On Sunday Mar. 20 I left the Plumorchard Gap Shelter in much cooler temperatures. At 8:30 I crossed the Georgia/North Carolina border and celebrated with a whoop and a small tear of joy. One state down and only thirteen more to go. As a welcome to NC the climb out of Bly Gap near the border was a real kicker. I even had to stop a few times to catch my breath. The rest of the day was surprisingly easy with only a few ups and downs, despite the fact that I was now well above 4000' elevation all the time. At 2:30 I reached the Carter Gap Shelter, a distance of 20 miles from Plumorchard, and decided to call it quits for the day. Already in the shelter were Enzed, a woman from New Zealand, and her hiking friend Forest Gimp. They had just taken a zero day in the shelter and were spending the time watching movies on his iPod. Also in the shelter was Gipc Girl (you read that right) from Australia. She tried to thru-hike the AT last year but broke her leg at Unicoi Gap and spent 6 weeks in a motel in Franklin, NC while it healed. She then re-commenced the hike but could only get to Mt. Washington in NH before here visa expired. So, she came back here again this year to re-do the whole hike again. She is a 62 year old interior designer who just loves to be outdoors hiking. The final two occupants of the shelter were a woman who thru-hiked the trail last year and her hiking partner.
At one point Gipc Girl asked last year's thru-hiker : "When did you decide to hike the AT again this year?"
"Well," she said , "I went home to New Mexico last fall after summiting Katahdin on Oct. 3. I was only home a few weeks when my daughter called and asked if I could come help her look after my new granddaughter. So, I went and found I was spending all my time looking after the granddaughter while my daughter was out working and socializing. It felt like I was married again. I did all the cooking and cleaning and child care but wasn't getting anything in return. She wouldn't even let me drive her car. So, after a month of that I just said I was leaving. At that point I decided to hike the AT again this year. It seemed the only way to get away from them. When I was married I was a truck driver for 6 years as well. That and the AT just seem to satisfy a craving I have to be on the move."
Maine's 100 Mile Wilderness from atop Mt. Katahdin
Monday, March 21, 2011
Trail Magic
After a zero day in Helen I was full of vim and vigour and ready to tackle the trail again. The proprietor of Woody's bicycle shop in Helen gave me a shuttle back to Unicoi Gap where I began walking at 7:30 am, hoping to take advantage of the cool of the morning as the day's high was forecast to be 82 degrees. Those kind of temperatures might be a godsend to the southerner's on the trail but they are a real nuisance for someone who trained for a couple of months at temperatures well below the freezing mark. By the afternoon I was stopping at every stream and spring to soak my shirt to keep cool. I even soaked my bandana and tucked it under my hat, draping it over my neck, to keep the sun off and cool my neck. Around mid-day I went through Addis Gap and began the climb of Kelly's Knob. The climb wasn't ridiculously steep, but it just kept going and going and going! When will this ever end? Finally, as I reached the summit, there was a gracious Georgia gentleman with a can of cold Pepsi. My first instance of trail magic this year, and what a blessing it was after that long climb. The gentleman's trail name was Tater. He said he had thru-hiked the AT in 2000 and liked to come out occasionally to provide some trail magic for tired hikers.
As I stood there enjoying the refreshment he asked, "Where are you from?"
"The east coast of Canada"
"Where?"
"The middle part", I said.
"Oh, I hiked with a guy from the northern part in 2000."
"Really? What was his name?"
"It was Wolfman"
"Wolfman? Why that's Wolfgang that I race against all the time. In fact, my wife will be racing against him this Sunday."
"Wolfman was great. I usually hiked with Sarge, but we joined up with the Wolfman through the Shenandoah's. He sure was fast!"
What a small world!
As I stood there enjoying the refreshment he asked, "Where are you from?"
"The east coast of Canada"
"Where?"
"The middle part", I said.
"Oh, I hiked with a guy from the northern part in 2000."
"Really? What was his name?"
"It was Wolfman"
"Wolfman? Why that's Wolfgang that I race against all the time. In fact, my wife will be racing against him this Sunday."
"Wolfman was great. I usually hiked with Sarge, but we joined up with the Wolfman through the Shenandoah's. He sure was fast!"
What a small world!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Gatlinburg of Georgia
My second day on the trail was a bit longer than I expected. I arose early and walked to the Walasi-Yi center at Neels Gap, a distance of 15 miles. This store has everything that a lightweight hiker could ever want or need. They offer a service where they will take everything out of your pack and help you decide what to carry for the rest of the trip. On this day there were 4 hikers with all their gear spread out on the floor, deciding what to send home and what to replace. I'm sure it is very traumatic to find that all the carefully selected gear that you acquired is not suitable for the challenges that thru-hikers will face over the next 5-6 months. Fortunately, I didn't need the service as I have winnowed my load down to the lightest that I am willing to carry when we could still face some winter weather in North Carolina and Tennessee.
My original plan had been to stay at Goose Creek Cabins near Neels Gap to celebrate completing the first 30 miles. Unfortunately, they were closed so I decided to continue walking for a ways longer. Finally, at 5:00pm and six more trail miles later, I made my way down a 1.2 mile side trail to the Whitely Gap Shelter for the night. In contast to the previous night's horde, there were only 4 hikers at this shelter as the beginners were unwilling to walk that far off the trail to spend the night. In fact, all the hikers there that night were former thru-hikers for whom an extra couple of miles made no difference.
It was very cold and windy when I went to bed but by morning it had warmed up considerably. "Looks like it will be a hot one Bill." My goal today was to make it to Unicoi Gap and then hitch a ride into Helen, GA for the night to get cleaned up and enjoy a hot meal. The skies were perfectly clear and temperature unseasonably warm as the day progressed. By 1:00pm I had made the road crossing and eventually hitched a ride down to Helen where I am composing this blog entry. It is 75 degrees here today and forecast to be sunny and in the 80's for the next two days. Wait a second! I came down here to start in March so that I could avoid those kind of temperatures. All the locals say this is very unusual to see this kind of heat early in the season. Yeah.. right.
The city of Helen is designed along a Bavarian theme with the facade of all the buildings made of timber and stucco. Very cute! The city calls itself the "Gatlinburg of Georgia" so I just couldn't miss it as I plan to stop to enjoy the kitsch of Gatlinburg as well. What a chore it is to be a cultural researcher as well as AT hiker.
Trail miles to date : 50.9
My original plan had been to stay at Goose Creek Cabins near Neels Gap to celebrate completing the first 30 miles. Unfortunately, they were closed so I decided to continue walking for a ways longer. Finally, at 5:00pm and six more trail miles later, I made my way down a 1.2 mile side trail to the Whitely Gap Shelter for the night. In contast to the previous night's horde, there were only 4 hikers at this shelter as the beginners were unwilling to walk that far off the trail to spend the night. In fact, all the hikers there that night were former thru-hikers for whom an extra couple of miles made no difference.
It was very cold and windy when I went to bed but by morning it had warmed up considerably. "Looks like it will be a hot one Bill." My goal today was to make it to Unicoi Gap and then hitch a ride into Helen, GA for the night to get cleaned up and enjoy a hot meal. The skies were perfectly clear and temperature unseasonably warm as the day progressed. By 1:00pm I had made the road crossing and eventually hitched a ride down to Helen where I am composing this blog entry. It is 75 degrees here today and forecast to be sunny and in the 80's for the next two days. Wait a second! I came down here to start in March so that I could avoid those kind of temperatures. All the locals say this is very unusual to see this kind of heat early in the season. Yeah.. right.
The city of Helen is designed along a Bavarian theme with the facade of all the buildings made of timber and stucco. Very cute! The city calls itself the "Gatlinburg of Georgia" so I just couldn't miss it as I plan to stop to enjoy the kitsch of Gatlinburg as well. What a chore it is to be a cultural researcher as well as AT hiker.
Trail miles to date : 50.9
Breaking a Cardinal Rule
"Gainesville, next stop Gainesville"
As I stepped off the train the rain was pelting down, turning the streets into rivers. This was not how I hoped to start my AT thru-hike. The shuttle driver, "Hotrock - AT 2004", met me in the station and we headed out for Springer Mt.. Hotrock, who lives out of his van when he isn't hiking, chatted non-stop for the hour's drive to the top of the mountain on US Forestry Service road # 42. The last six miles were on a single-lane gravel road cut into the side of the mountain. The drop off was at least a thousand feet down on my right. Yikes, steer well my friend. We arrived at the trailhead just as the day was beginning to show its face. The rain was still pouring down as I donned my rain coat and pants in the back of the van before stepping out. As Hotrock drove away and I stood there alone in the pouring rain I knew that I was breaking my cardinal rule : "Never leave town in the rain."
I slung my pack on and headed southward for 0.9 miles to the actual terminus of the AT on Springer Mt. After a few soggy photos I headed north, only 2180 miles to go.
The rain and wind continued until well after noon but since it was reasonably warm I was more than content to continue to walk for 15 miles to Gooch Mt. where I spent the night in the shelter. This, without a doubt, was the most crowded shelter and area that I have ever experienced on the trail. There were 14 people sleeping in the double-decker sleeping area, and there must have been 40 more tenting around the shelter. Never let it be said that one hikes the AT in order to find some time alone.
As I stepped off the train the rain was pelting down, turning the streets into rivers. This was not how I hoped to start my AT thru-hike. The shuttle driver, "Hotrock - AT 2004", met me in the station and we headed out for Springer Mt.. Hotrock, who lives out of his van when he isn't hiking, chatted non-stop for the hour's drive to the top of the mountain on US Forestry Service road # 42. The last six miles were on a single-lane gravel road cut into the side of the mountain. The drop off was at least a thousand feet down on my right. Yikes, steer well my friend. We arrived at the trailhead just as the day was beginning to show its face. The rain was still pouring down as I donned my rain coat and pants in the back of the van before stepping out. As Hotrock drove away and I stood there alone in the pouring rain I knew that I was breaking my cardinal rule : "Never leave town in the rain."
I slung my pack on and headed southward for 0.9 miles to the actual terminus of the AT on Springer Mt. After a few soggy photos I headed north, only 2180 miles to go.
The rain and wind continued until well after noon but since it was reasonably warm I was more than content to continue to walk for 15 miles to Gooch Mt. where I spent the night in the shelter. This, without a doubt, was the most crowded shelter and area that I have ever experienced on the trail. There were 14 people sleeping in the double-decker sleeping area, and there must have been 40 more tenting around the shelter. Never let it be said that one hikes the AT in order to find some time alone.
Monday, March 14, 2011
My Boston Accordion
A smile lit her lined face as I commented, "That's a nice case you have there", to the woman across from me on the Boston subway. Actually, it wasn't a "nice" case but it was a "good" case. The pressed cardboard sides had faded to a greyish blue. The polished brass frame and hardware had acquired a patina of corrosion and rust that no quick rub would set to right. The leather handle was shiny and warn from years of hand contact.
"It's not actually a suitcase. Lift it."
"Wow, that's heavy," I said as I wondered how this sprite of a senior carried such a heavy case.
"That's my Boston accordion. I keep it here at my daughter's place for when I come to visit. I also have a Philadelphia accordion that I keep at my home. That way I don't have to carry one between Philly and Boston when I'm up here visiting. I'm just coming back from Portland, ME where I went to play."
"Do you give concerts?", I asked.
"Oh no, I was just up to visit a friend who likes the accordion as well. We spent the last two days just playing whatever we wanted all day."
"If you do that on a regular basis then it's a good thing you have two accordions."
"I looked at buying a concertina, you know what I mean? It looks like a small accordion. I keep thinking that I'll need something lighter if I'm going to be playing when I'm ninety."
I was having a hard time even imagining how this seventy something woman who weighed no more than a hundred pounds could throw an accordion around, let alone whether or not she'd be able to do so when she was ninety.
"Where can you get a concertina?", I asked.
"Oh they make them in Camden, New Jersey, right across the river from Philly. That's also where I get the service work done on my Philly accordion. That one cost me $300 so I want to look after it. This one was only $50 fifteen years ago but I still love its sound. Well, this is my stop. It was good to talk to you."
Hmm, all the sudden my pack seems much lighter.
I'm catching the train to Georgia today and will take my first steps on the trail on Tuesday morning, so my next post will be my first actual trail report.
"It's not actually a suitcase. Lift it."
"Wow, that's heavy," I said as I wondered how this sprite of a senior carried such a heavy case.
"That's my Boston accordion. I keep it here at my daughter's place for when I come to visit. I also have a Philadelphia accordion that I keep at my home. That way I don't have to carry one between Philly and Boston when I'm up here visiting. I'm just coming back from Portland, ME where I went to play."
"Do you give concerts?", I asked.
"Oh no, I was just up to visit a friend who likes the accordion as well. We spent the last two days just playing whatever we wanted all day."
"If you do that on a regular basis then it's a good thing you have two accordions."
"I looked at buying a concertina, you know what I mean? It looks like a small accordion. I keep thinking that I'll need something lighter if I'm going to be playing when I'm ninety."
I was having a hard time even imagining how this seventy something woman who weighed no more than a hundred pounds could throw an accordion around, let alone whether or not she'd be able to do so when she was ninety.
"Where can you get a concertina?", I asked.
"Oh they make them in Camden, New Jersey, right across the river from Philly. That's also where I get the service work done on my Philly accordion. That one cost me $300 so I want to look after it. This one was only $50 fifteen years ago but I still love its sound. Well, this is my stop. It was good to talk to you."
Hmm, all the sudden my pack seems much lighter.
I'm catching the train to Georgia today and will take my first steps on the trail on Tuesday morning, so my next post will be my first actual trail report.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Weighing In
As a relatively experienced hiker with a few thousand trail miles behind me I've learned how important it is to minimize the weight that I carry. When I first started hiking along the AT in 2000 I went through extensive preparation, purchasing what I was sure was the lightest equipment around. How wrong I was! My pack alone weighed almost 6 lbs and was filled with another 54 lbs of the lightest and greatest gear available. One of the lessons that I quickly learned, and that will re-surface throughout this blog, is: "If you want it then you've got to carry it". Now as I put each item into my pack I ask: "Do I really want to lug this up and down hill every day for months on end?" As you'll read in the weight summary that follows, that query has served me well.
When discussing weight there are two different measures used.
Base weight is the weight of the pack plus all the gear inside or attached, not including food and water. Please note that the base weight should go down by 8-12 oz when summer arrives, though I suspect I'll just end up carrying more food by then.
Carry weight is the base weight plus food for 3 days and 2 liters of water. I should mention that not everyone carries 2 liters of water with them but I like the security of knowing that I can easily walk the whole day without needing to find a water source.
Today I went through all of my gear again to identify what could or should be changed before I hit the trail. I also assembled the food I will need to get me from Springer Mountain to my first resupply point.
The numbers are as follows( ' = lb, " = oz):
Base weight = 14' 5"
- dry clothes = 1'12"
(Icebreaker wool long sleeve shirt - 8", Icebreaker wool long underwear- 6.5", shorts - 4", socks- 2", toque - 1", gloves - 3", arm warmers- 2", briefs- 1.5")
- fleece = 15"
- Marmot Hydrogen down sleeping bag with stuff sack = 1'8"
- Montbell bivy sac to cover sleeping bag in hostels and shelters = 7.5"
- Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 tent, fast pitch = 1'6" (only footprint, fly, poles and 4 stakes)
- Rain gear = 12.5" (Frog Togs coat=6", Montbell pants = 6.5", 2 plastic bags for hands/feet)
- NeoAir air mattress = 9.5"
- Ditty bag = 30.5" (TP/soap/sanitizer-5.5", trail guide-3.5", water treatment=3", first aid=4.5", novel & notepad-10.5", rope - 1", towel= 2")
- Cooking kit = 13" (windscreen-1", titanium pot and lid-4.5", titanium stove - 0.5", Esbit fuel tabs(6)-3.5", lighters/soap-3.5")
- Clean up kit = 7.5" (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, antifungal, nail clippers, spoon)
- Camera, Pentax W90 with 2 spare batteries and Gorillapod tripod = 9"
Carry weight = 22' 3"
- base weight plus 4' of water and 3'14" of food.
As a final note, my weight before starting this excursion is 162 lbs.
When discussing weight there are two different measures used.
Base weight is the weight of the pack plus all the gear inside or attached, not including food and water. Please note that the base weight should go down by 8-12 oz when summer arrives, though I suspect I'll just end up carrying more food by then.
Carry weight is the base weight plus food for 3 days and 2 liters of water. I should mention that not everyone carries 2 liters of water with them but I like the security of knowing that I can easily walk the whole day without needing to find a water source.
Today I went through all of my gear again to identify what could or should be changed before I hit the trail. I also assembled the food I will need to get me from Springer Mountain to my first resupply point.
The numbers are as follows( ' = lb, " = oz):
Base weight = 14' 5"
- dry clothes = 1'12"
(Icebreaker wool long sleeve shirt - 8", Icebreaker wool long underwear- 6.5", shorts - 4", socks- 2", toque - 1", gloves - 3", arm warmers- 2", briefs- 1.5")
- fleece = 15"
- Marmot Hydrogen down sleeping bag with stuff sack = 1'8"
- Montbell bivy sac to cover sleeping bag in hostels and shelters = 7.5"
- Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 tent, fast pitch = 1'6" (only footprint, fly, poles and 4 stakes)
- Rain gear = 12.5" (Frog Togs coat=6", Montbell pants = 6.5", 2 plastic bags for hands/feet)
- NeoAir air mattress = 9.5"
- Ditty bag = 30.5" (TP/soap/sanitizer-5.5", trail guide-3.5", water treatment=3", first aid=4.5", novel & notepad-10.5", rope - 1", towel= 2")
- Cooking kit = 13" (windscreen-1", titanium pot and lid-4.5", titanium stove - 0.5", Esbit fuel tabs(6)-3.5", lighters/soap-3.5")
- Clean up kit = 7.5" (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, antifungal, nail clippers, spoon)
- Camera, Pentax W90 with 2 spare batteries and Gorillapod tripod = 9"
Carry weight = 22' 3"
- base weight plus 4' of water and 3'14" of food.
As a final note, my weight before starting this excursion is 162 lbs.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
An Ode to Snowmen
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