Locomotion

Things that stay in motion tend to stay in motion. People that are loco tend to stay loco. It's a theory called locomotion. If you're loco and in motion, you will most likely continue to stay loco and in motion. Jackpot!

[Behind the wench, the morning Casco Bay Lines ferry passes by.] What does cross-training for an expedition look like? What does the life of locomotion feel like? Wake up at 4am. Walk fast for 30 minutes to catch the ferry at 5am.

Take an hour-long ferry ride, trying to sleep on cold seats. If you're lucky there'll be a man named Mark who gets on from Cliff Island and makes coffee for $1 before you land on Chebeague Island.

[Sean Conroy heaves the last trap of a string into the blue abyss.] 1. Lobstering: the act or business of catching lobsters. In reality, it means waking up early and being on the water before the sunrise, hauling and baiting at least 267 traps a day, with an average of 1400 fish. The difficulties of lobstering as an exercise are tossing the traps around and being in near-constant motion. Breaks are taken when possible to remove your rubber gloves and shove some snacks in and hydrate. You wear pants - and in inclement weather, a jacket - made of 69% PVC, 31% Polyester. They're heavy! This takes me to 3pm.

[Sean Conroy pulling a baited trap into order with bait irons at the ready.] 2. Training. Earlier in the summer, this was succeeded by a training regime of previous history. Namely, biking, running, and climbing. Now, at least half of my evenings are comprised of a second job. Either construction work for a few hours, which matches the grueling level of lobstering, or valet parking, which is physically and socially the polar opposite of lobstering. Concatenating a normal 3-5 hours of triathlon training as an addendum to a full day of lobstering has taken the training level up a notch. Maintaining a healthy diet amidst sleep deprivation is of utmost importance. With one day off a week, it's very important to me to create good memories and take full advantages of these Choice Days, where you get to choose what you do. It can be ANYTHING! Chuck Curry gave me the great idea a while back to do the Presidential Traverse. I got a map from my friend Rebecca Lambert the night before. It seemed to amazing to pass up! 7+ presidential mountains in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, renowned for their elevation gain and beautiful landscapes.

[Retracing the Crawford Path southward to Mt. Eisenhower and Mt. Pierce.] There was a problem already, though. I was going alone. And, as a traverse, it was over 20 miles in one direction, leaving you over 20 miles away from your starting point, also known as parked car. I immediately thought: no problem, I'll just do it twice - there and back! That's an even better challenge! But, with over 9,000 feet of elevation gain, only going in one direction, I knew I was up against a formidable opponent made of brute nature. I decided to get an early start and give myself a turn around point at midday, especially given the shorter period of daytime that lasted roughly from 7am-7pm.

[A self-portrait chugging Gatorade just prior to 7am start at the car, a Subway sandwich left in the car for my return. The day's conditions were flawless like a diamond that cut away the clouds and haze, revealing the voluptuous vistas.

[Rocky "Soulman" from Guilford, Maine, at age 40 is thru-hiking the AT's prettiest patch of presidential mountains.]

[The glistening morning sun guides the hiker through the AT's Crawford Path. Photo shot from Mt. Monroe summit trail, down upon Crawford Path.] Just a tidbit about my best day off this year, I managed to make it to Jefferson and all the way back in 11 hours. This was comprised of jogging and running, interrupted by bouts of photography and chatting with thru-hikers who had awesome names, tales, and wild hairdos. I think with less weight, no camera, and a better plan, I could do the entire traverse twice in a day. Just maybe not this year with other goals. I highly recommend doing it, though. I plan on going back and hitting up Mt. Adams and Mt. Madison.

[There is a cog rail that takes people up to the summit of Mt. Washington on a train that hits the breaks the entire way down. Passengers were taking pictures of me hiking when it passed by. Hm.]

[Some hikers even brought their dog! These two gentlemen were doing a loop with Washington at the nose of the bull-ring.]

[The winds were an astonishingly mere 4mph at the summit of Washington. It was 61 degrees out; unheard of quality. All the thru-hikers were amazed that a) this existed and b) the one day off I managed to get up here was this very day.]

[A self-shadow-portrait with the rest of the presidential mountains spread in bountiful array awaiting my return.] May you all get your escape on! Let me know what you think of this post / photos / writing / etc.