Tag Archives: Appalachian Trail

Say it ain’t so Sandi!

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I saw so many eager thru-starters this year carrying the 2020 AT tag as they prepared to leave the Amicalola Falls Visitors Center to take those first amazing steps on a northbound odyssey toward Mt. Katahdin. I serve as a trail ambassador providing a little friendly encouragement to this diverse group of people, and I know exactly what’s going through their minds.

I have seen so many like them over the years, ready to take on the challenge and see if they could measure up to it in a physical, emotional and spiritual sense. This year, sadly, the opportunity has been taken out of their hands.

In a decree I received by email from Appalachian Trail Conservancy Executive Director Sandi Marra, the 2020 class of AT thru-hikers is being asked to cease and desist from pursuing their dream. Oh man, does this ever hurt. All the dreaming, planning and training goes down the drain.

It seems cruel and unreasonable at first glance. Seriously, what safer place could there be from the Corona Virus than out in the wide open spaces of the AT? Well, think about it. Personal cleanliness is critical to avoiding this scourge, and anyone who thinks that trail hygiene is much better than hit or miss is kidding themselves. And even though you are in open air for sure when you are out there, so many hikers get in close quarters in shelters and shelter areas for hours at a time. Also, trail hostels — as friendly and inviting as they often are — are not conducive to healthy interaction and social distancing. And is it safe for trail angels to give people a friendly ride from the trail into nearby towns and back? Of course not; it is unsafe for both hikers and drivers. All told, it is not a good year to be out there.

So, I think back to 1973 when I was a 21-year-old out there having the most amazing adventure imaginable as I thru-hiked southbound from Maine to Georgia. I don’t think Sandi Marra or Mahatma Ghandi or God himself could have talked me into stopping. I am older now, and if not wiser, I am surely less impetuous. Impetuosity is harder to come by as you near the end of seven decades. I think I have to agree with Sandi. AT thru-hikers should delay until next year.

I am sure that Sandi feels terrible about her decision to ask hikers to call it quits for the year. But I am also sure that as a responsible leader, she knew she was correct when she pulled the trigger on her suggestion. Let’s hope this works out well for all of you out there. I look forward to bumping elbows with you at Amicalola Falls Visitors Center next Spring.

 

 

 

 

Search for elusive Yellow Lady Ends

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Last year I failed in my attempt to see a rare yellow lady slipper. My pal Georgia Peach was going to take me, but then she lost track of where they were. Then, when she finally rediscovered them, I had taken off to the Black Sea on a Danube River cruise. Alas, by the time I was back stateside, the girls had faded away.

This year I was determined to see one. Georgia Peach promised to take me again, but she went off on a well-deserved beach vacation. So, I went to Stone Heart, intrepid hiking companion and friend. I hiked to Nimblewill Gap on the AT Approach Trail. I met Stone Heart there, and we hiked north on a gloomy, foggy morning. Soon we found a single perfect YLS kissed by a delicate coat of dew, lemony yellow in the sunless morning light. I had that little thrill one feels upon finally sighting that which they have sought for years.

Feeling triumphant and a bit smug, I hiked back to Nimblewill, chatted briefly with Stone Heart and headed southward on the Approach Trail. Later, Stone Heart reported that right after I left he spotted a bear and followed it for a photo. He immediately discovered seven more yellow lady slippers. Darn the luck!

Oh, well. I finally saw one. Next year, I will travel back to see more. During the interval, I will think up some other species of flora or fauna I need to see. Life is more fun when you have things to look for, don’t you think?

 

 

 

Bob Marshall Wilderness, worth the wait!

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Back in 1974, I read an article in Backpacker Magazine about the Bob Marshall Wilderness in western Montana along the Continental Divide, one of the first areas designated as wilderness by the feds after the signing of the Wilderness Act in 1965.

(Side note: The Wilderness Act was bipartisan legislation that Congress supported as a unified body. This stroke of genius was followed three years later by the National Scenic Trails Act for which those of us who enjoy epic adventure can truly be grateful. Imagine — Congressmen from both parties uniting to pass wise legislation.)

Anyway, I was impressed that the Bob Marshall Wilderness was out there for me to explore at some future date. I do not keep a bucket list, because I love the spontaneous thrill of jumping on the next adventure to emerge. But the Bob was waiting for me, and when my AT thru-hiking son took a trip there years ago and raved about it, my interest was piqued all the more. As my friend of more than 65 years, David Chandler, was planning a trip for this fall, I tossed out The Bob as an option. He did his due diligence, and late last month David, Steve Skinner and I traveled out there.

Due to forest fires, we decided on an in-and-out hike of about 50 miles over six days. We put in at Benchmark and followed a route along the west and south forks of the Sun River. We were equipped with bear spray and made every effort to properly protect our gear from griz.

Daytime temps were perfect, and nights dipped to as low as 20 degrees. We had rain and snow, but mostly clear with occasional angry clouds and gasp inducing sunsets. One night before the full moon rose, we watched the International Space Station glide overhead. We spent hours around campfires retelling the same jokes and personal stories we’ve hashed over for over half a century. We also realized how fortunate we are that we can still haul heavy packs up multi-thousand-foot climbs.

The pic above shows me taking in the Chinese Wall, a massive escarpment that meanders a dozen miles along the divide. Most of the trip was along the Continental Divide Trail, and we saw several late-season thru-hikers plugging toward the end. For two full days we saw no one at all. We saw no grizzlies but plenty of berry-laden scat. We did see mule deer and elk.

It was because of people such as Bob Marshall and Benton MacKaye who founded the Wilderness Society that we have these amazing chunks of paradise set aside forever. So, read THRU, hike the Bob Marshall, stay vertical and keep walkin’!

Idle musings for 2019 thru-hikers

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Far be it from this writer to assume my opinion is worth listening to. But I have hiked the AT a couple of times, and I do have some gentle advice. After talking to hundreds of Katahdin aspirants over the years, I have learned what the fictional Springer Mtn. caretaker in my book, THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Story, realized: “the only certainly in his mind was the uncertainty of eventual outcomes.”

In other words, as you watch the traveling circus move north, good luck if you think you can keep an accurate scorecard.

So, for what it’s worth, here are a few nuggets of advice if you are considering taking the last great American adventure in 2019 or beyond:

  • Before you take a first step, get serious about what is essential in your pack. Do you really need a hunting knife in a leather sheath? Do you need a bulky, multi-piece cookset? Is your pack one of those nine-pound super-padded numbers with so many surplus cubic inches that you can’t resist filling them with electronics and food that will take you days past your next resupply point? Remember the scene in the movie Wild where Reese Witherspoon puts on her pack for the first time and has trouble standing up? Don’t let that be you. Good grief, I met a man recently who was about to take his first steps on the Approach Trail with 160 pounds of gear including a one-liter bottle of vanilla extract.
  • Stay hydrated. If you start your day with a liter and a half, that is the smartest weight you will carry. And you can reduce the weight quickly by drinking — even if you are not particularly thirsty. Do not wait to hit camp to rehydrate. Some of the worst trail days I have endured were due to not taking my own %$#@ advice and getting dehydrated.
  • Take care of your feet. On the first day of your hike, promise me that you are wearing trail runners or boots that you have broken in with up-and-down trail-weight hiking. Otherwise, you are walking into unknown territory which may include grotesquely damaged feet. In THRU, my Captain Stupid character says this about his feet: “FEMA should be called in for this, plus the Air National Guard and a MASH unit of podiatrists and surgeons and EMTs. I cry when I look at what just two days have done. Blisters began on the Approach Trail to Springer. They demanded immediate attention, but I was so overwhelmed that instead of giving them first aid, I just kept slogging along and hoped for the best.” The Captain got help and survived, but his experience was not typical. Treat your feet better than any other part of yourself.
  • Stay dry. A pack cover will not keep the contents of your pack dry if you hike through a blinding rain storm that switches on and off for a couple of days. Anything you really want to keep dry should be in ziplock bags which weigh practically nothing and can save your sanity.
  • Leave No Trace. If you’re out there, you’ve heard the LNT pitch. If you are a human being, you leave urine and feces in your wake. Remember that nobody — at least nobody normal — wants to see any of that. Bury crap off-trail at least 200 feet away from water sources and camping areas. Also, pack out hand-wipes, uneaten food and general trash. I know most of you don’t need to hear this, but problems still exist.
  • Give it time! If the first couple of days out there are the worst days of your entire life, don’t stop. Give it a couple of weeks. It will get better. You will finally reach a moment of joy that will transport you to levels of transcendence you never dreamed possible. Just be patient.

As I say, I have done the AT a couple of times and I’ve hiked all over the world. I am an ordinary guy with average physical gifts. If I could do it, so can you. Have fun!

The quest for the elusive yellow lady slipper continues

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Trail pal Georgia Peach who thru-hiked the AT in 1991 has told me she will help me fulfill my ambition to see an actual, genuine, in-the-flesh yellow lady slipper. Ever since I heard the legendary Georgia wildflower expert Len Foote actually got the route of the Richard Russell Scenic Highway altered when he found a profusion of the rare orchids, I have been determined to see one myself.

So, Georgia Peach got me all optimistic recently when she told me she thought she could take me to see some. Unfortunately, she was unable to locate them. My hopes were dashed.

Then, just yesterday, she sends me this lovely photo of a YLS in all its yellow glory. Turns out she found some. Unfortunately, my plans will not allow me to join her for a look this year. She promises she’ll take me to them next year.

Meanwhile, the old Peregrine must patiently wait to fulfill his years-long ambition to soak in all that sunlit lady slipper glory. At least I can take some solace in knowing that just yesterday I was up close and personally involved with some perfect pink lady slippers.

Stay vertical and keep walkin’!

 

So close you can almost touch it . . .

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I have seen Katahdin from Abol Bridge a few times. Each time I try to put myself in the hiking shoes of a NOBO who gets that gasp-inducing view from the bridge before trudging into Baxter State Park — bound for Katahdin Stream and that last big energy surge to Baxter Peak.

As a SOBO, I saw this view the second day of my thru-hike. I have seen it since a few times and always think, “What must this feel like for a NOBO? How much emotion can one heart take after coming nearly 22 centuries of miles to get here?”

I took this admittedly mediocre pic on my phone a couple of years ago while accompanying my buddy, Tortilla Tosser, as he wrapped up the 100-mile Wilderness, close to finishing his four-decade-long section hike. What a glorious spot to pause a little over long and contemplate MacKaye’s vision. How lucky all of us are — those who love wilderness — that this place clings to its sacred character.

 

 

“the 2180” tells the AT story podcast style

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Andrew Iden is a CNN producer by day and a podcaster in his spare time. He approached me recently about an interview for his new AT-focused podcast titled “the 2180.” I have no fear of talking — if you know me, please don’t scoff — and was delighted to sit with Andrew and expound on my experiences over the last half century as a long-distance hiker.

After our chat, Andrew cherrypicked the pithiest parts, added sound effects and music and magically transformed our chat into a wonderfully professional exposition of how an old guy’s world has been transformed by his connection with the AT and all the people, places and experiences associated with it.

Probably the best way to get my “world view” of the AT is to read THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Story. But to learn much of what matters to me about the AT, a 20-minute investment in the 2180 accomplishes much the same thing. It has vignettes about people I met, my struggle with the death of a comrade and how the AT has embraced my family and friends.

Go to http://www.the2180.com to experience the podcast. There will be great ones upcoming, including a session with my triple crown chum, Susie McNeely.

Meanwhile, stay vertical and keep walkin’! There’s plenty of the world left unseen.

National Trails Act and Wilderness Act are at the heart of so much that matters!

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Forgive me for emoting a little, but I appreciate so little of what the government does without my asking that when it does something wonderful — I want to point it out.

Lyndon Johnson signed a groundbreaking piece of bipartisan legislation 53 years ago called the Wilderness Act giving Congress the right to decree tracts of federal land as wilderness. I have visited a number of wilderness areas in the last half century and am a better man for it. I spent a career in the oil business and watched the Kabuki dance that went on between bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen, environmental groups and public citizens about how “wilderness” would be established and where.

This year we celebrate another major half-century milestone, the National Trails Act which gave government incentives and funding to recognize and promote maintenance, development and protection of a number of trails including the PCT, the AT, the CDT and the Florida Trail.

I wonder if any of this would had happened if Benton MacKaye — the ultimate hiker’s hero — had not (1) Conceived of the AT and (2) Cofounded the Wilderness Society. Let’s just be glad he existed so we won’t have to find out. Stay vertical and keep walkin’!

 

Stealth Thru-hikers Up and Running!

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This little piece of plastic is a common sight hanging off thru-hikers packs as they head up the Approach Trail from Amicalola Falls State Park. Again this year, I am participating with paid ridge runners and volunteer trail ambassadors to talk to aspiring thru-starters at the park visitors center ready to walk through the stone arch and head up 604 steps to the top of Amicalola Falls.

Part of my job is to sign them up and hand them the little hang tag pictured above. The tag is a way of saying they registered with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and that they agree to follow Leave No Trace rules such as bury your poop, camp on durable surfaces and keep your food away from critters — particularly bears.

I am seeing every type of age, nationality, race, gender and preparation level as we talk to people and send them off. Most of them are eager to sit down and listen to a brief talk about equipment, water treatment, Leave No Trace and common trail courtesy. What I love most is the demeanor of the hikers just as they are ready to take their first step — a combination of grim game face/eager anticipation/”What the %$#@ have I gotten myself into?”

In THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Story I describe thru-starters who pass over Springer Mtn. as “starry-eyed Alices going through a white-blazed looking glass bound for a dream they don’t understand with shiny new gear, fresh faces and resolve in their eyes.” Since I wrote that, nothing much has changed — just the volume of hikers.

This year more than 4,000 hikers have registered with the ATC, and there is no way to calculate how many will actually be out there. Let’s hope clueless dolts are at a minimum. Most of the hikers are genuinely nice folks who join a supportive and congenial trail culture. Leave No Trace was never so important if we are to keep ourselves from loving the beloved AT to death.

 

 

Kicking off another THRU-hike season!

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As sure as night follows day, another AT thru-hike season is gearing up. I plan to spend a few days working the Visitors Center at Amicalola Falls working as a Trail Ambassador for the lucky crowd showing up to get their AT hangtag and start on the Approach Trail toward Springer Mtn.

I will also be a speaker at the Amicalola Falls Annual AT Kickoff gathering on March 3-4 at the Amicalola Falls State Park lodge. If you are planning a thru-hike — or just dreaming about one — stop by and say hello. I will, of course, be happy to sign a copy of THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Story for you. There is so much to learn at the Kickoff as well as a chance to meet legends such as Gene Espy, the dean of thru-hikers.

Then, on March 5, the Len Foote Hike Inn will feature an after-dinner program celebrating the beginning of the 2018 thru-hike season. Hike Inn employees Diane Duffard and Gayle Edgar will join me to talk about the heritage of the trail and the thrill of a modern-day thru-hike. Thru-hikers share an almost evangelistic fervor about their adventures, so I imagine the three of us will generate some fun and energy.

The next morning, Diane will lead guests out to the Approach Trail and up Frosty Mountain as they head back toward the trailhead at Amicalola Falls, a great way to wrap up a Hike Inn trip.

If you want to join us, go to http://www.hike-inn.com to make an on-line reservation. You can also call 1-800-581-8032. As the Beatles once said: “A splendid time is guaranteed for all.”