Final Thoughts

So, Matt, how was the trip? Was it worth it?

Yes, it was. Absolutely. An incredible experience. Looking back now, I'm disappointed I put this off for so long. It was pretty much what I had hoped it would be - and even better than that.

Ever since college, I've occasionally daydreamed about being a vagabond, and this will be the closest I'll come to that sort of lifestyle. Everything I needed to live was on my back. Most days, I didn't know where I would sleep that night. If I was feeling social, I could camp at a shelter, and have the company of whoever else happened to be staying there. If I wanted to be alone, I would find two trees and hang my hammock and enjoy some peace and quiet.

It sounds a bit cliché, but it really was incredibly freeing to not be loaded down with the rest of my possessions. I carried everything I needed to stay alive and little else. Now that I'm back home, I am overwhelmed by all of the stuff in my apartment. Stuff that I will use and enjoy on occasion, but not stuff that I need. Life feels unnecessarily complicated now that I'm off the trail.

At least in my apt complex, people don't talk to each other. You can walk down the sidewalk and pass people, and they won't even glance at you to say hello. That was not at all the case on the trail. Everyone wanted to stop and talk about the weather or how your (or their) hike was going. Everyone was looking out for each other - even though in many cases we barely knew each other. Non-hikers that you met along the trail were just as nice - if not more. They were so impressed with the magnitude (and novelty) of your hike, that they couldn't help but interview you - and occasionally help you out with food or lodging or giving you a ride to/from town.

These are people that I probably never would have talked to if I had met them here in ATL. Some were too sketchy-looking; some were too clean-cut. Off the trail, unfortunately, I tend to gravitate towards other people similar to myself: 20-something, college-educated, way-too-sarcastic. But for the past five weeks, I was so far outside of my comfort zone, it's almost hard to believe. It's something that takes a lot of effort here in the city, but happens completely naturally on the trail.

From AT 2010

Some people take-on the AT for athletic or weight-loss purposes. I met one girl who was hiking the trail because it was one item on her bucket list. Next on her list: an Ironman Triathlon. Her plan was to use the thru-hike as training for the triathlon next year. Pretty much everyone on the trail loses some weight while they're out there. The bigger you are when you start, the more you lose. I met a few guys who lost 30/40 lbs - and that was after just a few weeks on the trail. I lost between five and ten lbs, which is about what I was expecting.

For me, part of the attraction in backpacking is deprivation. In civilization, having a glass of water is nothing special at all - almost a little dull when you have soda or juice or milk available. But out in the wild... you've never tasted better water. After a long day, sweating and cursing the mtn for making you climb it, mixing some koolaid with the water you pumped from the spring next to you campsite is nothing short of mind-blowing. Going without the luxuries we normally take for granted has a way of making you appreciate everything that you have.

For some people, backpacking in the mtns is a way of communing with nature. In my head, I pictured myself coming back from my hike with a renewed appreciation for the wild - a cross between John Muir and Bear Grylls. That didn't really happen. I can't identify what kind of tree or bird that is, but I can tell you that I enjoy it and am glad to be out here in the woods.

During the five weeks I was on the AT, I found myself thinking a lot about stuff off the trail, things that I was going without - books, movies, hot delicious food, soda, warm running water, beer, the list goes on. But now that I'm back, I find myself thinking about the trail. Backpacking may be inconvenient, dirty and incredibly lonely at times, but that's just the price you pay for a simpler and more peaceful way of life.

If anyone reading this is considering doing a long hike on the AT themselves, I would highly recommend it. This sort of thing isn't for everyone, so it's hard to say. All I can tell you is that it worked for me. Some days are really bad (e.g. bad weather, you're getting sick of your trail food, your body hurts), but in my experience, the bad days were outnumbered by the good.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Gear Review

After spending five weeks out camping on the trail, I feel like I've put my hiking gear through the rounds and am ready to comment on how well each piece worked.

One of the biggest purchases I made gear-wise was my backpack. The backpack I used was a 65-liter REI-brand internal-frame backpack. I decided on that backpack b/c it had gotten a lot of good reviews and also b/c it was pretty much the cheapest backpack that REI sold. In previous backpacking trips, I had used an old (70s) Kelty external-frame that my dad used hiking around Alaska back in the day. I would have used that, but it didn't seem to have enough room for all of my stuff and also because no one seemed to use those anymore - in fact, you can't even buy an external frame at my local REI.

From AT 2010

Out on the trail, one of the things that quickly started to annoy me was that sometimes when I needed something big from my pack (e.g. sleeping bag, food), I had to dig out all of the stuff on top of it. My internal frame pack is structured such that there is one, gigantic pocket - so it's packed by stacking gear on top of each other. Each night when setting up camp, I'd pull everything out, get my sleeping bag and then put everything back in. This got old.

So, I'm thinking the next time I do one of these long hikes, I'm going to go with an external frame. I could use my Dad's old Kelty, but it's missing a few of the perks of newer bags (e.g. straps to hang wet clothes on). The shoulder and belt straps are also pretty worn and not comfortable to wear. So, if I did go with the old backpack, I'd need to replace a few parts and try to add some straps. Here's what I got so far:

From AT 2010

My hammock was probably the most experimental piece of gear I brought with me. In fact, up until a couple months before doing the hike, I didn't even realize that hammocks were an option. I was skeptical when I first started: the curve of a hammock cannot be good for your back.

But after a week or so of hiking, I was starting to really like my hammock. During my whole trip, I slept in shelters maybe five or six times and that was usually because of rain or because I was required to (that's a rule in the Smokies - no tenting/hammocking unless the shelter is full). I would look forward to each night I could sleep in my hammock.

There's a novelty to sleeping off the ground like you do when sleeping in a hammock and at first I had a little trouble with it. Every time I needed to adjust myself, the whole thing would move underneath me. But before too long, I got a hang of it.

From AT 2010

My hammock came with a tarp which you hang over it to keep the rain out. The tarp was designed so that it would cover just enough of the hammock to keep it dry. I found the tarp to be too small - a few times when it rained, I awoke to find some parts of the hammock damp from rain which had blown past the tarp and into the hammock. I plan on purchasing another, slightly larger tarp for future hikes.

Another piece of gear I'll probably get is something called an underquilt. A lot of the other hammockers used underquilts on cold nights. I think I mentioned this in a previous post: hammocks don't do well in cold weather, because you lose heat through your back. Under quilts are designed to be hung underneath the hammock to insulate you from the bottom. You can see a picture of an underquilt here.

Another, slightly-experimental piece of gear I used were my shoes. In the past, I've used hiking boots when backpacking. The first couple of times, I messed my feet up pretty bad. Especially with leather boots, you need to make sure they are thoroughly broken in, otherwise your feet will get rubbed raw. I feel like the boots I have are pretty well broken in, but something I read while researching the trail was that boots are not even necessary.

Boots are designed to give extra support and prevent you from rolling your ankle. But what I was reading said that you don't need that support if you have sufficiently strong ankles, and I felt like mine were pretty strong after running for the past few months. One often-repeated piece of wisdom on the trail is that one pound of weight on your feet is like five on you back - and it's super important to minimize weight whenever possible. So, instead of boots, I went with shoes called trail-runners, which are beefed-up running shoes designed for running on trails. They worked flawlessly and I've very glad I went with them.

One final thing I want to mention is the water strategy that I went with. To carry water, I brought with me a one-liter nalgene bottle and a two-liter camelback water bag (with a valve which you can use to sip on while hiking). The water bag was strictly for water (otherwise, I'd have to clean it to prevent the sugar from causing mold), which I would drink occasionally while hiking and the bottle was for getting water when I got to a spring and also for mixing drinks (e.g. koolaid, breakfast shakes).

From AT 2010

This system worked for the most part, but one thing that started to bother me was that it was a bit of a pain to re-fill the water bag. The water bag sat in a pocket in the back of my backpack, and in order to get to it, I'd need to remove a bunch of other gear from my bag. Another issue was that it was difficult to determine how much water I was carrying. If I was about to hike past a stream or a spring, I'd need to evaluate how much water I was carrying in order to figure out if I should re-fill. But, in order to figure-out how much water I was carrying, I'd need to drop my pack and start pulling stuff out - kind of a pain. So, on my next hike, I might just go with two water bottles and forget about the super-convenient camelback valve. Or, if I go with the external backpack, maybe the extra pockets will make it less of an inconvenience to check/refill the water bag. Not sure yet...

ATL (5-10-10)

I've been back in Atlanta for almost 24 hrs now, and I'm trying to ease back into my former routine. It's been overcast/drizzly most of the day, so I've only been outside a little bit - and it was to go to the grocery store. I came back from my hike a little earlier than I had originally planned, but I'm glad I came back early b/c it'll take a few days before I can pick up where I left off.

I've heard stories of hikers that finish the trail and have trouble adjusting to things once they get off the trail. The guy who runs the Blueberry Patch in Hiawassee said that when he and his son did the trail in the 90's, it was a few weeks before he could sleep inside again. When I first heard that, I was skeptical, but now that I've spent five weeks on the trail, I can believe it. I can sleep in a bed just fine, but one thing that somewhat bothers me is the stillness of the air inside. Outside, you have the wind blowing against you as you sleep and you're subject to whatever the temperature is. You also have much more sound as well - birds, trees blowing in the wind, crunching of fallen leaves. Inside, with AC/heat, everything seems so sterile. I'll get used to it pretty quick I'm sure, but for now, it feels odd.

Another phenomenon I've read about is people coming off the trail and feeling estranged from everyone they knew. People change. Drastic lifestyle changes (e.g. hiking the AT) can sometimes force you to change your world-view. I don't anticipate that really being an issue for me (party b/c I only did a piece of the trail), but once again, I can see how it would happen. Sitting in my apartment, driving to the grocery store... I recognize that it is familiar, but it still seems so alien at the same time. This might wear off in a few days.

I was putting on my old shoes earlier, and I was having trouble fitting my feet into them. I've heard that your feet may grow a size or two while hiking (b/c you're on your feet so much of them time), and I anticipated this by getting hiking shoes a size larger than I needed. But, until a a couple hrs ago, I wasn't aware that my feet had actually grown.

From AT 2010

The past few weeks have been one of the most stress-free periods in my life. On the trail, your schedule is simple: wake-up when the sun comes up, eat, start walking, eat some more, walk, stop for lunch and maybe take a nap. Then, do some more walking and continue until you're too tired (or you come to a convenient shelter). Make dinner, socialize, and then once the sun's set, it's time for bed. Out on the trail, your needs are simple: your goal each day is to end up somewhere closer to Maine than where you started. In between, you eat, walk, enjoy the occasional vista, hang out with your fellow hikers and rest when you need to. There are no deadlines, no checklists.

The transition to normal life could take a while...

Damascus, VA part II (5-9-10)

I got to Damascus pretty early on Friday and then spent all of Saturday and part of Sunday here. Taking a break from work and coming out on the trail reminded me a lot of going to summer camp. Now, waiting here for Christine to pick me up, it feels a lot like coming home from camp. In a matter of time, I will be going back to my old way of life and I'll have to figure out what this hike meant and how to explain it to people.

Friday, I spent a few hours catching up on town chores. My phone didn't have reception, so I had to find "a guy's house" on the north end of town who has a phone out on his porch and lets hikers use it for free (donations accepted, of course). I got in touch with Christine and confirmed that she would pick me up some time Sat. evening. I visited the Dairy King and had some good breakfast and a creamsicle-flavor shake (waitress recommended it). I then went to the library and transcribed a couple weeks-worth of journal entries. After that, the rest of my day was free and I would have a chance to do some much-needed relaxing.

I met-up with Legend, Barley and Montana. We've all had similar paces over the past few days, so I've gotten to know them some, and enjoy their company. We went to dinner at a pizza place downtown and ordered some pitchers of beer. This whole trip, I've been carrying my temporary, paper GA drivers license while my real one slowly travels through the mail (ridiculous system in my opinion, BTW). The server didn't think anything of it, but his manager was a real stick-in-the-mud: "We got busted recently by the ABC [some sort of state alcohol agency in VA] for serving a minor with a fake ID. Your license is on paper - you can just print that on your printer. You don't even look 21." I know how old I am, but the interrogation had me sweating anyway - I don't deal well this this sort of thing. After a while, he cooled off, and another manager convinced him that I really was older than 21. I'm very glad he did, because it was my last night on the trail and I wanted to celebrate.

That night, I stayed at "The Place", which is a hostel run by one of the many churches in town. It was very bare-bones: the bunks didn't even have mattresses. I woke-up pretty early because the hard-wood floors made a lot of noise once the first hiker woke-up in the morning. I got breakfast at a coffee shop on the north end of town with Legend, Barley and Montana: coffee, toast and an omelette. If I were hiking out of town later that day, I would have considered a second or third course for breakfast, but since this was my last day, I decided I would try to keep the meals normal-sized and healthy-ish. My caloric needs are about to be cut in half, so I need to get used to not inhaling high-calorie food.

The rest of the day, I did pretty much nothing. I knew Christine would be in town around six, and all of my chores were done, so I had a lot of time on my hands. When you're on the trail, you don't do a whole lot of relaxing (unless you're doing easy, super-low-mileage hiking) - so, I felt pretty lazy just sitting around reading and listening to music.

From AT 2010

Christine showed-up a little early (about a six hr drive from ATL) and we went to Dairy King for dinner/desert. We spent the rest of the evening walking around town. We came across two small concerts: one Christian rock concert next to a playground and another, secular show on the other side of town next to a huge fire. Trail Days is the biggest hiker event along the trail and it will take place next weekend, but even now a lot of the accommodations are booked up. I tried to get a two-person room for Christine and I, but everything was taken. I knew she wouldn't like sleeping on a mattress-less bunk, so instead I told her to bring my two-person tent, and we would set it up on the grass next to the hostel.

The next day (Sunday), there were two things I wanted to do before heading back to GA: visit the grayson highlands state park (where the AT would travel through in another 40 miles) and provide some trail magic. Grayson highlands was originally my goal for this trip. I've heard some people say that it's one of the most scenic places on the trail, and it's also well known for having wild ponies which will come-up to hikers and lick the sweat off of their backpacks. When I talked to Christine and we decided to make Damascus my pick-up point, I insisted that we had to take a day trip to the park so I could see some of these curious ponies.

We went to grayson highlands and walked around for a few hours, following the AT for a bit and walking some side trails as well, but we were unable to find any ponies. It was definitely scenic and I got a chance to say goodbye to a couple hiker who had gotten ahead of me, but the lack of ponies was a small let-down.

From AT 2010

We left the park sometime after three and headed to Marion, VA - where Christine's GPS said we could find a Pizza Hut. A number of times on this trip, I have been the recipient of some pretty great trail magic. I wanted to take a shot at being a provider. We went to Pizza Hut and ordered a few pizzas and a couple orders of breadsticks. While we were waiting on those, I ran over to the grocery store across the street and picked up some beer, soda and candy. The original plan was to drive up to a trailhead that showed-up in my trail guide, but while we were driving there, we came across a hitchhiker and we pulled over to ask where he needed to go. It turns out that he was a hiker and was looking for a ride from the trail to Marion. I was confused: "Is the trail nearby? I thought the trail was 30 miles away from here." "No, there's actually a shelter 0.2 miles from here."

When I picked-up the pizza and drinks, I was planning on serving three or four people. Hikers usually hike their own pace and you can sometimes sit at a trailhead for a couple hours and not see anyone. So, I wasn't even sure we would find a hiker to share our food with. But, now, we had discovered a shelter - where there would most likely be a handful of hikers. So, we changed our plans and decided to dish out our pizza right there and then. A couple hikers ran back to the shelter to alert everyone else that trail magic was available. Within a minute or two, we had a crowd of maybe 20 people. It was pretty funny: waves of scruffy-looking, hungry hikers running to our cooler and pizza boxes. It had some of the feeling of a zombie movie where hungry-looking creatures will appear out of nowhere, but instead of brains, there were looking for free food. It was a good time. They were glad for the food, and we were glad to be providing it.

Damascus, VA (5-7-10)

I've been neglecting writing for the past few days, so this post might be a long one.

After my last entry, I walked through some pretty easy, pretty low (non-mountainous) areas in TN. I walked through fields, and I walked next to bogs. It was a nice change of pace. I camped one night by myself next to a stream (Laurel Fork) where it joined another, smaller stream - very peaceful.

From AT 2010

The next night, I ended up at Kincora, which is a hiker hostel run by a guy named Bob Peoples. It was a pretty basic place - an addition on the side of his house - where he had space for maybe 20 people and a kitchen, shower and washer/dryer. Bob Peoples is a pretty prominent figure in the trail community b/c he pretty much runs the trail maintenance for this section of the trail. Bob is actually a New Englander and has an awesome, Elmer Fudd-sort of laugh.

For dinner/re-supply, he loaded up all of the hikers into his truck and drove us all to Hampton, TN - about 10 miles away, maybe. We had six people in the cab of the truck and 10 in the back. I was in the back, and it was pretty tough ride - and simultaneously awesome. He dropped us off at a grocery store with an Arby's next door - another epic trail meal!

The next day, the trail descended into the Laural fork gorge, where there was a pretty impressive waterfall. Then, there was climb up pond Mtn, where I was able to use my phone after a few days with no reception. I talked to Christine, and had (what seemed at the time) to be a disappointing conversation. The topic was when she would pick me up. The original plan was next Tues, but she was pushing for this weekend. She's going out of her way (literally) to pick me up, so it's her call - but I was frustrated, none-the-less. Up until that point, I hadn't really been prepared for leaving the trail. I was in the zone, and was prepared to keep hiking until Maine. But having an actual pick-up date reminded me that my time out here was finite.

After coming down from Pond Mtn, I got to Watauga lake - which had a recreation area, complete with a beach and grills. I got there pretty late, and found a bunch of fellow hikers sitting at a picnic table with some people I did non recognize. I got out my water and trail mix and was getting ready to chow-down, when someone said "you're gonna eat trail food, when we have chicken on the grill?" Then, it all started to click: the people I didn't recogize were trail angles (providers of trail magic) and they were preparing food for us hikers.

The next few hours were awesome. They made drumsticks on the grill as well has potatoes. They had snickers bars, beer and clean water. We sat next to the lake, went swimming and reveled in our good fortune. The trail angles consisted of a girl who had thru-hiked last year and her parents. They were from Boone, and the girl had convinced her parents to come to Watauga for the day and do some trail magic. Amazing!

That night, I ended-up at Vandeveer shelter - another 8 miles from the recreation area. To get there, you crossed over the Watauga dam, which was not made from concrete (like Fontana dam) - pretty impressive. I ended-up at the shelter with Barley and Legend. They had brought hotdogs with them, and were determined to eat them all that night. I obliged, and between the three of us, we polished off 16 hotdogs - and that was after I had already had my dinner.

From AT 2010

The next day was a huge day. One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was to pull-off a 30-mile day. Up until now, my highest day was 20 miles, so I knew this would be hard. Damascus was 33 miles away, and they other guys were planning on getting there the next day - so, I would have company on this sprint.

We got up pretty early (started hiking at quarter to 7) and were moving pretty fast. Half-way through the day, we came accoss a metal (bear-proof) box with cold sodas and little debbies - that helped a ton. Then, we came to a section of the trail which is handicapped-accessible, which meant that the grades were pretty easy. I took the challenge where you have to walk this portion of the trail blindfolded - I lasted for about five minutes doing that.

I didn't actually make it to Damascus like the other two guys, but I made it close enough to make today really easy. I had also accomplished my 30 miles goal. Needless to say, I slept well that night.

Apple Orchard Shelter (5-2-10)

Last night, I slept at Roan High Knob shelter, which was near the top of Roan Mtn, above 6000 ft. It was a pretty sweat shelter with a door (which almost closed), a couple windows (which almost closed) and an attic. It was built by the CCC for the fire warden, but went out of use in the 40s, I believe. It was the first time I actually slept well in a shelter.

Coming down from Roan Mtn in the morning, I crossed a parking lot and followed an exposed ridge for a few miles. It was some of the most enjoyable hiking I've done this whole trip. The Mtns are scenic to being with, but what made it so great were the rain clouds flying right over the Mtn (w/o dropping any rain, btw). After a couple days of climbing and sweating and mostly just enduring, I was having a blast just trying tyo stay on the trail. The wind gusts were so powerful, that I was having to walk at an angle just to stay upright.

After the first few balds, I caught up with Funky Monkey and Lorod, who were looking for ramps to add to their lunches. I had no idea what ramps looked like and I had assumed that they were hidden in patches far from the trail, but in fact they are pretty common - at least on this section of the trail. They have two verticle leaves and a purple stems and if you smell them, they smell a bit like onion. I picked one leaf and took a bite. "You can eat these raw, right?" "Yes, but that's normally the sort of thing you ask before doing."

From AT 2010

I was planning on staying at a hostel tonight, because the most convenient shelter (Apple Orchard shelter) is supposedly dangerous to stay at. Back in the 70's, the ATC apparenly had to resort to eminent domain in order to keep the trail sufficiently wild. The locals (understandably) did not like tis and have ever since held a grudge againts the AT and hikers. Another hiker was telling me that the shelter gets vandalized and was even burned to the ground once.

From AT 2010

Late in the day, I ran in to a couple who were saying tyhat the hostel was all booked-up and also that there was a big thunderstorm on the way - so, I ended-up up staying at Apple Orchard anyway. For most of the evening, I had the shelter to myself, so I got to practice some camping skills w/o an audience. I hung a perfect bear bag - even though it's supposedly safe to keep your food in the shelter here. I also built a fire too, even though it was warm enough w/o a fire. Yup, I'm the real deal.

My next re-supply point is one and a half days from here and it's supposed to rain early tomorrow, so I plan on sleeping in late tomorrow.

Cherry Gap Shelter (4-30-10)

This morning's breakfast was awesome. Uncle Johnny's shuttle brought about 10 of us hikers to this convenience store/sandwich shop half-way into town. It was a pretty odd setup: the inside looked like a gas station, but in the back there was a counter with a bunch of stools and a cash register. The menu was all biscuit-based: biscuit with sausage, biscuit with egg, etc. The lady at the counter was trying to warn us that one biscuit ought to be enough, but most people ordered two and finished with little issue. As opposed to yesterday, I ordered and ate jsut the right amt of food: the meal sweet-spot. And I washed it all down with OJ and whole milk - my first whole milk experience, I believe.

I left Uncle Johnny's just before noon and it was all uphill. The whole day, I was sweating. It told myself if I made it all the way to my target destination, I would reward myself with koolaid and a Jordan Jessie Go podcast - it worked.

From AT 2010

Something that I've been dreading doing for a while is check-in with work. I tried checking my work email while I was in Hot Springs, but had no luck getting in. I gave one of my colleagues, Matthew, a call late in the afternoon once I had gotten to a high enough spot to get cell reception. Apparently, the projects I had handed over to him during my trip were more-or-less running with no issue. This was exactly what I wanted to hear!

Late in the day, I heard an interesting bird song. During my hike, I've heard a number of different bird songs - some odd, some simple. Whenever I hear a new one, I try to whistle back to see if I can fool them - so far, no luck. But this bird call was cool: a blast of short, high-pitched notes, which I could not reproduce. It reminded me a lot of this mechanical bird-in-a-box that my grandma (Grandma Maggie) would play for us when I was a kid.

Alright, time to drift off into podcast-amazingness. The last weather report I heard called for thunderstorms for the next few days. I'm hoping that's wrong.

Erwin, TN (4-29-10)

Today was a bit overwhelming. I got to the trailhead around noon. Right next to the trailhead is Uncle Johnny's Hostel, which is the main tru-hiker destination in town. I signed-in, got a shower and had a few sodas out of the vending machine.

Uncle Johnny's does shuttles to and from town - and for lunch, we went to Pizza Plus (or World or something) which has a Cici's-Pizza-like buffet. It felt good to stuff myself like that.

Afterward, we came back to the hostel and I got a chance to do laundry - putting on clean, warm clothes is an amazing feeling, which I haven't had a in a few weeks.

For dinner, we went to the mexican restaurant in town, where I ordered one of the combination dinners - nothing special. I had trouble finishing my dinner, but I eventually did. For the next couple hrs, I was on the verge of throwing-up - I guess my bosy wasn't sure what to do with all of the food.

It's time for bed now. I'm clean, my clothes are clean, I'm re-supplied on food and my phone and spare battery are charged. About the only thing that I didn't do was get on the internet or catch-up on phone calls. We're in a valley, which apparently does not have TMobile/ATT service - I guess I'll have to wait until I get back out on the trail.

No Business Knob Shelter (4-28-10)

The past few days have flown by. The weather today was cold but still way better than the past two days.

Sunday night, after my last entry, I tried some night hiking. It started off great: I was full of energy, the temp was just right and the sunset made walking very peaceful. That worked for about two hrs, but then the sun set and it got pretty dark.

Around 9 or so, it got too dark to see the trail well, so I had to pull out my headlamp. The headlamp was sufficient for hiking (avoiding roots, rocks, etc), but one issue that I had not anticipated was the spooky factor. I've been sleeping in the woods now for more than three weeks - so you'd think that I've gotten used to being in the forest after dark. But sleeping out here and walking along at night are very different things. My heart was racing the entire time. I wasn't afraid of anything realistic - bloody-thirsty boars, clandestine moonshine operations, etc. Instead, it was pretty ridiculous stuff - ghosts, werewolves, etc. It was like I was 7 all over again.

I got in to camp around 11 that night, set-up my hammock quickly and then slept until 11 the next morning. The more I walk, the more I sleep. Througout the next day, it drizzled - making me cold and wet. I got to the shelter around five or so and found it to be almost full. Some people moved around to make space, but there weren't really any good places to hang my stuff to dry out.

It got really cold that night, and what made it worse was that my sleeping bag was pretty damp. I've heard of a trick for drying out wet socks by sticking them in the bottom of your sleeping bag. I tried it out, but it didn't seem to work.

The next day was even worse. I can handle one wet day as long as the next day gives me an opporitunity to dry my stuff out - so back-to-back cold-rain days makes things pretty difficult. At one point during the second day, it was hailing for a few minutes. By the time I saw the next shelter (which was supposed to be my lunch spot for the day), I decided to call it a day right there and making it a low mileage day. I brought four days (three nights) worth of food to get me from Hot Springs to Eerwin and stopping there would add an extra day to the trip - I would have to ration my food until Erwin.

After eating lunch, I set-up my hammock and climbed in. I would spend about 16 hrs in there. Wen it's really cold out, hikers live in their sleeping bags and only leave to cook their dinners or go to the bathroom.

From AT 2010

Wednesday was a great day. After two days of cold rain, any amt of sunshine can change things for the better. Once again, I slept-in way too late (11AM). I got to big bald around 4, headed off to the next shelter and made my dinner. I had gone about 10 miles so far and was feeling pretty good, so I decided to keep hiking until I got tired. I was moving pretty fast b/c there was a lot of downhill and I got to the next shelter just before it got dark. I actually went further after dinner than I did before dinner.

Days like these really test your resolve. What's been keeping me going the past few days is the knowledge that I will be in Erwin tomorrow - where I will be able to pig-out on food, get a warm shower and finally get the stink out of these clothes. Tomorrow will be a great day.

Spring Mtn Shelter (4-25-10)

Last evening was pretty nice. Elmer's first floor has a number of common rooms where you can relax, read a book and socialize with the other guests. I think there were 14/15 guests that night - all but 4 were hikers.

After going to the library, I made a trip to the outfitters to pick-up some food as well as some more fuel for my stove. After that, I was walking back to Elmer's and I bumped into Mr Fox and his girlfriend. They got a room at Elmers for the night as well - awesome. Apparently, in Gatlinburg, he called up his girlfriend (who lives in Alabama) to take him home so he could re-new his license (which he had lost in Franklin). So, they stayed there that night as well as a number of other hikers I kinda knew (Barley, Jersey, Lifeguard).

The reading room had a small tv as well as an awesome collection of DVDs (Super Troopers, Zoolander, Planet Earth). So, I thought we'd have a good movie night. Instead, one of the other guests insisted on watching some other movie ("Songcatcher") which was set in the Souther Appalachians in the 1800s - dud!

I shared a room with DartMan, an older guy who had hiked the AT twice and was bouncing around the trail this year. Dartman was a nice guy who knew a lot about hiking gear and carriend a flyfishing rod with him. I told him my Dad makes bamboo fly fishing rods and he was pretty impressed. A few times during the night, I woke up to him growling. I asked him about that the next morning: "yeah, I've been known to do that."

The next day (this morning), Elmer served us breakfast. Elmer cooks vegetarian, but his meals are legendary - even amoung meat-eaters. He had cantaloupe, coffee, pancakes, apple juice and eggs - with ramps and other home-grown produce. Ramps are onion-like plants which grow in the forest around here - in case you weren't familiar with them, which I wasn't.

From AT 2010

Yesterday and today, I've seem a number of grave sites / memorials along the trail - what's up with that?!

I just had my dinner and am now comtemplating walking to the next shelter. It's at least 4 hrs away and the sun will be set within an hr. Something I've been wanting to try on this trip is nightwalking - which works best when there's a full moon. It's almost full right now, and partly cloudy - so tonight should work.

Hot Springs (4-24-10)

I got up pretty early this morning and did the quick hike down to town. It's probably too early to say, but I think my Achilles is working better now. Last night, I finished up most of my remaining food - in anticipation of a re-supply today. I had a quick a breakfast of nutella on a tortilla and headed out or camp ASAP.

Hot Springs in a pretty small town (my book says the population is ~600) which is known for its hot springs (I think I read before my trip that the town was originally named Warm Springs, but was later changed so as to draw more visitors - but don't quote me on that) as well as being located directly on the AT. This year they are doing some sort of hiking-themed festival, and it just so happens to correspond with the time when I'm going through town. Across the street, there's some music playing, but I'm over in the library catching up on my back-logged posts.

Before stopping at the library, I stopped at Elmer's B&B - which is one of the most famous hostels along the AT. It's pretty much what you'd expect of a B&B, except it's very hiker friendly - in fact, I believe the owner hiked the trail back in the 70's. There's a a library on the first floor as well as a music room (with guitars, a piano and a banjo). Upstairs, there are maybe six or seven rooms decorated with antique furniture. The place has character. Everyone's been saying that all of the hotels/hostels in town would be booked-up b/c of the festival - but I stopped in at Elmer's, talked to Elmer (I don't think that's his real name) and he had a few spots open.

From AT 2010

From Elmer's, I crossed the street to visit the Dollar store to pick up some food for the trail as well as some food for immediate consuption. I got a box of vanilla cookies and a half gallon of milk - I'm feeling pretty sick now. I've done this a couple of times now - where I grab too much food - and everytime I swear I'll think twice before committing myself to massive quantities of junk food, but I've yet to learn my lesson.

Dispite this massive intake of deliciousness, I've still managed to loose some weight, apparently. There was a scale at Standing Bear hostel which was pretty generous, but talking to other hikers confirmed that the scale was being generous with everyone. But Elmer's had a scale as well (which is supposedly pretty accurate), and it shows me about ten pounds lighter. I'm waiting for a third opinion, though...

Tonight is supposed to rain as well as tomorrow. That's one of the reasons I'm staying in town tonight - well, that, and I like sleeping in a bed.

Deer Park Mtn Shelter (4-23-10)

Today was a tough day, but not because of distance or climbing or anything like that. It was all going pretty smoothly until I stopped for a break about two hrs into my day. When I got back up to start hiking, I noticed that my left Achilles tendon (??) had stiffened quite a bit.

This wasn't too bad going downhill, but once I started climbing Bluff Mtn (roughly a 1000 ft climb), I was in a good deal of pain. When I got to the top, I figured I was done for the day since it would mostly be downhill from the rest of the day. Instead, my Achilles slowed me quite a bit and forced me to do the "Hiker Hobble" the rest of the way to the shelter (~7 miles). To make matters worse, it had gotten hot again. A few times during the day, I wondered to myself: "why am I doing this again?"

I got to the shelter quicker than I thought and found that I was the first one there. I guess everyone ahead of me went on to Hot Springs for the night (another easy 3 miles). Before getting water or doing any other chores, I set up my hammock and rested for a good hr. Trog came in to camp while I was napping - I think tonight will be pretty quiet.

During the day, I got to talk to a number of trail maintainers with the local trail club. They were out doing their first trail maintenance for the year. I've been curious about how trail maintenance works, so it was cool to see them in action.

Roaring Fork shelter (4-22-10)

For breakfast this morning, I had a microwaved bbq rib sandwich and a sleeve of oreos - and I washed it all down with a Mello Yello. I was delicious and kept me going for the first part of the day.

I started off the day wearing wet pants b/c my clothes had not finished drying from last evening. Thirty minutes after I started hiking, they were dry and I was ready to move on to shorts/tshirt - which were also still wet.

The morning was all uphill and I climbed for about 6 miles, ending at a bald. Once I got up there, I took a nice long break and took advantage of the cell service up there - something that was missing while I was in the Smokies!

Later in the day, it was Max Patch Bald. I've seen a number of balds at this point, but this one blew the rest out of the water. It was incredible - like an entire mountain, but with no trees. Once we got to the summit of the bald, we discovered the remains of some trail magic that someone had left - 4 PBRs and a single peanut butter cookie. Much appreciated.

From AT 2010

I finished the day at Roaring Fork shelter. There, I caught up with Squeeze Cheese and we found out that we were both from ATL - and (not very suprisingly) it turns out that we both did all of our training on Kennessaw Mtn.

Today was an easy day. Tomorrow, I should end up just short of Hot Springs.

Standing Bear Hostel (4-21-10)

The next day after Mt. Collins shelter, I had about a 3 mile hike to Clingman's Dome. As I was hiking south, I passed a number of other hikers I had been hiking with. I tried to convince them that they were all going the wrong way - I don't think it worked.

The tower at Cingmans Dome was pretty cool. It was a nice day, so you could see pretty far in all directions. A ridgerunner I would meet that night at the next shelter told us that we were prety lucky b/c the only people going to Clingmans were other hikers. Normally, when the road to Clingmans is open, the tower is swarming with families.

From AT 2010

In the Smokies, hikers are required to stay at shelters (which are really nice, btw, compared to shelters outside of the park) - no tent/hammock camping unless the shelter is full. That night, I stayed at Icehouse Spring shelter w/ maybe 3 or 4 other thru-hikers and a group of 6 Canadian college students on some sort of leadership retreat.

The next day was supposed to be one of the easiest days in the Smokies as well as one of the most picturesque. Charlie's Bunion was a quick walk from the shelter and I was able to get there in time to get my picture taken. On the horizon, you could see rain clouds moving in - and in not too long, we were surrounded in rain and fog.

From AT 2010

That night I stayed in Tricorner Knob shelter with roughly the same group of hikers - the Canadians were headed south towards Clingmans. Late in the afternoon, the ridgerunner gets a broadcast over his walky-talky: apparently, one of the Canadians had stage I hypothermia on Clingmans. A couple of the Candians were wearing cotton hiking clothes in an an attempt to disprove the "Cotton Kills" expression. The ridgerunner had apparently gotten on their case about that - so when he heard what happened, he wouldn't shut up about it ("I tried to tell those kids, but they wouldn't listen...").

The next day was a long and easy walk - leaving the park. Davenport Gap marks the boundry of the Smokies and I got there around 4 or so. Then, a couple miles further, you cross under I-40, which had zero traffic b/c it's been closed since winter due to a rock slide. Shortly after crossing I-40, I arrived at Standing Bear hostel. I was relieved when I got there b/c I had very little cash and I assumed that that was all they accepted - but apparently they took credit as well (awesome!). I put my pack on a bunk, took a long shower and attempted to wash my clothes. They didn't have a washer, so I had to wash my nasty hiking clothes by hand. After drying them out (sorta), they didn't look too clean, but at least they didn't smell as bad.

The hostel has a store (of sorts), where you can grab the food you want and then when you leave, you total up all of the food/drinks you took and pay the hostel accordingly. I had two bbq rib sandwiches, 1/2 a frozen pizza, a hot pocket and four Mello Yellos. I slept well that night - dispite the excessive levels of caffeine coursing through my veins!

Mt Collins Shelter (4-18-10)

The past few days have been a bit of a blur. I pulled out of Fontana a couple of days ago and entered the Smokies. Going into the Smokies was a big climb, but I was handling it pretty well - passing hikers left and right. When I got to the first shelter, I ran into a ridgerunner who told me that the road to Clingman's Dome was closed. Clingmans Dome was the place where I was supposed to meet Christine. After talking with the guy some more and consulting the map for the park, we figured out that the next best place to get picked up was Cades Cove.

To get to Cades Cove, I would continue along the AT for another 6 miles and then hike down from the ridge on non-AT, park trails. The detour was less than a half-day walk, so when I woke up the next day, I knew there was no rush. That changed everything.

From AT 2010

As much as I've tried to avoid it so far, I've fallen into a bit of a trap where I focus on my next destination for the day and hustle until I get there. But once my plans went out the window, I was free to go as slow as I wanted and enjoy the whole nature thing.

From AT 2010

I had about 4 or 5 hrs to kill while waiting at Cades Cove, so I fired up the audiobook I brought on my phone (The Pillars of the Earth) and listened to that for a while. Around 6 or 7 that evening, out of the corner of my eye, I see Christine sneaking up on me. I was busy showing her some of my interesting tan lines I've picked up so far and out of nowhere, my friend Steve pops into view. Christine had apparently talked Steve into coming up to Gatlinburg for my birthday.

Part of my birthday present was a pizza. I dug into that and then we hopped into Steve's car and rode off to Gatlinburg. While checking into the hotel, some more friends (Dave and Stephanie) appeared and offered a second round of surprise. That night, we would go out to dinner and stop by a couple of the local bars. After we called it a night, Ben and Corel show-up after a slow drive from Knoxville. We wound-down the night with some deliciously trashy Talk Soup.

The next day, we had breakfast at the hotel (delicious!) and walked down the street to find some entertainment. We settled on Ripley's Believe It or Not, which would have been a dud under normal circumstances, but thoroughly rocked my entertainment-starved brain. Afterward, we had lunch at one of the roughly 5000 pancake houses in town and then stopped at the grocery store - so I could re-load on food.

Sometime late that afternoon, they dropped me off at Newfound Gap, which is roughly in the center of the park. I felt a little bad about cutting out the ~16 miles of the AT after Cades Cove, so instead of hiking north out of the gap, I hiked south. Tomorrow, I would hike to Clingman's Dome and then turn around and re-trace my steps back to Newfound Gap.

This was definitely one of my most memorable birthdays. I knew Christine would meet me in Gatlinburg b/c she's obligated. It's quite another thing, though, to convince other people to come along with. Thanks guys!

Fontana (4-15-10)

The past couple days have been tough.  The weather's been great, but I'm starting to run out of steam.

Wed morning, I woke up and had a big bfast at the restaurant next to the river.  I ordered everything they had on the menu and felt a little sick afterward.

The first seven miles that day were uphill and they definitely slowed me down.  I had a quick lunch on cheoah bald and got moving right away.

I saw my first snake that morning and it scared the cuss out of me.  It was a black snake, maybe four ft long.  I would actually go on to see two more snakes yesterday and today.

I did 16 tough miles yesterday and I told myself I would reward myself by doing an easy 12 today, but I still found it tough.  I'm at fontana lake right now which is a pretty low elevation - so, today was a lot of downhill.  My right knee has been hurting on downhills, which means I have to go really slow.

The shelter at fontana lake is really nice and there's even a shower nearby.  I feel much better after the shower.  It was so nasty, but it did the trick. You haven't truly lived unless you've toweled yourself off with a piece of shamwow!

Tomorrow we cross fantana dam and enter the smokies.  The plan is to meet christine near clingmans dome.  I'm just about to run out of food, so tomorrow and sat could be rough.

Noc (4-13-10)

Monday morning christine dropped me off at the franklin trailhead.  It was a late start but I was picking up mileage fast.   Before I knew it, I was at silar bald.

I remember reading about balds, but its a very different thing to see them in person.  Balds are open meadows on the tops of mtns.

I stopped for lunch at silar bald, and I ran into ultra white and his friend. His friend and I bonded over our watches.  When christine came to visit me, she brought my watch.  Now I can know what time it is without having to fire up my phone.

At wayah bald, I caught up with some guys I've been camping with.  I was going to call it a day after wayah bald, but they encouraged me to go further. Man, that was a mistake. I was really feeling it that night. 

Tuesday was all about the noc.  The at crosses the nantahala river at the noc.  Over the course of the day, we probably lost 4000 ft in elevation.  Tomorrow, we pick up another 3 or 4 thousand ft.

I'm staying at a hostel here.  I got a pretty tasty hamburger for dinner, and I plan to get some bfast tomorrow before heading out.

I'm writing this from my phone, so if this post seems like a long txt msg, that's why.  I need to find a library!

Franklin (4/11/10)

Today was an awesome day. Rock Gap shelter (where I camped last night) was about four miles from Winding Stairs gap - the trail-head nearest to Franklin, NC. I got up this morning pretty late (~9:30) and headed down to the trail head where I learned that there was a shuttle going to Franklin at 11:30. I got on that shuttle and got to Franklin sometime a little after noon, where I booked a room at Haven's Budget Inn - where Christine and I would spend the night.

From AT 2010

Christine pulled in not too much later, which gave me a chance to shave off my nascent facial hair. I showered and then we headed over to a Mexican restaurant down the street. Almost everything in town was closed today because it's Sunday, but a few places were still open. After lunch, we hopped in the car and headed to the other end of town so that I could pick up a few things that I'd need for hiking.

While on the trail, I've been using flip flops when walking around camp - so that I can dry out my feet. But the problem with flip-flops is that you can't (comfortably) wear socks with them - which is uncomfortable when it's cold out. So, I picked up some crocs (which a ton of hikers have b/c they're so lite, but also cover all of your feet. I also got a new pair of socks as well as a new winter hat and some gloves which will actually dry out in a reasonable amount of time.

From AT 2010

After that, we went back to our room where I spent some time on Christine's laptop, uploading photos and writing some long-overdue blog entries.

From AT 2010

All in all, it's been an excellent day. I'm more or less re-supplied for the next few days, me and my clothes are somewhat clean and, of course, spending time with Christine has provided some much needed morale.

That's about it for now. Expect some more entries sometime later this week. Thanks for reading!

Rock Gap Shelter (4/10/10)

The past few days, I've really been paranoid about snakes. I talked to at least three complete strangers while I was in Hiawassee who all warned me about snakes. Copperheads (from pictures I've seen and stories I've heard) blend in with the forest pretty well, so I'm nervous that I'm not looking for them hard enough. I was told that they like to hang out near fallen trees (which cross the trail every now and then), so I take extra care when crossing fallen trees. I've started clanking my poles together whenever entering a suspicious area - in the hopes that they'll hear the ruckus I'm making and either leave before I get there or give me some sort of rattle-like sound to let me know that they're there. So far, I haven't seen anything - although, one of the other guys came really close to stepping on one after accidentally flipping over a rock while hiking.

Saturday morning, I awoke to find that almost everyone that packed up and left. For the past week or so, some hiking club for South Carolina had been posting notes about some Trail Magic that they were going to dish out Sat. morning at Mooney Gap (~4 mi from Carter Gap) - so everyone wanted to get there ASAP that morning.

In case I haven't mentioned this before (and I don't think I have), Trail Magic is a term used to describe any kind of situation where non-hikers help out hikers by providing transportation or food or anything that hikers need to stay happy and healthy. Providers of Trail Magic are usually associated with the trail community or they're former thru-hikers or they're just awesome people in general - a lot of times, all three.

Anyway, I packed up as fast as I could and sprinted down the trail - thinking that everyone had finished up all of the grub. I got there to find out that there was plenty more to go around. There was a lady serving up pancakes, they had "country ham" (how have I never had this before?!) and they had sodas, coffee, fruit, candy bars and a bunch of other stuff. They were really nice people and they had a good fire going. Everyone else from the shelter was still there, and we all had a tough time prying ourselves away from the fire and back on to the trail - but, after a couple hrs, we were on our way.

From AT 2010

While we were lounging around the fire, a day hiker came up to the group and announced that he was was with WSB (an AM radio station in Atlanta) and that he was doing a story on thru-hikers and that it would air on some Sunday (NPR-style in his words) show. He quickly interviewed a few of the thru-hikers, asking them why they were hiking - that sort of thing.

Next up for the day was Albert Mtn, another monster of a Mtn. The amt of elevation wasn't that bad; it was the steepness of the climb. After not too long, we got to the top of the mtn and were rewarded with a fire tower. The fire tower had obviously seen better days but we went up anyway.

From AT 2010

The views from the top were amazing. There was a guy there who obviously knew the area better than we did and was able to point out various landmarks along the horizon. He pointed to an area North-West of where we were and said that those were the Great Smokies.

From AT 2010

After coming down from Albert Mtn, I was booking it hardcore. The terrain was super level (fewer roots/rocks compared to previous portions of the trail) and the weather was just right. Since we had spent so much of the day not hiking, I was a little anxious to get to the next shelter before it got too late.

I got to Rock Gap shelter maybe around 5 or so - a while before the rest of the group. I set up my hammock, dried out some stuff and got dinner going. I met a few new guys at the shelter: Long Shanks - a former professional backpacking guide from Montana who was taking the summer off to hike the At before moving to San Francisco in the Fall for grad school. Another guy (Ultra White - b/c he's a really white guy I guess...?) was a rafting guide on the Ocoee river. The last two guys to get to the shelter that night were Jersey Dave and another guy, Chainsaw. Chainsaw is a character, and gets his trailname from the fact that he snores really, really loud - so loud, in fact, that he travels with a few sets of ear plugs, which he lends to those unfortunate people who have to sleep near him. Everyone was really cool that night, and we all sat around for an hr or so sharing hiker gossip and hilarious fart stories (don't ask).

Carter Gap Shelter (4/9/10)

Friday morning started out pretty rough because of the rain/cold that I mentioned in the previous post. My shoe laces were frozen - as were my socks. The only way to dry those out was going to be to just put them on and let my body warm them up - and that's what happened, although it took a couple hrs.

The big mtn for the day was Standing Indian Mtn. This would be the first time above 5000 ft for the trail. Maybe it was because we were already up pretty high, but the climb didn't seem all that bad. Once you get to the top of Standing Indian mtn, it's a pretty nice hike. It's a long mtn and the trail just follows the ridge line and then slowly descends.

The rest of the day was really nice. The inclines were pretty easy and the weather was warm without being too warm. After a few more hours, I got to Carter Gap shelter. It was a little confusing at first, though, because when the trail comes to the shelter sign, you can see a shelter but it's really run-down and if you look inside, you'll see a pretty big hole in the floor. It turns out that that was the old shelter, and that there was a new, better version of the shelter a 100 ft down the trail.

From AT 2010

After I got to the shelter and started settling in, a bunch of familiar faces poured in. Lorod was there when I got there, and then a girl from Maine came in (Mary Ellen/Beth?) along with Funky Monkey and a British guy with a name I can't remember. Then came a couple of guys I had met the day before at Plum Orchard (Legend and Fox?). After everyone had set up their tents and made dinner, Prometheus and a couple other guys built a fire and we all set around talking for the next few hrs. There was a guy going sobo to Hiawassee in a kilt who was a paramedic who was recounting all of the (mostly disgusting, sometimes amusing) scenes he's come upon in the line of duty.

The british guy had run into a ranger earlier that day who told him that the temp that night would get down into the twenties, so I was preparing for another rough night. I would sleep in my hammock that night, so I was a little concerned about cold temps on my back. Maybe an hr or so after the sun set, it started to get cold - so as soon as I summoned the motivation, I made a dash from the warm fire towards my hammock. Once I got inside, everything was pretty good - although I would wake a couple times that time right on the verge of shivering.

Once, I woke up needing to pee really bad and it took me probably 20 minutes before I could work up the resolve to get out of my warm sleeping bag. I'm trying to work on peeing before going to bed now - there's nothing worse that having to wake up in the middle of the night and leave your warm sleeping bag.

Muscrat Creek Shelter (4/8/10)

Last night at the hostel, the only other guy staying there was a guy that went by the name of Mom. He was somewhere in his 70's and hiking pretty slow - I think he said he had started the trail sometime in early/min March. He was definitely taking his time.

We talked for a while about hiking/canoeing. He was from rural North Dakota and we bonding a little over our Midwest origins. He's been retired for the last six years he said, and ever since retiring, he's been something of a vagabond. He told me he spends most of the year traveling around the Midwest in a smaller camper. He's also been on some pretty impressive adventures as well. He told me that he had canoed down the Missouri/Mississippi river down to New Orleans. he had also canoed up the Red River and on up to Hudson Bay in Norther Canada. Some pretty interesting stories.

Thursday morning started out with some rain. By the time we'd gotten a ride to the trailhead, the rain had stopped - so everything was good. I made pretty good time up to Plum Orchard shelter and had some lunch with a group of about 10 or so hikers. The rain was starting to pickup a bit, so some hikers were debating whether to go on for the day. There's a saying out here: "No Rain, No Maine". If you don't hike in the rain, you'll never get anywhere. So, with that in mind, I thought I would head out - just ahead of everyone else (or so I thought).

The rain started to pick up as I went along, but it wasn't much of an issue b/c I had rain gear and a good pack cover. About halfway to the next shelter, though, it started to get pretty bad. I wanted to take a picture as I crossed the GA/NC state line, b/c there's a really mangled-looking tree there which supposedly is the most photographed tree on the AT. But the rain was getting pretty rough, and I didn't want to take my pack off and get my stuff wet - so I kept going. After crossing the state line, the trail just kept going up and up. As I climbed, the wind started getting stronger as well. There were a few minutes where I was legitimately scared that I might get hypothermia if I didn't get the the next shelter soon - what was I thinking leaving the last shelter?!

Anyway, I got to the next shelter after getting pretty wet (esp. my shoes/socks) and found that the shelter was more than full. All of the sleeping spaces were occupied and there was an area on the ground where a family had set a tarps down and were huddled up in their sleeping bags. I was pretty surreal getting to he shelter. Everyone was in their sleeping bags with their headlamps on. When I got there, all I was were everyone's eyes and their headlamps - packed like sardines.

The family moved over and made some space - but it was still pretty nasty. The tarp was pretty muddy, and pretty much all of the spots for hanging wet socks/clothes were occupied. It took me maybe 20 minutes to get all of my stuff spread out in an attempt to dry them out, and then jumping right in my sleeping bag - it was so cold!

A couple of the guys in the shelter built a fire after the rain had died off and everyone stood around the fire drying out their wet clothes. You could see steam rising from everyone's clothes. The fire was very nice, but it was still a pretty miserable night - I was shivering in my bag and didn't sleep much that night. If I had another night like that back to back, I think I might have quit right there - it was that bad.

FWIW, here's a pic someone else took of the GA/NC tree: http://blog.rfhp.net/?p=76

Neels Gap (4/5/10)

Monday night I got to Neels Gap which is the first major milestone of the hike. It's the first major road crossing, and, consequently, one of the first places where aspiring thru-hikers leave the trail. It's also an outfitter (some food and gear), and has a hostel as well.

From AT 2010

I spent Monday huffing and puffing to get to neels gap before 6. The outfitter closes at six, and I had been hearing along the way that the hostel was booked up because of all the thru-hikers starting this time of the year. I got there (aching and exhausted) and learned that there were a number of spaces available. So, I got a spot and was very happy with myself.

Just before Neels gap is Blood Mtn. Blood Mtn is one of the highest Mtns in GA (3rd, I think) and the path down the Mtn to Neels Gap was very trying. I'm learning very quickly that I can handle the uphills just fine, but the downhills are really slowing me down.

So, that night, I stayed at the hostel and I'm very glad I was able to get in. The hostel is run by a lady that goes by Miss Janet. Miss Janet is a pretty famous person in the hiking community. I didn't know what she looked like, so when she introduced herself as Janet, I was like Miss Janet, and then she said "yes." The, I asked: "the famous Miss Janet?" and she thought that was pretty funny.

Miss Janet is a great person. She made dinner for all of us, and told us stories about previous hikers and had a lot of useful advice. The next morning, she did it all over again and made us all breakfast (pancakes and eggs with ham). That made the rest of the day much easier.

The night that I stayed in the hostel, there were a number of other hikers camping in the general vacinity of Neels Gap who had encounters with bears. A bunch of hikers had their food bags taken, and I think one girl had her backpack torn apart. One guy (Low Rod is his name I believe) actually fended off the bear. The guy's in his sixties I think and he stared down the bear until the bear left his food alone. If you look in the dictionary under Badass, you will see this guy's picture.

My time on the computer's about to run out. I've got plenty more to write, but that will have to wait for another time. Thanks for reading!

Hiawassee (4/7/10)

I'm writing this from the public library of Hiawassee, GA. The library closes in about 20 minutes or so - so, I'm going to make this fast.

The trip's been going pretty well so far. Great weather. If anything, it's been too hot out. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so that could change things.

Today was a big day for me. I hitchhiked for the first time. It was awesome. I was waiting for maybe 10 mintutes or so before a truck with a guy and a gal pulled over and picked me up. I thought I would be there forever, but it turned out to be easier than I thought. Apparently, there's an awareness of hikers in this area, so my chance of getting picked up are better here than other places.

I'm staying at a place called the blueberry patch. It's a christian hostel run by a guy that's a former thru-hiker. There's no charge to stay; it's all donations. The guy has a garage behind his house that's set up with about 15 bunk beds and a kitchen. The bathroom/shower is in a separate building out back. The path to the bathroom goes past a garden (where he and his wife grow blueberries) and donkeys and goats. Needless to say, the place is pretty awesome.

From AT 2010

After the library closes, I'm off to the local grocery store to pick up some more food. One of the other guys at the hostel needs a new memory card for his camera, so if I see one I'm going to pick one up for him.

The first thing I did today when I got to the hostel was shower. Oh man, does that feel good. I've never been this dirty before!

It Starts (4/2/10)

It's actually happening. After several months of planning/thinking about this trip, the time has come to actually leave. Yesterday at work was a blitz trying to finish everything I could and passing off the stuff that I couldn't. Today, Christine will be driving me to Springer Mtn trail-head, where we'll both hike up to the top, sign in and probably take some pictures.

This morning I've been scrambling to put all of my stuff together. I shouldn't have waited until the last minute to do this ...but, oh well. I finalized/packed the food I'll need to bring. It should be enough for three days - we'll see how that goes once I get out there.

From AT 2010

I don't know what this hike will be like. It's scary but also exciting at the same time. I may not like it once I get out there; I may have the time of my life. There's no way to know unless I give it a shot. So, here I go.

From AT 2010

Hammock Camping (4/1/10)

One of the decisions I made early on when reading up on doing long-ish hikes and the gear you need to do it, was what sort of shelter I would need. I already have a two-person tent, but when hiking for long periods it's important to try to minimize the amount of weight in your backpack as well as make it easier to fit in there. Since my tent was built for two people instead of just me, I needed to find something smaller.

That's when I came across the idea of using hammocks. Prior to researching the AT, I had never even heard of people using hammocks for camping - those are for lounging in your backyard, right? But the more I read about camping hammocks, the more I knew that's what I wanted to do.

The AT has shelters scattered along the trail at pretty convenient intervals. The problem is that sometimes they are full, and also they are notorious for having mice which will run over you during the night and dig into your stuff. No thanks! A lot of people will find a shelter and then set-up their tents or hammocks nearby - so, at least, that way they get to hang out with the rest of the hikers but without all of the aforementioned mice issues.

The hammock that I chose for my hike is a Hennessey brand hammock. I decided on Hennessey b/c I read a lot of recommendations for it. It sounds like a noob version of the camping hammock in that it has everything already there. More experienced hikers a lot of times will build their own hammocks - to save weight, but also I'd imagine it makes the experience cooler when you actually made your shelter.

Hammocks are still a bit of an oddity to most people. Even during my test hike last weekend, the other hikers at the shelter had never seen a hammock before - so, were pretty interested in how it works.

I can describe the hammock all I want, but nothing beats seeing it in action. I was planning on video recording my first experience with my hammock this past weekend, but b/c of all of the spectators, I felt a bit self-conscious. Instead, here's a (somewhat long) video intro/review that some other guy did. It seems pretty comprehensive. To actually see what it's like to get inside the hammock, fast forward to around 4:10.



As far as why I chose to use a hammock instead of a more traditional one-person tent... mostly, it just seemed cooler. In addition to looking awesome, it's also more light-weight than most tents, and because it doesn't use poles, it can more easily fit into a backpack. If, for some reason, I need to camp in an area without a soft, established tenting site, that's not an issue. All you need to set-up a hammock are two trees. You don't have to worry about what the ground is like.

Should be fun!

Test Hike (3/28/10)

This weekend I went on a test hike. Saturday morning I drove up to Amicalola Falls state park in North GA, signed-in at the Visitors center and started hiking. My plan was to hike the approach trail to Springer Mtn (where the Appalachian Trail officially starts) and then stay the night, and hike back on Sun.

The hike out yesterday when almost perfectly. The weather was great - not too hot, not too cold. I got to try on different layers. I got to try out all of the food options. Everything was going really well.

The hike out to Springer Mtn was pretty desolate. It pretty much just followed a ridge line where there was very little green. Quite a few ups and down, and not a whole lot of good views. Before leaving, I didn't really study the topography of the approach trail, so I kinda assumed that it was just one long gradual uphill until Springer Mtn - but I was very wrong. The approach trail is ~8 miles, and I couldn't believe the number of mtns they managed to fit into those 8 miles. There were a number of times when I was climbing up a steep incline and thought to myself that surely this was Springer Mtn, but many times, I was disappointed.

When I finally got to Springer Mtn, I was a little disappointed because the view was facing either North or West. I was kinda hoping that it was face South, so I might be able to catch a glimpse of ATL - but no. Also, there was a boy scout troop on top - horsing around and making noise.

From AT 2010

By the time I got to Springer it was maybe 3PM, so I figured I'd hike for another hr or two before finding shelter. I ended up staying at a place a few miles beyond Springer Mtn (Stover Creek shelter). When I got there, there were maybe six or seven hikers there chatting it up. I started setting up my hammock not too far away from the fire pit, and I felt like they were watching me the entire time. I was pretty nervous, b/c this was the first time I was going to seriously use my hammock, and I didn't really know what I was doing - so, having an audience didn't help. Anyway, I finally got the hammock set up and got in and everything seemed right, so I then proceeded to make dinner. Just after I had finished eating dinner and then cleaning up, people were starting to make their way to their tents and call it a night. But then off in the distance, we could hear a chorus of kids - the boy scouts were on their way.

I ended up sleeping about a total of half hour that night. I'm not sure what it was. The boy scouts were pretty noisy - running around, yelling at each other - but I don't think that was it. They were pretty bad, but around 9 or so, they more or less went silent - so, I can't blame them. It was my first time sleeping in a hammock, so I think that was a big part of the problem. I found the hammock more comfortable than a tent b/c I didn't have to deal with a hard bottom. Whenever sleeping on the ground or on the floor, I'm more or less stuck sleeping on my back - which is not natural for me. But, in the hammock, I was able to get into a pretty comfortable fetal position - it was pretty nice. One of the (well-known) issues with sleeping in a hammock, though, is that you end up losing heat on the bottom. To deal with this, I tried sleeping on a sleeping pad, which offered some insulation against the bottom of the hammock. The problem, though, was that every once in a while, I would end up slipping off the pad, and parts of my body would be exposed to cold spots.

Sometime in the middle of the night, it began raining. When I left, the weather forecast was saying that it would rain on Sun - so, the rain wasn't really a surprise. What was a surprise, though, was just how much it would effect me. Today was absolutely miserable. I got up in the morning feeling really cold - to find that my shoes were soaked (which I had hung underneath my tarp - thinking that they would stay dry), and that everything in my backpack was equally soaked. I had tied my backpack to a tree and covered it with a pack cover, which I thought would keep my stuff dry. Boy, was I wrong - that cover is NOT water proof, or even (it would appear) water resistant. So, ALL of my stuff was soaked - not a good way to start the day.

From AT 2010

As soon as I could summon the motivation, I packed up my stuff and headed out. I didn't even bother with eating breakfast before leaving. I just wanted to leave. The sooner I got back the Amicalola, the sooner I would be back home and dry and warm. I had some snacks on the way back (including a 600 cal muffin - awesome) to keep me going, but it was almost non-stop. By the time I got back to my car, I was pretty thoroughly unhappy with the way things had gone. My stuff was soaked, I was soaked, all of my clothes were soaked - and I was not looking forward to taking off my shoes, fearing that my feet had disintegrated.

I learned a few things on this hike (#1: the importance of keeping you stuff dry, #2 having multiple pairs of good socks), so I'm going to call this weekend a success. All of my hikes over the past couple months have been on days with really good weather, so I was starting to fall into the trap of thinking that that was how things would always be. Having these flawless day hikes, and then going home to a shower and warm bed, I was very much in danger of romanticizing my upcoming hike. But after a day like today, I don't that's much of a problem any more. Hiking is hard. Hiking then camping, hiking then camping - day after day - that takes a toll. If I can make it to VA (like I plan to), I will be VERY happy with myself.

Trail Names (3/22/10)

One of the traditions of doing a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail is the trail name. It's kind of like trucker handle, as far as I can tell. Whenever referring to someone you meet on the trail, you call them by their trail name instead of their actual name. It's a chance to create your own persona, and also (I think) a way of distancing yourself from the normal (non-trail) world.

In a lot of the stories and forums I've read through, there seem to be a lot of animal-based names. Grey-wolf, hungry bear, foxxy fox - stuff like that. Others are pretty clever - usually some sort of smart reference. A lot of times people don't have a name before they get on the trail, and end up "receiving" their name from someone else on the trail. These ones don't always turn out well.

Fortunately, I've already figured out my trail name. And I gotta say, it's pretty much the best trail name that's ever been thought of. I will definitely win prizes for this. You ready for it? While on the trail, I will be referred to as:

Rhymenoceros

It's both an animal and a clever reference. You can look high and low, and you will never find a better trail name than this. Don't even try.

In case you don't understand the reference, check this out:



You're welcome.