On the Appalachian Trail: David Firari sloshes through Vermont

By Kim McDarison

Fort Atkinson resident and Appalachian Trail hiker David Firari earlier this month sent his third video update to Fort Atkinson Online, noting that it has been two months since he last updated FAO readers about his progress as he continues his journey along the Appalachian Trail. 

In his third update, shared with FAO on July 12, Firari was hiking between Massachusetts and Vermont. 

Firari began his 2,200-mile journey earlier this year, sharing his plans to begin his adventure in February and sending his first video update to FAO readers in March. 

He anticipated in February that the full hike, which began in Georgia and will end in Maine, would take six months. The full trip will take him through 14 states, he noted in February. 

New to through-trail hiking, Firari said he spent a year researching the trail, procuring equipment, and doing “shakedown hikes,” before setting off on his adventure. Firari also shared that he has Crohn’s disease. To accomplish his hiking dream, his parents, Keith and Martha Firari, will meet him at intervals along the trail and return him to Fort Atkinson for his prescribed medical treatments, then return him to the point on the trail where they picked him up. 

This month, updating readers from the trail, Firari said he recently underwent the last of his treatments for Crohn’s disease that will be required while he hikes, and during his most recent visit home, he took some time to visit Summerfest. 

Back on the trail, he said, he has completed, over the last eight weeks, another 800 miles of trail and he was heading into Vermont. 

As he spoke in his most recent video update, the sound of his footsteps sloshing through water is audible. 

In an earlier video update shared with FAO readers in May, Firari said he was hiking through central Virginia. He was hiking “around the 800-mile mark,” he said. 

He was picked up from the trail by his parents at the 1,600-mile mark for his most recent trip home to receive his medical treatment. The 1,600-mile mark is “just at the end of Massachusetts,” he said. 

Headed into Vermont, he said, he was using a different hiking strategy, heading southbound, rather than continuing his journey north. 

During his video, he noted that he was employing a strategy known as “slack-packing,” which, he said, means he was carrying a smaller pack than usual with fewer supplies. He was carrying “a day and a half of food, first aid, and water,” he said, adding that the idea behind slack-packing was to bring enough supplies needed for one day. 

Firari said that at the end of the day he would meet up with his father, who had earlier, after his home visit for treatment, returned him to the trail. 

“Technically, I’m in Vermont — Woo! — made it to Vermont, but I haven’t finished Massachusetts, I will at the end of the day,” he said. 

Firari noted that he was planning to hike the remaining seven miles in Massachusetts before meeting his father, who had stayed in the area and would return him to the trail after a night’s rest, and he would then continue on his trek northward. 

His hike through Vermont was complicated by the state’s recent flooding, he said. 

On Wednesday, July 12, CNN reported that “intense rainstorms” had “inundated the Northeast, turning streets into rivers,” causing “forced evacuations,” and prompting official in Montpelier, the state’s capital, “to close the downtown area.” 

The full CNN story is here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/11/us/northeast-storms-flooding-excessive-rainfall-tuesday/index.html. 

Said Firari: “As you may have pieced together, me, hiking Vermont — Vermont called a state of emergency two days ago for the ‘catastrophic rains’ that were going to come through and obliterate especially the section of trail that I’m hiking, but  just Vermont in general, so I set out today, knowing that there’s a solid chance I’d have to turn around for my safety, but I’m very happy to say that this specific section, the very south of Vermont — it’s been about two days now since the worst of the rain came through, and while the trail is still wet,” he paused to show viewers the soggy trail, “it is doing much better than the worst of the rain I believe. The figure that I remember is that they got about 5 inches in a few hours … so massive flash floods, that kind of thing.” 

Firari said that he believed a few days earlier, the trail would have been producing “it’s own current of rain.” 

Firari said, through coordination with his father, he had put “backup measures” in place to leave the trail would it become necessary. 

Additionally, he was sporting a “brand new” pair of water-resistant, orange shoes. 

Overall, he said, the hike continues to go “very well.” 

At day’s end, he will have “a little more than 600 miles” of trail remaining , he said, adding that he has been averaging between 110 and 120 miles per week. 

Anticipating rougher terrain ahead as he moves through upper New England, including the states of New Hampshire and Maine, he is likely to slow down, he said. 

He calculated that he has six or seven weeks of hiking left before he completes the full journey. 

An earlier story about Firari and his dream to hike the trail is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/fort-man-to-begin-2200-mile-hike-along-the-appalachian-trail/. 

Firari’s observations about his ongoing trail experience submitted this month are found in the video below.