Date: 2010-09-27
From: Baxter Peak

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

On The TrailIf you divide the trail into thirds, the first section is ups and downs, the middle is flat and the last is ups and downs. I was told that 30% of the difficulty is in the first 2/3rds of the trail and 70% of the difficulty is in the last 3rd. GeorgiaMarch 21 2010 was the second day of spring. It was 75 degrees at Springer. The day I started was a day of storms and the weather changed to rain mixed with snow and 40 degrees. I was still feeling a bit anxious and wondering if I could walk for over 6 months over tough terrain to Maine. I question if I will be a good backpacker because I don't like thunderstorms, and I'm afraid of heights. My journey began from the northern suburbs of Atlanta with the first stop at McDonald's in Dahlonega as the meeting place for my launch team. My launch team of 7 consisted of my wife, kids, two grandkids and Sea Bear and Cotton Patch who are both veteran AT thru hikers. We headed to Springer Mountain via the very wet and sometimes soupy FSR 42. We reached the parking lot around noon-well behind schedule. My launch team, minus my 7 year old grandson Mitchell and my wife Dottie, hiked up to the summit in the rain and fog to sign in. Joe ¢Cotton Patch¢ Goode presented me with his pilgrims cross on top of Springer Mountain. He received the cross at the monastery in Conyers when he made a Cursillo week-end in 1981. His son David "Longlegs" Goode took the cross from Mt. Katahdin to Springer in 1989 at age 19. Cotton Patch took the cross from Springer to Katahdin in 1992. Fr. Bill Hoffman carried the cross from Springer to Katahdin in 1993. Friend Ray "Grumpy" Stuermer carried it from Springer to Katahdin in 1995. Fr. Bob Cushing (Savannah Diocese) took the cross to Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan in 2005 for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the bombings. Fr. Marty Kopchik took the cross to Spain in 2006 for his hike on Camino de Santiago de Compostela - the 1000 year old trail walked by St. Francis of Assissi. And the cross has been on many adventures. I can now be added to the list."               My launch team watched me walk away and disappear into the fog. I called it a day early at Stover Creek Shelter due to the yucky weather, sleepless night prior and the 35 pound backpack. After a very stormy night in the Shelter I woke up to an inch of snow on the ground. I hit the trail after 9 a.m. and walked in the snow 5 miles to Hawk Mountain to find the shelter was full already mid-afternoon. I set up tent here to spend the night.On the third day I hiked my first 10 mile day. I hit the trail a little later so I could let everything dry out from the snow. I started out at 9:45 and ended his day at Gooch Gap before 5 this evening. My first Hostel was the Mountain Crossings at Neel¢s Gap. It was a nice to be able to rest comfortably. This was where I saw my first trail magic. A local church brought in baked ziti and salad. The next day I ran into some Army Rangers from Camp Merrill hopefully doing drills; as I approached I saw a group of men that had one guy immobilized on the ground and about 6 guys pointing automatic weapons at him. It took me about an hour to calm down.North CarolinaThe days passed quickly and I passed the Georgia and North Carolina line. I would have missed the sign if it had not been for a group of Scouts on the trail. From there the trail went by quickly and I met my family in Franklin. I hiked with Emily, my granddaughter and Harry Donnelly, the cookie man from Winding Stairs to Wayah Bald. It was hard to walk away from them a second time as I continued my hike.                                                      I was soon at the NOC and then Fontana Dam. Dottie met me again and we went to Pigeon Forge, TN and took a weekend off. Dottie let me off and I hiked through the Smoky Mountains. TennesseeGoing through the Smokey Mountain National Park was amazing and rough. I will always see views from Clingmans Dome. I had the crap scared out of me at Charlie¢s Bunion. I was walking a ledge at 5905' and I could look straight down to 1000' feet. I prayed all the way around it. I do not like high places.                                     Just down the trail from Charlie¢s Bunion I ran into 500' of trail covered in snow/ice. My legs, knees and hips hurt as I started from Ice water Shelter so I decided to take a half mile side hike and camp at Pecks Corner. I arrived at about 2 PM. There was one section hiker at Pecks. He started talking crazy and spooked me so I slowly went back up the half mile and back to the AT and on to Tri-Croner Knob Shelter. Two other hikers had left Pecks because of this section hiker. I did not arrive at the shelter until 7:30PM. This was the low point of my hike through the Smoky Mountains. Slack Packing is when you hike the AT without your pack. On April 18, 2010, Seabear who is my nephew met me in Hot Springs, NC. We had an early Breakfast and I started slack packing at 8:30AM. After 6 miles he met me again and we went to lunch in Hot Springs. Then I went back on the trail and did another stretch of 9 miles. We finished off the day at Outback; "What a way to hike the trail." Then I took a zero day at Jimmy's house in Asheville. One of the tales going around the thru-hikers is that the forest service and park rangers have to round up bear cubs. Last year there was a shortage of acorns which the mother bears use as a bulk up for hibernation. The cubs nurse all though hibernation and many of the mother bears died this winter leaving the bear cubs alone. The cubs are being transported to a Knoxville rescue center. At one of the shelters in North Carolina a wild turkey tried to roost on top of the shelter. With the rain and the wind the turkey kept sliding off. After about the fourth fall the turkey gave up and came into the shelter and stayed with a full shelter of thru-hikers.In April I saw six inches of snow on top of Roan Mountain and saw amazing views form High Bluff Knob. The trail through Carver Gap looked like a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting. There were fir trees with snow weighing down the limbs. The trails down were mud covered. I almost fell many times. I stopped at the Over mountain Shelter, which is an old barn from the revolutionary war period.          The Little Hump views were amazing and then there were long horn cattle on top of Hump Mountain. While the trail went straight up and down it was an amazing 45 miles. I think this was a most beautiful part of the AT.I made it to the Mountain Harbor Hostel in Roan Mountain, TN. This is the nicest Hostel I saw. I waited for Dottie to meet me again. I spent next morning in Johnson City, TN with Dottie, Marvin and Marion. Dottie and Marion dropped Marvin and I at Mountain Harbor again. Marvin started hiking with me.On April 30, 2010 I met Stumble Wolf. I asked Stumble Wolf how he got his name and this is the story he told me. "When I was ten I suffered a bad head injury. I was told by the doctors that I would never walk again. I spent four years in a wheel chair but I knew I could walk. I took the name WOLF because I had the drive of a wolf to walk and I did. I added the STUMBLE because I still fall a lot because of my brain injury and the way my body works." "My parents were afraid for me to be on the trail as I was their brain injured child. But a buddy and me started at Springer Mountain in March. My buddy decided the AT was not for him after the first week. I was by myself on the trail My Dad wanted me to come home but I kept going. Now they are proud of me and my journey. After I finish my through hike this year I want to come back next year and work for one of the outfitters on the trail." Marvin and I slack packed 10 miles from Walnut Mountain Road back to US 19E after starting with an amazing breakfast at the Mountain Harbor Hostel. The day turned out to be better than expected given the awful flooding to the west in Tennessee. We only had about 1 1/2 hours of rain before the day turned beautiful. We ran into HD Mama again whom I thought was way ahead of me by now. We packed 16 hikers into a pickup truck for dinner at Bob's Dairy land in Roan Mountain. VirginiaHighs: I had sausage biscuits at the general store before I started hiking. It did not rain. I made it to McAfee Knob and had my picture made sitting near the edge. I could never have imagined that I would sit on the edge of a cliff. I have a fear of high places. There were six other hikers on the knob when I arrived and they shamed me into getting my picture made. The picture describes today.                I made 700 miles on the AT. I learned the right way to hike up hills and use the rest step Sea bear used. Why didn't I learn this early? I saw the view from Hay Rock Ridge. I made it to Daleville, VA and will spend tonight at the Ho Jo. Lows: I missed the trail at the Tinker Cliffs and got scratched up and had to rock climb to get back on the AT. I passed the High Voltage Power Lines shown in the Guide and thought I had one mile to go; I thought I was making record time. Then I passed 4 more sets of power lines that were not shown in the guide and I had four miles to Daleville. All in all it was wonderful to hike the AT; both the highs and the lows. I left Daleville, VA and headed north. I crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time. I walked near it for quite awhile.On May 30 I crossed the James River Foot Bridge and I watched hikers and locals jump into the river from the bridge. A couple from SC took a photo for me then I rested in the parking lot. The 10 day forecast calls for heat and thunder storms. May 31 was Memorial Day. I always think of my dad on this day. He had 9 combat jumps with the 82nd Airborne during WWII. I miss him. There were a lot of day hikers out today at the James River. I hiked the distance to US60.I started hiking early in the morning, starting at 6 a.m., to beat the heat. I stopped at Dripping Rock Parking Area because one of the guys' parents is giving some trail magic in the form of burgers, hot dogs and beer. Do I talk about the climb over Humpback again? I think every state has a Humpback Mountain. Do I talk about the view at Glass Hollow Overlook? Each view on the Blue Ridge Parkway was amazing. Do I talk about the trail down to Rockfish Gap? Do I talk about Trail Angels? The last three days was filled with Trail Angels helping hikers with all kinds of stuff including hamburgers and beer. It amazed me that so many thru-hikers and families of thru-hikers came to help others with their journey of the AT. Waynesboro has a list of Angels that shuttle hikers around for free. I guess next year I will have to pass it forward and serve my time as an Angel.             Finally, after 900 miles on the AT, I was greeted by the presence of bears! I saw bears in the Shenandoah National Park. They don't seem terribly startled by people but luckily I was looking at them from a distance and one bolting out of a tree next to me. That wasn't the case for a hiker named Pistol Pete, who was delayed a day because of a Mama bear standing in the middle of the trail watching her cub who didn't want to come out of the tree. She was unimpressed at his attempts to make noise and scare her away. In fact after two or three separate attempts at varying times of day to get her to leave the trail he gave up and spent another night at Loft Mountain Campground. Smartly, he was not bold enough to walk past her. In addition to the bears I observed rattlesnakes, turkeys, and tons of bird watchers in the park. Of all the wildlife the bird watchers are the most startling. I still gets a shiver when I sees a human perched in the woods along the AT. I was impressed at the park rangers and group of volunteers that were pulling up a non-native weed that is poisonous to caterpillar eggs laid on them. This was quite a task for the group of 10 people in the 300 square mile park.                     I survived the "roller coaster" series of non-stop ups and downs over 13 miles. It whipped me out but all was well now after some Tombstone Pizza and Ben and Jerry's ice cream at the Bears Den Hostel. I went down to the Blackburn Center with the intention of resting and moving on. Then I took a warm shower, and they have a big screened wraparound porch. And, Brian gave me a root beer and agreed that I should stay, and why heading to Harper's Ferry in the morning would be a piece of cake. I was happy to relax with the best of both worlds-- fresh air, and a swing.   Other hikers didn't show up until dinnertime, about 6 o'clock, so I had a long afternoon to myself. Brian made spaghetti for supper. This is a good place to finish up VA. West VirginiaOn June 15, I passed 1,000 miles and then walked to Harper's Ferry to head home for a few days off the trail. As I got closer to Harper Ferry and I went over the long bridge into town, It dawned on me that I had walked all the way here. I followed the blue blazed path to the ATC HQ. I signed in, had my picture taken, and was assigned my number. I was the 354 thru-hiker to reach the center.                                       MarylandWhen I got back to the trail, Maryland gave me quite a surprise. The highs were in the 70's and the humidity was low. A slight breeze was blowing as I started. The trail was easy and my spirits were high.                            On June 30th I made it to the Pen Mark County Park where the wooden post marks Mason and Dixon Line. I was in Pennsylvania which is the seventh state. The only time I was sick on the trail was on July 1. I came down with a 12 hour stomach virus that was running through all the thru-hikers.PennsylvaniaI discovered the rocks of Pennsylvania. Also the weather became full summer as the humidity and the temperatures reached the 100's. I crossed the actual half way point of the AT just past the Toms Run Shelter; 1089+ miles of the AT. I went to the Pine Grove Furnace State Park Store and the place on the trail where the Half Gallon Challenge started. Thru-hikers must eat a half gallon of ice cream in 30 minutes.On the 4th of July, just east of the AT, there was a re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg. This battle was the turning point of the War Between the States. I walked along today trying to remember what I learned in history. Did General Lee lead an attack Union Army to take the fighting from Virginia? Or was Lee trying to keep the Union Army from entering Virginia?On July 6, I hiked my longest hike of the AT; almost 24 miles. I left Duncannon this morning at 6AM. I wanted to beat the heat. I was motivated by news of hikers I met early on the trail in Georgia. Whippersnapper is pushing to make Baxter State Park at the end of August as he has a job lined up for September. Most of the other thru-hikers I was traveling with are in New York. I enjoyed my night at The Doyle. This is a 150 year old hotel that caters to hikers. I stopped at the Doyle after I finished my pizza and I talked to a group of thru-hikers. They were eating steak. I wish I had stopped there first. I did have beer with them before I turned in. On July 7th, the low was 79. I was feeling the heat and the rocks. The humidity was near 90. Water had become a problem in PA as many of the spots are dry. I felt I was in the movie 'Ground Hog Day'. Each day the trail was like the day before.                  Then I stopped in Delaware Water Gap, PA. at the Church Of The Mountain Presbyterian Hostel. They put on a great hiker feed for about 10 thru-hikers. I left Delaware Gap early after eating breakfast at the Diner. I crossed the Delaware River and entered the Worthington State Forest in NJ. I had walked less than a mile when I saw a bear on the trail. The blue berries were ready along the trail. New JerseyAfter walking six miles I came to Sunfish Pond. It is a glacier lake and one of the natural wonders of NJ. The rocks on the trail were awful. The trail climbed up to a ridge that looked weird. All the vegetation was dead and brown. I guess the heat and drought caused it. The view from the ridge was great. I only did ten miles but I had a really rough time. I was exhausted after the first mile. Dodger another thru-hiker met me on the trail about a mile before the Mohican Outdoor Center lodge with a large Gator Ade. I looked so bad that he hiked back to me with the drink.                                 On July 16, I was ready to quit the trail. I thought I was going to become a Thru-whiner. Dottie told me to sleep on it and see if I still wanted to come home tomorrow. The next day I continued my thru-hike without whining. Dottie had to listen to me whine for all through PA. I complained about the heat, the rocks, my knee and everything else. New YorkThe trail followed the NJ/NY border like it did in NC/TN. At Mombasha I could see New York City. The trail goes in a half circle through New York with the City off to the right. This was the only time I was able to see it. As I came down from Bear Mountain I came into Ft Montgomery and the Hudson River Valley. I stopped at the Bear Mountain Bridge that crosses the Hudson River. A tug was pushing a group of eight barges under it that looked like they were full of sand. The view up the valley was beautiful. I spent the night in Highland Falls which is the home of West Point and the United States Military Academy. Near Wingdale, NY I passed a shelter built by the Telephone Pioneers. I also passed the AMTRAC station.            ConnecticutI slacked today about 15+ miles. The weather is still nice. I am making good time and I should finish my hike in September or in about 7 weeks. I made it to Connecticut and I ran into a group of thru-hikers that are using two cars and slack packing the whole trail. Why didn't I think of that? MassachusettsOn July 28th, I crossed into MA and stopped at South Egremont. I was excited when I completed 1500 miles. This was one of my milestones. I walked over the Cobbles and I could see the Hoosic Valley and Mt Greylock. I enjoyed MA as there was a town at every road. Mt Greylock which was the highest point on the AT in MA. VermontOn August 2, I entered Vermont. The trail entered a Forrest growth that looked like a long green tunnel. The trail was covered by black mud. I had a climb up to almost 4000' and then down and the trail was mostly flat. I stopped at Manchester Center. I had a great hike on the Long Trail/AT. The trail was flat and the weather was cool. I met my first Southbound thru-hikers; four southbound hikers that started on June 16th. I hiked to Look Out Cabin. The whole hike was a series of sharp ups and downs and I was carrying the extra water. I made it to the look out cabin at 2PM. The hail storms started at 3PM and continued until 3AM.   The shingles on the cabin were missing and the rain poured in. It was wet, wet and wet.                                 The trail was down hill to VT12. I made it to Cumberland Farm Store at 11AM. I had chicken, watermelon, peach and 2 diet cokes. I saw Dodger again. I thought he was a week ahead of me. The lady at the store said that Barbarian Utopias spent last night in her red barn. I met them at a shelter a few nights back. A father was thru-hiking with his ten year old daughter and eight year old son. It was nice to hear they were safe from the storms. New HampshireOn August 11, I trudged my way through the last of Vermont. I crossed the Connecticut River and stepped into New Hampshire. The AT goes right down the sidewalks of Dartmouth College. I liked that. On August 13 I went over Smart's Mountain which had a fire tower at the top which was really neat. There was also an old cabin but after the rainy night in the look out cabin I decided it wasn't a good idea.                        I climbed Mt. Moosilauke and it was a test of how I would do in the White Mountains. I started getting worried it was going to rain on me because the clouds started looking bad and it was really steep down but I was lucky and I did fine. I met the AMC Shuttle and started my Hut to Hut Hiking through the White Mountains. The Huts provide a bed with breakfast and supper. They also offer a soup for lunch for $2. Another thru-hiker said I was using a concierge hiking service. It sure was nice. At Zeland Falls Hut I was surprised when Dodger arrived. He was hiking with Shag Man. They both stayed at the hut after volunteering to work for their stay.                            I made it to top of Mt Washington and had my photo taken with Churchill who is a thru hiker from England. It was cold when I started then the sun came out and warmed up. As a Georgia hiker it was appropriate that I ended my Hut to Hut hike in the presidential mountains on Carter Mountain. I was worried about the White Mountains but I think New Hampshire was my favorite section of the AT.MaineThere was a cold rain as I crossed the NH-ME border. I made it 1/2 miles into Maine. Just before I stopped I passed a side trail named Success Trail. Just as I was gloating to myself a Southbound Thru-hiker said she had just crossed the Mahoosuc Notch on the AT. She said it took her three hours to go one mile. She said after she came to it's end she looked back and screamed all kind of obscenities at it. She shot the Mahoosuc the bird.                              The trail lived up to its reputation. It sucked. It took me Nine Hours to hike nine miles. I spent a hard part of it going through the Mahoosuc Notch. It was just a great big pile of boulders. My knees and hips hurt. It was Cloudy as I made my way over Wyman Mountain. Maine was beautiful with its mountains and streams. It is not a great place to keep dry. I was always fording water or it was raining.            I had a rough time going over both South and North Crocker Mountains. It was over 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity. It felt like I was back in the June in PA. On September 1, I hit 2000 miles! I had just 179 left until the end. I made it to Monson, ME and started the 100 mile wilderness. I hiked out of the Wilderness. This was my longest hike without a re-supply. I carried 10 days food. It was rainy and cool the entire time. I saw all the places that would have been great swimming spots. I spotted my first moose. This was the longest period without cell service.                               It was a great to cross the Abol Bridge and realize I was just 1/2 mile from the entrance to Baxter State Park. I stopped at the Abol Bridge Campstore and bought a Diet Coke. Then I made it to the start of the Hunt Trail (AT) that climbs up Mt Katahdin and the Baxter Peak. It rained again as I walked through Baxter State Park and around Oxbow Lake. I saw the trail to Tracy Pond. The last time I was here was in 1992 with Dottie and my sister, Diane. The three of us walked down the trail and saw a large moose running toward us. We took shelter in a camp building and let him pass. We waited for Sea bear, Silverback, and Cotton Patch to meet us as they finished their thru-hike. I registered with the ranger at KSC and got my 2000 mile application. As I got ready to climb Mt Katahdin, the ranger gave me the weather forecast up top. The winds were blowing at 45mph and the temperature was 32. I slipped on my fleece and my rain gear and Michael and I headed up the boulders. I saw the Katahdin sign and my journey was over. After some quick pictures we climbed down. Dottie, Judy, Kevin, Mitchell, and Emily met Michael and me.