Tag Archives: Appalachian Trail

I NEED TO TAKE THEM MORE SERIOUSLY!

Anecdotal evidence — mostly what I hear from fellow hikers and read in the newspaper — has me thinking there are more bears out there this year, not to mention more venomous snakes. I have heard reports from several hikers detailing bear and snake sightings. I always breeze past black bears, thinking of them as little more than big dogs. (Grizzlies have always been a different matter altogether). I need to remember that a black bear has the speed, power, teeth, jaw strength and paws to make a real mess of a human being. Reports of black bear attacks are rare, and when they do occur they are normally provoked by idiotic human behavior. Still we owe it to them and ourselves to give them a wide berth and respect their well-earned place in nature. Stay vertical, watch for snakes and keep walkin’!

Blue Devil’s Redemption on Cheoah

May 5, 2014UncategorizedAppalachian Trail, Blue Devil, Cheoah Bald, THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Storyrichardkjudy

Still thinking of Cheoah Bald. Last week’s hike tickled memories of my first time in 1973. The trail in those days was rocky and eroded — shooting straight and steep up mountainsides, requiring climbers to grab trees to pull themselves up. Now Cheoah trails are graded forest service paths which slab around ridges and switchback to eliminate steep grades. We hikers should thank trail planners, builders and maintainers for such amazing feats. Maybe they should thank hikers for making it all necessary. When my character, Blue Devil, climbed Cheoah in THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Story, he wrote in his journal: “I reached Cheoah peak and breathed deep, deeper than my lungs had ever held, pulling all the pure alpine air into my chest to nourish my heart and my brain and my soul, expunging my bad behavior and exhaling out all the dumb things I’ve ever done in one glorious moment of young black male fervor.”

Blind Courage is never forgotten

March 13, 2014UncategorizedAppalachian Trail, Bill Irwin, Earl Shaffer, timeless legacyrichardkjudy

So, another Appalachian Trail icon has soared to that big trail up in the sky. 73-year-old Bill Irwin has left us, but talk about a timeless legacy — boy, has this guy got one. I suppose the most celebrated of all AT thru-hikes was Earl Shaffer’s, the first one. But Bill Irwin’s hike with his seeing eye dog, Orient, has to rank as #2 on the all-time list. I never met Bill, but I’m told he was a great speaker, a gentle soul, a man of faith and an all-around tough son of a gun. Anyone who encountered him came away impressed with what a nice gentleman he was and amazed that a blind man could make it from Georgia to Maine on a trail that is often overwhelmingly challenging for well-conditioned 20-somethings with perfect vision. He took many falls and suffered substantial injuries during his 1990 hike, including broken ribs. But he and his faithful canine companion kept the faith. Bill leaves this world — and his favorite footpath — better for having lived on them.

The A.T. Museum, where trail lore lives

If you ever happen to be traveling near Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania, you owe it to yourself to take a break and visit the Appalachian Trail Museum. It is just off the A.T. and pretty darned close to the half-way point of the trail. The museum has displays, artifacts, and precious relics of the trail as it edges toward its first century of growth. When THRU comes out soon, all proceeds will benefit this little trail cathedral which preserves the memories of people such as Grandma Gatewood, Benton MacKaye, Ed Garvey, Earl Shaffer, Gene Espy and many others. I’m proud to be associated with this project, and I hope you will buy the book and take part as well. Stay vertical, keep walking and put the A.T. Museum in your plans.

An excerpt from THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Story

October 16, 2013UncategorizedAppalachian Long Distance Hikers Association, Appalachian Trail, Appalachian Trail Museumrichardkjudy

I worked with publisher Larry Luxenberg and designer Margy Schmidt while attending the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association meeting in PA a few days back. We are working to get the e-book version of THRU: An Appalachian Trail Love Story ready for purchase sometime before Thanksgiving with the print version following shortly thereafter. Just for fun, I am placing an excerpt below to give folks a flavor of what to expect. Because my friends at the AT Museum are publishing the book (and receiving all proceeds), I am placing a journal entry of one of my characters — Brave Phillie, a 63-year-old Viet Nam vet and thru-hiker — detailing his solitary visit to the museum.

June 7, Journal entry of Brave Phillie at the Appalachian Trail Museum

I stole away from the Bly Gappers after the ice cream craziness for a solitary stroll around the Appalachian Trail Museum. Trail folk created this place in an old stone grist mill, a labor of love for people who revere the endless trail, a resting place for a thousand odds and ends of many, many decades of A.T. memories and the people and places of the trail.

I wandered from one display to another, recalling bigger-than-life personalities such as Gene Espy, Grandma Gatewood and Ed Garvey. I first started doing trail work before I was in the service. Over the years — aside from hiking — I’ve swung pulaskis, cut blowdowns with crosscut saws, dug out water bars, and worked on countless reroutes, never regretting a bit of it. This place is a sanctuary for all of us who love the miracle of it all.

I came across an old Mt. Katahdin summit sign, the one telling mileages to places near and far — including impossibly distant Springer Mountain. My God, what memories that sign triggered! Like a movie montage racing through my mind, I summoned mental pictures of all the characters and gorgeous locations between Springer and Katahdin. I stood there and wept for so much — Marina, my sweet, unappreciated wife, gone forever. Earl Shaffer. My new friends, who I try to deserve. The half of the trail unhiked on this trip with a new Katahdin summit sign waiting at the end. How can such a self-absorbed soul as myself sustain all the good this footpath has showered on me?

I walked out of that place feeling that good kind of exhaustion a man feels at the end of a hot day’s hike. Ready for water and food and sleep. Ready to gear up for the second half of the last great American adventure.

*************

Hope you enjoyed this snippet. Soon, I will fill you in on some observations of my trip to the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association annual conference. Remember: Stay vertical and keep walking!