‘Old bird’ flies on the Appalachian Trail

KENT — Each summer the Appalachian Trail brings a bearded parade of colorful transients through the Northwest Corner. This year, one of them was a Granite Stater from Hooksett, N.H., who went by the trail-name of Terodactyle.

To anyone reasonably familiar with dinosaurs, the spelling of the name Terodactyle may seem a bit off, and it is intentionally so. In addition to being an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, Terodactyle is an avid blogger with as many as 1,000 readers. He posts as often  as twice a day at www.trailjournals.com, a blogging site for hikers, which he credits for inspiring him to walk the Appalachian Trail himself.

Though greatly impressed by the many sights and scenes of such a long walk in the woods about which he blogs, Terodactlye was also pleasantly surprised by the people he met on the trail. 

“There are a lot of smart kids out here,” he said, admitting that he had expected to run into mostly, “dumb hippie kids.”

With the better part of his hike behind him as he heads toward Maine, Terodactyle had gathered a few gems of wisdom since setting off from Springer Mountain, Ga., on April 1. They might be helpful for anyone thinking of making the long walk themselves. 

Expecting a warm Southern climate, he and his group were taken off-guard by freezing temperatures and even sub-zero wind chills in North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains. 

“I’d have to go out and do jumping jacks at midnight,” he recalled. When staying outside really gets to be too much, the blogger said, “splitting motels is the way to go,” with many motel owners willing to let a sizable group of hikers share a single room.

Expecting to finish the hike to Mount Katahdin, Maine, by Labor Day, Terodactyle will have been on the trail for just over five months. During that time, he will have walked about 2,200 miles and celebrated his 55th birthday. 

Reflecting on this, he said with a smile, “For an old bird, I can still fly.”