Columbus hasn't had good enough reception to call often, so he's been sending a lot of text messages.  Here's the slightly edited transcript of my phone's message inbox:

Jun 26, 8:45pm. I'm at Stewart Hollow Brook. Doing 15 or 16 a day, trying to enjoy myself a bit. Morale is low. KBO.

Jun 27, 7:13am. A night's sleep helped a bit. I almost want to zero in my tent, but I'm sure I'll be happier if I don't.

Jun 27, 2:20pm.  New plan: take 3 weeks getting to Hanover, spend a day or two there, come home for my birthday.

Jun 27, 7:40pm. Belter's Campsite here. Salisbury tomorrow. Probably staying at Riga tomorrow night.

Jun 28, 4:47pm. I'm at Riga Shelter. Did I mention that? I hear rain next two days. East Mountain Retreat Center Monday Night.


Jun 28, 5:29pm. I may not have that much laundry to do at Cindy's [in Hanover] if I incinerate my base layer and some of my socks. I found a tick on me. I set up my tent in the shelter [because mosquitos are everywhere but in my shelter.]

Jun 29, 3:42pm. I'm at Glen Brook Shelter in MA after a day of climbing.

Jun 29, 5:56pm. I'm not seeing much in Vermont that really interest me. I may pick up the pace there.

Jun 29, 7:46pm. A return before July 12 would probably involve poison ivy or something. Or my left foot getting worse; it's been worn raw on the little toe and heel. I expect to be home by a week after that.

Jun 30, 11:38am. Some really good ice cream and some really bad strawberries at US7.

Jun 30, 8:52pm. I'm fed and ready to sleep hard for a long hike tomorrow.

Jul 1, 6:43am. Ate the last of my pizza this morning; I'm packing up and should be off within half an hour, hopefully.

Jul 1, 4:59pm. I'm at the cabin. I got hailed on again. I hid under trees best I could when it was bigger than pea-sized.

Jul 1, 6:50pm. They're feeding us here, so I'm not leaving before breakfast. I think about Batesian mimicry a lot, mostly when I see something that might be poison ivy.

Jul 1, 8:25pm. Pretty tired after today. Right knee a bit sore, feet holding up. I'll be in Dalton Thursday.

Jul 2, 8:38am. Ate pancakes. 11 miles to the cookie lady, then about 6 or 7 to camp.

Jul 2, 9:03pm. Lost my bug net. Right boot lace broke. Saw a bear. Kay Wood Shelter here. I'm a bit tired, maybe in less good shape than a month ago.

Jul 3, 12:02pm. No cell service in Dalton either. Should be to Cheshire in a couple hours. Might get a ride back to Dalton tomorrow for a hiker party.

Jul 3, 5:37pm. I'm at the shelter on the south side of Greylock. Someone signed the register as "Wingfoot" two days ago. It's raining and there's no bear box.

Jul 3, 6:26pm. This guy from Dalton should pick us up from Williamstown at noon. I don't know where I'll be tomorrow night.

Yesterday Columbus checked in from Stewart Hollow Brook, 1458.5, to say that morale is low, but he's doing about 15 miles a day and trying to enjoy himself a bit, and he'll Keep Buggering On. This morning he reported that a good night's sleep helped a bit. He almost wanted to take a zero in his tent, but was sure he'd be happier if he didn't. Today he made it to Belter's Campsite, 1473.7, and declared a new plan: take 3 weeks to get to Hanover, instead of the 2 originally planned, spend a day or two there with Cindy, then come home. He hasn't communicated yet whether he plans to go back out later this month; he's mentioned before the idea of skipping some miles in New England but still climbing Katahdin this August. He also hasn't communicated whether he has any particular physical ailments, or what the terrain or weather have been like, though I'll wager "the usual joint pain and skin abrasion," "harder than expected, perhaps due to so much time off" and "hot" as probable answers. His iron levels ought not to be a problem; he started taking a daily supplement three weeks ago, as did I, and my iron levels have gone up considerably so that I was able to donate blood today.

Aside from -- perhaps even despite -- empathizing with his disappointment in not getting through as many miles as he'd planned, I must admit I'm glad to hear that he's coming home. He'll be back just in time for his birthday, and I've got a secret surprise present for him...

Columbus is finally headed back to the trail, after a slightly longer break than expected. He commented this morning that he's much less anxious now than he was in March, but a bit more reluctant to leave; last time he had just packed all of us worldly possessions up into a storage unit and made himself homeless, but for the last week he's been unpacking them all in our cozy new apartment. On the upside, he knows he'll have a nice home to look forward to coming back to in a short six and a half weeks.

He thinks today and tomorrow might be hard simply because he hasn't been hiking for the last two and a half weeks; there's probably a point between 7 and 20 days off trail at which the benefit of resting your body and eating a more balanced diet gets overtaken by the detriment of falling out of the habit of doing that kind and degree of daily exercise. He's going to try to accelerate his schedule so he can still do all the miles between Pawling NY and Katahdin before returning, but it's possible he'll skip some in the middle of New England.

He's taking iron pills with him, along with his regular array of multivitamins, glucosamine-chondroitin, and aleve. He's planning to spend a night with a friend in Hanover around July 9, so if you'd like to send a card or package, address it to:

Dean Jens c/o Cindy Tobery
3 Valley Rd, Apt A
Hanover NH 03755

He left some handwritten trail journal pages from Virginia that I'll try to transcribe and post this week, along with any new reports, of course.