Please ensure good level of protein in breakfast (and other meals as well) due to the strenuous level of physical activity on the trail.
Your eye-opening comparison of the level of consumerism in our comfortable lives relative to life on the trail will undoubtedly lead your readers (including me) to some level of introspection – hopefully that leads to us working on reducing wastage of precious resources in our daily lives. Stay safe and happy trails!
Spot on, introspective of life on the Trail vs. the matrix!
Great pictures! Loved the mountain laurel tunnel! Quite possibly that one Berger cookie…responsible for your good health after the fall! Thinking of you as you sort out the possibilities. I ain’t dead yet!
I had that pack dialed in at 21.1 lbs. Maybe just fewer miles in 100% humidity!
So beautiful and inspiring! 😍 Keep at it.
You write so well! I am going to wait for your fun AT book when this is over!
Get well soon (seems like the 6L hydration might not be enough on the hot days).
Thoroughly enjoying your joyful description of the lil things in life. 🙏🏽👍😎
Amazing insights on life in general, Nitin! Love hearing about your experiences,
Vatsala.
Get well and All the BEST for getting on the trail!
Very much enjoying your writing . Scary adventure. Isnt it remarkable how simply we can live?
Nice photos and update . Great experience . We are in Alaska where there are hardly any people and abundant nature . So can relate to your narration
Enjoyed reading this update too ! We can visualise the trail from the stories and great photographs.
What a reminder to the world about energy wastage
Waiting to hear after you get back on trail
Best wishes
Lovely pictures as well as the writeup!! GREAT !!!!!!
Hello Nitin .
It is really a wonderful
and lively way of description with pinning every details .
Amazing.
Take care
BAPPA BLESS U .
J.R shukla
Great to receive your updates, sorry for the road block. Good luck for your return to the trail. So inspiring to read each and everything, it feels like we are with you!
I loved your commentary on the differences, Nitin. It reminded me of the note you had sent almost 20 years back after your visit to Japan. You look at the world through a refreshingly fresh lens.
Looking forward to more updates.
Love and regards,
Arjun
Thanks Nitin for the update — Glad to know that you are safe and doing well.
Good Luck with your physical evaluation test!
Looking forward to see you back on trail at the earliest .
Please take care and stay safe!
Dadhi, I am enjoying your AT experiences. I wish there will be no more road blocks after this. Eagerly awaiting your next update on AT.
तुझे लिखाण खूपच छान आहे. तुझी ही निसर्ग यात्रा पूर्ण झाल्यावर एक मस्त मराठी मध्ये पुस्तक लिही.
Take care Nitin.Investigate reasons for fainting.
I do not think I can understand your passion but hats off to you and Anjali.wish u all d best and no more roadblocks.
Love reading your updates. keep them coming. Hope you get back on the trail soon.
Happy Monday Nitin! Thank-you for sharing your adventures and great pictures! Sorry to hear you are off the trail, but we know it’s only temporary and you are using much wisdom in knowing when to stop, rest, adjust and then proceed. The trail leaves us vulnerable to say the least, but it beckons us to continue!!! We look forward to starting at Mt. Washington on 8/24 and head to the finish line, Mt. Katahdin!! We can not wait and hope that we might catch a glimpse of you at some point! Happy Trails AHEAD!!!
Take care Nitin. Beautiful pics and write up. Praying that this is last road block. Hats off to your determination to continue. Wish you good health. Will be waiting for next update.
Keep the spirits up, Nitin ji. What you are doing is simply spectacular. It takes a brave soul to think, plan and go through it. You will succeed in your goals.
Nitin, You are an excellent writer. I love reading about your adventures.
How do you manage the logistics of moving from the AT to home and back?
Now you experiencing Tukoba👌
All the best in your ensuing journey.
Written seperately on email address of Mrs.Anjali as this site was not opening that easily
All the best
Arun mama