Know it's been awhile

Haven't posted anything in quite some time, but see I'm still getting quite a few views. Thought I would write up my last journal entry. This was the day before I got on the bus to come home.

6-17-15.         Day 57
In Troutville, Va staying at the town park. Did 16.9 trail miles, and a lot of road miles also. Saw a bear again today. He was running down the hill right towards me, thought it would make a cool video till I realized I had better change his direction. Held my trekking poles in the air and clacked them together, which made him veer away. Had the adrenaline going for a bit! Had the shelter last night almost all to myself until Mr. possum decided to visit. Chased him out and he didn't come back. ( that I know of )  Back to Daleville tomorrow and then onto Roanoke to catch a bus home. Did laundry and got a shower here at the fire station today. Troutville is an extremely hiker friendly town. Was pouring earlier when I was highway hiking and a gentleman told me to come get on his porch till it let up.



Well that was the last journal entry I made. I was having the post trail blues. Never wanted to leave the trail until Katahdin, but finaces dictated otherwise.

Heard from my buddy Jerry, that I hiked part of the trail with that he summited on ( I believe it was) Oct.3. Way to go Jerry!

Haven't given up hope of another attempt in 2016. Have to see if I can come up with the funds. Gonna plan for it just in case.

So long for now and I'll keep you updated. Thanks for reading!

quick update

At the 1/4 mark on the trail

Sorry haven't posted much...but service has been questionable at most times. In Bland, VA now. Have passed the 1/4 mark of the trail.

Been rained on a lot. Chased down the trail by a skunk. Saw another bear. Again most pics are on the camera, which I need access to a computer to upload.

Think I have enough funds to make the halfway mark. Physically feeling good. Financially not so good. Go as far as I can. A lot more people on the trail than I would ever have expected. Have been some great views and have met some great people. Others on both accounts...not so great. 

Lucky to get this posted as WiFi keeps coming and going.

day 16 to 22

5-7-15. Day 16

At Russell field shelter. Did 13.9 miles today. Saw momma bear and 2 cubs. They were all hanging out way up in a tree. Hiked with Jerry and Kathy today. Crossed Fontana Dam. Was a good day, feel pretty good. Little sore, but no major aches. Should have it down under 2000 miles tomorrow. Figuring 5 days thru the Smoky's. See how I do. Went slow and easy today, think that's why I dont ache as bad. Was also nice having some company while hiking. First time I've had that.

5-8-15

At silers bald shelter, did 15 miles today. Followed a deer up the trail, hope video comes out. Down to 1994.4 miles to go! Walked in the rain. Got soaked, it felt good.

5-9-15. Day 18

At icewater shelter. Did 15.5 miles today. Clingmans domb today. Hiking in the rain again. 3rd night in the Smokey's.

5-10-15. Day 19

At tri-corner knob shelter. Did 12.6 miles. Had a full shelter last night. Probably the same tonight. A deer came into the area by the shelter last night. Wasn't afraid at all. Took some pics from Charles bunion. Will spend one more night in the Smokey's. 0.9 from the end of the Smoky's.


5-11-15. Day 20

At Davenport gap shelter, did 14.8 miles today. Fairly easy day.

5-12-15. Day 21

At roaring fork shelter. Did 18.7 miles today. Feel pretty good for the miles. A little sore on the feet, but not bad. Probably get worse after I sit awhile. Out of the Smoky's, and in either NC or Tennessee. Kept changing during the day. Seemed to ba a reptile day...turtles,frogs,snakes.

5-13-15 day 22

At Hot Springs, NC. Did an 18 mile day. Rented a room for 2 nights at the alpine court motel, with Jerry. Taking a zero tomorrow.


I'll post pics when I can.

day 11 to 15

Sorry no pics this time. They're on the camera and no way to get them off without a computer.

5-2-15. Day 11

15.8 miles, camped by cold springs shelter. Seemed like it was uphill all day long. I'm worn out. Can tell I'll be in bed by 8:00 pm. Think the trekking poles are working out. Now I have sore knees and sore elbows, but knees aren't as sore. Pretty sure I'll be sore somewhere all the way to Katahdin. Well bear bag is hung so about time for bed. Had cheese and jerky in a tortilla for dinner and it tasted pretty darn good.(not as good as homecooked though)

5-3-15 day 12

At A.Rufus Morgan Shelter. Only made it 10.7 miles today. Sat down at the shelter for a break and the body said it had had enough. Steep downhill most of the day. 7.7 miles to the next camp area with water and noooo way I could make that. Took me 7 hrs. today just to do the 10.7 miles, which I normally do in 4 1/2 hrs. Even though a beautiful day, I still had a rough time mentally today. Jaw was swollen this morning (stupid tooth) feet ached, knees ached...think that had something to do with my mental attitude. 0.8 miles from the NOC  think I'll see about getting some Dr. Scholls  inserts. Still not sure if I like the trekking poles or not. Sometimes I think I'm stressing to much over the mileage and forgetting to enjoy myself. Need to change that. So much for getting Dr scholls inserts tomorrow, store doesn't open till 10:00 am, I'll be long gone by then. Tiny little crickets everywhere on the trail today, which made all the leaves seem to dance. No place to do a bear hang here so I'll just hang it in the shelter to keep the meeces out.

5-4-15 day 13

At locust cove gap, camping out. Did 11.3 miles today. It was a lot of uphill climbing today, so am happy with the day. Better mental attitude today. Yeager and his buddy showed up at the shelter last night, and then Anne.and Poseidon showed up at about 9:30 pm. So it was good to have some company with people I knew. Only 2041.6 miles to go! The climb today went from 1723' to 5062'. Hanging out with snow and geeps tonight. Think I'm starting to get used to the trekking poles. Beginning to like them. Finger was swollen this morning and had to lance it. No idea what I did to it. Going to have to lance it again in the morning. Black and blue and full of puss.

5-5-15 day 14

Did 14.8 miles today. Camped at campsite (that's all It's called). Thought about going on into Fontana (another 3 1/2 miles) but think I would have got there in the dark. I need to do laundry and get a shower, so think I'll do a nero in Fontana and start the smokies thurs. Have some hotspots on my feet I need to tend to. It was a hot and sweaty day.

5-6-15. Day 15

 Guess I'll consider today a 3.5 mile day. Came into Fontana village to do laundry. Then walked to the shelter and then came back to Fontana village and rented a room. Didn't care for the shelter and no place I could find to camp. Did have a huge burger and fries. Felt full for about an hour. Ahhh life on the trail...always hungry! Off to the Great Smoky Mts. National Park tomorrow.

Journal entries

4-22-15,  Day 1, 10:30 am

The adventure begins.

8:00 pm

Set up camp at Justus creek which is 14.3 miles from springer, so actually did 15.2 miles with .9 headed south to springer to hit the beginning of the trail. (had to go .9 miles to the top of springer mt. and then turn around and retrace my steps). Little worn out. A couple of good uphill grades, but feel good, ready to hit it tomorrow. Ye ha...finally here and doing it!



The trail

Proof I was there.

My camp at Justus creek

 

 

 

 





4-23-15, day 2

 

Set up camp at lance creek. So was only a 10 mile day. Knee started acting up so had to take it easy. Ran into some trail magic today and got a bag of mini candy bars. Another sunny day. Poured last night and a lot of thunder and lightning. Hopefully knee feels better tomorrow, also have a blister to take care of. Got a couple of shots of bourbon from the camp next to me, helped the knee (medicinal).


4-24-15, day3

Camping at Baggs Creek Gap. Did 11.6 miles. Knee still sore. Another sunny day. Bloody Mt. was a bloody bitch, descend thru rocks and climbing over boulders, sometimes didn't even seem like the trail. Missed out on some trail magic at Neel Gap. Free burgers for thru hikers,

descent down blood mt.

didn't find out till about a half mile up the trail, wasn't turning back. Rats!!


4-25-15, day 4

7.3 miles today. Knees were bothering me. Thought I'd take a short day. Staying at Low gap shelter. Raining this morning and extremely foggy.

Low Gap Shelter

4-26-15, day 5

15.4 mile day, at Tray mt. shelter. Sunny day and perfect hiking temp., not to hot and not to cold.

little stream where I got water

4-27-15, day 6

16.3 miles today, at plumorchard shelter. A little trail magic earlier today. Got a sam adams. This is my last night in Georgia. Have 4.4 miles and hit NC. Another beautiful day for hiking. Shelter is a three story and holds 14. Had it all to myself. My own little castle. Hahaha!

plumorchard shelter

4-28-15,  day 7

Only 12.2 miles today. At standing Indian shelter. In  NC now. Another nice day for hiking.

crossing into NC

4-29-15, day 8

At long branch shelter. 16.2 miles. A little trail

the start of the trail up Albert Peak

magic today, met two local boys and got a beer. Felt good. Will be in Franklin tomorrow. Need to resupply. Trail up to Albert Peak was straight up and had to climb over boulders. Look off to the right and it was straight down for a long long ways. Glad it was only 0.3 miles! View from the top was awesome even though it was a bit overcast. Could have made another 3.5 miles to the next shelter but wanted to hang with the group I'd been with for 3 days.


4-30-15, day 9

7.3 miles. In Franklin to resupply and visit with Mom and Dad. A zero day tomorrow. Will hit the trail again Sat. morning. Need to figure out next supply point. Should take 4 days to hit the Great Smokey Mt. National Park and 5 days thru it. Guess I'll supply for 10 days. Want to walk straight thru Great Smokey Mt. National Park. Supposed to be busy park. To many people! Guess I'll find out when I get there. Anne was only other one in the group that needed to resupply in Franklin, so Mom and Dad dropped her off at a Hostel. Hopefully will catch up with the rest down the trail somewhere. Homemade lasagna for dinner and a hot shower...ahhh...what luxuries!


5-1-15, day 10

zero day today. Went and got resupplied this morning. Pack is at 38 lbs. now. A little heavier than I would like, but should be good for at least 10 days. Got a pair of trekking poles to try. Hopefully helps with my knees, especially on the down hill. Had ham and scalloped potatoes for dinner. YUM. Nice to visit with Mom and Dad and have a day off the trail. Clean laundry, clean body, full belly. Thanks mom and dad!!! Back on the trail tomorrow. Will update next chance I get.

New trekking poles



Ready to go....again

The gear is ready to go again and tomorrow, April 22 I will finally get on the trail. I've packed and repacked and think I have things the way I want them now. Still probably be changing things as I go and discover what I'm needing more often. Greyhound never did find my other pack and are supposed to be sending a claim form to be filled out. Folks will be helping me out on that since I will be on the trail.

Thanks to Team Greene for getting me out on the trail, wouldn't have happened without all of you helping out.

The door into the new tent.

View of the tent from the back.

Me and the pack.

A side view of me and the pack with it fully loaded and ready to go. The pack is weighing in right about at 33lbs., with enough food for app. 7 days.


Not sure when I will get another chance to post, but I will when I can, so keep checking in to find out what's been happening and where I've been.

 

Reequipped

The new pack loaded and ready to hit the trail!

It seems to be trying to embrace me!

Won't be long now and I will actually be hitting the trail. Either tues. or wed. will be the start date. Happy trails!

Getting reequipped

Getting new equipment together to get started on the AT hike. Still no word from greyhound on my pack, so with some support from the Greene team I should be on the trail  by 4/22.

A bit later than I wanted to start but should still have time to complete it. I'll post a pic when the new pack is ready.

So don't give up reading my blog yet...I'm still going to get on the trail!

Lost pack adventure continues (Thanks greyhound)

Have you seen me? I got chased away by a big dog and now I seem to be lost. Please help me find my way home. I miss that sweaty back.

So far no luck with finding my pack. Going to visit mom & dad and see what turns up. Haven't given up hope yet. Just getting delayed.

If doesn't show up soon will have to notify the great smokie mt. since my permit was In the pack.

Was expecting some hard times and delays...but I did not expect this. EVERY DAY'S A NEW ADVENTURE!!!

traveling

The bus ride has begun. Should be in gainesville Georgia on Thursday. Have shuttle set up to get me Amicalola falls.

After bus ride it will feel good to get hiking!!

Bus was 2 hrs. late out of Albuquerque, the driver never showed up and they had to find another, but made it to St. Louis in time for my transfer, however my pack was not on the bus!! Said it should be in Gainesville before me. I sure hope so...

The adventure has continued.

Leaving Nashville and off to Atlanta. Met a guy here just coming off the AT. Didn't get a chance to talk and find out why. Got called for the bus.

On the way to gainsville...hope my pack is.

No pack #$$$#&%*. So far no luck finding it. This is really starting to piss me off!!!!!!! Not real happy with greyhound at the moment. If doesn't show up this afternoon or in the morning, guess I'll have to go back to Atlanta on the afternoon bus and have it out.

thanks to eureka

I would like to thank Eureka for their sponsorship and sending me a new timberline tent. Thanks for a great product and extremely friendly service!

the new tent...can't wait to be on the trail

The adventure starts tomorrow and on the trail thurs. (2 day bus ride).

Loaded and ready to go!

just asking?

What if he was to accompany me on the trail?  Would I get more support? Less than 3 weeks to go!

another update

     Bus ticket purchased. Leave AZ on the
14 of april. Be in Georgia on 16. Still working on shuttle to get close to trailhead. Soooo if anyone else is gonna be in gainesville Georgia that date...let me know.

finances

     I've come up a little short on the funds for hiking the AT. The cost of taking care of things here at home has run a little more than I anticipated. If any of you are able to help out you can click on the link below. I usually don't ask for help, however this is my last shot at a 2015 hike. If not this year there is always 2016.
     My plan has been to be on the trail by April 15, 2015. After consideration, I probably could push that back a week or two and still make Katahdin before weather conditions make it impossible to summit. The other consideration is a possible south bound hike, which wouldn't start till around June 1.
     Thanks for any help anyone can provide and thanks for reading.


http://www.gofundme.com/mr9yrg

Bear bag hanging

     Haven't been on for awhile because internet service has not been cooperating! Anyway did put a branch in my wind tower so I could show u the PCT bear bag hanging technique.

 Here are the contents of the throw bag. 50ft. of 3/16 line with a bowline tied in the end and a 2" carabiner clipped through. Just a cheap carabiner like you would put your keys on. And a rock, which of course you don't carry in your throw sack. Lol.

 The throw bag thrown over the simulated tree branch. I'm standing on the line to get the picture. When I took my foot off the line, the bag (with rock in it) plummeted to earth. (That darn gravity...sometimes helpful, sometimes hurtfull.)

 The throw bag has been unclipped and the food bag is clipped on. The food bag is a waterproof bag lined with a plastic bag and all the food is also repackaged in ziploc baggies. The pull strap on the bottom of the bag is a handy place to clip onto. Of course the drawstring at the other end is tied off. Don't trust the cord-loc thingies.

 The food bag pulled up. Notice that the line has been put through the carabiner. That's the important part...clip the trailing line through the carabiner!

 A stick tied into the line with a clove hitch. Tied as high as you can reach comfortably, which in my case is app. 6ft.

Here is the stick jammed against the carabiner. Bag is hung and you don't need to tie the end of the line off to the tree.

     So in case you're wondering how far the food bag drops before the stick binds against the carabiner, let's review our basic math.

     In these pictures the "branch" is 12ft. off the ground. I knot the stick in at 6ft. off the ground. That leaves 6ft. between the stick and the branch. That means the food sack with the carabiner will fall 3ft. until it jams with the stick. (because half of that 6ft. between stick and branch is now on the other side of the branch.)  So 12ft. minus 3ft. leaves 9 and subtract another foot for the food bag and we are at 8ft., which is not high enough. The food bag needs to be at least 10ft. off the ground and 6' away from the trunk.
     So for me to have the food bag at 10' I need a branch at 16'. Stick tied in at 6' which leaves 10' of line above it. The food bag will drop 1/2 of that, which is 5' (16-5=11) so we are at 11' and minus a foot for the length of the food bag and we are at 10'.
     That's the PCT bear bag method. Thanks for reading.

finished pack cover

     Well I finally finished the pack cover.

Here it is in it's little stuff sack. They are regular sized scissors...just there for perspective.

Here it is on the pack.

Backside view. Narrowed it down some from the prototype, so it didn't interfere with the hipbelt.

And a selfie. Looks like I'm getting a bit of belly. I better get to walking!!!

Also finished putting my bear bag (for my food ...not to put a bear in...LOL) together. But seems how I live in juniper country, there are no trees, with limbs big enough to throw it over.  So I was going to stick a limb through my wind tower, but with it being rainy and muddy, decided climbing the tower might not be in me best interest. So that will be another post when I can get a few pics. Guess that's it for now. Later

pack & cover

     I've been working on making a pack cover for my pack, so things stay dry. Of course the inside will be lined with a trash compactor bag. I used to just use a garbage bag but I guess the compactor bags are a bit more durable, so I'll give it a try. (See I can adapt with the times). Anything in outer pockets that I don't want getting wet will be in ziploc baggies.

 

Here's the pack, yup I'm still old fashioned. External frames are starting to make a comeback though. Not the sleeping bag that I'll be taking, just used it to get the pack cover size.

The back side of the pack. It didn't have a chest strap on it, so I had to sew one on.

Here's the prototype cover. I made it out of an old sheet to get the size right. I've already made some stuff sacks to small, which is ok. I can always find a use for them or cut them down, but didn't want that to happen with the pack cover and waste the nylon. Now I'll pull the seams out and use the pieces for a pattern.

The back side. 

Just using a draw cord to pull it tight, thought about using elacstic but if that stretches or breaks on the trail...hmm. Gonna slowly start working on the final one over the weekend. The ironing parts take me a bit since I have to do it the olden way...u know...heat the iron on the wood stove. Don't have enough solar for an iron or toaster or microwave or, looking at my floor, a vacuum!!

Guess I should explain about the solar remark up above. I live back where there are no power lines, so my power comes from the sun and wind. You all know how that basically works right??...from solar panels and wind generator -> to charge controller -> to battery bank -> to inverter -> to breaker box -> to outlets etc.

Pretty simple...huh!! That's all for now and as always comments or feedback are always welcome. Later.

update

My son on the PCT up in Oregon

     I finally made up my mind and this will accompany me on the trail. I've had this tent for almost 40 yrs and it has sheltered me in a lot of different places across this great old USA. Bought it at Eureka in Binghamton, NY as a factory second. It was a second because it had a small oil stain on the rain fly which never affected anything. Having a little trouble with zippers now, just can't understand why after only 40 yrs.

Eureka Timberline tent

     Did pick up this the other day. Sawyer mini water filter. Think this will work great on the trail for me. Since all my water is collected rain water, I'm used to having to treat water one way or another so don't see this as any big deal. Now if I quit using it at home or I'll be replacing it!!
     Supposed to go next week with my support team (my daughter and her hubby...who got put on the support team whether he wanted to be or not...haha) and shop for some clothing type stuff. Main thing I still need is rain gear and of course socks. Don't need much cause won't be carrying much. I'll get to more on clothes in another post after I figure out what I'm doing!
     That's all for now, keep checking back in. Later.

stove test

    Well I finally got around to testing the stoves to see which one I preferred.
     I put 2 tablespoons of fuel in each one and timed how long it took to bring one cup of water to a rolling boil and how long they burnt overall. All times are in minutes:seconds.

This one burnt for 3:45 but never came to a full boil

This one boiled at 4:23 and ran till 4:55

This one boiled in 4:13 and ran till 8:23. Even though this ran the longest it takes a bit for it to get burning properly and I do think more fuel seeped in when I primed it.

This one boiled at 4:12 and ran till 6:20.  This is my choice, it is easy to light and simple to remake on the trail if need be.

     I live at app. 6500 ft and I used the windscreen for the tests, which I believe helped hold the heat in better.

This is it in use.

     These stove designs can all be found on the web and I would like to thank the designers. I looked at so many different sites I can't remember what design came from where... so thank you.

     Any comments are always welcome and appreciated.

silly video

    This is a video I submitted to try to get selected for an AT sponsorship. Didn't get selected but still thought u might enjoy.

shelter

    Still haven't decided if I want to take                                          

This

Or this

    I have never used a hammock to backpack with. Figure I'll have to sleep in it a few times to see how it feels. It's a bit lighter than my tent, but not to sure how warm or dry I'll stay in it.
    Hopefully most of the time I'll be able to find room in a lean-to, however I still want some type of shelter just in case. I'm leaning toward the hammock for the weight and space savings which is quite a bit compared to my tent. My scale is doing funny things now so not exactly sure how much weight I'd save, but I'm guessing around 2 or 3 lbs. Which is quite a bit.
    Picked up the hammock for free from a good friend of mine, so the price was right. If any of you have experience with hammocks like these send me a comment and tell me what u think.

P.S.
    Of course the tent does have a lot of sentimental value. It's the same tent I've had since I was 14 or so. That was 40 yrs ago. Says something for Eureka tents. It's seen a lot of miles over the years.

The big question?

   Welcome to 2015, hope it will be a healthy and happy year for all of us!
   Well the question is: Why thru hike the AT? That's a question I've been asking myself for about 40 yrs. when I first got the desire to hike it. Still not sure what the answer is.
   I was recently going through some possessions that have been acquired through the years (how do you accumulate so much crap?) and came across some guide books and such on the AT. It's all dated 1976 sooo...I guess that's when I first wanted to attempt it. But as so often happens, life got in the way. Or more properly stated, I allowed the dream to slip away,
       Then came marriage
       Then came Ted pushing a baby
                   carriage (ok two).

   Now I find myself at a point in life again  with no responsibilities. Kids are all grown up, Cindyloo (the littlest who in  Who's Ville) makes the flowers bloom every spring, and so I found myself at an impasse in life...or so I became to believe. Then I went to Oregon a few times to visit my son and realized we weren't that far from the PCT (pacific crest trail) which led my thoughts back to the dream of the AT. (We did hike some of the PCT in Sept. when I visited again).
  One of the books I happened to come across is titled:  The Appalachian Trail wilderness on the doorstep by Ann and Myron Sutton copyright 1967, and it had some paragraphs highlighted in it. One of the marked passages reads:  Two college students, James F. Fox Jr., and Paul A. Gerhard, hiked the trail in 1963. "For many years," they wrote in Appalachian Trailway News, "both of us had had a more or less latent desire to hike the length of the Appalachian Trail. We won't go into the reasons for this; anyone who hikes will understand ...."
   I believe that is about the best answer to why that I can give; anyone who hikes will understand....