Leaving Minnesota – Let the adventure begin!!
I left Minnesota on March 29th with Jeff, my good friend and next door neighbor, heading for Atlanta. After spending the night near the airport, Jeff and I boarded MARTD (Atlanta's rail system) and headed to North Springs, where we were to meet Wes Wesson, who was to provide transportation to Springer Mtn. (Wes is the same guy that provided transportation for Bill Bryson to Springer Mtn. After missing a transfer point and having to backtrack, we ended up where we were suppose to be about 1 hour late. Wes, always the patient gentleman, was waiting. A quick side trip to Home Depot for fuel for Jeff revealed 4 of 5 lug nuts were missing from Wes's left rear wheel. Not to be concerned, Wes called his son and off to Springer we go.
The weather was cold, with high winds and sleet/snow when Wes dropped us off in the middle of no where and your about 3 miles from Springer, have fun! BACK
Hit by Reality
Our sense of adventure provided an adrenaline rush and off we go bouncing UP the hill. Within a quarter of mile, Jeff's pack had broken, my back was hurting, the wind was blowing and I couldn't see for the snow. This was my first clue that this was not going to be the hike I had dreamed about for years. We made it to Springer Mtn, took a few pictures and headed for Maine. (Well at least to Neals Gap for Jeff) Right away we started to meet interesting people. Let's see, there was Spot, Choo choo, Smiles, A guy from Taiwan without a trail name. Jeff got named "cheap suit" because of his blue blazer, yellow shirt, and yellow tie. I thought he was the best dress hiker on the trail. Other folks didn't have as discriminating taste, I guess. We didn't get as far as planned and the light was disappearing, so we got off the trail and into the woods where we set up camp. BACK
Plans Disrupted
The next day I started to feel poorly and couldn't eat much. The start of stomach virus. Over the next 4 days I lost over 17 pounds and all my strength. Jeff was great help getting me to Neals Gap and I decided I needed to go home and recover. There are tons more to say about the trip from Springer to Neals Gap. Jeff's constant good humor, his stamina, his encouragement, his friendship will be what I will remember the most. BACK
Determination
After a month at home, I was climbing the walls and driving my wife mad with my pacing. I had to get back on the trail. I left MN on May 4 and once again flew to Atlanta. But this time I was a seasoned traveler and had MARTD figured out. I took MARTD to the bus station and got a ticket to Gainsville. Who needed Wes Wesson! At Gainesville, I had a cab take me to a motel where I spent the night. The next morning the cab was suppose to pick me up and take me to Neal's Gap for $70. He even gave me his cell phone number. Next morning no cab. When I called him, he said he was running late and would pick me up around noon. I gave in and called Wes and he said he would be glad to take me to Neal's Gap for $25. Lesson learned is that you can't get from Atlanta to Springer Mtn. without going through Wes and its cheaper anyway. BACK
I left Neal's Gap concerned because of my earlier experience, however, the first day went fine, hung my hammock late in day and crawled in for a good nights rest. About 10pm it started to rain. That's when I found out I hadn't tightened down the rain fly and by 2am I was wet, my sleeping bag was wet and I decided I better adjust the rain fly. After not sleeping much, I got up at 5am, ate a cold breakfast and headed to the nearest shelter, 5 miles away. The rain came down in buckets and I got wetter. Pulled into Low gap shelter around noon and tried to get dry. Spent the night with 8 other wet hikers. (It's what I've learned to call sleep.) Next morning I headed for Blue Mtn Shelter. As soon as I step out it started to pour and it rained all day until I arrived at Blue Mtn. That night the wind blew and the lighting and thunder was all around. I decided I needed to go into to town and dry out. At Unicoi Gap I got a ride into Helen Ga. rented a room and hung my stuff up to dry. Went to a laundry mat to dry the rest of my stuff. BACK
Life on the trail
When I got back on the trail the next day, it started to rain. Does anyone see a pattern here? Anyway, after a few more days, I reached the GA/NC border. Was I happy, then I looked at the AT map and realized I had covered only one inch of 100 inches! Oh well, I was moving. After a few more days, walking through the Natalhalla forest, I reached the Standing Indian camp grounds. In serious need of a shower, I stopped by the hosts camp and met two of the most amazing people, Harry and Morgan. I paid my $2, Morgan gave me a clean towel, shampoo, and soap and Harry told me to leave my pack in his care and when I got done he'd get me a cup of coffee. After a long hot shower I went back to Harry and Morgan's camp and Harry got me a cup of coffee, however Morgan insisted on feeding me. I guess I looked hungry, because Morgan wouldn't stop bringing food. I had a wonderful conversation with both of them. Found out the Harry was in the Illinois High School wrestling hall of fame as a coach and the he became a world champion wind surfer after retiring from coaching and moving to Florida. Morgan was equally amazing, having been born and raised in Alaska in a village of less than 100 people. We talked for over an hour.
By the way, did I
mentioned that I walked through the Nantahalla National Forest? Imagine my
surprise, when I got to town a few days later and found out they had captured
Rudolph near the area that I was hiking. Do you think I scared him out of
hiding? After all, the Feds were looking for him for five years and couldn't
find him and within a week of my travels in his hiding area he is captured. A
coincidence, I don't think so.
I digress. Franklin, NC was my next
mail/food drop. Harry told me he needed to go to Franklin and would be glad
to take me to the Post office.
BACK
Wild Life and Folk Music
After picking up my package from Barb, Harry drove me to the motel. I had a very pleasant stay in Franklin, NC. Got to know the outfitters there pretty well and they helped me adjust my pack which had been a pain since leaving Springer. After a couple of days rest in Franklin, back on the trail. First day out, I go 17 miles. Rest must be good. On this leg, late in the afternoon, I'm walking with my head down and come around a corner in the trail and head into a Rhododendrom tunnel when I hear this great commotion directly in front of me. I quickly look up and see the biggest black bear running away from me. I said to myself, I wonder why he is scared of me. BACK
If he only knew how badly my knees were knocking. You all know I can't sing, but I broke into the loudest rendition of a Tanglefoot tune you ever heard. I started banging my walking poles and there was a sense of urgency in my step. That night at the shelter, (Cold Water Spring) which was about a mile from where I saw the bear, a couple of other hikers (Greybeard and Marty) were there and had planned on keeping their food sacks with them in the shelter. I made it clear they were not staying in the shelter with me with their food. We hung a bear line and hoisted our foods sacks off the ground. Conclusion: Use Tanglefoot songs to scare away the black bears. BACK
Friends and Family (not the Sprint PCS phone plan)
My next stop was Wesser, NC. I was to meet my brother-in-law and sister-in-law(Ted and Marsha) at Nantahalla Outdoor center. I spent the night in a hostel with Greybeard, Marty and Moose. More will be said about Moose later. I was thrilled to meet Ted and Marsha and we had a great day driving around. I got a preview of what was coming up. We went to Fontana Dam and took some pictures, then back through Stecoah gap. I had been told that the segment from Wesser to Fontana dam was some of the toughest on the trail. BACK
The Me , The Hike, The Rain (the good, the bad......)
On Monday, I left
Wesser and sure enough, it was tough. The first 7 miles was climbing out of
the Nantalhalla gorge. Of course, it started raining as soon as I left Wesser
and it didn't stop until I reached Fontana Dam. It was a wonderful segment,
but physically demanding. When I got to Fontana Dam, Jeff from the Hike Inn
picked me up. I was wetter than wet with water sloshing out of my shoes. Boy
was I glad to get a roof over my head.
After two nights at
the Hike Inn I'm back on the trail and starting into the Great Smokey Mtn.
The Smokeys was a great hike. 78 miles through some of the roughest terrain
imaginable. I will discuss the Smokeys in my next update as well as my
wonderful break in Knoxville with my wife.
BACK
Walking Across the Dam - Smokeys and the Bandit
Ah yes the Great Smoky Mountains. Home of Clingman's dome, the highest point on the Appalachian Trail. Jeff from the Hike Inn drove me to the east end of Fontana dam where I arrived at 07:15. I crossed the dam and I said, dam this is easy. It is the first piece of flat terrain I had been on since I left Springer Mtn. Of course, I tripped on a seam in the road across the dam. Too much of a good thing I guess. Fontana dam was built in the early 1940's to aid the war effort by providing hydroelectric power. It is 480 feet high, making it the highest dam east of the Mississippi. After looking over the edge with my pack on, I thought it better to observe from the middle of the road. So for the rest of the trip across the dam, I walked down the double yellow lines in the middle of the dam. I know what your thinking, no, there were no cars going either way at 7:15AM. In fact, the road was closed because of the terrorist threat level. Anyway, I get across the dam and start into the Smokey Mtn National Forest. Should be a picture of the sign posted. The climb from the Dam was breath taking. At least it took my breath and my legs away. BACK
My first shelter in the park was over 10 miles and I needed all day to get
there. When I arrived I found a log entry from Moose. (I warned you I would
have more to say about Moose.) His entry was somewhat cryptic in that it ended
with (Moose 1, Mice 0). Understand, the shelters where hikers stay are three
sided buildings made out of logs, block, or stone with a wooden platform on
which to sleep. Hikers, being slobs for the most part, tend to drop food
particles which attract wild animals. The most wild is the mouse which stay
hidden until all hikers are sleeping, then come out and run over the sleeping
bags or exposed body parts. This tends to cause one or more hiker to jerk bolt
upright and issue some form of epitaph. Experienced hikers tend to sleep
through this
incidents. By now, I sleep through every thing. Well, it turns out Moose
bought mouse traps in the last trail town and he now was on a mission to rid
the shelters of these vermins. Later I actually found hikers, (Tree huggers)
that were disturbed by Moose's attempt to remove mice from the shelters. The
last entry I saw was (Moose 18, mice 0) I guess the mice will have to gang up
on him if they are to get a point and make an entry.
BACK
Well, here I am again, back in a library trying to provide an update to my trek. Today, I am in Buena Vista, Virginia. I will be run out of the library in about an hour, but I’ll try to get as much down as I can remember. I must admit, things are starting to get a little blurry. I think it has to do with being so water logged. Anyway, where did I leave off? Oh yeah, I was talking about Moose and Mice and at that time I was in the Great Smokey Mountains. Somewhere in the middle of the Smokey’s, I called home for my daily checking and Barb suggested that she fly to Knoxville and meet me when I got out of the Smokeys. We agreed Barb would pick me up at Davenport Gap, just outside the northern/eastern end of the park. The anticipation of seeing Barb made the hike through the Smokeys’ go by in a hurry. Still met and walked with some interesting people. There was Que-tip, Butter, Troutman, Wolfman, and rodent to name but a few. BACK
The Smokey Mtns were full of wild animals and I was fortunate enough to see Deer, Bear, Wild Boar and an almost tame fox. I spent one night in a shelter with a couple section hiking the park. They liked to hike early so they left the shelter about 7am. I followed shortly after, about 7:20. A mile up the trail, I look down and see their foot prints in the mud. (Yes it rained the night before, but you knew that!) Much to my surprise, right in the middle of their footprints was a pig print. This meant that a pig/boar had been in the trail after them and before me. I found this curious, so I started to pay more attention to the prints. For about 2-3 miles, every so often I see one of the hikers footprints and right in the middle would be a boar’s print. Of course, while on the trail, you have time to imagine all kinds of things and imagined the boar was tracking the humans in front of me. I finally caught up with the couple at lunch time and told them about the boar prints. They didn’t even know there were wild boars in the park. I guess I’ll never know if the boar was tracking people or if it was walking down the path of least resistance. I did meet a Ranger carrying an M-14 with a scope. He claimed that they had killed over 12,000 boar/pigs in the Park since 1990 with the aim of eradicating the non-native species from the park, however, they had not reduced the population. BACK
A story of trail magic: I finally reached Davenport Gap Shelter and was going to share the shelter with Que-tip, Butter, and Wolfman. Wolfman was out of food and he was going to the store the next day. I had an extra freeze dried meal, so I shared it with him. Just after fixing his meal, this couple walks up to the shelter carrying lawn chairs and the newspaper. They introduced themselves and said they were going to surprise “Doc” and “Chef”, two thru hikers that I had met at Standing Indian Shelter a long ways back on the trail. They introduced themselves as Don and Cindi and stated they had dropped Doc and Chef off at Clingmans Dome that morning. All of the thru hikes looked at each other and I told Don that I didn’t think they would see Doc or Chef this day since Clingman’s dome was over 40 miles away. Don said that he had carried up hamburgers, hotdogs and all the fixings and he wasn’t gonna carry them back down the mountain. He wonder if we would like to consume the feast. Before you could say strike the match, the four of us had a fire going and the Burgers and dogs cooking. Don also stated that he had carried up a couple of cordials of burbon and a couple of cans of coke. Since I was old enough to legally drink, I enjoyed a cocktail. First alcohol I had consumed in a long time. Don and Cindi indicated that their son had just gotten out of Iraq and was on his way home. When I asked which service and they said Marine, I said great, I am a retired Marine. Don, Cindi and I had a great conversation until it was almost dark and they had to leave to go back to their car. I slept well that night and was looking forward to tomorrow and Barb’s visit. BACK
As The Walk Continues…
Sorry about being so negligent keeping the website updated. It seems that I am busier during this retirement than when I was working. I'll try to provide more frequent updates going forward. The big news is that I have completed the trail into Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. That is the mythical halfway point of the trail. The mileage from Springer Mtn, GA, to Harpers Ferry was 1007 miles. It was such a joy getting over 1000 miles. But I leap to far forward.
Keeping Balance Between Walk and Food
I think the last time I sent an update, I was is Pearisburg Virginia, preparing to hike on toward Blacksburg, Va. to meet my brother-in-law and his family. They were on their way to Cleveland for our Nephew's Graduation party. Barb had already gotten to Clevland so I was going to meet here there for the 4th of July weekend. The last day before Blackburg, I had planned on walking 12-15 miles and spending the night in a shelter a couple of miles from the road. As always, the skies opened up and I got drenched. I decided I didn't want to spend a wet night in the shelter, so I walked onto the road and toward Blacksburg. I was hoping some local would feel sorry for me and give me a ride into town. No such luck! I guess I am begining to look too much like a homeless person! After 25 miles of walking, a person attending college in Blackburg stopped and picked me up. He looked as bad as I did, except he wasn't wet! Nevertheless, the ride was a welcome relief and spent two nights in Blacksburg, Va., resting and eating all the food I could get my hands on. I went to a Mexican resturant twice and to breakfast at this super local breakfast place where I had the best hotcakes with sausage gravy (my favorite breakfast). BACK
Time off from walk
My brother-in-law Tommy showed up
exactly on time, but he always is on time! The trip to Cleveland was fun and
we talked incessantly. It was good to see Tom and his family.
Cleveland was a good time. I was really happy to see Barb
and, as always, the hospitality of Ted and Marsha was exceptional. I had
great conversations with Danny and Adam, Ted's grandchildren. What great
young men they have turned into, a credit to their Mom and Dad, Sharon and
Keith Goode. BACK
The trip back to Virginia was melancholy. Looking forward to trail and life alone was not as exciting as it was back in March. The weather in Virginia was turning hot and humid. However, I soon got back into the swing of things and was walking farther and faster each and everyday. I was now into the Blue Ridge Mountains and once I reached elevation coming out of Troutville, the trail pretty much stayed at elevation with short changes in the range of 300-700ft, however there are a lot of changes in a day. In this part of the Blue Ridge Mtns. the trail follows close to the Blue Ridge parkway. I ran into a lot of people along the Parkway. All were nice and I receive many questions. I guess they were curious about me and the Appalachian trail. It was only later, when I got near a mirror, that I realized how strange I looked. I think I have begun to look more wild than some of the bears I was running into on a daily basis. BACK
Moteling Around
The weather kept getting hotter and hotter and the humidity kept going up. I was scheduled to go into Glascow, Va. for resupply and a hot shower and resturant food. I was excited to go into to town so I walked 19 miles and arrived in Glascow at in the early afternoon. The only motel in town was not up to my standards, which by now had become pretty relaxed. I was also disturbed by the sign in the door that stated "leave your pack outside." Well, I've become attached to my pack and I never leave it alone. (Bears have been known to steal packs from hikers in the park and there were much more dangerous animals in town!) I decided to go on to the next town, Buena Vista, Va. After all it was only another 11 miles, within walking distance. But the day had been hot and humid, and I was already tired, , the pack was heavy, I was soaked with sweat and not in the best of moods. Fortunately, a Doctor stopped and gave me a ride into Buena Vista. As I checked into the hotel, I was greated by a huge lady that remarkably had a large gold ball on a pin stuck through her tongue. The lady was very pleasant, but talking with that gold ball in her mouth was not easy, which resulted in a lot of "What" and "Could you repeat that" as my part of the conversation. BACK
After getting to my room, I called Barb and discussed my day, the heat, the humidity and life in general. That is when we decided that I should should come home, pick up Barb and she would help me slack pack to Harpers Ferry. Slack Packing is where you carry only water and a power bar, get picked up at night, eat in a resturant and spend the night in a motel with hot showers. I flew home, picked up Barb and was back on the trail in 5 days. Oh what a relief. A pack that weighed only 10-12 pounds and Barb waiting for me at road crossings. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. The miles started to fly by. I got to spend my 24th anniversary with Barb and we had a great meal and Mymmslyn Inn in Luray Va. Barb was having a great time. (I don't know how. I thought she would get bored waiting for me at the intersections.) She did take a day to go see Susan and the Grandchildren in Annadale, VA. The next thing I know, Jeff and Jackie arrive. BACK
This Kid Is Determined
Since Jeff had walked the first 37 miles with me, he wanted to walk the last 35 miles into Harpers Ferry. What a great time we enjoyed. For three days, Jeff and I walked hard during the day and partied at night. We had some memorial meals, lots of laughs and just plain fun. We walked into Harpers Ferry, side-by-side as if we had conquered the world. What a great feeling to reach the halfway point. I went to the Appalachian Trail Conference, signed into the register, had my picture taken and placed into the album as the 195th thru-hiker to make it to Harpers Ferry this year. I'm sure there were many more that did not take the time to go to the ATC and sign in. BACK
Trying All Sorts Of Transportations
After, Harpers Ferry, Barb and I took Jeff and Jackie to the airport at Dulles and we headed to Schoharie, NY for Barb's class reunion. (I'll let her tell you which one.) After the reunion, we drove to Cleveland, and spend a day with Ted and Marsha, then onto Rosemount. It was great to get home. I spent one week at home, then took the train to Albany NY. to spend some time with my brother. He just recently got out of the hospital. BACK
Let’s Go Over This Map One More Time
Here is the plan going forward. I plan to get back on the trail in Rutland Vermont tomorrow and to climb Mt Kathadin on Sept 17th. The reason I skipped the section between Harpers Ferry and Rutland is because of the heat of the summer and the fear of running into bad weather in New Ham shire and Maine in September and October. Once I climb Kathadin, I plan to go back to Rutland and walk south to Harpers. My best calculation is that I should be back in Harpers Ferry somewhere around the 15th of October. BACK
Stay Tuned for Coming Attractions
So far the trail is everything and more of what I expected. I will have a difficult time figuring out what to do once I complete my trek. My thoughts are all over the place right now, but I am leaning on going back to work somewhere, should I be able to find a job.
Take care everyone, and I update soon with my trip through New England.
See you soon and thanks again for tracking my progress. BACK
Joe
