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Naturally caffeinated
by Lynn Woike Editor
eth Brewers 5,000-plus miles thru-hiking journey began with a couple of hundred thousand steps. He gave up competing in Ironman Canada to travel to Ireland and the United Kingdom with a complete trifecta of [triplet] siblings in 2006. There, he undertook a solo climb up Britains Snowdon Mountain, enjoying the experience and the out of doors. Coming home, he continued trail running, and taking longer and longer hikes. In 2010 he returned to hike Wicklow Way, Irelands first signed walking trail. Those 80 miles were his first introduction to hiking a trails entire length in one trip. It took a week. For me, this was the start of my excitement and peacefulness with sleeping outdoors, the Canton resident wrote on his website Peaks and Valleys Musings of an Adventurous Spirit. Before Id gone to Ireland, Id never

Seth Brewer has hiked more than 5,000 miles

Courtesy photos

spent more than a single night in the woods, and never alone. He described the adventure with a 55-pound pack and heavy boots that blistered his feet as more of a what-notto-do primer for beginning backpackers, yet it hooked him for life. Brewers love of the outdoors began at birth, with yearly family trips into the Thousand Islands region of Canada. He grew up with a love of sailing, boating and fishing. During high school and college, he took part in marathons, ironman triathlons and off-road triathlons. Growing bored with racing, and wanting more time in the woods, after Ireland he began lightweight backpacking taking longer travels, which extended his enjoyment from a single day to multiple overnight adventures. It took many years before he came to tread lightly and be immersed in nature.

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16 VALLEY LIFE | May 2014

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May 2014 | VALLEY LIFE 17

SIGNIFICANT TREKS
2,650 miles Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada (California, Oregon and Washington) 215 miles New England National Scenic Trail (Connecticut shoreline through Massachusetts to the New Hampshire border) 173 miles Vermont Long Trail, Part 2 (Killington to the Canadian border.) 100 miles Vermont Long Trail, Part 1 (Massachusetts border to Killington, also part of the Appalachian Trial.) 2,181 miles The Appalachian Trail (14 states from Georgia to Maine) 80 miles Wicklow Way, Ireland
LIFEPubAd_POP2014-v5 4/9/14 8:45 PM

2013

2012

2012

2011

2011

2006

Describing the process, Brewer said, Every year I learned I enjoyed the simplicity more and more. Through research and experience, he found ways to travel lighter, enjoying it more. I hate backpacking, but I do enjoy a good adventure, he said. My approach is to be a scenic traveler, not hampered by a massive load. He got to a point where now he typically carries seven to nine pounds of gear plus food and water. In 2011 he hiked the Appalachian Trail. It took him five months from March 29 through Aug. 30 following the seasons 2,181 miles up the East Coast, from Georgia to Maine in 2011. His brother accompanied him the 56 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut. Being immersed in new places, new people and new challenges never cease to stir within me a longing for what is around the next bend, he wrote. I love to learn, and thrive on acclimating myself to the steep learning curve that comes with undertaking new adventures, and
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new ways to explore the outdoors. Last year he did a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. He divided the 2,650 miles in four segments one for each pair of shoes he wore out. It took from May 19 to Oct. 29. The trail name given to him was Naturally Caffeinated. He was called DocBoom on the Appalachian Trail and named himself BrewTime on the Vermont Long Trail. I like Naturally Caffeinated the best. I plan on sticking with it, Brewer said. As a non-coffee drinker with seemingly boundless energy, even after long days of hiking, people felt that I must have been born with a little extra rocket fuel in the tanks. His thru-hiking adventures required sacrifice. He explained that if youre going to be in the woods for five months, you typically move out of your apartment, sell your car and quit your job. I was working in sales and parttime with an arborist. I quit both jobs to pursue my long-distance hikes. His most recent adventure was a trip to Lonesome Lake Hut in the

White Mountains of New Hampshire where he introduced his girlfriend to winter camping. Brewer is currently transitioning back into the workforce. It takes a certain mindset to be willing to leave behind lifes comforts and live out of a backpack for five months. While some think that sounds like a negative thing, he says, Once we throw off the burden of things that our culture has sold to us as necessary for our happiness, you can begin to focus on the things around you that are around every day but you never allowed yourself to experience. A breeze on a hot day. Watching the clouds. A spectacular sunset. All allow you to be in the moment and be refreshed, Brewer said. Nature is not a fad. Its not gone out of fashion and its not lost its ability to profoundly impact those who would immerse themselves in it. Nature is refreshing. Nature is inspiring. In the United States, its almost entirely free.

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Seth Brewer took a short detour in August 2011 to reach the top of New Hampshires Mount Flume, and sits soaking in the incredible views of Cannon Mountain and the Franconia Ridge his favorite part of the White Mountains.

He shares his adventures in the hope of inspiring others to take their own adventures not a 2,000-mile trip, but perhaps walking a scenic trail, paddling a kayak or basking in the sun while reading a book. Spending time in nature is something anybody can do, he said. Not everyone can hike 2,600 miles, but everyone can experience the same thrill of a majestic view, a beautiful sunset, an early morning mist. Were taught to be cautious of what we dont know and were taught the dangers of the outdoors, he said, adding, In my 5,000 miles of hiking, I felt safest when I was outdoors. As unexpectedly fierce as nature can be, human nature can be worse. Just because you leave civilization behind doesnt mean you should leave good sense behind. You can relax, but you cant be stupid. If you can push past the belief that the wilderness is a dangerous place you can focus on something thats pure and untouched, something that the winds and the waters have formed into art without human hands being involved. Nature is truly the best masterpiece that there is. One big thing that I learned traveling the United States wilderness is theres a misconception that we have to leave the United States to find true beauty, and the

reality is thats not the case at all. We are a destination for the world because our wilderness has been preserved, Brewer said. For instance, the Pacific Crest Trail crosses 26 national forests, seven national parks and five state parks. He added, Our forefathers were inspired by the same things that can inspire us today if we are willing to venture out and see them. For Brewer, the venturing out, is an exciting adventure and not a life. He said, You appreciate the things that you come back to and look at them in an entirely different way. For instance, cold water out of a tap. You turn it on. Its cold. Its clean. Its free. Theres no effort involved. After youve taken 15 pounds of water from a cow trough so that you could walk the next 30 miles in a dry desert with no shade, your personal interaction with water reaches a very intimate level, he said. Each day spent in the desert is based entirely around the search for water. You are thinking about it constantly and trying to be sure youre carrying enough to get you to the next source, and the next. You have to use whatever source of water you come across. Ive used mud puddles, he said of soaking a bandana in the water and

wringing it out into a water bottle. After having been on the trail for more than a week and grabbing food from gas stations and diners, a hot shower and a grocery store are both much appreciated. Food is primarily what you think about when nothing else interesting is happening, he said. When he ventures into the backwoods, he said he tries to bring twice as much knowledge and half the amount of stuff he thinks hell need. People pack their fears, he said. The more things you fear, the more things you pack. What he packs is extra resourcefulness and flexibility, challenging himself to find 10 uses for everything he puts in his pack. For instance, he said, A bandana isnt just a bandana. Its a sunshade under your baseball cap. Its to put over your water bottle to filter leaves out of dirty water. Its a bandage, a napkin, a patch, a potholder, a cover to keep bugs off of food and a dishrag. Its more fun with that approach, he said. A camera is one exception. Seeing such a vast amount of spectacular scenery can be a sensory overload, and a camera helps preserve the moments so that he can enjoy them repeatedly as the years pass.

Nature is not a fad. Its not gone out of fashion and its not lost its ability to profoundly impact those who would immerse themselves in it.
- Seth Brewer

May 2014 | VALLEY LIFE 19

Earplugs are the only thing for which he packs a backup. They are required, he said, to prevent Bear-Squirrel Syndrome in which every creaking branch and every leaf that blows in the wind is something about to descend on you to dine. It can be a noisy place, in the woods, he said, recalling a time he listened to hail hitting the tent the entire night. Brewer typically spends six months researching, planning and training for a major hike. I try to make all my mistakes on the computer to avoid unhappy surprises on the trail, he said, adding that despite all the planning and the spreadsheets, you have to be highly flexible and throw that plan out upon entering the wilderness and just deal with what the trail brings. There are so many unknowns, he said. Brewer introduces himself in Peaks and Valleys saying, Youve stumbled upon the musings of a hidden poet, photographer, and life seeker. While he has a high energy level, he is also calm and laid back. When he speaks, the cadence is not rushed, and the answers have a certain poetry of life quality to them. When asked about that, he said,

I have considered my poetry to simply be what nature has taught me. Having many hours a day to reflect on things while hiking, Ive been afforded the change to clearly define my thoughts about certain places, experiences and feelings, and for me that is poetry. Along the way, hes learned about traveling light and about himself. You learn a lot about your own fears, he said. You are challenged to find out more about yourself. I learned to not judge people as quickly as I did. You must rely on the goodwill of strangers and the camaraderie of fellow hikers. Good people dont always look the way youd expect them to. Brewer said, I laugh at myself all the time. I will never stop making stupid mistakes so Ill never stop laughing. Ask him, What stupid mistakes, and hell talk about stupidly not believing a trail sign, trusting a gut feeling instead, and spending two hours hiking in the wrong direction before turning back. Hell mention the time he set up his tent in an area that looked like a dry swimming pool until it rained. A journey is whatever you make it, and at the end of the day, its the people and the places that matter, he said.

Whether youre hiking for a day or youre hiking for 100 days, you have to find a reason to smile no matter what because there will be times when you put your wet clothes on in the morning, hike in them all day and take them off knowing youre going to be putting them back on in the morning and hiking another day in the rain. Even through this, you have to be smiling and remembering that there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. Jeffrey Portrait Stylos met Brewer on the Appalachian Trail in 2011. They bonded spending an impromptu zero day together in a shelter in southern Maine reading bad romance novels, napping and eating while it rained. He praised Brewers vast array of medical knowledge and elite athletic ability, and gracious assistance when traversing the Mahoosuc Notch boulder field. He spoke of the two days they spent eating restaurant meals in Andover, Maine to celebrate Brewers birthday. Seen in town with unruly beards and dirty clothes, rowdy teenagers later called them hippies in their teepees as they camped in a field outside of town, their top-of-theline trekking-poles supporting cuben fiber tarp tents.

He, more than many, seemed able to embrace the simple relaxing pleasure of a carefree walk in woods and the hard-won satisfaction of a 30-plus-mile hiking day that would make a marathon seem easy, and to be able to experience both simultaneously. Brock Sattler hiked for hundreds of miles on the Pacific Crest Trail with Brewer, calling him a great hiking partner. He praised Brewers selflessness in aiding a hypothermic hiker and his ability navigating the knifes edge of the Goat Rocks Wilderness in knee deep snow in a blowing snowstorm. The story that sticks in his mind is the time the two of them encountered wildfires along the trail in Northern California. NatCaf and I began to smell fresh smoke. As we turned a corner we saw a plume of smoke 50 yards uphill off trail. We dropped our packs to investigate. Thinking we could put this fire out ourselves, NatCaf asked me how much water I had. I replied that I only had a liter, as did he. I still laugh thinking about how NatCaf suggested we use our two liters of water to extinguish the blaze. But, I guess that is NatCaf, always willing to do as much as he can to help out in a situation. VL

Seth Brewer wears snowshoes and shorts on Oct. 16 near Stevens Pass in northern Washington.

20 VALLEY LIFE | May 2014