Date: 2007-05-19
To: Tonto
Miles today: 0.0

Here is Tonto's (aka Ron Drozd) summary of his 2007 section hike. Tonto & I hiked most of this section together.Dear Friends,        This will be a letter to all of you sharing some of my 2007 AT experience. Penny drove me to Springer Mtn. GA and I walked back to Newfound Gap, TN. Afterwards, I found it really enjoyable to look at a road map and be able to highlight, for the first time, a distance I covered on foot and not a motor vehicle. I hiked 203.6 miles (believe me every one of those tenths-of-a-mile count) in 16 days and experienced every weather condition from 80 degrees to the very low teens, rain, fog, ice, snow, and brilliant sunshine. There were many spectacular views along the way but they are not limited to those who hike as one can drive up to Clingmans Dome or Wesser Bald and see a few of them too.           The people along the trail are as varied as can be and help make the hike the wonderful experience that it is. Most of my miles were partnered with Early Bird (EB and a thru hiker) as our pace and personalities meshed quite well. He said good bye to corporate law after 30+ years and literally decided to take a walk. EB really had his act together when it came to this adventure and I can¢t imagine anyone being better prepared. Stealth was the oldest (62) and he was a dairy farmer from PA. who ¢farmed 8 days a week for the last 32 years¢ and this was his first vacation in all that time. There was a reported 84 year old ahead of us though we never met him. Many simply chucked-it-all and hit the trail which is a pretty brave act and I admire them for it. The male-female ratio was about 15 to 1 and size varied from 120 to 350 pounds.           The physical challenge the trail presents are huge and I can¢t imagine trying to section or thru hike, and enjoy the experience, without being in good shape to start. The ups and downs are all WORK and we averaged about 2 MPH over all of them. Hiking yourself into shape, as some try, would be painfully difficult. My first day was 8.5 miles and the most miles hiked in a day were 21. There is, not surprisingly, a tunnel vision mentality that sets in and one is out there to hike and that is simply what one does for a good part of the day. Doing the AT is a simple life that can be very attractive but you may not realize it until you leave the trail. EB and I usually hit the trail around 0700 which was about 90 min after waking up. That was tough on the 3-4 sub-freezing mornings we encountered. Many young hikers were able to sleep late, stop for dinner, and hike a couple hours into the night with their headlamps on. We never entertained the idea of hiking in the dark and increasing the odds against us. Getting lost was not a concern but taking a tumble in the dark certainly was.            We stayed at 2 hostels, used 7 shelters and encountered Trail Magic twice. The hostels provide a cheap, no frills alternative to a shelter/tent and are a real treat. A shower, laundry, and meal you do not cook are involved and those items are heavenly. Shelters are a bit like Army barracks-nothing is private and they are first come first served.   They were dry, kept the rain off you, and provided a place to cook not kneeling or squatting. The mice like them too and dealing with them required ingenuity which I did not have on one night and my new pack has a few small holes in it as proof. The TrailMagic involved AYCE (All You Can Eat) food both times. Two separate pairs of thru-hikers, one from ¢02 and another from ¢06, set up way stations right along side the trail and offered a huge variety of food to all of us. The 2nd time was at Stecoah Gap and without it we would not have made it out of the gap that day. We were fully prepared to camp in the gap as we were beat, but the hour of R&R plus the filling of our bellies gave us the strength to make it another 2.2 miles to the shelter. EB and I both agreed that it was the single toughest climb to date on the trail.        Excluding my 34 year old J.C. Higgins (Sears brand through the late 60¢s) down sleeping bag, all my gear was new. All of it worked just fine and probably will be with me on my future AT hikes. I will add trekking poles, water bladder, and small fanny pack. My pack without food and water weighed 25 pounds and got up to 35 with a full load. Many others carried over 50 and that amazed me. The saying ¢The more you carry the more you like camping and the less you carry the more you like hiking¢ pretty well sums it up.   I used mail drops at post offices for food resupply and don¢t think I will do it that way next time. Loading up at stores in towns along the way is the alternate method. In general, my meals were less than satisfactory though I was never hugely hungry on the trail even though I lost 7 pounds. Breakfasts were dry cereal with powdered milk and Tang, lunches Trail Mix, Snickers, Cheese Crackers, Slim Jims and dinners a variation of rice or noodle based food. I provided fuel for my body but was never really excited about my meals. On the three very cold mornings Snickers, Cheese Crackers and Pop Tarts were my breakfast-yummy huh? I am open for any suggestions.        The trail itself is well marked and well worn. We got in extra distance once when we got lost for about 400 yards just off the top of Blood Mountain. The surface is dirt, rocks, roots or a combination of all. I preferred dirt over rocks and that is, I believe, the common preference. Trail Maintainers are truly Trail Angels and their efforts are much appreciated. The labor involved in building/maintaining a trail is huge when considered virtually none is done with any power tool except a chain saw.   I am still totally puzzled as to how the shelters got built-well not built but rather how did the materials get hauled in with which to construct them. We are talking logs weighing well over 150 pounds etc.         The Web Site www.trailjournals.com is the home to huge amounts of hiking information. If you would like to follow Early Birds journal just type in Early Bird and you can get to his journal. We also developed a friendship with Gatorgump and he has a pretty amusing journal going as well.        At this time my desire for 2008 is to return to Newfound Gap and hike the 115 miles from there to Erwin, TN in late April-early May and then hike the 150 miles of AT in CT and MA beginning in early October.