Lion King update on the AT

We've been following updates from Mike Daniel, aka Lion King, on his AT thu-hike this year. Suzanne and I met up with him previously in Damascus, VA at Trail Days, where we caught the premiere of his new film. Mike's been testing out a new NEMO tent for 2010 called Espri 2P, and is the man to talk to if you've ever contemplated flying a tent like a kite. Here's his latest update:

So here we are. New York State. Rain is falling, rocks are obvious and the bugs are biting. One thing though, the heat and humidity have been at all time lows this year, and for that I am grateful. Usually in PA/NJ/NY it is miserable with the heat this time of year. We have been out over 3 months and it is going by so fast. Really. I mean when you set out to hike, and you think, “6 months….that’s a lot of time.”, well, no, really it isn’t. Then you realize you still have about 800 miles to go and fall will be moving in fast, so even though Vermont/NH/ME are tougher and day light disappears quickly, I am still glad to be here moving along.

I have enjoyed my NEMO tent too. It has a rep all it’s own out here after taking flight on Max Patch early on in the trip. People dig the rain fly color as well, plus, the netting is so great you feel like you are cowboy camping even when you have the net up. Good tent and I am glad I get the chance to be the first person to use it on a long distance hike. Today, we plan on leaving the Mayors (Unionville NY) house and hiking over to Peekskill at the minimum. Flash flood warnings are in effect today, so that may throw a monkey in the wrench, but still…gotta’ walk ya’ know?

I look forward to Fall, the coming color changes, the cooling of weather, the big beauty of New England and the friendships I have made that will continue to grow.

It’s all about the walking, really. It's magic.

-Lion King