Joey Camps

7/11 Friday Abol->Katahdin 2170->2185 Forced to sleep in because the store didnt open until 7am. Now I know what youre thinking...why dont you just not be a pussy and run the last 15 miles without food.  I considered. But when I get down from Katahdin and I have done 20 miles that is where I will camp for the night.  I aint skipping dinner, I am a fatty at heart.  Plus I wanted a redbull...duh wings.  I got in and out of the store. As I was on the trail to BSC, I began realizing; 8 more miles and I am done carrying this pack.  7 miles and Im on the last climb. 6 more until your free to fly. 5 more hours. 4 till the floor.  3 its just me. 2 what can you do.  1 this is soo much fun.  Chased a moose for the last half mile.  I hit BSC.  I saw my dad , lifted me higher. I dried my feet. Ditched the pack and packed my day pack ,...with pretty much nothing.  I ran the first mile of the climb. It felt amazing.  All the memories of the trail flowing through my mind like in the mo

7/10 Thurs Pine needle forrest->Abol•ish 2119->2170 Well I woke up before my alarm as usual.  I got a mission to complete.  I got packed up. Dave seemed to be taking his time. I used the facilities.  I was still waiting for Dave. I told him I was going to walk slow and to catch up.  After a really slow half mile I reached a stream. I stopped and cameled up. I thought it would be perfect. I would drink tons of water and Dave would catch up.  After I had my fill and still no Dave, I decided to walk on. I hit a small climb, I thought surely Dave would catch me.  I reached the top. Still no Dave.  Smooth bomber descent waiting. Decision time.  Eff it.  So I go. I felt bad about leaving Dave , but I got the impression he wanted to leave me.  I was feeling good now though. Buttery pancakes. Flying I was. It got rooty, rocky and swampy. I didnt care. I would be done in a day. I really thought I could make the store by close. 51 miles in 13 hours. Just under 4 mph. I got this. U

7/9 wednesday Monson->in the middle of the trail .2 past mile marker 2019 2067->2019 And we danced, and we cried And we laughed and had a really really really good time Take my hand, let's have a blast And remember this moment for the rest of our lives Our lives, our lives, our lives, our lives Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight 'Cause tonight's the night Am I right? Dance! See, so you see.  I can hear the music.  And I love to dance.  Unfortunately, this last week had really shook me up. With zero, near zeros, falls, survival sleeping and stressing out; I had lost my MoJo.  So we went to work. Slowly I was gaining my confidence. It helped that the conversation between Dave and I was flowing.  It distracted me and uplifted me. Dave was similar in many ways and we agreed on a lot of random topics. It was like have a bunch of Eureka moments. We talked about running, the Wasatch and even wer

7/8 Tuesday Monson->Monson 2059->2067 Started off with some nasty words to my dad. He had been stressing me out. He was super helpful and kept me on track. Everytime I wanted to quit in the last week, he has said the right thing to keep me going.  I am forever thankful for how he raised me.  I just need to be alone now and finish this thing on my own.  A fella named Dave saved my AT trip. He started talking to me and sparks were flying. I was getting the fire back. I told him that even before getting on the trail,  I thought about doing the 100 mile wilderness in "100 miler " style. Basically, try not to sleep and finish it in 2 days. He was on board. Hell yes, lets do this!  So now I am amped up and it is 10 in the morning. A little late to start that venture. But I did have 8 miles to finish from yesterday. So I got a ride back to the trail and huffed it. It felt good. Maybe because I was motivated or maybe because my pack weighed next to nothing, but I felt

57 days 4 hours and 41 minutes after leaving Springer, the top of Katahdin.  It is not a record, but I am proud of what I have done out here. I survived the monsoon in the south and a hurricane in the north.  In between we cruised.  I am all beat up, but feel amazing.  This has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life, but also the most rewarding. It has been a beautiful, long rollercoaster ride from hell.  Definitely type 2 fun. Or type 2200 fun. I want to thank everyone who has supported me and followed along on the blog. I will fill in the details shortly. But right now it is hotel, shower and dinner time.   Peace and Love  Flash

7/7 Mon Pierce Pond->Monson 2030->2059x->2067 Slip sliding through mud. Everything itchs. Might be poison ivy, but im not that reactive to it.  I didnt scratch, despite the itch.  I got black flies dive bombing my eyes, making it difficult to see at times. I forded two rivers that ended up coming up to my waist.  The water is moving, it is a bit sketchy.  At one slippery muddy spot. I slipled on a wet muddy rock, my recovery step slipped on a rock, my second recovery step slipped in the mud, now my legs are pretzeled and I go down. Luckily there are rocks to break my fall. I split the impact between my wrist and my face. Thankfully it was spread out enough to not do damage. And I didnt get that muddy. Couldnt help to chuckle, I almost had a face full of mud like a lady getting a facial mask.  Finally, I got to a river that after sometime I decided was insane to try and ford.  I want an adventure, experience and to push myself; but I am not suicidal. I headed back to t

7/4 friday  Grafton->under a boulder 1918->195? no clue It poured for a few hours. Descending Bald Plate in the rain was trecherous and gnarly to say the least. The rest of the day it was spitting and cold.  I forded a few rivers that scared the shit out of me...I was just glad to not have to take a poop break.  At ~6:30 the skies split open. It was raining so hard I could barely see. I found an over hanging boulder.  I spent one miserable night in my bivy with water flowing down on each side of me.  Chalk it up to another near life experience. Really living out here.  7/5 sat ColderBoulder->Stratton 195?->1997 Actually slept a bit. Who knew rocks jabbing the back could be relaxing.  Cold, got my hustle on. The trail is easy to follow; its just the flowing water.  Except when the waters really flowing. Then its time to ford.  Good thing I used to do ironmans!  Wish I could bike though.  Cold wet miserable. Im not pretending to enjoy this anymore. This s

7/3 thurs Bethel 1918 Rest was nice.  My first zero day. But I really just want to be back out there. Rumor has it, Rumsford got 12" of rain last night.  That is 20 miles north, close to where I should have been.  I guess I picked a good night.  Do you realize...that is 12 feet of alta pow?  Holy face shots trench digger.  Apparently the foot is good to go.  A little early for an xray to tell for sure, but it looked good, felt good.  So I am going to pad it up like crazy and give it a go. I got my dad camping around Maine and fishing.  Nearby if I need.  It looks like a hurricane might get us. But tomorrow is showery and then two days of partly sunny.  I think I will get out there ASAP and take advantage of the weather.   Although I wont be eligible for the record, as my Dad picked me up and we bought supplies today...at a grocery store ? So nice.  I still think it would be cool to finish under 60 days , then under Matts time  (current record 58d9h40m)  which by my calcul

Webster Cliffs I just started to get a kick out of it.  It seemed like everytime I got to a nice sunny spot and thought Ill stop and dry of my feet, socks and shoes. I would get my shoes off and one cloud would block the sun.  Okay I guess 33 out of 34 isnt everytime View from Lafayette I believe (above y below) Working up the ridge, now this is the running I like! Lonesome Lake, not so lonely with that view Kind of the same shot , but I love the way the clouds in the lake look Mt Moosilauke (above y below) Not a bad place for a break I could break all day I know you are sick of landscapes... .... ..... Suckers

Although I believe beauty cant be captured, it lives in the moment. I will try to share some with you. Getting the sun up and down everyday Sometimes I wonder if it is real I would always get a final push for the day around this time Clouds forming over Mt Washington I dont get sick of it. But you might What we got from Mt Washington Testing my one leg balance after. 30 miles on a cliff edge ... Yeah extreme

7/2 Wednesday Full Goose->Bethel 1908->1918 Well okay.  Fine, fine, the foot is fine.  Well it doesnt hurt more than what I have become accustom to on the trail, I should say. Away we go, the most fun mile of the course.  Mahoosuc Notch. It is just boulders. Entering it was like going to the land of the living dead. The temperature must have dropped from 75 to 35 instantly. There was snow on the ground. Soo cool. I touched it just to feel home, niiiiice.   I thought about if I was home 10 days ago, I might have been getting face shots in Main Chute.  How sweet the dream! Task at hand Joe, task at hand. I got to work.  And so did mother nature.  I swear it was clear skies, but I could only see a little part of the sky down in the gully of the beast.  Big fat drops splatted the boulders.  By the time I had my rain gear on, it stopped.  Hmm. I guess this is just right of passage I thought. It didn't rain, no. The AT gods were just making sure I got the full experience.

7/1 Tue Imp-> Full Goose 1879->1908 Leaving early this morning I felt good physically, but mentally I felt like I was losing a friend and going out in the wilderness, lonely again.  Surely Pnuemo was worked and had no reason to continue at such pace except for the companionship.  I got to White Mountains Hostel and Inn (our goal from yesterday).  I asked if they had any food to buy. Not really. The guy checked.  One Cherry Garcia.  I took it and filled up.  Somehow I got to saying I was in a hurry because I was going for the record. The guy asked if he could interview me. I said fine, but I needed to keep walking. Well I ended up stopping. But it was brief and I was on my way.  Eating Cherry Garcia for break fast and jogging down the road. Odd to some people, seemed to make perfect sense to me.  It was hot and humid. I sweated out all the Cherry Garcia on the first climb. It was beginning to dawn on me that making it to Stratton was going to be a big stretch and I might

6/30 Mon Lake of the clouds->Imp 1851->1879 Woke up today excited for some more Whites. The first thing we did was descend down the wrong trail. Now I say we, as Pnuemo decided he hadn't had enough and got up to go with me. I love it!  This kids got heart!  Well, if someone told me they started on the wrong foot, I would tell them to try being ambidextrous. But wrong trail descending 3/4 of a mile.  I got nothing for that. So when we got back up to the shelter, I just pretended I had slept in(as I had thought about).  Disappointing to not top out Mt Washingting, but been there done that.  It was also socked in and wouldn't have been a view.  We did have a gorgeous day break sun thru fog ridge descent though (picture in time).  After a bit of non stop rock hop we arrived at Madison hut. We were hungry and looking to stuff our gut.  We were hoping for breakfast leftovers.  I told Pnuemo, i doubt they' ll have pancakes. They are so quick to make there wont be ex

6/29 Sun Liberty->Lonesome Lake  1813->1851 Today I ran with emotion. That emotion was love. I struggled to start. I was shook up about yesterday and didnt sleep much.  But then I though about what I love I love my Dad and Mom. They made me who I am.  Iove my Brother for his awesomeness I love Christal for putting up with my shinanagins I love all my friends  I love the random strangers that have given me support  I love this trail I love pushing myself and see when I can do The mountains The other through hikers Especially I love music Met the only person I'll probably hike with this whole way I am stoked.  His name is pnuemo. He's hammering out a 90 day venture. He heard about me and wanted to keep up with me for a while and we just crush it.  Oh and I love huts and doing dishes for food

6/28 Saturday Ore Mill->Almost Liberty 1779->1813 Well I almost quit today.  And it's not for anything you would think. I enjoyed the lovely morning climbing up MT Moosilauke. But on the descent I ran into two hikers that told me my dad was hiking up and had supplies for me. At first I was surprised. Then I got angry.  I didn't think I would see him again until Baxter.  Here he was telling people he was bringing me supplies. I couldn't help but think he was trying to sabotage me.  Once I caught up to I let into. I called him an asshole. I told him he knew I couldn't accept support and asked why he was trying to ruin this for me. He told me to calm down and drink a Mt Dew. I told him to eff off.  And I took off down. I was so pissed started hammering up the other side. Quickly my feelings went from anger to worry. I was getting along so well with my dad; it was like we were buddies. So I called him.  No answer. I called again let a long sopping message. I

6/27 Friday Happy hill->Ore Mill 1737-1779 Felt amazing running into Hanover.  6lbs on my back, downhill paved road. I might have just clipped one mile off at 7min pace. $128 at a convience store later , I felt like a bloated out of shape fatty walking out of town. Had a few climbs but nothing crazy.  Loved trudging thru a few swamps too.  I guess I will be wet this whole trip(only wet maine left).  But then Ill appreciate the desert so much more in a few weeks time. 

6/26  thurs Killington->Happy Hill 1700->1737 Shortest day on the trail in a long time it seems I just under 12 hours got a good nights rest and get a good nights rest tonight a lot of food it's hard to go slowly take it easy. But I think I'll be good from the mountains coming out.  Yeah the voice type doesn't work all that great. 

6/25 Wed Mt Baker->Killington 1659->1700 Spent the night in a hotel with with my dad it was awesome I did not want to leave I do want to go to bed I'm back out here I'm resting up taking an easy day. Eating lots of food to refuel before the whites

6/24 Tues Goddard->Baker Mt 1617->1659 This is going to be too hard to keep up through the whites and Maine.  I'll do my best but I got to have a focused head and get these last 400 some odd miles done. Hopefully I'll pop up somewhere and have a Katahdin in 14 or days or so

6/22 Mon Cobble rocks->Goddard 1572->1617 Finally some mountains Greylock and Glastonbury. Margot and her dad met me; it was awesome.  They track me down then walked the trail with me and ran with me for 3 miles and it was great! It was like meeting to old friends for coffee hang out for a while catching up and then leaving feeling refreshed and good. Although we covered 3 miles we talked while we walked for 3 miles and I felt when they left and I was refreshing ready to hike again. But I was already hiking.  Okay we reach a all-time new level here I realize how to use the voice type on my iPhone. All I need is a signal and I can basically just talk to my phone and here you go you got a blog.  Unfortunately I am moving all day and focus I think get food get water and massage my legs him the rest of it I walk sleep that's all I have time for I will try to keep everyone updated as best I can but I'm sure I'll be heading out service very infrequently com

6/22 Sun Blue Hill->Cobble Rocks 1526->1572 Easy day. Besides two 1,000ft, a 800ft and a 600ft climb. Today was flat. So boring, so tiring. Pancake flat.  can't be like pancakes all exciting at first and by the end you're sick of them thanks Mitch

6/21 Sat Belters->Blue Hill 1486->1526   

6/20 Friday Nature landscapes->Belters 1446->1486 Well I slept. Woke up covered in a cold dew. The only way I know how to get warm is move. Packed quick and started running. It was a mile of cow pasture to start every step soaking my feet in cold morning dew. It actually felt nice. I was booking for it was smooth terrain. Got to my resupply point and went to work. I spent a little too long there but it is a nice mental break as well. Ugh now my pack is heavy.  I kept up a good forward progress. But the terrain wasn't making it easy. Can't help but feel like Frodo Baggins trying to get to Mordoor to destroy the ring.  I am currently entering the kingdom of Isengarrd before Mordoor.  Google St. Johns ledges... Enjoy the view. Now add st. Johns ledges stair climb.  Lord of the rings?  Well I just keep plugging away. But every time I calculate my pace, I just seem slow. I am not going to make it. I get angry and sprint. But the sun was winning the race.  Finally, I h

6/19 Thurs Graymoor->nature landscapes 1406->1446 Ugh. The rain started early in the AM. I happened to pick a spot where the roof leaked. Just a drip. But it woke me up and made me move. I really didn't want to be here today. It rained until 11. I was moving so slow. Almost as if I was trying to slow myself down. The sun came out. It was 1 pm. I needed water. I went to a tent site with a pump and laid out my stuff to dry while I filtered the water. I made a few needed phone calls. It was 3 pm.  Crap. I had only cover 17 miles in 8:30.  I got up and started running. I didn't stop until 8 pm. I had covered 23 miles in just over 5 hours. A pretty good pace with a pack. I walked across a swamp on a long boardwalk while eating dinner. I cross some railroad tracks and was at the nursery.  The power outlets didn't work and the bathroom was locked. I got water and passed out. 

6/18 Wednesday Prospector rocks ->Graymoor 1363->1406 So my day start with a big crash.  A tree came tumbling down about 50 feet away from where I slept.  It was really windy, there was lightning(I assume heat lightning), it wasn't raining and was hot as hell.  I was thirsty. So I drank some water. It was 1:30 in the morning. I was up now. Really thirsty and running out of water.  Oh well night hike.  It must have gotten warmer thru the night. 2 miles in, I found a brook and I loaded up on water. Do people actually like the Sawyer Squeeze? I think it is annoying. I would rather pump.   So I stumbled through the dark until about 3:30.  I was pretty tired so I figured a nap would work wonders.  Slept until 5 with my feet up on a rock and my head on my pack. No bag/sac just my tights and shirt.  Well it worked like a charm. I felt like I had slept all night. The day was going great. I was in NY. I crossed the thruway where I have driven a million times. There were climb

6/17 Tuesday Gren Andersen->Prospector Rocks 1321->1363 Today started slow and then got crazy.  I met a ridge runner by the name Grasshopper while I was filling up water at the first shelter. He started in with the usual questions and soon realized how crazy I was.  Being a thru hiker himself and more of a true trail hiker, we seemed to agree on a lot of things. He said that I best be going and that he didn't want to hold me up. I told him nonsense, that I was gaining motivation and inspiration.  But then I hurried away.  Things were going swimmingly but it was get hot and humid fast. I made it to the road I had to take to town and was about to turn on it. There was an older lady who looked like she might be from the area. I asked for confirmation.  She told me it was not the road and I had to go another mile. Ill call B S.  I just didn't believe her. I decided to just go up the road right in front of her. She yelled to me that I was going the wrong way. I just w

6/16 Monday Wolf Rocks->Gren Andersen 1280->1221 No case of the Mondays here. Excited for an early morning town, new shoes and camel back.  Half awake, I floated over those man-eating rocks they have here in PA.  Haha.  Okay, its a simple paychological explanation.  I am not going to deny that there are rocks in PA.  But there are rocks everywhere.  I remember some rooty/rock descent out of NC that was worse than anything in PA.  It is like my buddy Rusty said when I asked him about PA, "people got to have something to complain about".  Bingo. PA is long, flat, boring, uninspiring and lacks views.  But please don't take it out on the rocks.  I love the rocks! Running on rocks is like getting a foot massage all day..Awesome.  I had to run all day in PA, I like mountains and I cannot stand slowing down to eat when it is flat.  I guess I am just complaining now.  Boo hoo.   So I got top of the last hump before dropping to town. Mt MiniSi. Made me think of Jure

6/15 Sunday Allentown->Wolf Rocks 1236->1280 Brr it was cold this morning.  Someone said it was 40 degrees and I would believe them.  Took a little while to get rolling today. It is fathers day and I want to make my dad proud.  Once the sun was up for a bit, both the temperatures and I were warmed up.  Cruised down to Lehigh gap around 11.  I noticed water dripping down the back of my leg. I immediately grabbed the bottom of my pack and it was soaking wet.  I threw my pack down and puled out a broken bladder.  Oh boy, no bueno. It was sunny, hot and the middle of the day. I crossed the bridge and then got lost somehow. All the white reflectors look like blazes so I get confused.  Cursing and looking confused cars just drive by, probably slightly perturbed.  I finally figure it out and get up to the trail head.  Someone had left water and I was immensely grateful.  I decided I needed to chill out and regather myself.  So I pulled out my feet and I called my dad to wish hi

6/14 Saturday 501->Allentown 1190->1236 Well it is my brothers birthday today.  Not just any birthday, dirty 30.   I wanted to do something special. Oh and it is flag day.  The day we celebrate the birth of American Jesus.  Well I took off running. The first 10 miles I spent trudging through the swamps of PA. After I got out of that grossness.  It was running. Non-stop running.  Ugh. Pennslyvania is so flat, it is inbeliveable.  Well I made it to Port Clinton in no time. Well, 5 hrs 10mins.  For 23miles. Ill take it.  Once I got on the pavement. I ripped my shoes and socks off  and called my brother.  Before he even answered the phone the sun had gone behind the clouds.  Seems about right, I shrugged.  I wished my brother a happy birthday, got to talk to Downey and congratulate Mr. Butch on getting married.  I decided to not try to long to dry out my feet with it being cloudy. So I went to the candy shop.  Honestly, it is almost perfect for a resupply.  They have nuts, t

6/13 Friday Doyle->501 1143->1190 Well it didn't seem to rain that much last night.  Maybe I made a mistake.  But my feet are a worlds better, so maybe not.  I ran 2 miles on pavement to start the day.  So my feet were dry for a little.  Had a nice little climb to start.  I felt heavy and probably was.  I ate too much and didn't run far enough.  But thats okay. I  will be down some weight in a few hours.  I got sprinkled on from 9 to 10am. I thought well that wasn't so bad. We are done with the rain for a few days and things will finally dry out.  All of a sudden there was a sharp pain shooting up from my right foot/toes.  I tried to move the foot around in the shoe. But nothing worked. It was so painful it made me nauseous and I threw up.  This is not good.  I stopped took it off. My foot didn't look that bad.  I picked some dirt/rock out of one of the sores.  I ate some cheesy crackers while I waited for it to dry a bit.  I rubbed some neosporin on it,

6/12 Thursday Allenbury->Doyle 1117->1143 My first and hopefully last rest day.  I decided to sleep in a bit.  6:30. I figured I deserved it.  And I mosied out the door by 7:15.  My nice dry feet lasted about 5 minutes. It was only misting, but it poored last night. The ground was covered in puddles. Once I got back on the trail I was soaked head to toe.  The overgrown branches, wind and just plain dripping made it as though it was raining.  It was dead flat again.  I ran and ran. I passed a guy who said, "flash flood warning this afternoon to midnight". Thanks.  Then a girl, "Flash flood warning tonight, you probably don't want to be out here later". Thanks.  Finally, an older lady, "Flash flood warning, you probably shouldn't be out here much longer" thanks. Jesus.  Rahhh.  And I was worried about getting gangrene on my feet because I had been running through ankle deep water in and out of cow and horse pastures.  I had been runnin

6/11 Wednesday Tom Runs->Allenbury 1069->1118 Well I said it was going to be on today, and it was.  As my first decision of the day; I decided to go back to sleep...haha.  It was raining at 4:50 and I thought it wouldn't be the best to run in the dark rain on slippy rocks. So I got up at 5:25.  Mosied out by 5:55.  49 miles to go. Resupply, eat n sleep, hotel and Rangers.  It takes me about 2 hours to warm up these days.  But even during those first hours , I averaged over 4 mph.  A nice descent got my legs going and my self chants kept it flowing.  It was Food , Hotel , Dry gear, Rangers and REPEAT.  I realized that I would cross the midway point soon as well. I thought about it...27 days ago I start and I have put a few hours in today. Doing the math on the run, under 55 days.  I can't believe it.  I checked and rechecked my math. I knew since I decided to push, I was doing well. But this blew my mind. I am averaging 40.1 miles per day and feel great.  Except f

I will start this evening out with a poem that sounds like it was written by a first grader.  But in reality a grown man/boy who is really tired. 6/10 Tuesday Ed Garvey->Two Runs 1026->1069 My brother mike He is awesome, smart and has a big heart He likes to ski, surf and play all day He is one rad dude with a good attitude He can fix or solve any problem if he wants He got me to where I am today, for I followed him across the usa He is the best brother one could ever have I would have never thought that I would say, but he is my best friend today Although sometimes he pretends to be Will Farrell or Ron Burgandy He doesn't have to, because he is so much cooler  He is the best bachelor Ive ever met, that ---- doesnt know how much of a bimbo she is yet He will meet you half way on your hike I love him, my brother Mike So I ran 43 miles today.  Met some cool people.  But the best part was seeing my Brother. I got to hang out with him fo