One Hundred Mile Wilderness

A zillion years ago .. Another lifetime ..

A group of us were sitting around a camp fire drinking cold beers after a day hiking in the White Mountains. Somebody was talking about a hike they dreamed of making. 'The One Hundred Mile Wilderness' it was called. The last 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail through the back woods of Maine. The longest stretch of the entire AT without passing through a town or even crossing a paved road. We all agreed it sounded awesome. A month later 2 of us were on it!

My friend Tom made all the arrangements. We took the subway from my apartment in Somerville to South Station, then a bus to Portland, and then an arranged ride to a little town called Monson. I remember feeling silly carrying a fully loaded backback onto the T. It weighed 45 pounds, but it felt more like 100.

There was a boarding house in Monson that accomodated AT hikers. They provided a comfortable bed, a hot shower and terrific meals. Plus we got to meet the real hikers; the guys who had started 2100 miles away in Georgia, months before, and were on the final leg of their journey - to the AT trail terminus on the summit of Mount Katahdin. Those guys had a million stories to tell!


The One Hundred Mile Wilderness passes through a beautiful New England forest, across pristine rivers and streams, and over uncrowded mountains with terrific views. It is well marked and maintained, superbly so when you consider how inaccessible it is. It really is a beautiful place.
  

Tom had detailed maps and he'd planned well. There are lean-to's every 10 miles or so. We'd try to spend the nights in or around these shelters. There would be a river, creek or spring nearby; and other hikers. We didn't have the best gear, but we had what we needed. We had made arrangements to meet friends in Baxter State Park, at the other end of the trail, for our ride home. It was late summer. Our chances of success were good.

The first couple days were rough. The pack was SO heavy. And I wasn't in the best of shape. I had serious doubts about walking the full 100 miles and began thinking about bailing out at the lumber road we'd cross half way in. Tom complained less but had a bigger problem. His feet were blistering. And, after a day of walking in the rain, developed a nasty rash. But he toughed it out. As we progressed north, the packs got lighter, the hills became more gentle and we got used to it.
It became fun.

What else do I remember of my long ago hike? I remember being tired. On top of the walking, we needed to filter our water, prepare our meals, set up tents, bathe, and be cafeful to keep our critical gear dry. I remember enjoying the feeling of getting far away from everything. I remember standing atop a nameless mountain, looking for miles over green forest and seeing no sign of civilization. I remember walking for a mile behind a giant moose. I remember sitting along a river bank in the middle of nowhere watching beavers swim and play. I remember talking to complete strangers who were genuinely happy to see another person. I remember spending 8 days with a good friend. And I remember the wonderful sense of accomplishment from completing a great journey!

Laws to Live By

Each of the world’s great religions has sets of rules for its followers to live by. Not surprisingly, there are lots of similarities among them. What I’d like to do is to make a list of the best laws and apply them to my own life.

Christianity has the 10 Commandments:
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.

Judaism has the 613 Mitzvot; all of which can be categorized into one of the 10 Commandments:
1. Belief in God.
2. Prohibition of Improper Worship.
3. Prohibition of Oaths.
4. Observance of Sacred Times.
5. Respect for Parents and Teachers.
6. Prohibition of Physically Harming a Person.
7. Prohibition of Sexual Immorality.
8. Prohibition of Theft.
9. Prohibition of Harming a Person through Speech.
10. Prohibition of Coveting.

Islam refers to the 10 Commandments in the Qur’an:
1..Do not associate another deity with God.
2. Know therefore that there is no god but God.
3. No visions can encompass Him, but He encompasses all visions.
4. My Lord, make this a peaceful land, and protect me and my children from worshiping idols.
5. There is nothing that equals (like) Him.
6. Do not use God's name in your oaths as an excuse to prevent you from dealing justly.
7. Remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him exclusively.
8. Glorify the name of your Lord morning and evening.
9. You shall be kind to your parents. If one or both of them live to their old age in your lifetime, you shall not say to them any word of contempt nor repel them, and you shall address them in kind words. You shall lower to them the wing of humility and pray: "O Lord! Bestow on them Your blessings just as they cherished me when I was a little child.
10. And do not take any human being's life - that God willed to be sacred - other than in [the pursuit of] justice.
11. You shall not commit adultery. Surely it is a shameful deed and an evil way.
12. The thief, male or female, you shall mark their hands as a punishment for their crime, and to serve as an example from GOD. GOD is Almighty, Most Wise.
13. And (know that the true servants of God are) those who do not bear witness to falsehood.
14. Do not covet the bounties that God has bestowed more abundantly on some of you than on others.

Hinduism follows 10 Disciplines:
1. Satya (Truth).
2. Ahimsa (Non-violence).
3. Brahmacharya (Celibacy, non-adultery).
4. Asteya (No desire to possess or steal).
5. Aparighara (Non-corrupt).
6. Shaucha (Cleanliness).
7. Santosh (Contentment).
8. Swadhyaya (Reading of scriptures).
9. Tapas (Austerity, perseverance, penance).
10. Ishwarpranidhan (Regular prayers).

Buddhism has its own 10 Commandments:
1. Do not destroy life.
2. Do not take what is not given you.
3. Do not commit adultery.
4. Tell no lies and deceive no one.
5. Do not become intoxicated.
6. Eat temperately and not at all in the afternoons.
7. Do not watch dancing, nor listen to singing or plays.
8. Wear no garlands, perfumes or any adornments.
9. Sleep not in luxurious beds.
10. Accept no gold or silver.

Great -- Lots of similarities! A few nuances here and there, but nothing objectionable. Kind of makes you wonder what all the fuss is about. Why all the fighting?

I hereby declare the new universal Laws to Live By, borrowed from the Great Religions and edited by me. I am 100% certain no one will object to any of them.

Be Kind
Love
Be Truthful
Be Faithful
Be Peaceful
Be Respectful
Be Content

Be Good. 

Neanderthal Fiction

I have long been fascinated by Neanderthals and wondered why they don't get more attention. Dinosaurs get a lot of attention. Of course, new fans are recruited at a young age by their purple, melodious, dancing spokesman. And they were pretty sensational! Woolly mammoths and saber tooth tigers get their due - maybe 'cuz they look cool. And they lived up until fairly recently. But Neanderthals fly under the radar. I am perplexed by this. I think a lot of people lump them in with our 'Cave Men' ancestors. Neanderthals were a distinct human species. And they lived up until fairly recently. How could their extinction not get more notice? Can you imagine how fascinating the world would be had they survived and shared the world with us? Fascinating! And yet there seems to be so little interest in it.

Scientists say Neanderthals lived all through Europe, Western Asia and the Middle East, from 400,000 to 30,000 years ago. They were a distinct species that branched away from our own lineage one million years ago. They were cold weather adapted; with slightly shorter and more powerful limbs than their Cro-Magnon cousins. Neanderthals were meat-eaters, much more so than our ancestors. They dealt with cave bears, cave lions and saber tooth cats. They were hunters who made and used tools. They hunted things like woolly mammoths and woolly bison with short spears. Certainly, they hunted in groups and strategized. They had fire and they cared for their children, injured and elders. They had large brains and it is likely that they spoke their own language and worshipped their own gods. These were not apes. They were people - so much like us.


There is debate on what happened when our ancestors met with their Neanderthal cousins. They had been apart and evolved independently for half a million years. Neanderthal was making it in Europe and its surrounds. And then Cro-Magnon expanded out of Africa. POW! What happened when they met? They co-existed for 20,000 years before Neanderthal went extinct. Did they mingle? Did they compete? Did they fight?

The most common theory is that Cro-Magnon had a 'creative advantage' that helped him to evolve and out-compete Neanderthal. But there are other ideas too. Maybe Cro-Magnon infected Neanderthal with a disease that depleted his numbers. Maybe Neanderthals adaptations were a disadvantage when the climate changed. Maybe his meat-dependence did him in when something affected his food source. Maybe they warred and Cro-Magnon had some kind of military advantage. Or maybe they interbred and Neanderthal was simply absorbed into the Cro-Magnon population. No one really knows.

I believe in the absorption theory. I think something depleted the Neanderthal population and the survivors were absorbed into the Cro-Magnon population. Scandinavians and other northern Europeans are fair skinned and light haired. Amongst this population we find concentrations of blue eyes, white skin and red and blond hair. Their skin burns easily, and freckles. And they're big. We don't see this sort of thing in the native African, Asian or the American populations. Could it be that some of these traits were passed down from Neanderthal?


I've enjoyed reading Neanderthal fiction, but there's not that much out there. "The Neanderthal Parallax", a trilogy by Robert Sawyer is really good. There's a kind of parallel universe where the Neanderthals won out and evolved into a modern civilization. One of the Neanderthal scientists passes into our world. It's good stuff. The best known book involving Neanderthals is "Clan of the Cave Bear" by Jean Auel. It's part of her "Earth's Children" series and tells of a Cro-Magnon girl orphaned to the Neanderthals. It was made into a movie. In Mark Canter's "Ember from the Sun", a pregnant Neanderthal woman's carcass is found frozen in the arctic. The embryo is saved (?) and the baby is raised among Native Americans Indians. It's pretty good for a while, but lost my interest when it got into a surviving Neanderthal population in Alaska. Dunno about that! Kurten Gjorn wrote "Dance of the Tiger". This one was entertaining. Set 35,000 years ago, it deals with the interaction between Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal, and describes various Neanderthal tribes. Its sequel, "Singletusk", was also enjoyable. "Almost Adam" by Petru Popescu was ridiculous, but fun. An anthropologist in a plane sees a footprint on a mountain (must have had good eyesight!). And he decides to check it out. He finds remote civilizations of all sorts of pre historic man! Okay?! But it's science fiction, right? John Darnton’s "Neanderthal", is the story of a paleontologist discovering a lost civilization of Neanderthals in Tajikistan. It's silly, of course, but entertaining. That's all the Neanderthal fiction I've been able to get my hands on; only a handful of books - many of them written decades ago.

It seems to me there is a void. There ought to be a story of what might happen if the Neanderthals had not gone extinct, but instead continued to evolve independently right beside our line of humans. How would they have evolved compared to us? How would we interact with them? We've had lots of movies with aliens; some friendly and some nasty. We've had the "Planet of the Apes", the original, the sequels, and the remake. We've even had movies about king sized apes ("Mighty Joe Young") and truly enormous apes ("King Kong"). But for Neanderthals, all we've had is "The Clan of the Cave Bear"; nothing set in modern times. I think "The Neanderthal Parallax" might make a good movie. And I think there's room for the Neanderthal co-existence story as well.

One Thousand Miles

I ran one thousand miles. That's 5,280,000 Feet. Or 1,609 Kilometers for you metric people (you know who you are). I really did it; 1,000 miles. I have a record of it and everything. Pretty good, huh? Are you impressed? Good.

I didn't do it all at once though. No. That would be too far. It took 13 months. So really it's only around 18 miles a week. But when you take away weeks where an injury or the weather made it difficult to run, times when I was sick, and times when watching the kids and being on vacation got in the way, it's pretty good. Maybe I can do my next 1000 faster; we'll see.

I've been an on and off runner for a long time. I can remember running the Scituate (MA) beaches to stay in shape for basketball way back in high school. And I ran a lot right after college when I was in a new place (Middletown, CT) with lots of time on my hands. I remember running in Malawi; a tall, skinny, white guy running through an African village. And then along the banks of Charles when I lived in Boston. For a couple of years I ran early mornings to beat the heat along dirt roads in the tropics (Dominican Republic). And I can remember running lots of miles with my dog Dexter, the yellow husky.

About five years ago I fell in love with trail running. I think that's what really got me back into it. My job moved from downtown Boston to rural New Hampshire and the new work site had a large campus with trails through the woods. I liked running the trails immediately and made it part of my routine. I've changed jobs since then, and my current job affords me access to the Merrimack River Trail - lucky for me.
   

I started logging my runs on DailyMile.com in September of last year. The site describes itself as a "social training log for runners, triathletes, and cyclists. Dailymile is the easiest way to share your training with friends and stay motivated". I've found it helpful. There have been times when making a new entry has encouraged me to make my run to meet a mileage goal. Also the forums and networking with other runners is helpful. Best of all though, is the way it allows you to keep track of your runs and mileage.


The One Thousand Miles is an artificial milestone. But that's ok. It's an excuse to celebrate something I enjoy. What's wrong with that? 

Christopher Colombus was a Boob

Today we celebrate Columbus Day. Cristobol Colon is taking some heat lately for having 'found' someplace where people already lived and for being mean to those people. Also, he's getting less credit for believing the earth was round; 'cuz most educated people of his time knew that. Fair enough. But he still deserves some credit. He was a risk taker. He was daring. While he wasn't the first European to 'discover' the America's (think Vikings), he was the first to stay.


What's being overlooked is Colon's creativity and persistence. Just to get funding for the first voyage, Colon creatively used estimations of distances to make his 'new route' to Asia seem feasible. He took the low estimate for the westward route and the high estimate for the eastward route to make the new trade route appear desirable. Then, because he needed to leave some crew on the island before he sailed back, he befrieded some Taino chiefs. Meanwhile, he was capturing other Tainos to sell into slavery. And later, when it was realized that he hadn't landed anywhere near Asia, and that his estimate of the size of the earth must be way low, Colon came up with a gem. He responded that the earth must be shaped like a pear.


We should not give Colon too much credit for 'discovering' the Americas or for 'proving' that the earth was round. But we should give him credit for risking his neck and for being a creative in gaining support for what benefitted him.

Cool Quotes I

‘With great power comes great responsibility’. – Spiderman

‘It's really very simple. In this world, there is right and there is wrong ... and that distinction is not difficult to make’. – Superman

‘It is not sufficient that I succeed - all others must fail’. – Genghis Khan

‘With Heaven's aid I have conquered for you a huge empire. But my life was too short to achieve the conquest of the world. That task is left for you’. – Genghis Khan

‘I am the punishment of God...If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you’. – Genghis Khan

‘The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies’. – Genghis Khan

‘The scarcity of years does not necessitate lack of wisdom’. - James Clavell (King Rat)

‘Only by living at the edge of death can you understand the indescribable joy of life’. - James Clavell (Shogun)

‘Of what real value is a title? The power is the only important thing’.- James Clavell (Shogun)

‘Travel is glamorous only in retrospect’. - Paul Theroux

‘Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going’. - Paul Theroux

‘It is usually expensive and lonely to be principled’. - Paul Theroux

‘I cannot make my days longer so I strive to make them better’. - Paul Theroux

‘Gain a modest reputation for being unreliable and you will never be asked to do a thing’. - Paul Theroux

‘Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us’. - Paul Theroux

‘There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will’. - Epictetus

‘A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control’. - Proverbs 29:11

‘People do not lack strength, they lack will’. - Victor Hugo

‘My mother's menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it’. - Buddy Hackett

My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe’. - Jimmy Durante

‘An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest’. - Benjamin Franklin

‘Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none’. - Benjamin Franklin

‘Genius without education is like silver in the mine’. - Benjamin Franklin

‘He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals’. - Benjamin Franklin

‘He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else’. - Benjamin Franklin

‘Deadline' is usually a misnomer. - me

‘Take your time. Few things are worth rushing for’. – me

“Life's full of surprises. Too bad so many of them suck” - me

‘I do not stop when I am tired. I only stop when I am done." – Unknown

‘Knowing you is a humbling experience’.- me

‘The same old thing—even if it's champagne—is still the same old thing’. – Mason Cooley

‘As for me, all I know is that I know nothing’. - Socrates

‘I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance’. - Socrates

‘I am the wisest man alive for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing’. - Socrates

‘Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever’. - Napoleon Bonaparte

‘Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.’ - Napoleon Bonaparte

‘If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars’. - J. Paul Getty

‘I'll sleep when I'm dead.’ - Warren Zevon

‘The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them’. - Mark Twain

‘Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler’. - Albert Einstein

‘We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time’. - Vince Lombardi

‘The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good’. - Samuel Johnson

‘The most dangerous road of all is the one called revenge’.–Kwai Chang Caine

‘When a man has nothing, it is then he is most able to raise himself up’.–Kwai Chang Caine

‘I seek not to know the answers, but to understand the questions’.–Kwai Chang Caine

‘I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize’ – Steven Wright

‘There’s a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore looking like an idiot’. – Steven Wright

‘Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn’t happen’. – Steven Wright

2010 Boston Marathon

This was my first Marathon. And it was Boston. Qualifying time is something around 3:15. Ridiculous. I ran Bandit. Wasn't at all sure I could complete the race.
 

I had been running 5 mile trail runs on weekdays and stretch runs on weekends. Got up to 15 miles before my knees got sore from all the pounding. I took 10 days off and got new shoes. Stayed off the pavement and did 10 and 12 mile workouts at Macomber woods. Easy laps over rolling hills where I had a place to leave my water bottle. Soft footing. Those workouts felt good.
 

So with my son's encouragement, and perfect running weather, I decided to try Boston about 2 hours before the race. I live in Framingham, about 6 miles from the starting line. I studied the train routes and knew that I'd always be within a couple of miles of a commuter rail or green line train. Bandits are not discouraged, but they can't use the buses provided for the real runners. And so I parked my car in Framingham, stuffed forty bucks into my shoe and caught a ride out to Hopkinton. They have shuttles from the state park to the center where the start is.
 

I had timed it really well. I was the only one on the shuttle and got there about 5 or 10 minutes before the last wave of runners was being released. The bandits would follow them. I reached the Starting line 47 mintues after the elite runners had left. It was really crowded. For 5 or 6 miles it was elbow to elbow. It was fun running through the town centers with so many fans. They were still here long after the elite runners had passed.
 

The bandits were allowed to grab water and gatorade at all of the stations. The only problem was runners stopping wherever and whenever. What's up with that? And all the cups and containers littering the road. There had been 25,000 runners ahead of us -- What a mess! When we got to Framingham, I wished I'd worn a Framingam T-Shirt, so they'd know I was from there. The crowds were awesome the whole way. Kids everywhere. Parties along the route. High Fives. Words of encouragement The Wellesley college the girls invite you kiss them. Fun.
 

I did the first half in around 2:05. Felt ok. At mile 14 I stopped at the Wellesely Hills commuter rail. I stretched and considered my options. I knew this was a convenient spot to turn around. After this it'd be more difficult to get back to my car. But I felt ok. Just hungry. The weaher was perfect. I hadn't trained right, but when would I have this chance again? So I pushed on.

At mile 17 we crossed Route 128. Felt tired now. Found a power mush drink. Chocolate Rasberry. Drank a lot of water. Walked. My legs felt really weak. I thought I was done. I stopped at the intersection of Rt 16 and Comm Ave. My legs were hurting now. I figured I was spent. I called home for somebody to come get me. No answer. I laid down on a patch of grass and stretched. Called again. No answer. Pushed on. What choice did I have?
 

Long steep hill. But I felt a little better. I think the power mush had kicked in. I fell into a sort of 'box run'. Short strides and limited arm motion - like running in a box. We were well into Newton. I was starving. I ate everything offered. Candy, oranges, ice - an old lady was giving out homemade brownies. I woofed it down. Alternated between gatorade and water.
 

At mile 20 or 21 somebody in the crowd said we were at the top of Heartbreak Hill. Cool. I did my Rocky "You Ain't So Bad!" I thought I might be able to finish. So I kept at it. Walking hurt. But my box run was getting me there. Live bands now. Cruising past Boston College. I don't remember Coolidge Corner. Or mile 23.
 

Eventually we could see the Citgo sign. Nothing was gonna stop me now. Just keep at it. The last sign I noted was Mile 24. Homestretch. After that we were on city streets. I remember going through an underpass close to the finish. The crowd was cheering an older guy called Bill. Must have had it written on his shirt.
 

Toward the end I broke out of my box run and finished like a real runner. I blew by Bill and I crossed the finish line clapping like a nut. I had completed the Boston Marathon. How cool is that?

After about 20 steps I felt really tired. Sucked down a couple bottles of water. There are lots of folks helping the runners and they keep you moving along. Walking to the Back Bay commuter rail station was difficult. I stiffened big time. Cold. Glad I had snatched a foil wrap blanket from a volunteer. Needed to sit. Then I was on the train. Back to my car. Home.
 

The hot shower felt good and eating dinner was awesome. I was starving. Sleep was difficult that night, but I made it to work in the morning - stiff as a board. Not sure I was real productive that day. And the next day I was stiff all over again. But by the third day things started to get back to normal. And I went for a slow trail run that weekend.
 

It was a crazy thing to do. Not sure I'll do it again. But I did it. I completed the 2010 Boston Marathon!
 

Once in a Lifetime.