Characters

"You thru-hiking?" "Where are you from?"
"Why are you hiking the trail?"
"When did you start?"
"How far today?"
"How much are you carrying?"
"What do you do?"
The questions may be common whenever hikers meet along the trail but the answers they generate seldom seem that way.  As I continue my hike along the trail I remain fascinated by the litany of characters that I meet.  In this post I thought I would mention a couple of the recent noteworthy meetings.
I first met Hirsch the day that I hiked out of Erwin, TN.  Actually, I should say that I first met his footprints in the snow in the late morning as I walked over some of the balds north of town.  I'm always scanning the trail treadway to guess how many people are ahead of me and how much they are carrying.  As I followed these signs I was particularly impressed with the foot placement on a treacherous trail as well as the fact the hiker obviously was stepping on just the balls of the feet when making steep ascents.  "Hmm, this must be an experienced hiker," I thought.  At about four in the afternoon I finally caught up with him during the descent into Greasy Creek Gap.
"Hi there, you thru-hiking?", I asked.
"Yes, I am.  Who are you?"
"I'm Shuk.  Who are you?"
"Shuk!  I've been hearing about you for days.  They say you're the fastest guy on the trail."
"If fastest means racing between towns and then taking zero days then I must be the guy.  Still, what's your trail name?"
"I don't really have a trail name.  I have just always been known as Hirsch."
"Glad to meet you Hirsch.  I'm stopping at the Greasy Creek Hostel tonight but we'll get a chance to talk more tomorrow when we meet again out on the trail."
And so we did.  During our conversations I learned that this was Hirsch's second AT thru-hike, his first being in 1999.  I also learned that he had thru-hiked the Pacific Coast Trail.  It's no wonder his steps on the trail appeared so assured.  I had the great good fortune to hike with Hirsch for the next 3 days and learned more about his fascinating story.  Despite not yet being 30 years of age he has two university degrees, spent 2 years in the Peace Corps in the South Pacific, and just completed a 5 1/2 year bicycle trip around the world before beginning his second AT thru-hike.  He was one of the most genuinely honest and caring folks I have had the honour of meeting and I hope I get the chance to hike with him some more as we both chase our dream of a Katahdin summit.

Hirsch

The second hiker of note is a young Japanese man with the trail name "V8" as he loves V8 vegetable juice.  In fact, I saw him drink a 2 liter bottle of it last night.  V8 has already hiked the Pacific Coast Trail in 2009, the Continental Divide Trail in 2010, and is now attempting to complete the final leg of hiking's Triple Crown.  He is a lean, mean walking machine whose base pack weight before food and water is only 8 lbs.  That's incredible!  He made his own pack, jacket and sleeping system and also carries a Go-Lite umbrella that he uses when its raining.  He began the trail on Mar. 25 and was in Pearisburg, VA on Apr. 20.  That calculates out to roughly 23 miles per day.  Very impressive.  I queried him extensively about what gear he was using and came up with some ideas to lighten my own pack weight.  It was fascinating to me that this young man had come to the US to hike these trails and still managed to succeed despite quite limited English language skills.  I have nothing but admiration for his determination and drive.  I suspect that today was the last time I will see him as he will be well ahead of me in no time at all.

V8