Monday, February 21, 2011

Day 4-10

Day 4

Fowler's the first of us to run into body injury. Until now I had no idea it was possible to get chaffing between the butt cheeks. Josh's new name is Sweet Cheeks. It was so bad we decided on staying another night at Pirate's hostel, making that our first "zero day." Sweet Cheeks bought some medicine and consulted a nurse, so no need for worry. That night we watched the movie Machete, and downed some white bean chile with some Budweiser. Good times.

So far on this adventure we've met some really awesome people. Steve and David (we met them at the shelter day one) are only doing sections of the AT. If you guys are reading this, thanks for all the advice!!! There's also Chuck. Ex-army infantry (get some!) and 45 years old. Chuck is also thru hiking the trail, and are paths keep crossing. He tells his boy back home that we are his Marine Corps escort. :-)

Day 5

It was best for Fowler to take a few days more days to heal. So, he hitched to Hiawassee inteneding to meet us two days later on the trail. Mo and I moved on. The weather was a lot better. Most of the snow melted and the sun was out in force. This was the only day in Georgia that we had relatively flat terrain. Therefore we walked 18 miles. We stayed this night at the very windy Blue Mtn Shelter, and once again met up with Steve. After informing him on Fowler's "condition," he gave us his extra pair of trekking poles. The Golden Child finds trail magic once again!

Day 6

This day we hiked a grand total of 8 miles. The terrain was absolutely hardcore. Mo's knee started hurting him bad, so we called Fowler and had him pick up a knee brace. My knee is also starting to hurt, but not too bad. Anyway we stayed the night at Tray Mtn Shelter. To our surprise Chuck joined us late in the day. It's pretty awesome that we keep running into the same people.

Day 7

We left Chuck and hiked 12 miles to Dick's Creek Gap. There we rendezvoused with Fowler and walked another mile to a campsite. Fowler delivered the knee braces and some multivitamins, but he failed to bring us some requested Subway. Doh!

Day 8

Finally! Finally we have left Georgia!!! North Carolina greeted us with a nasty uphill climb. But after that things flattened out. This days mileage was also 12 miles that ended at another shelter. This shelter lacked anti-bear food hoist cables. We simply used rope and Golden Child's knot skills to hang our food from a tree.

Day 9 and 10

Another 12 mile hike brought us to yet another shelter. That night we met a very interesting fellow. A South bound hiker named Gil. As a southbounder, he hiked the AT from Maine, heading to Georgia. Gil looked like he'd been out in the woods to long. He kept blinking both eyes in a twitching mannor. But then he warmed up to us at the campfire. Gil's long walk was rough. Despite starting in July 2010, he daily mileage was shot when he ran into massive snow in Virginia. He actually had snow shoes with him! Gil shared with us all sorts of information. I can't wait to reach the northern AT!

The next day I awoke with some gnarly lower back pain. It was horrible. LaMarca the machine has finally been brought down! We'll not quite. We took another zero day and it payed off. I think the problem is my sleeping pad. To solve the problem I will buy another sleeping pad - it's not too hard to get to an outfitter from the trail. That night two other hiker's showed up: Paul and Jordon. These guys are hardcore. Paul's pack weighs 20 lbs, and Jordon's 30 lbs. They also do insane mileage. Like 20+ miles a day! They both gave us all sorts of tips on how to cut weight. We then decided to stop by in the town of Franklin to mail some stuff home.

Day 11-12

Franklin.

We hiked 16 miles and called a shuttle to Franklin. This guy Chris, that we met on the trail, gave us a ride to the grocery store and the outfitter. Then from the outfitter the chick at the counter called her mom to give us a ride back to our motel. I swear. Southern hospitality just warms my heart. Franklin is a small town, but it's really nice. Of course we totally pigged out and hit some bars. I crashed early, but Mo and Fowler kept at it. They went to this one "private" bar but were asked to leave because Josh was "creeping out the girls." In an effort to not lose weight I bought a ton of extra food. We'll see how that goes.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Day 2 & 3! Feb 10-11th

We awoke to two inches of snow.  It just warmed my heart.  I love snow!  Mo and Sunshine were not so happy to see it.  By the way, Fowler picked up the nickname Sunshine and I picked up the name Skipper.  We also gave Moritz the name Moejoe (probably just temporary though).  We hiked 8 miles to Gooch Mtn shelter with Steve.  At the shelter we met Chuck, an ex-army grunt.  Steve, who is a seasoned hiker, kept talking about how he would always lose a ton of upper body strength.  To counter this he did some outdoor weight lifting and I decided to join him.  We used rocks and logs to exercise our chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps.  We also did push ups and pull ups off of the shelter.  I am no longer worried about losing all my weight by the end of the trail. 

The next day was brutal.  Not surprisingly I received a new nickname "Slave Driver."  We hiked 15.5 miles over 4 mountains the biggest being Blood Mtn.  According to lore, a battle between the Creek and Cherokee left so many dead that the ground was covered in blood hence the name.  The top of Blood Mtn was full of multiple world class views.  Pure awesomeness!  At the top we met a group of 5-7 young college punks who clearly were not prepared for the outdoors.  First, they were drinking straight from the stream.  If you fail to purify your water you are at high risk of contracting guardia or some other bacteria/parasitic/viral disease.  I had dysentery in Iraq and it was not a fun time.  Second, they wore non-wicking clothes like cotton jeans.  When cotton gets wet it does not dry and in the cold weather, you are pretty much screwed.  Hello hypothermia.  Anyway, the reason we hiked 15.5 miles instead of the planned 10 was to stay at the Neels Gap Hostel.  The hostel was run by a man named Pirate (seriously his name was pirate).  You definitely meet some interesting people on the AT.  It cost $16.25 for the night.  Pirate made us "15 bean soup" and cornbread.  Mmmmm!  It was delicious.  Pirate actually hiked the AT no less than 10 times!!  We also met up with David (from day one).  Pretty cool guy.  The hostel was cozy.  Sleep was good. 

P.S. I almost forgot.  We met two old men on the trail. One who served in the USMC in the 1970's.  He gave us an apple and a P&J sandwich. AMERICA!!

Day One! Feb 9th

We all awoke feeling excited and nervous.  Good-bye luxury!  Good-bye civilization!  Long Walk BEGIN!  Before you even get to the AT you have to hike the 8mile approach trail to Springer Mtn.  And it's no walk in the park.  Up and down, up and down and up.  By the way trekking poles are bad-ass.  I used to think they were for pussies, but I rationalized buying them to ease the knees.  I was surprised to find THEY WORK!  Trekking poles make it easy to ascend and descend allowing you to move much faster.  In addition, you get to work out your arms; total bonus.  We encouraged Fowler to use walking sticks which he gladly did. 

On the approach trail we encountered our first experience of trail magic.  We checked out a shelter and found Golden Child a ground mat.  Someone must have left it behind.  Also, on the path to Springer Mtn we encountered a guy who had already given up on the AT.  This poor pathetic soul couldn't even make it past the approach trail.  His eyes said it all - he was broken.  He needed a lighter pack and a stronger spirit.  Or maybe, just some heart.  We celebrated Springer Mtn with lunch and then continued another 8 or so miles to a shelter.  All together about 15 miles on day one. 

Fowler was hurting because this was the first exercise he's had in a long time, but we were all hurting a little.  The shelter was a lot nicer than I thought it would be with excellent protection from the rain, but not the cold.  All day it hovered around freezing.  And when the sun went down it was chilly.  Nearby I purified 4 liters of water from a stream.  Cleaning water is so simple.  First you pump it through a filter and then you add chemical solution.  It tastes a little funny but not too bad.  For dinner we used my stove to make Velvetta Mac n cheese with salmon.  For extra flavor we added pepper, parsley flakes and tapatio hot sauce.  Mmmmmmm  We also made a fire.  Every shelter we've come accross has a fire pit so you really don't have to worry about leave-no-trace. 

Since we are in bear country now, before you go to bed you have to hang your food up.  Thankfully the shelters come with cable pulleys to make life easier.  We were not alone at the shelter.  Two other hikers were there.  one guy, Steve, was very helpful by giving us all sorts of tips and information.  For example, because the shelters are mice infested it is important to open up your back pack and all pouches and ziplock bags.  If not, the mice will eat their way through.  I really like it out here.  The terrain is beautiful. We are nearby an Army base and I can hear them firing long bursts from an M240 machine gun.  Music to my ears. 

It has just began to snow.  Time for sleep.

Made it to Atlanta (Feb 7-8)

In Atlanta I met Moritz, Fowler and Ghaly.  Ghaly!  Ramy Ghaly and his fiance Deena drove up from Florida to see us off.  It was great seeing him again, just like old times.  Ramy was our medic, but now the Navy has him doing MP security bs.

Anyway, we all went to a bar near the airport called Joe's.  Don't EVER go there!!  Joe's sucks!  They cut us off after we did three shots back to back despite the fact that no one was drunk and we had a shuttle service back to the hotel.  Oh well.  The next day we said our good-byes to Ramy and headed to Amicalola SP.  Now, surprisingly Fowler came well prepared.  Besides the necessary gear he kept surprising us with stuff like a snake bite kit, patch repair kit and maps.  This earned him the name Golden Child.  I kept giving Moritz crap for bringing extra heavy gear like a K-bar  (a huge knife designed to efficiently kill men).  Mo also brought 2 pipes w/ tobacco and American flag bandannas.  AMERICA! But Fowler didn't bring trekking poles or a ground mat (two crucial items).  Anyway, we stayed the night at Amicalola SP's lodge and had our last supper!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

First Post, Pre AT, Feb 2nd 2011

For your entertainment.

This is my blog for the Appalachian Trail (AT). The AT is a 2,175+ mile trail that goes from Georgia to Maine. I estimate it will take five months to complete. Joining me on this adventure is Michael Moritz and Josh Fowler. I will update this blog by writing letters to my friend Sarah, and she will post the letters. Expect a new post every other week (hopefully every week). I should also be able to upload pictures with my wifi capable SD camera memory card.

Why are we walking for 5 months? It's Moritz's fault. More than half a year ago he read Bill Bryson's book A Walk in the Woods that recounts his very own thru hike experience of the Appalachain Trail. The AT appealed to Moritz and then he asked me if I wanted to join him. Naturally I said yes. Fowler is coming because his parents asked him to go; they even payed for all his gear. For those of you that live near the trail, I will contact you, and hopefully we can meet up.

Anyway, you carry everything you need to survive. We have means to clean 600 gallons of water. Food will be resupplied every 5 to 10 days in town.

My Gear List:
Tent, 20 degree sleeping bag, Sleeping pad, REI Flash 50 pack, Stove, Stove fuel, Pots/bowls/cups for 2, Water purifier/200 gal worth, 2L water bladder, Winter gloves, Thin wicking gloves, Fleece, Wool beanie, Wicking baclava, Ultralight waterproof jacket shell, Sunglass goggles, 2x wicking long sleeve frog tops, 2x wicking long underwear, 2x wicking underwear, 2x wool socks, 2x thin wicking socks, Ultralight waterproof pants, Lightweight waterproof boots, Headlamp w/ extra battery, Knife, Hardplastic shovel, Camera w/ extra battery, Waterproof Pack cover, Hygiene, First Aid, Sewing Kit, Sandals, Trekking poles, 2x Water bottles, 550 Cord, Sketch paper, Pencil, Earplugs, Compass, AT Thru Hiker's Companion

Not counting the clothes I would be wearing, my pack weighs about 25 lbs. I'll add up to 10 lbs of food. I have another set of boots and additional 400 gal of water purifying stuff that will be mailed to post offices for us to pick up. For warmer weather I'll drop: winter gloves, 1x long underwear, 1x frog top, beanie, fleece, and 1x wool socks. And I will pick up: Sunhat, Light sleeping bag, 1x shorts, 1x t-shirt, bug net.



We are going to be miserable. The first month is going to be cold. Later on we will have to deal with freezing rain, lightning storms, week long rain, and bugs. Not to mention pesky hungry bears. Furthermore our bodies will hurt. We will get blisters. Our feet will swell. But, the greatest challenge we face is endurance. 5 months is a long time. The vast majority of people who start this hike quit in the first month. Hah. Well I am not most people.

We meet at the Atlanta airport on February 7th. Shortly after we will begin our journey.