June 30th Check-In

All is well on this incredibly hot Saturday afternoon. Click here to see Matt and James' location as of 12:30pm this afternoon. Luckily, it sounds as if they aren't being as directly affected in the mountains by the heat wave hammering the East Coast.

As of this afternoon, they have passed the Blacksburg area and are passing to the west of Roanoke, VA. I hope to hear from Matt before the weekend ends and ask him if the storms that have hit central Virginia are affecting them a few hours south.

Hard to believe that we're mere hours away from the beginning of July. The hikers have now been on the Trail for 71 days and will soon be entering the meat of their hike in Virginia. Looking at the map to the right, though they still have a ways to go, they have now covered an impressive portion of the Trail.

AT for CZC continues...

June 26th Check-In

"I'm OK," says Ewok on this beautiful Tuesday morning. Click here to see Matt's location at 10:45am this morning. AT for CZC continues to make its way towards Central Virginia and appears to be near the small hiker town of Pearisburg.

During my last conversation with Matt, he discussed the difficulty of finding water in Southwest Virginia. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that their luck has changed since we spoke over the weekend...

It appears that they have already hiked up the 1,500 foot elevation change that greets hikers upon leaving the small town. With this behind them, they should have a fairly smooth ten mile hike in front of them. Chances are they have already hiked this stretch as I type the log entry this evening.

Will post again as soon as I hear from Matt and James.

Resting at the Dojo

Ewok and J-Bird celebrated the conclusion of their second month on the Trail by taking a day of rest at a martial arts training center turned hiker hostel near Bastian, Virginia. After not hearing from Matt in over a week, I was pleasantly surprised when my phone rang late yesterday evening.

Matt reports that AT for CZC continues successfully as they make their way through the final days of June. As they approach 600 miles hiked on the AT, he reports that his spirits are not as high as they were a few weeks ago. They have evidently struggled to find water over the past week and are resorting to carrying a gallon of water each to supplement their Nalgene bottles. Furthermore, the southern Virginia trails are quite a bit rockier than expected and Matt reports that he was feeling "beaten down" and "very sore." No doubt a day of rest, a full belly and an air-conditioned room to sleep in worked their magic last night!

James, Matt and Houdini continue to hike together and have parted ways - for the time being - with Low Profile and Crazy Beard. The latter two hikers have been hitchhiking more while Matt and James have preferred to hike every mile, only hitchhiking when needing to get into town or a convenience store.

When I asked if he had seen much wildlife, he reported that he has seen quite a few more deer since entering Virginia. They spotted a black bear trudging through the woods and it took off down the mountain upon sighting the hikers.

Matt wishes to thank all his supporters and continues to think of Comfort Zone with each mile that passes. He asked that I thank Julie Rosson for her letter received in Bland and offers his most heartfelt thanks to Trubrit for letting them stay at the Dojo! In Matt's words, "thank you so much for your hospitality. We'll be coming back to Fort Bastian when it opens next year!"

Sending Word to Bland, VA

A brief post on this Wednesday evening. Looking ahead over the next week, Matt and James intend to arrive in Bland, Virginia, on or around June 20th.

The group was delayed out of Damascus as James and a couple of the other hikers contracted some sort of nasty stomach bug for a couple of days. Hoping that James feels better and that they managed to kick the sickness before heading back out onto the Trail.

If all goes well, AT for CZC will have hiked 586.9 miles as they wrap up their second month of hiking next week.

Thanks to everyone for your outpouring of support. In my conversation with Matt last weekend, he asked that I thank everyone for the well wishes and encouragement.

I've heard from a number of people whom were hoping to contact the hikers. If you would like to send a care package or letter, please feel free to send to the following address:

Matt Primiani

c/o General Delivery

Bland, VA 24315

*Please be sure to also write on the letter/package, "Hold for Thru-Hiker est. 6/20"

Additionally, please feel free to contact me via Facebook and I will pass word along to the hikers. Be sure to check back in soon. I hope to hear from J-Bird and Ewok, or at least receive a check-in with their current location, within the next day or so.

Notes from the Trail - June 3rd

Lots to report on this Sunday afternoon. AT for CZC has officially made it to Virginia. I spoke with Matt yesterday afternoon after he and James had successfully arrived in Damascus. They have now hiked an impressive 467 miles. Matt reports that they are both in high spirits, having successfully completed a grueling week that culminated in what he called the "best four days of hiking we've had on the Trail."

Having just scarfed down a satisfying lunch, they planned on cleaning up at The Place, a hiker hostel located in First United Methodist Church, before heading out to catch an afternoon movie. Sounded like they had a restful twenty four hours planned!

I also received the following note from Matt on Friday afternoon. The tone of this letter stands in direct contrast with our phone conversation, illustrating the dramatic ups and downs of life on the Trail:

Trail Journal, 6/3/2012

I don't know where to begin. This past week on the Trail has been the wildest and has pushed us all to our limits, both physically and mentally. A few days ago, Crazy Beard (Ray) and I hiked 26 miles. Our hike ended at 3 in the morning in a thunderstorm but was probably my best day on the Trail.

The following night, James, Low Profile and I decided to wait out the storm and hike to Roan Mtn. shelter (the highest shelter on the AT at an elevation of over 6,000 feet). We left around 6 and hiked up the mountain only to all get lost and separated in the fog and the night.

Low Profile and I made it to the shelter and ended up staying awake shivering all night due to the cold. It must have been 30 degrees or below with the windchill, rain and elevation. We boiled water in Nalgene bottles for warmth and kept the stove burning all night. Was seriously worried about James who ended up camping with Too Tall on top of the mountain. It was the coldest night in June that any of us had ever experienced.

We all regrouped at the shelter the following morning in the lowest of spirits and then Trail Magic happened. Pat, a former thru-hiker of the AT and P.C.T. (Pacific Coast Trail) arrived in the morning with a feast for us. He cooked kabobs with fresh meat and vegetables, corn on the cob, country ham and egg burritos, dump cake (the best thing I've ever eaten in my life) which consisted of cherries, blueberries, cake, marshmallows and hershey bars, bread on a stick, pancakes and asparagus.

In less than 24 hours, I had experienced the worst time on the Trail only to be redeemed by Pat's feast. Thanks so much to Pat and Friends: that was the best day on the Trail for all of us. To it now, we all know the power of nature and the elements and also recognize how much we value Trail Magic and all the good people whom are helping us on the way.

James ended up sleeping that night inside his backpack! That's how cold it was.

But spirits are high now as we have regrouped with our Connecticut friends, Too Tall, Crazy Beard and Low Profile, as well as Houdini and Possum. We're in pursuit of Wooly and Gunny and approaching Damascus. Still playing bonfires and playing music every night. Thanks so much to Gil who joined us for a stretch of challenging Trail. Pretty sure he brought us beautiful luck and weather.

The bond between thru-hikers is amazing and I hope everyone can witness the beauty and goodness that can be found in the mountains. The warmth from a fire never burned hotter, truer friends have never been found. We depend on each other and we will get to Maine together. Will call with news from Damascus.

PS. Drum was bought in Asheville. Low Profile and I went in to town and ended up staying with Ben and Adam from Asheville. Thanks so much for your hospitality.

James added on the letter: "On the night hike to Roan Mountain, there was fog the whole way and the visibility was about 3 feet even with my brand new headlight. The reason I didn't make it to the shelter was because I missed the turn off twice in the fog. I hiked 2 miles past the shelter, hiked back only to miss it again. The wind where I camped threatened to blow my tent down the mountain as I was setting it up as well."

Finally, Matt jotted an additional note on the letter, dated June 5th: "We are just now leaving Mountain Harbour B&B and Hiker Hostel after two days of rest. Had the best home-cooked breakfast here! Special thanks to Terry and Mary Hill for their hospitality!"

June 6th Check-In

"I'm OK," says Ewok, as he checked in via his Spot GPS device yesterday afternoon. Click here to see Matt and James' location as of 9:17am Wednesday morning.

Have a look at Gil Fuqua's comments from the past couple of days to get an idea of how things are going on the Trail.

Hoping to speak with Matt over the weekend. It's been some time since he's checked in but it appears AT for CZC continues without issue.