Snakes...

This isn't something you see everyday! These two snakes were mating on the parking lot of the "Big Walker Motel," which is where I'm spending the night.

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!!!



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It's hot...

Here's a picture of what I look like this morning. I thought the camera would catch the dripping sweat but it didn't. It's HOT here today and my morning started with a steep climb to a ridge. Luckily I'll ridge walk for a while, which should be nice.

Wishing everyone a very happy Thursday!!!

Yahtzee

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Sick of styles...

I climbed over countless styles yesterday. These are used when the trail passes through private property, to allow hikers to safely climb the fences.

This style was over eight feet tall and was the last one I, thankfully, had to climb yesterday.

Prayers answered, I found a wonderful campsite and some friends already set up there only about another mile from where I took this picture.


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My hiking companions...

I passed through several pastures yesterday, which led to some new hiking companions.

These beefy girls tried to walk along with me. To be honest it freaked me out a bit to have a herd of cattle in tow. Eventually they stopped following me and went back to grazing...

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Stairs from yesterday...

I climbed these stairs yesterday. It seemed they would never stop...

I'm not sure if they were put in to help hikers with the steep climb or intended to reduce soil erosion. I guess they accomplish both...

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The many faces of the AT...

When there are no trees on which to paint a white blaze, the trail is marked with posts. This is the official trail marker leading hikers into a field of tall grass. From here on out the trail is marked with fence posts, spaced every few hundred yards.

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OUCH...

This afternoon I took my first BIG digger. I was walking in a valley, with a thick canopy of treetop growth, so the rocks were blanketed in a thick, slippery moss. I was stepping carefully but I guess I wasn't careful enough. Shortly after leaving Chatfield Shelter, as I stepped down from a tall rock, my foot slipped. I tumbled forward, compressing my left knee and landing on my right elbow. I landed on one of my trekking poles, bending it, but mercifully avoiding the carbide tip which could have left a serious mark. I'll admit, after landing on rocks, I laid there for a moment assessing things. Luckily, the fall only resulted in scrapes and soreness so I continued on.

Later in the day the trail led into scenic and beautiful pasture land. The trail dumped into a truck stop area, near some interstate that I don't know, but there was a gas station (beer) and pizza place. Ahhh... Satiated, all is good and I look forward to hiking again tomorrow.

Happy Trails,
Yahtzee

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Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes...

Lots of changes on the trail today ... This is a beautiful rhododendron flower. I've been walking past these bushes for weeks now but they're finally starting to bloom. It's nice to see some color.

The other change is the "retirement" of two more thru hikers. Hank (AKA: Itchy Balls) and Larry (AKA: Pappy) have left the trail. Pappy headed out this morning on a Greyhound and Itchy was picked up by his son. They both achieved their goals and objectives for their hike and were ready to go. I wish them both the very best ...

Happy Trails,
Yahtzee

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One of my favorite songs...

Hi Everyone,

One of my "luxury items" is my iPod.  Normally I would not bring "technology" into the backcountry but since this trip is a tad bit longer than a weekend getaway I've cut myself some slack and allowed for the distraction.  Since the battery runs out much faster than it takes me to get from town to town (to recharge) I still have plenty of time to simply walk, reflect and ponder.

I was walking the other day and had my iPod set to shuffle, which allows the music player to select the next song in random order.  This is kinda fun since I have an extreemly diverse music collection and can go from classical to hip hop to country to pop to jazz or whatever else I've downloaded.

The song "Goodbye Ordinary" by Mercy Me came on and I promised myself that I would post the lyrics and a link to the tune so everyone can listen to it for themselves.  It's one of my favorites and I hope you enjoy it too!

Here's a link if you'd like to listen to the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5OpLl6ogls&feature=related


Here are the lyrics:
I wonder when we first bought into this
so satisfied with status quo.
Have we convinced ourselves that this is all there is?
Well all that is within me says we were meant to break free.

[chorus]
Live like there's no tomorrow.
Love extravagantly.
Lead a life to be followed.
Goodbye ordinary,
Goodbye ordinary.

We were never meant to compromise,
settle for mediocrity.
This life was never ment to be a waste of time.
Well all that is within me says no more just existing.

[chorus]
Live like there's no tomorrow.
Love extravagantly.
Lead a life to be followed.
Goodbye ordinary,
Goodbye ordinary.

No more complacency,
no more just settling.
This time goodbye to atrophy for
we were meant to be alive.
[chorus]
Live like there's no tomorrow.
Love extravagantly.
Lead a life to be followed.
Goodbye ordinary,
Goodbye ordinary

Waterfall...

I came upon this beautiful waterfall a couple of days ago. It's amazing what I find some days ... It's always a surprise.

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Waterfall II

Here's me, in front of the fall...

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Bridge...

The AT crosses hundreds of rivers and streams, luckily (in the southern states) there are foot bridges. This is one of the more impressive that I've seen so far.

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Wild Ponies...

I had heard that there were wild ponies on the trail ... And this morning I got to see them.

I'm currently at Thomas Knob Shelter for a quick lunch break...

Happy Trails.

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Birthday on the AT...

Today is my birthday and I'm loving the fact that I'm spending it on the AT!

The day started out partially sunny but the clouds have rolled in and the rain is imminent. It rained yesterday and I'd hoped that I might catch a break today ... But I guess it's not to be. Oh well ... As the saying goes, "No pain, no rain, no Maine."

Thanks to everyone for all of your birthday cards, emails and wishes. I'll do my best to respond to you all soon. It's starting to rain so I've got to put the phone away and start walking. It gets cold when you stop walking. Burrrr...

Happy Trails!


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Damascus, VA Trail Days...

So, what do thru hikers do when they want to take vacation from the trail? We go camping of course! Since camping doesn't involve moving your tent for a couple of days (and might also include ice chests with beverages in bottles) it's vastly different than backpacking! Ahhh... the joy of ice!

This past weekend was the annual A.T. Trail Days celebration in Damascus, VA. Each year, this town of 3,000 residents swells to over 20,000 hiking enthusiasts.

Originally I'd planned to skip Trail Days, intending rather to stay on the A.T. to make forward progress, but everyone's enthusiasm about how I shouldn't miss it swayed my opinion .. so I decided to see what all of the hub bub was about.

I had to "yellow blaze" (AKA: drive) a chunk of trail in order to get here ... so that means I'll have to return to that section and finish it before my thru hike will be deemed complete. That said, I'm more than happy with my decision, since this past weekend was something I'll remember forever.

I've been to plenty of fairs and festivals in my day but I've never been to one that catered to and focused on nothing but backpackers! It was so cool!

All of the major gear manufacturers were present. The best thing was the event's organizers set those booths up near Tent City which was where all of the thru hikers were camped. Since "Tent City" was about a mile from the Main Street activities the reps could focus exclusively on hikers while the rest of the event's attendees enjoyed the booths set up in the more public area.

I visited the manufacturer reps and to my surprise received some outstanding customer service. My Lekki trekking poles were cleaned, free of charge, and received new baskets and tips. My Gregory backpack was repaired (sewn) where the stitching had come undone, also free of charge. I was able to trade my Petzel headlamp for a better and brighter Princeton Tec headlamp, just because they want their brand to be carried, used and "advertised" by thru hikers. The best interaction I had was with the Thermarest rep. My new Neo Air mattress has been leaking air for the past few weeks. It was a slow leak but pretty annoying regardless. They tested it and determined that the issue was a manufacturing defect and replaced it, free of charge!

I also got a great deal on a 30 degree "summer" bag and a lighter, smaller backpack so I'm pretty sure my days of schlepping a 50 pound pack days are over. The tradeoff was having to send a lot of cold weather gear home ... But summer is coming so hopefully I won't be too cold between now and then.

Trail Days was a great opportunity to make new friends as well as catch up with others I've met on the trail. There were updates regarding those who have left the trail due to injury, illness, life circumstances or simply due to the fact that they got sick of hiking for one reason or another. The "Three Musketeers" also known as Boston Dan, Hemi and Zenon broke up this weekend. Dan headed back to Hot Springs, NC to pick up the trail where he left off, Zenon is headed back to Texas and Hemi continued up the trail, from here. I wish them all continued success.

Well it's getting late and I want to get an early start tomorrow. It's time to walk through the 460+ miles of Virginia AT. It's such a long section hikers sometimes get the "Virginia Blues." As of right now ... I'm really looking forward to it.

Happy Trails everyone!

Yahtzee













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FOOD...

"Pappy" who has worked as a paid chef serves as our "trail chef" from time to time.

Here he takes it easy, cooking up some hot dogs on the newly purchased grill. "Warrior" plans to donate the grill to the Methodist run hostel upon our departure. I'll contribute a folding chair I picked up for $9. The allure of sitting in a chair for the weekend made it a worthy expenditure!

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Parade Costumes...

Some folks should leave the fairy costumes to others...

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Trail Days Talent Show...

This stringed duo played great and bagged second place in the trail days talent show. Out of the many who preformed ... some had talent. It was all in good fun and the crowd enjoyed their efforts.

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Class of 2009

Here's the parade banner for last year's thru hiker class. Those of us on the trail this year didn't get a banner ... because we haven't earned it yet. I started with the class of 2000 and the rest of us "2010ers" mixed in where ever we wanted.

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Hiker Parade Starting Location...

One of the highlights of Trail Days is the "Hiker Parade." Luckily, I was warned of the "townies" true intentions for us while we proudly walked down their Main Street.

You see the parade quickly devolves into a multi block water war!

Each year's "thru hiker class" (ie; 2008, 2009) is identifed with a banner, carried by poor suckers whose hands are then otherwise occupied, rendering them offenceless and making them sitting ducks for anyone looking for an easy target. As you can see, I chose to arm myself with a super soaker and therefore was able to give just about as good as I got (with the exception of the townies who were using garden hoses).

This was great fun and felt great on a humid and sunny afternoon.

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End of the parade...

I didn't take any pictures during the water war (since I didn't want my phone to get wet) but I was one of the first to finish so this is a good perspective of how many hikers (former & current) made it to Trail Days.

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Parade Costumes...

This princess was fueling up on a free chili dog before the water war began...

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Parade Costumes...

This guy just got married (really). His wife was standing near by...

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Parade Costumes...

Note the shopping cart of water balloons! These former thru hikers came prepared!

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Parade Costumes...

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Balance and flow ...

This was a peaceful stream that I passed recently. It exuded balance and a sense of calm ... hopefully the photo conveys that.

Wishing everyone a calm and peaceful day.


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Standing Bear Farm, Hiker Hostel...

After a long 13 miles I pulled into Standing Bear Farm. It's a very friendly place that operates on the honor system. If you use it or eat it then you write it down on an envelope and drop the money in the box when you leave.

The buildings and the values are "old fashioned" around these parts ... it's amazingly refreshing.

Yahtzee

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View from my window...

This is the view from my window at Standing Bear Farm Hiker Hostel. The buildings on the property are over 100 years old.

Yahtzee

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View from the porch...

Note the "A.T." built into the railing. The stream runs under the floor of the building.

Yahtzee

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Blowdown...

This one was an easy decision (see post below). "Under." And, yes, that muddy stream looking thing, running under the tree, is the trail.

Yahtzee

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Underside of a tree

Ever wonder what the roots of a tree look like? Well here ya go...

The wind storms in the Smokey's are powerful and have downed hundreds, if not thousands, of trees. Recent storms made for some interesting decisions ... over, around or under?

Yahtzee
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Charlie's Bunion

My phone is back in action (whoo hoo) and I hope to post more frequently to my blog (Verizon network allowing). My phone's battery died before I completed the Smokies, so I didn't get to take all of the photos I wanted ... but I got enough.

This is the view from Charlie's Bunion. I'm a fan of this photo because after experiencing days of winter weather (rain, hail and snow) followed by perfect weather (crystal clear skies) I finally got a full dose of the haze that gave those mountains their name.

This day was a simply stunning hike high along the spine of the mountain range.

Yahtzee

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Lunch ....

Just the "average" Wednesday lunch routine.

I'm half way through a 13 mile day and just couldn't resist stopping for lunch and a rest at this spot.

Spring is "springing" finally. The birds seem to be everywhere today ... as
do the bees. It's warm with a slight breeze ... I'd love to lounge on this rock all day but alas I've got to get moving.

Happy Trails

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Mud...

The rain has done quite a job on the trail. Ahhh ... Mud!

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Phone Issues and Blog Updates ...

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to apologize for the delay with some of my entries and uploads.  I've been having some phone issues on top of sketchy network availability. Basically I've been posting blind because I haven't been able to pull up the internet on my phone. It appears that some of my posts haven't transmitted and those that did have posted out of the order in which they were sent.  Hopefully it's not too confusing.  Maybe I'll start to note the date in the title in order to make it easier to follow along.

Take care and happy trails!!!

Yahtzee

Smokey Mountains National Park ...

The Smokey's have been a challenge thus far ... It started with light rain that turned into heavy rain, that turned into hail, which became snow. You would think it would be a blessing that the sun came out but all that resulted in was an enormous amount of mud. Ahhh ... the joys of the A.T.

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Fontana Dam ...

This is me at Fontana Dam right before entering the Smokey Mountain National Park.

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