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It was my youngest brothers birthday yesterday, he turned 43 and during a conversation we had last week asked me to hike a section of the Appalachian trail with him on that day. We made plans and he drove in the day before and we were on the trail by 11am.
For those of you that have never hiked the A.T. or any of the long haul trails in the U.S. its almost a spiritual experience for the die hards. These people have so many stories to share. I'm a day hiker, I like the exercise, I am not in the same category.
First thing I noticed is that its an underground society of people separated into levels of importance. They have nick names that they earn and I do mean earn. The ones held in the highest regard live eat and breath the trail and its people that respect it. These peoples nick names are spread through out the community of hikers, are carved into trees, into the wood shelters that dot the trail and communicated verbally from one to another when they rally in the woods. The nick names take on myth like status and its amazing but true that so and so in Vermont on his or her quest to complete how ever many miles of the trail will seek out this person that they have heard so much about that lives in Tennessee or North Carolina or where ever.
When you live on the trail you have to rely on other people to survive, you can only carry so much weight in provisions and when you run out you may be 15, 30 or more miles from where you can buy more.
This guy we met from Vermont yesterday had been on the trail for a week and was planning on being on the trail till next month when he needed to be back in Vermont to do yard work, I guess thats when his grass would need its first cutting. He had been eating trail mix, beef jerky and other cold lite weight food items for a week and had been carrying a tent, sleeping bag, stove, poles, food and about 12 lbs of water on his back when we met him. When our day hike ended at my car we had gone 7 miles, he around 16 that day so we took him into town for his first hot meal in a week, then brought him back to the trail where he would hike 3 miles back to the nearest shelter before the sun went down.
Its like a pay it forward life style, some day if I'm in Vermont hiking and I need a ride or a hot meal I can count on him and I know it.
I'm out of time, son is running the mile at school in an hour but I may write more later or tomorrow.
It was my youngest brothers birthday yesterday, he turned 43 and during a conversation we had last week asked me to hike a section of the Appalachian trail with him on that day. We made plans and he drove in the day before and we were on the trail by 11am.
For those of you that have never hiked the A.T. or any of the long haul trails in the U.S. its almost a spiritual experience for the die hards. These people have so many stories to share. I'm a day hiker, I like the exercise, I am not in the same category.
First thing I noticed is that its an underground society of people separated into levels of importance. They have nick names that they earn and I do mean earn. The ones held in the highest regard live eat and breath the trail and its people that respect it. These peoples nick names are spread through out the community of hikers, are carved into trees, into the wood shelters that dot the trail and communicated verbally from one to another when they rally in the woods. The nick names take on myth like status and its amazing but true that so and so in Vermont on his or her quest to complete how ever many miles of the trail will seek out this person that they have heard so much about that lives in Tennessee or North Carolina or where ever.
When you live on the trail you have to rely on other people to survive, you can only carry so much weight in provisions and when you run out you may be 15, 30 or more miles from where you can buy more.
This guy we met from Vermont yesterday had been on the trail for a week and was planning on being on the trail till next month when he needed to be back in Vermont to do yard work, I guess thats when his grass would need its first cutting. He had been eating trail mix, beef jerky and other cold lite weight food items for a week and had been carrying a tent, sleeping bag, stove, poles, food and about 12 lbs of water on his back when we met him. When our day hike ended at my car we had gone 7 miles, he around 16 that day so we took him into town for his first hot meal in a week, then brought him back to the trail where he would hike 3 miles back to the nearest shelter before the sun went down.
Its like a pay it forward life style, some day if I'm in Vermont hiking and I need a ride or a hot meal I can count on him and I know it.
I'm out of time, son is running the mile at school in an hour but I may write more later or tomorrow.
Get a copy of "A Walk In the Woods" by Bill Bryson. He is a hillarious guy and wrote an incredible book about hiking a portion of the AT. It's part travel guide, part history and part comedy. You can pick up copies for not much money at 2nd hand bookstores or from Amazon.
I've always wanted to hike the PCT, not in it's entirety but portions of it. When I retire I plan on taking some hiking vacations with a friend or two and hit the trails for a week or two at a clip. Have fun out there.
I think they ought to take youngsters who think they know it all up there for a month on the trail. It would do them good to rely on other people for survival.
I have taken a few days myself to live out of a 5x8 work trailer where I put a couch in and lived. Seriously. You come to appreciate the things you take for granted. Like a hot shower. A bathroom. Why I even shaved and washed up in a men's bathroom as people came in looking at me funny. I changed in the stall. Dressed up and went on job interviews. Homelessness is nothing to laugh at. I enjoyed the time to reflect on the home I was able to return to. We all think we have it bad until you take time to do something radical like living on the street. Walking the isles of Walmart in the middle of the night cause you couldn't sleep. Having worked that evening in the back of my mind was..."Where am I going to park the trailer for the evening so I can get some sleep?" In my mind I didn't want that parking lot from the night before because of the ambulances and parking lot sweepers and so on. It's stressful but keeps you humble and makes you appreciate what you have.
Get a copy of "A Walk In the Woods" by Bill Bryson. He is a hillarious guy and wrote an incredible book about hiking a portion of the AT. It's part travel guide, part history and part comedy. You can pick up copies for not much money at 2nd hand bookstores or from Amazon.
It's one of my favorite books.
You know what? I'm going to do just that. I don't think enough could be written about it and another persons take on things would be interesting.
The guy we hiked with yesterday said he had about a three day hike before he was to meet up with a couple he knows at a hostel hes heard about that is run by some very nice people.
He referred to his friends wife as a real b*tch but he explained. Apparently shes a bundle of energy that is into step aerobics, he said you know how most people use one or two steps? well this lady likes to build a small mountain and does it. He said she could do laps around him and was always on him to keep up. Funny really because I know they must get along well as they plan on spending several weeks together.
It seems to me that the people that spend weeks and months completing sections of trail get to escape what life has become, enjoy simplistic beauty and bond with people in a way that is virtually unknown anymore in the real world.
<re: A Walk in the Woods>You know what? I'm going to do just that. I don't think enough could be written about it and another persons take on things would be interesting.
Bryson's book is hilarious; mine is about read to tatters. However, don't expect to read a view that is simpatico to yours (very eloquent and appreciative of your experiences). Bryson expends a lot of negativity about the trail, comparing it to the hiking he's done in Europe. Seems that over there, you can end a day of hiking by adjourning to a convivial inn or hostel - not pitch a tent in the woods, boil noodles over a fitful fire, and having to bury your own p00p. And the people he writes about ..... eh, it's a wonder he wasn't sued for slander. His words painted some very painful caricatures
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It seems to me that the people that spend weeks and months completing sections of trail get to escape what life has become, enjoy simplistic beauty and bond with people in a way that is virtually unknown anymore in the real world.
If you ever decide to blog your experiences, post the link. I'd enjoy reading it. And, if you've never heard of the guy, check out Peter Jenkin's site Exploring with Peter Jenkins
He's a 60s generation fellow who left college disillusioned by the Vietnam war, Civil Rights issues and the general state of the world. Instead of protesting or encouraging the destruction of our nation, he decided to get out and meet the 'real' people of this country. He spent six years walking across the country, first with a dog and later with a wife (who seemed to make the last part of the trek kind of a downer, if you ask me ). The length of the trek was the result of him stopping for months at a time to earn money to continue. He spent these interludes with an extremely diverse group of people: a mountain man in Appalachia, a poor black family in the Smokies, and a hippy commune in Tennessee. Also a family in Louisiana who made part of their living hunting gators in the swamps and then a hardy set living nearly at the top of the Rocky Mountains.
I'd advise Bryson for laughs and Jenkins for a thoughtful exploration of life on a trail.
I know several people who have completed the AT, and several who are trying. Myself, I've only hiked the last 6 or 7 miles in Maine (see my profile pic). I've tried to get time off from work to do it but it takes several months and haven't been able too. Most people who hike the AT are either retired or college kids.
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). The length of the trek was the result of him stopping for months at a time to earn money to continue. He spent these interludes with an extremely diverse group of people: a mountain man in Appalachia, a poor black family in the Smokies, and a hippy commune in Tennessee. Also a family in Louisiana who made part of their living hunting gators in the swamps and then a hardy set living nearly at the top of the Rocky Mountains.
