Wednesday notes: Heading to the ATC, "A Walk in the Woods" etc.

I'm a member at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, so I'm off to Harper's Ferry this morning to get the maps for Georgia through southwest Virginia at a discount. I'm also going to ask the assistant on duty what weather I can expect in Georgia.

I've got my Irish drinking songs playlist ready on my iPod - The Pogues, Flogging Molly, The Clancy Brothers, The Young Dubliners and Dropkick Murphys- for March 17. It's something to look forward to. And fyi, Irish/Scottish stuff makes for great music to hike by.

Right now my hiking gear is a messy pile in my bedroom. I've settled on hiking in my old, hopelessly soiled Cap 1 baselayer rather than buy new, because the local outfitter didn't have my size during their huge sale last week. I also dug up a forgotten, barely worn pair of soccer shorts while emptying my dresser which I'll adopt as my primary hiking shorts. As far as other stuff I still need, I got an 18L bear bag, Sea to Summit, with 50ft of nylon cord at Cabela's Monday. All bright orange.

I've also started a lively forum discussion about ranking the extant AT memoirs over at Whiteblaze. Check it out if you're really into reading about the trail and you're exasperated when you browse Barnes and Noble for new stuff and find only the trusty old "A Walk in the Woods."

Which I recently read the first few bits of again. I skipped all the stuff about trail history, geology and the US Forest Service [Bill Bryson hates the USSF] and read just the trail narrative.

Here's a key passage set in Gatlinburg, Tenn. after Bryson and his buddy, Katz, come out of a blizzard in the Smokies:

Katz needed bootlaces, so we went to an outfitter's, and while he was off in the footwear section had an idle shuffle around. Pinned to a wall was a map showing the whole of the Appalachian Trail on its long march through fourteen states, but with the eastern seaboard rotated to give the AT the appearance of having a due north-south orientation, allowing the mapmaker to fit the trail into an orderly rectangle, about six inches wide and four feet high. I looked at it with a polite, almost proprietorial interest - it was the first time since leaving New Hampshire that I considered the trail in its entirety - and then inclined closer, with bigger eyes and slightly parted lips. Of the four feet of trail map before me, reaching approximately from my knees to the top of my head, we had done the bottom two inches.
I went and got Katz...One thing was obvious. We were never going to walk to Maine."

The first time I read that I was like, 'Shit. Really?' and felt deprived of an adventure, since I was reading it with an eye towards hiking WV->ME. Gatlinburg is just about 200 miles into the 2,179-mile hike, mind you. What "A Walk" lacks in that aspect, Bryson more than makes up for it in the breadth of his research and in his laugh-out-loud style.

But it's not the only book on the AT out there. I'll try to post a top five list here once the Whiteblaze discussion wraps up.

Anyway, have a happy Wednesday! Signing off.

Update for Sunday, Feb. 21 continued

Thought I might as well list the items I got at Giant tonight, re: first Ga. resupply. It's a good snapshot of what trail food is.

Breakfast

• Powdered milk, enough to make 8 quarts, 80 calories per prepared cup. I'll separate these into baggies and mail the extra ahead to Neel's Gap.
• Post Just Bunches cinnamon granola/cereal, 17 ounces, 2,000 calories in the box. Can eat with the milk as cereal or dry as granola.

Breakfast/midday

• Pop-tarts, 15 ounces. Frosted Wild Berry, 210 calories per poptart. A personal favorite since 1985.
• Nature Valley chewy trail mix bars, 6.7 ounces, 120 calories per bar. 

Lunch/midday

• Enchilada-size tortillas, 8 count, 16 ounces, 160 calories per tortilla. Beats bread and bagels because it doesn't mold up or crush.
• Nutella, 13 ounces, 2,000 calories in the jar. 
• Smuckers squeeze grape jelly, 20 ounces, 1,400 calories in the tube.
• Clif bars, 3 count, 2.4 ounces/bar, 250 calories per bar.
• Dried fruit [pineapple, papaya and mango], 6 ounces, 560 calories in the bag.
• Pepperoni stick, 3 ounces, calories ?.

Dinner

• Ramen noodles, 6 count, 18 ounces total, 380 calories per brick. I eat two bricks for dinner.
• Knorr sides, 2 count, 9.7 ounces total, 680 calories in one and 500 in the other.
• Tuna pouch, 4.5 ounces, 175 calories.
• Salmon pouch, 5 ounces, 120 calories
• Cans of deviled ham and chicken spread, 2 count, 4. 25 ounces each, 260 calories [chicken], 360 calories [ham].
• Block of cheese, 8 ounces, 880 calories. Cabot Horseradish, another personal favorite.

Altogether around $40. I'll be packing 158 ounces of food, or about 10 pounds. That's five days' worth, more than usual, for sure, but I've carried more before.

Update for Sunday, Feb.21

My initial resupply for Amicalola Falls SP visitors center to Neel's
Gap, roughly 5 days.
Also my first post from my new Droid.

Georgia on my mind

...and leaving on a night train to Georgia and all that. It's an inspiring state. For me, however, going to Georgia in 17 days will be my first trip to the Deep South since a week on Edisto Beach, SC in 2005, and my first time going to Georgia that didn't involve driving through or laying over at ATL.

I've got some loose ends to tie up at home and a few last gear essentials to get before packing for the hike. And then it's Week 1 on the trail: One foot in front of the other, just like last June, and getting reoriented.

My first decision as a hiker upon reaching Georgia will be whether to hike or not to hike the Approach Trail.

Nobody I met WV->ME '09 made an urgent case for doing so. It's not like anyone's more impressive for hiking 2,187.9 miles instead of 2,179.1 miles. But I will have the time, since I'm starting fairly early in the season, and I think it'll be good practice for me.

The first white blazes marking the Appalachian Trail appear on Springer Mountain. Like Mt. Katahdin in Maine, the peak lies within a state park with no direct road service to the top. At minimum it's a one-mile hike from a forest road to the peak.

The Approach Trail starts 8.8 miles south of Springer at the visitors center of Amicalola Falls State Park. By the time the trail reaches the peak of Springer [elevation 3,782 feet], it has crossed four roads, passed two shelters and climbed 2,000 feet in elevation.

By contrast, my first day in Maryland took me from 263 feet, over the Potomac River, to a high point of 1,600 feet, over 16 miles of hiking.

Georgia has 176 miles of AT plus the Approach.

The Appalachian Trail in Georgia means 5 things: 1. Chattahoochee, 2. Mountains, 3. Black Bears, 4. Newbies and 5. maybe snow?

1. Chattahoochee. A 74-year-old national forest in northern Georgia.
2. Mountains. The trail in the south hits its first 4,000-footer, ominously-named Blood Mountain, 28 miles after Mile 0 and goes on to tap four more 4,000-footers: Blue Mountain, Rocky Mountain, Tray Mountain Kelly Knob. By contrast, my first 4,000-footer on the northern half of the trail was Moosilauke - two months into my hike! The hiking in Georgia is less of a roller coaster than New Hampshire. The lowest the trail gets after Springer is 2,500 feet.
3. Black Bears. Companion: "With the loss of habitat from development in the mountains, black bears are roaming farther in search of food. To combat this problem, the GATC and the USFS are placing bear cables for hanging food at the shelters most affected." Normal black bear rules apply: Make noise so they hear you coming and get out of the way, no eye contact and back off if you surprise them and stand tall if they charge.
4. Newbies. Last year the received wisdom that the Recession would send a tumult of hikers onto the trail proved unfounded: It was just like any other year, according to a conversation I had at the ATC in Harper's. That means roughly 1,200 hikers starting the trail in the spring. The peak is March 15 or so. I met hikers in the northern half who started anywhere from March 2 to May. Last June I started hiking and met seasoned hikers who had internalized the thru-hiker culture, etiquette, and ethics. The also-rans had already also-ran and left the trail. This time? Not so. Should be interesting. Stories I heard over the summer lead me to believe so.
5. maybe Snow? Pictures and stories from the Class of '09 show knee-deep snow in places in the south. A lot of winter camping, sitting around shelters in boggons and bubble coats, with early sunsets and campfires sounds like an acceptable change of pace.

You know what? It seems like the thru-hiking memoirs I've read read at their most vivid in the Georgia chapters ["A Walk in the Woods," "On the Beaten Path"]. I should go back and read those chapters in addition to the  trail journals online.

Guten Freitag!

Gear data v1.0

[Those bored to death by geartalk, skip this post!]

Taking a cue from McBride's post on Whiteblaze, I thought I would write up the list of gear I took along on my WV->ME '09 hike and juxtapose it with things I'm carrying on my GA->WV '10 hike.

Which starts in three weeks, by the way.

So here goes:

Pack

• Gregory Baltoro 70. Comfortable, user friendly pack. BUT: It leaned to the side on my back, had too much room, and then the mainstay broke away from the pack in New Hampshire. I finished the trail [Gorham, NH to Katahdin] with a loaner Gregory Palisade 80. After the hike I returned the Baltoro to REI and swapped it for the pack that I'll be using this spring, the Osprey Atmos 65. The Atmos 65 seemed to be the pack of choice among thru-hikers.
  
• No pack cover, used my shell jacket as a cover after I realized my pack was water permeable and then bought a L Osprey pack cover in Port Clinton. Not having a pack cover is not an option.

Shelter

• Wal-Mart tarp. I didn't feel comfortable sleeping in it during a buggy buggy summer [or in rain], so I hiker-boxed it in Port Clinton and bought a proper tent, the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2, along with the footprint. Big Agnes vied with MSR as the tent brand of choice on the trail, and I saw many Seedhouses. The outfitter in Port Clinton arranged for the tent to be waiting for me in Delaware Water Gap. The tent arrived just in time: Before the mosquito alley that is New Jersey through Massachusetts. The tent is bulky and still a bit heavy [around 3 pounds] but the independence of being able to sleep wherever you can clear a 5'x10' space and escape snorers, bugs etc. makes having the tent more than worth it.

Sleeping

• Kelty Light Year +20, three-season down bag with 650 fill goose down., 2 lbs. 6 ounces. Waay too hot in the summer - I used it as a mattress during June/July - but comfortable enough later in the trip. The down is spread a bit thin in places.
• Sleeping bag liner. I picked up a Sea to Summit silk sleeping bag liner at Cabela's in Hamburg and it was a lifesaver in coping with the summer heat. I would sleep in this on top of my sleeping bag on top of my sleeping pad.
• Thermarest Ridge Rest sleeping pad, size R-Men's. I found this comfortable enough from the get-go. It's very light, indestructible and fits well in the loops at the bottom of any pack.

Kitchen

• Set of aluminum camp pans from unknown brand [gift]. Having more than one pan proved redundant since, in the woods, people eat out of whatever pots they cook with; sent all but one home. The remaining one's handle broke down in Vermont. I replaced it with a GSI Pinnacle Soloist pot in Manchester Center, VT. The new pot made me feel much better, more professional maybe, about cooking in the woods.
• Plastic camp cup. Got rid of it when I switched to the GSI pot, which came with its own cup/bowl that included a layer of insulation.
• Spork. Broke on some peanut butter in Maine. Replaced it with a metal spoon that Pine Ellis gave to me. I'll be getting a new Spork.
• Stove. I used the Primus Classic Trail Stove the whole trip. It's not the fastest-cooking stove out there but it was stable and failproof. Eight ounces and pocket-sized.
• Fuel. By the end of the trail I was using big 8 ounce canisters of butane+propane and replacing them before they ran completely out. The 4 ounce canisters, because the canisters serve as the base for the stove and pot, make the setup too unstable, and they run out too abruptly.
• I packed a bandana or a tiny pack towel to wipe the pot after each use. I used a slip of newspaper to line the bottom of the teflon pot for when I packed the canister in there with the bowl.
• Lighter. I replaced this once I think.
  

Tech

• Garmin eTrex Legend HCx handheld GPS device. I found myself spending too much time stopping on the trail to study the map on this. Although it helped in gauging the distance/time/ETA to the next destination point, it proved redundant because of the Thru-Hiker Companion's level of detail. After a while, I learned to gauge my time and distance quite accurately just from timing myself over and over again. I also frankly felt uncomfortable with an expensive gadget in my pack. I sent it home in Pennsylvania or earlier.
• Wristwatch. I started with one from Target, not sure which brand. A spring shot out of the band somewhere around Massachusetts and after that the watch dangled awkwardly. But having a watch that told me what day and date it was, had an alarm and an indiglo night light was crucial. I picked up a slightly better watch, a Timex Expedition, from Target for this spring.
• Phone. Started with a three-year-old Samsung basic phone+camera. It got rain-damaged in Vermont and never worked again. Lost contacts, pictures, etc. Ashley sent her old phone, which happened to be the exact same model, to me in New Hampshire. Unfortunately the battery was much weaker and I generally had to hike with the phone off and keep calls quite short. This past weekend I bought an HTC Eris Droid smartphone, with 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, 8GB of memory for music etc., and I just ordered a battery that more than doubles its battery life to go with it. I'm stoked about hiking with this thing. Verizon seems to be the way to go with service on the trail.
• Tunes. I started with none and regretted it all the time. I bought a Sony Walkman radio with a belt clip in Bennington Vermont. Having it was very good, although I listened to more than a fair amount of Glenn Beck, country music, Taylor Swift and ESPN football talk because that's all there was in some spots. Also, I ran through several sets of earbuds because they kept falling out. I'll be using some Sony active style earbuds with loop hangers this time. I'll also have music on my phone, and I'm debating whether to also bring my 8GB iPod Nano.
• Camera. I started with the Canon Powershot digital Elph, 7.1 Megapixels. It held the 2,000 or so shots I took on the trip. After rain damage in Vermont, however, it never regained its ability to take auto-focus pictures, flash or show a display on its viewing screen - it was all manual, no flash photography. This spring I'm taking my new camera [Christmas gift], a Canon Powershot SD1200 IS Digitatl Elph 10 Megapixels. It has an 8 GB memory card that holds 4,000 photos or 1 hour of video. So that's a big upgrade. I'll be protecting it with plastic bags better this time.
• Chargers. I pulled my camera and phone chargers out of my bounce box in Boiling Springs and kept them with me the rest of the trip. Having chargers on hand is a MUST.
• USB. Ditto camera charger.
• Flashlight. I started with a $1 Wal-Mart flashlight, thinking I could skimp on light, but found out quickly why thru-hikers buy headlamps - night hiking and using both hands while cooking or reading at night. I bought a Black Diamond Gizmo in Boiling Springs, Pa. and used it daily after that.
• Batteries. I'll be keeping probably 5 or 6 spare AAA or AA batteries as backups for my radio and headlamp.
  

Clothing

• Pants. I started with two pairs, REI Sahara convertibles and NorthFace convertibles. I immediately sent home the REI pants and subsequently returned them for cash. The NorthFace pants I used as camp/town pants and only hiked in them during storms because, due to a lack of roominess in the seat, they caused chafing more often than not. I have given them away and now I'm looking for a new pair of pants for the trip. I'm looking more for weather resistance than convertibility this time.
• Shirts. Started with three synthetic shirts: North Face T, T from Sports Authority and a long-sleeved New Balance shirt. Immediately sent home the New Balance shirt and alternated between the other two before soon sending home the North Face shirt. My parents mailed me a long-sleeve wicking baselayer from Rocky which I alternated with the other shirt until I lost the Rocky. Bought a Patagonia Capilene 1 longsleeve baselayer in Manchester Center and used only that from then on. I'm looking for a new Cap 1 longsleeve baselayer now.
• Midlayer. I used a Patagonia fleece [discontinued model, got it on discount] the whole trip and will use it again. It was my second skin at camp and in town and very often my pillow.
• Midlalyer 2. I had my Capilene 3 top and tights sent to me in Maine. They make for very warm sleeping and were good around cold shelters. I'll be starting with them in March.
• Shell. Marmot Mica jacket. I didn't need it very often, but when I did it was a lifesaver [see Baldpate, Tropical Storm Danny]. Seven ounces of pure wind and waterproof armor.
• Shorts. I started with one pair of Kappa soccer shorts, thinking I'd be in my pants more often. I soon started wearing the shorts daily. Almost all thru-hikers use soccer shorts; some use kilts/skirts. The Kappa shorts wore completely out and I got a new pair of Adidas shorts by mail as a gift, which I finished the trail in but which are now worn out. I'm now looking for a new pair of soccer shorts for the trail.
• Socks. I started with four pairs of wool hiking socks and immediately sent home one pair. I generally hiked with three pairs, but dropped down to two pairs by New Hampshire. I went through three pairs, I think. My favorite socks were my Smartwools and my REI hiking socks. The huge, puffy Rocky socks felt good at the end of the trail. This time I'll go with three: One puffy pair, one Smartwool and one low-cut REI pair.
• Sockliners. I started with two pairs and used them daily with little exception for the entire trip, with nary a blister after Maryland. I'll be taking two pairs with me this spring.
• Underwear. I started with three pairs and sent one home. I used two pairs of Under Armour Heatgear synthetic boxers and they were perfect. For much of the trail I also packed a pair of cotton boxers for something to wear in towns and hostels while my laundry was on. I'm probably going to go with the 2X synthetic 1X cotton this spring.
• Winter gear. I got a cheap Carhardt boggon in Maine and wore it sometimes in the 100 Mile Wilderness. I'm debating whether to take it and gloves to Georgia, or whether I should get a light fleece boggon from Mountain Hardware or REI.
  

Footwear

• I started with a 2-and-a-half-year-old pair of Vasque Breeze boots, size 8.5. These proved too small. The Gore-Tex was good in walking through puddles, though, and they had good traction. I replaced them with Solomon XT Hawk trailrunners, size 9.5, in Manchester Center, Vermont. I'll be starting with the Solomons in Georgia while keeping a pair of New Balance running shoes at the ready should the Solomons wear out.
• Camp shoes. I started with none and immediately regretted it. I pulled my sandals out of my bounce box and kept them with me for the rest of the trip. My sandals were also my footwear of choice in towns and at hostels. They're completely worn out, however, so I'll have to replace them before Georgia.
• Gaiters. I bought a pair of Outdoor Research ankle gaiters when I bought my trailrunners. I used them daily until the 100-Mile Wilderness, where the trail was dry and not-so rocky. They were a bit frustrating because the strap kept loosening and making the gaiters hitch up past the top of the shoe. Definitely bringing them with me.

Trekking poles

• Leki Makulu Summit. These suspension poles made a lot of clanging noise. They also took a great deal of abuse and stopped sliding midway through the trail. After a 30-minute repair session at the Frederick outfitter, the Trail House, these poles will be making the trip to Georgia.
  

Bear bag

• I used an 8L Sea to Summit bag as my main food bag. It was too small. I'm going to get a 15-20L bag this time. Truth be told, I very rarely hung a bear bag on the northern half of the trail. The bears are more unafraid down south, though.
• Cord. I used some nylon cord from Wal-Mart. I cut it up to use it as a laundry line and bear bag at the same time in Massachusetts. I'm going to get a new 60ft line.

Water

• MSR Hyperflow Microfilter. The best filter ever. Until Massachusetts. After that, it was the worst gear purchase I made. It never again worked as advertised and the company seemed unable to fix the problem. Hiker forums and product review comments are filled with complaints on this Backpacker 2009 gear of the year award-winning product. After returning from the trail I took it back to REI and got cash back.
• Aquamira. Holmes gave me an Aqua Mira set in Maine and I really liked it. I'll be using just Aquamira to start off with in Georgia. The difference between it and a filter is that you have to wait 30 mins while Aquamira treats the water before drinking it.
• Bucket. This is a priority purchase for me before starting the trail in Georgia after spending too much time making multiple trips to the water source at camps. Having a foldable, synthetic bucket means that, when you get to camp, you go to the water source only once, quickly fill it and hang it somewhere. You have water for cooking, cleaning, teethbrushing and drinking until the next day. I'm getting a 10L Sea to Summit bucket.
• Bottles. I started with two Nalgenes, 2L each, that I had dangling from caribiners from my pack. They either broke or were too heavy. I'm taking two used Powerade bottles [20 ounces each] this time.
• Bladder. I started with none and got exasperated with having to de-pack everytime I needed a drink on the trail. I bought a Deuter 2L bladder in Port Clinton and used it daily for the rest of the trip. It was a bit difficult to refill while on the trail, since I had to take a bunch of stuff out of my pack to get to it. I resolved that issue by also carrying empty Gatorade bottles and just filling those after my bladder water ran out.

Pages

• Books. I carried the 2009 ALDHA Thru-Hiker's Companion, ripping out whichever pages I didn't need. I also ripped up a novel with the intention of having subsequent chapters mailed or bounced ahead to me but never read beyond the chapters I started with. Along the way I picked up some paperbacks at hostels; some were better than others [I read Jack London's "The Sea Wolf" but not the half of an airplane novel I split with Col. Mustard after Glencliff, NH]. This time I'll be starting the trail with two thin paperbacks: Hemingway short stories and T.S. Eliot. I'm debating whether to rip up my 2010 ALDHA Thru-Hiker's Companion or not. Probably not.
• Magazines. I started having New Yorker issues sent to me. I fondly remember becoming entirely engrossed in Ian Frazier's travelogue, Travels in Siberia, and not leaving a shelter until after noon. No plans for magazines this time.
• Games. I carried some Sudoku puzzles after Connecticut, which I ripped out of a book I bought. I lacked the attention span to finish many puzzles. Maybe not even one. I won't be starting with any games.
• Journals. I started with and completed a composition notebook, sent it home, and picked up a thicker, book-like journal. I'll be starting with this journal because there's still room left as well as two really thin Moleskin journals to follow.
• Maps. Started with none. Used some hiker box maps in Vermont, I think it was, and loved them. In Maine I picked up the complete map set and really enjoyed having the day's elevation profile at a glance, as well as seeing the locations of water sources relative to shelters, etc. I'll be using maps at least through the Smokies, but I haven't got them yet.

Toiletries

• Toothbrush. I didn't saw the handle off as the ultralight hikers do. I'm packing a little plastic cap to enclose the bristles.
• Floss. A little waxed floss dispenser is crucial.
• TP. A full roll at a time, without the cardboard roll in the center, packed in plastic in easy reach suffices. It's best to err on the side of having too much - it's no fun asking other people for spare or resorting to leaves.
• Hand sanitizer. A small, 2-ounce bottle makes for healthy living.
• Razor. Originally, I had my Gillette Mach 3 Turbo razor in a bounce box, but I soon kept the razor with me for trimming purposes. It's great to have a beard but uncouth to let it roam your face as it will.
• Emory board, clippers. I pulled these out of the bounce box, too, because it's good to be able to groom spontaneously.
• Dr. Bronner's. This stuff was awesome when it was possible to take stream baths in the summer. When that ended, the utility of Dr. Bronner's did, too. So hiker box.
• Anti-chafing. I cycled through zinc powder, zinc ointment, Gold Bond, Easy Glide and Vaseline [I couldn't settle on one solution and sent stuff home]. I'll probably go with just Vaseline this time, in tube form.
• Sunscreen. Unnecessary. Abandoned on Day 2.
  

Miscellaneous

• Wallet. Kept in my pack.
• Knife. Simple Buck pocket knife. Used sparingly, typically to cut cheese or pepperoni.
  

I'll be back later with a weights estimate and a simplified gear list for Springer, without all the explanations, and maybe something to break up the text on this post. In the meantime, I'm going to be visiting a university that I've applied to. And then the same thing tomorrow. Busy times!

Countdown: 26 days to GA->WV '10

I've already booked a bunk for the first hostel on the NoBo AT: Hiker Hostel, near Dahlonega, Georgia.

For $70 you get the thru-hiker special: Shuttle from the airport/train or bus station in Atlanta, stay overnight, breakfast and a shuttle to the beginning of the AT.

Look soon for a "What's ahead in Georgia"-type post.

AT '09 wrap-ups, new blog look

I like me a good blizzard. Maryland is getting so much snow so fast that even the plow trucks are grounded. My car is parked in a downtown parking garage [made free by the city] for the rest of the week maybe. I hope to get out just to get out and be in the shit later. Before that, though, I'm updating the look of this blog.

You'll notice a new gadget on the side of the blog that groups posts by category, mostly by state.

I've also tweaked my profile.

I'm taking down the "Other hikers I knows' blogs" from hikers I met on my WV -> ME '09 hike in order to clear up room for the new class. Soon I'll put up blogs that make sense to link to here.

I'm going to give you excerpts from the last entries on these '09 blogs, which should inspire anyone who has adventure on his or her mind. They certainly inspire me.

Enjoy:

-Chance, on summitting Katahdin in the dark, early Sept.:

We finally reached the top around 5:45 am just a few minutes before the sun came up over the horizon. It was one of the most beautiful sunrises i've ever seen. I can't believe the amazing weather that we've had the past few days. The sky was perfectly clear for our summit and we could see for miles. Rocket, Union Break, and Daddy Longs Legs were all at the top with me. It was such an amazing feeling. I think that in days to come i will be sad that the trail is over, but at the summit i was just exstatic and filled with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Five and a half months of walking and i've finally reached my goal. There was only a time or two i thought i might not make it, but Katahdin was always so far away that it wasn't even something to think about. Here it is now and I just climbed it.

-Katchup, on coming home after finishing the trail:

On Thursday my mom planned a day of pampering for the both of us. After breakfast we headed down to the spa for manicures and pedicures. I laughed when she told me because I was immediately reminded of a conversation myself and the divas had somewhere in New York about getting a pedicure by a small Vietnamese women. "No help for you" we joked about our calloused, dirty feet. Yet there I was soaking my feet in some kind of mineral bath, relaxing in a massage chair as this little Vietnamese woman worked her wonders. The callouses are still there, but my toes are clean and pretty :)

After our manicures and pedicures we headed off to do the next obvious pampering event; getting ourselves stabbed a million times with a needle. Yep that's right, my mom and I went and got tattoos together. Never in a million years would I have thought that this is what I would be doing when returning home from the trail. And not only was I getting a tattoo with my mom but she helped me design mine. I would have thought that it was all a dream but the million needle stabs in my arm were way to realistic.

-Zipper, reflecting on her flipflop hike after completion:

December 19, 2009
I’ve been home for a month – so now I have a little bit of perspective on this fantastic experience. So what are the big take aways? People have asked me how this experience has changed me, and that’s a really good question. It’s so strange how I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz – did this crazy journey actually happen now that I’m back in my own bed in Kansas – or New Orleans? It’s good to be home and I’m happy in my familiar world – so what’s changed?

...I have a lot more faith that things will work out. Or that I can handle what happens. Granted, I think I had an easy relatively uneventful hike in terms of things that were scary. I never thought I was going to die. That first day in Maine was pretty scary for a couple of hours, but I never went for a long period of time being frightened or physically deprived. I was healthy and safe, for the most part. But that’s true for many of us most of the time and we still can be pretty good at worrying. I come from a long line of worriers, and I did worry plenty on the trail, but I also kept going and didn’t let worries stop me. So hopefully I’ve reinforced something I already knew – as Mark Twain said, most of the worst things in my life never actually happened. And whatever does happen, even if it’s difficult or scary, we deal with it one step at a time.

-Early Bear has launched an impressive new photography Web site. Yours truly makes two appearances, including one from the first really really hard day on the trail.

Happy trails!

Photo dump: Some end-of-trail life for February

Here are some shots from the end of my WV->ME '09 hike to peruse while you're cabined up this fine February monstersnow.














[Getting into the ride to the 100-Mile Wilderness, outside the Lake Shore House in Monson, ME, Sept. 14. Blog post here. Photo by Early Bear.]


















[The arm shows the results of falling off the bog log in the 100-Mile Wilderness on my way to the Nahmakanta Stream campsite, Sept. 18. Blog post on that here. Photo by Holmes.]














[Day 103 on the trail: Hiker Christmas morning at The Birches, Sept. 21, 2009. Early Bear, Wis-Pee, me, Holmes. Blog post here. Photo by Lil Dipper.]

Check back often!

Dayhike: Windsor Furnace to Port Clinton, Pa.

To kick off the 5.5-week countdown to the point where I begin the southern half of the Appalachian Trail, I planned to do an overnight hike from Windsor Furnace to Pa. Rte. 309, in central Pennsylvania, this past weekend.

Then a blast of Arctic pain arrived. The forecast for the overnight temperature for Saturday, Jan. 30 called for 15 degrees F but feeling something like 5 degrees. My sleeping bag is rated at 20 degrees: No go. I know what it feels like to shiver in a shelter so violently that sleep becomes impossible, and I didn't fancy such a night in Eckville shelter, where I planned to stay.

I also wanted to be cautious because, this time, I was planning a hike for two.

My gf, Ashley, and I turned the overnight hike into a day hike. Instead of hiking 15 miles north from the Hamburg reservoir/Windsor Furnace, we would hike 6.5 miles south, to Port Clinton.














[Ashley! Heading south to Port Clinton on the AT.]

Readers of this blog will know Ashley from when I hit Palmerton, Pa. in late June, and then Rutland, Vermont in late July :) You'll probably be seeing more of her here, btw, because we're serious now.

So we'd avoid the 15 degree death chill by not spending the night outside. But we still needed to bundle up in warm-warms in the face of a 20-degrees-and-overcast, January day.














[Me, sign marking the AT near Windsor Furnace, 965.7 miles from Mt. Katahdin, Jan. 30, 2010. Rocking the camo pants.]

We started at about 1 p.m. I anticipated the hike taking 3 hours, with a glorious entrance to Port Clinton - a town I have fond memories of from the summer - ahead of the early sunset and with a hot sandwich and a huge, "small" fries and cold lagers waiting for us at the Port Clinton Hotel. Here is my post on my previous Port Clinton experience.

It was a tad surreal setting foot on the trail again, headed in the wrong direction, with no leaves on the trees.

Winter gripped even the water sources in his frosty hands:














The hiking went swimmingly easy. The ups were brief. The ridge blocked the wind from the west for most of the trail. All in all, it was a refreshing day.

The hotel was as hiker-friendly as I remember it. Afterwards we made a requisite stop at the Port Clinton Peanut Shop, one of the very few candy-specific stores along the trail.














[Ashley, caught a millisecond after ordering, Port Clinton Peanut Shop.]

Stay tuned...