Date: 2002-10-22
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Miles today: 0.0

I thought it was time to do an update on The Gathering, Big Red¢s celebration and the latest in my Trail preparations.First of all, the 21st annual Gathering. It is sponsored by ALDHA (Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association). This year it was on the campus of Concord College in Athens W. Va. October 18, 19 & 20th. Besides the Hiker Fair there are numerous workshops and an entertainment program each evening. Friday evening ¢Flyin Brian" Robinson shared his experiences and observations of his successful completion of the first calendar year Triple Crown last year. It was fascinating and I met him personally in the cafeteria line and found him to be a genuinely nice individual.I attended the following workshops: The Appalachian Trail Workshop a 2 12 hour program presented by ALDHA and 12 time AT 2000 miler Warren Doyle. He did a great job of discussing preparations and the psychological aspects of undertaking a thru-hike. I also enjoyed the Class of 2002 Appalachian Trail Workshop. They answered a lot of questions and it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed Baltimore Jack¢s 20 Questions Workshop. This guy I met last summer is genuinely interested in helping out the hiking community in any way. I also attended the Lightweight Backpacking seminar where all kinds of gear was discussed and passed around for examination. Very worthwhile! There was so much more and it was not geared only toward the thru-hikers. Often they addressed the ¢dreamers¢ and I would recommend it to anyone interested in long distance hiking, even if you can¢t do the Trail in the near future. I believe it alternates between Concord and Dartmouth where it will be next year.The camping was great as the first night was kind of cool. I was warm and slept surprisingly well both nights. It did rain the second night but not hard enough to cause any real problems.I did leave after the first session on Sunday in order to drive over to Cincinnati to drop in on Big Red¢s celebration before heading home. I¢m glad I did. In case you haven¢t been following the 2002 hikers, Big Red completed the Trail early October and was in Trail Journals the entire hike. He is a genuinely great guy and I enjoyed meeting him and other hiker fans. I did meet someone there who knew Yossarian and told me he did complete his thru-hike and is now practicing medicine in Colorado. I guess he decided to drop out of doing his journal back in July.I¢ve got to get back to finalizing my gear. I saw a pair of New Balance 803¢s at the Gathering. (I may have the model # wrong) Aren¢t there going to be plenty of times when you can¢t keep your feet and socks dry no matter what you¢re wearing? And it¢s my guess that the shoes will dry out faster than boots and would be easier to use sole inserts with. I¢m thinking seriously about trying them, at least in the summer months. Still haven¢t received my Nomad Lite tent. There were some nifty tent/tarp lightweights on display outside of the cafeteria. Very interesting. I have mapped out a tentative schedule for the first month including stops with lodging. I do intend to pass every white blaze and not do any shortcuts. Still have to decide about food drops, cooking, dehydrating, etc. Still debating the exact start date.