Date: 2011-01-21
From: Home

To: 2010 Q&As
Miles today: 0.0

I¢ve been holding off lately on making these final posts for my 2010 hike. I¢ll have this one to provide some answers to some questions, then another post to close out the hike. I¢ve been procrastinating just a bit too much.So, here¢s a short update on what¢s been happening recently. First, I enjoyed my hike completion and Thanksgiving with the family in Atlanta. It¢s always good to visit and spend time with the Precious Princesses.Upon returning to Texas, I had a visit with my primary care physician to check out ¢Old Faithful¢, my shoulder cyst that got infected and treated in Gatlinburg. It was still active and I was advised to have it surgically removed. Subsequent consult with a surgeon, a hospital outpatient visit, and it was gone. The stitches were removed early Jan and I¢m now just getting back to exercising. And, I burned a small brushpile over the weekend and decided to ceremoniously retire my 2010 AT hiking attire!!Now for the Q&A¢s ¢ I¢ll only address personal opinions and skip the generic statistics.Most enjoyment? ¢ Visiting the towns and people along the trail. With the exception of a 100-mile radius around Washington, DC, all the area was basically new to me. I made an explicit attempt to spend a night in every trail town, taking in everything local. And, I wished I had stayed a little longer in the NY area to take in all the local history.Biggest surprise? Trail magic!! I had heard quite a bit about these ¢acts of random kindness¢. But, it is hard to fully appreciate this phenomenon without experiencing it first hand. Several examples: Hiking out with Lumpy on our first few days, I thought I was going to be short on water, only to find a 2L bottle of water in the middle of the trail in the middle of nowhere. Then on my worst day on the trail, totally soaked in day 3 of a 7 day rain, and feeling totally demoralized, a man appears out of nowhere to cook sausage, eggs, and pancakes for me with copious amounts of coffee and OJ. After that break, the rain didn¢t seem to bother me all that much. And I must applaud all the church groups that regularly supplied refreshments along the hardest parts of the trail.Most favorite section?   It is hard to compare the different sections of the AT: the Smokies, the grassy hills, balds, the Whites, the marshes/bogs, the 100 mile wilderness, valleys/gaps/hollows/notches. I liked them all in their own way. Although, the PA rocks and the NY puds would never be among my favorites.Favorite town? Palmertown . Where else could you be put up in the ¢Jailhouse¢ operated by the cityFavorite hotel?   The Doyle, without a doubt. Very hiker friendly, great food and better beers.Favorite hostel? Woods Hole. Super history and peopleBest ¢up-scale¢ hostel? ¢Hiker Hostel, Dahlonega. Glad I made it there as a SOBO and pity the poor NOBOs that stay there for their first hostel visit because there¢s nothing close to it anywhere else on the trail.Best hostel food? ¢Outhouse¢ in Unionville, NY, a true 5 greasy spoon ratingInjuries? Unfortunately Yes ¢ two broken ribs from a fall halfway into the 100 mi wilderness. An infected cyst on my shoulder requiring treatment and some extended recover. Skin cancers that required modest treatment. And of course, the usual blisters, sore muscles and assorted twisted ankles/knees.Lost? Three times. Two minor lapses that were somewhat weather induced. And one real legitimate time when I swore to never hike without a good trail map.Scared? Not really, especially when you¢re WWJD. However, I will fully admit my heart was beating at a very high rate when I stepped over a timber rattlesnake in CT. And, it would also have probably been highly elevated if Mama Bear had appeared when I rousted out her two cubs in NJ.Weather?   Lumpy and I chose a flip-flop itinerary starting at Harpers Ferry W.V. to avoid the weather extremes and avoid some of the crowds on the trail. But, it still got to 102.2 in Kent, CT, in June and dropped down to the 20s in the Smokies in Nov. The Whites weren¢t much of a picnic either, with temps in the 30s and wind in the 70s on MT Washington. In fact, the Mt W highway was closed on July 1st due to snow.Best Breakfast? WhistlestopBest Lunch ? Green Mountain General Store, PABest Supper? Fontana Dam Lodge, NCPrettiest Bird? Scarlet Tanager followed closely by Indigo BuntingFavoorite Bird scene - Osprey catching a trout, then chased by opportunistic young bald eagle at Arbol BridgeLeast Favorite Bird? Whipperwill screming its little lungs out at oh dark thirty Favorite bird call? Loons, of courseMost unusual Bird Call - Screech owls during mating season. At one shelter, I was between three owls that kept me up most of the night. Amazing soulns if you¢ve never heard themMost unusual sight?   Army Ranger helicopters flying at night in a velley BELOW my campsiteFavorite sights? Most any sunrise/sunset from a mountain top. Also, the snow covered trail and surroundingsWhat did I learn? This was a most difficult question for me. I consider myself a very experienced camper, so there wasn¢t anything significantly ¢new¢ to learn about camping and hiking. However, technology is always changing and there is always something to learn from others hikers, whether they are super experienced or true novices. Of particular interest is the real-time information regarding trail conditions. Personally, my answer to this Q would be that I¢ve learned to go a little more with my head than my heart out on the trail.