Saturday, June 23, 2012

Trail is calling.

How does one get back on the trail? I been home about a month trying to get back on some how. My pack has been packed and ready to go. I didn't want to drive my truck and eave it some where. No trains or buses go were I need to go. I couldn't find a car rental place to drop off a rental. I need to go to far north for someone to drive me. I thought about taking one shuttle after another till I got far enough north. Still might do that.

Why the call of the trail is so strong. I think about it everyday sometimes all day long. What is it that wants a person to torture themselves everyday and night. No idea. I just know the Trail offers me something I don't get in civilization.  On The Trail everyone is equal. Yes some walk faster and go father distances but when you lay your head down no one cares. We just want to rest or sleep. I have laid my head down next to complete strangers I would have nothing in common with and we have all become  good friends. Well not all but the group of people I was honored to hike with or camp with are a great group of individuals.  Our fireside chats were mostly about the trail and food.




I miss all the hardships I had, I miss the mind struggles. 


I will get back on .

Thursday, June 14, 2012

On top of Silar Bald.


On AT Trail

5/30/2012
Today I write you to help me update my journey or should I say journeys.  Since I have had my mind goes off wondering in different directions. Sometimes I can bring it back other times I have no control of where it goes or for how long.
Not too sure were to start to I will start at the beginning. Last year I was going to tru-hike the Appalachian Trail. 2, 175 miles from Georgia to Maine. I made  through Georgia. But it took me months because I kept getting off and back on.
This year I am hiking to Maine. I could of started in North Carolina were I stopped last year. No not me I started at Springer Mountain the southern terminal. It is only 2 hour drive from my house. This year Scott hiked the first week with me it was very nice with him on the trail we hiked slow and camped were ever we wanted to. One night about 10 a hiker was walking south asked Scott if he had seen a tent. I guess he had hiked to where he was going to camp and no tent. There are shelters that a hiker can sleep in but if all the spots are full you are out of luck. I stayed in a lot of shelters but also tented.

All the shelters are different in Georgia the trail is wide most of the time two people can walk side by side. Each state has a hiking club that takes care of the shelters and the trail maintenance. Georgia is well taken care of the father north you get not so much.

After Scott went home I hiked on for about a week. I hooked up with some great people that were also tru hiking. For some reason not sure why.  I called home they came and got me. I was home about a week and then I had to get back on the trail. So Wade brought me back up and hiked 3 days with me and he went home I stayed kept hiking.

Typical shelter sleeps 12. This one has a loft. The hiker in the picture is Daz 11 he is from Germany. I met 3 Germans, 1 Scotland and 1 from New Zealand. I guess a documentary was shown in Germany this winter so a lot of German’s ended up coming over to hike.
Well to get back to my hike. I have hiked 200 miles. Met some incredible people along the way. I am planning n getting back on hopefully tomorrow.
I am all consumed with hiking walking 7 hours a day. Wow who would of ever thought. I  am constantly trying to drop the weight of my pack. I ordered anew pack that is what I am waiting for. It weighs 1.5 lbs. suppose to be here today.
I look at food differently now. I was carrying 10 days’ worth of food. Now 5 days is a lot. It is not easy but you can get to towns along the way to buy food. I use to eat breakfast before I broke camp. It was taking too long to get on the trail so now I pack up and hike about an hour then I will have breakfast. I use to have oatmeal and coffee now No coffee and only cold cereal. I carry powder whole milk.
Lunch use to be a tortilla and either tuna or salmon in the foil packs. With a package of mayo from the local deli. Now it’s still tortilla but peanut butter no jelly weighs too much.
 Dinner is always something hot. The pasta sides for $1 are really good. I have a summer sausage to cut up and put with it. I have been a vegetarian for 10 years but have been unable to keep doing that on the trail. If I had planned mail drops of food I could. But need a reliable support system at home. Which proved not to be when I called on a Friday to send my drop box told them the address never came the excuse was I walked to fast they didn’t think I would get there when I said I was going to. Lucky the little store had plenty of food to resupply.
I carry extra soup packets. Dried noodle soup Lipton. Just in case it gets cold. And I always have coffee, tea and some drink stuff you add to the water. That’s another thing I was carrying two full liters of water all the tie. Now I carry 1 liter unless I know the water source is far away. I was drinking about 3 liters of water a day and cooking with about ½ a liter. Water is plentiful along the trail.

A day hiking is very busy I was always trying to figure out where I actually was , how far to water, how far to next shelter. Even though I didn’t plan on always staying at a shelter it made be able to figure out where I was and how many more miles I had to go till the end of the day.
Some people hike by so many hours a day some by miles. I hiked till I got tired then I would lie down. Sometimes I would have to rest before I could set up my tent. Or even eat.
The hike is very hard for my old body but I always felt so good when I got to camp. The support from the other hikers was incredible. I met so many people all from different parts of the country and walks of life. I miss them another reason to get back out.
As far why I can’t stay on the trail and keep hiking and not coming home every month. Not sure when I get home I just want to get back out there. I have so many hikes I want to do. I found one in Spain. I just wish Scott wanted to hike with me yet another thing we don’t do together. He would rather camp then hike. At the beginning of the hike this year he was always trying to tell me this or that. I didn’t say anything just did my routine. After about the 3rd day he was asking me  should we do this or that. Like hang the bear bag before it darks.  Fixing your lunch in the morning and putting on top were its easy to get to. 2 cups of coffee. Well we either need to get up earlier or only one cup of coffee. Need to get on trial as soon as you can while you have the good energy. By the afternoon you start to wear down.
I was always an early raiser but on the trail I was up with the sun always. I love the trail and the trail family I have. I just wish I could live out there. I didn’t miss the TV but when I got home I went right back to watching it. Oh well.

My pack always changing, I do think I have it down now.
I wear underpants that are fast drying. A short sleeve t shirt that has special fabric for  quick drying. A pair of pants that have zipper so you can have shorts if needed also quick drying. I wear one pair of sock liners and carry one pair. And change back and forth about 3 x a day. I also have one pair of wool socks that I have in my sleeping bag and wear at night if needed. And a sports bra.  Flip flops for camp shoes, Camera and battery charger also an x battery and my cell phone and its wall charger. I was carrying extra head lamp batteries but will leave them home now.  Camp towel, tooth brush ,paste, hair brush, nail clippers a small knife,  bear bag line, water bag for at camp sometimes the water source is ½ mile from camp so I fill as much as I can.  I use paper towel quartered for TP. Ran out once leaves work also.  Food and water. Water weighs 2 lbs per liter and food usually weighs 2 lbs a day. Needless to say I am looking for lighter food. I was wearing hiking boots but have changed to trail runners then I will have my boots sent to me farther north or buy new ones.
In my pack I have a long under wear top. I’m leaving the bottoms home.  A stocking hat. Rain jacket, 20 degree bag, one person tent, sleeping pad. A alcohol stove with a wind shield made out of aluminum foil. A spoon plastic cut off so it will fit inside the pot. Matches and a lighter. Head lamp, down jacket it has a sack about the size of a loaf of bread. Running shorts as the weather gets hotter I’ll sleep in them and I can use them for swimming in. A small first aid kit.  Food and water. And water filter drops. I have tried 2 different water filters and I am going more towards the drops. Some water I didn’t even filter. And there is always someone with a filter if I run out of drops. They are light weight. That’s what I am after light weight everything.
One part of the trail was up Albert Mountain I had to climb up it on my belly hand over hand.  It had rained all night and was raining in the morning so it was it very scary but I did it. That’s what I found out while I was walking. I can do anything.

Everyone gets a trail name  supposed to come more organic then just give yourself one. The purist poop poop the one’s that gives themself a name.
My I got last year from some other hikers. I carry a GPS SPOT. And with my name them came up with Sweet spot. I have kept it. One hiker that I hike with was named Weatherman he was named because he could predict the weather better than the paid weathermen. Another was Firefox she had red hair and is very cute.
Scott’s name is Stops a lot. The dogs even get trail names. I only now a couple of the hikers real names but we never call each other by them always our trail names. Some of them have very interesting names and how they got them.
In the picture of the shelter with the tents you can see in the back ground the colored bags. Some people call them the bears M&M’S since the bears have figured out how to get the food bags whether they are on cables or hung with a rope. It’s a problem. I hang mine, so far they have not gotten it down. I met several hikers who sleep with their food. They say the bears don’t associate tents and food just the M&M’S. I have not heard of any tents being torn up. The black bears here are not aggressive. Well the moms are and now there is a lot of mom’s around. My big fear bears and snakes. Probably snakes more.