Date: 2006-05-25
To: Point Lepreau
Miles today: 0.0

APPALACHIAN DREAMINGLast year was my introduction to the Appalachian Trail ¢ AT. After the 2005 outage, I flew down to Washington DC to acclimatize and tour the museums for a few days.   For a first time to Washington, I found it clean, safe and educational.   The unexpected highlight was the annual Air Show at the nearby Andrews Airforce Base. The demonstration of the American military machine that had been used in Iraq was impressive ¢ loud and flashy. This alone was worth the trip to Washington. A specific quality of Washington are the frequent sirens of police and emergency vehicles ¢ a lot of visiting foreign dignitaries requiring police escorts and a lot of security alerts ¢ noise. After tasting the American Dream it was time to for my Appalachian Dream. A commuter train takes you from Washington DC to Harpers Ferry which is the Headquarters for the AT.A journal for my 2005 hike is available at www.trailjournals.com trail name: xenon. The journal for 2006 is already setup under the same name.Last year over a 5 week span, I hiked through Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York chalking up 425 miles along the way. My original target was 630 miles for 630 MWe net output from Point Lepreau. Later, that summer, I added another 200 miles cycling the Confederation Trail in PEI. Close enough to my target!The Appalachian Trail is tough. Tough physically and tough mentally. You are hiking about 15 miles a day between lean-to shelters. The AT shelters are safe havens from rain. The drawbacks can be overcrowding, snoring, hiker odour, and mice. I had a 1-man tent as a backup, when the distances between shelters were too irregular.   There were 3 occasions, when I was about to throw in the towel last year. The first was losing the trail at the Maryland ¢ Pennsylvania border. The trail took an abrupt zag and I kept going straight. After 3 hours of backtracking, I was picked up by a Trail Overseer who calmed me down and showed me the error of my ways. About a week later, other fellow hikers in a shelter reminiscing about the PUD¢s - pointless ups and downs, and complaints about the AT, all agreed that they had trouble at that same location.The second was after saying goodbye to my first hiking partner. I wanted to go home. This was in Port Clinton, Penn. where the mall was air conditioned and the temperature outdoors was in the 30¢s. It is so easy to give up! I was afraid that if I lingered to long in the comfort of Cabela¢s ¢ (similar to a LL Bean ) I would never get going. As a psychological boost, I mailed home my 3 12 lb sleeping bag and picked up a 1 lb sleeping bag.   About 1 hour after getting to the trail head, I got caught in a thunderstorm, and my campsite was still another hour away. It is so easy to give up!Finally, after hiking over 20 miles into Vernon, NJ. I had switched into my river sandals to allow my feet to breathe and walked to a nearby grocery store for resupply.   Ignoring the signals my feet were sending me, thinking it was just a pebble caught in my sandals, developed into a huge blister covering the ball of my foot. Just crippling!   I didn¢t know how to treat such an injury. Would it take a week to recover? Forcing on my hiking boots after one zero day, I was resolved to tough it out to the next shelter.   At worst, I could still bail out as Vernon is only 2 hours from New York City. It is so easy to give up! Starting out gingerly, I missed the next shelter only 5 miles away and ended up hiking 10 miles into New York State before stopping for the night! After another week of hiking, I stopped near the Connecticut border, taking a commuter train into New York City in order to return home.Last year, I hiked with 3 main hiking partners; SOHO62, Laszlo, and Ole Yeller, whom I still converse with today.   SOHO62 is a supply teacher who had started on the trail, leaving her husband and family in disbelief, as they didn¢t think she would last very long. Laszlo is a retired marine, with 2 tours of the Gulf, and a ex-lay minister for a homeless shelter in Pennsylvania. What a coincidence! while in Washington, a chance encounter with the Indiana Wilderness Club who stated that one of their members was currently through hiking the AT. I ended up hiking with Ole Yeller of the Indiana Wilderness Club through New York State!What did I learn last year? I know that I can hike all 2,150 miles of the Appalachian Trail. It will still requires a huge physical effort. My technique for backpacking, hiking, and hygiene have improved.   All the planets must be aligned correctly to successfully complete a through hike of the AT. Your family must be supportive in your absence. Your finances and your health must permit you to continue in the quest. It is so easy to stumble, twist an ankle, to breakdown or fall ill on the AT.   I realize the only mental barriers I encounter on the Appalachian Trail are my own artificial goals. I know that I would not want to take my sons or Venturers on the AT for more than a week. The motivation to hike the AT must be your own! I will complete my hike, God willing.   This year, one week after the 2006 outage, I plan on picking up again at the Connecticut border and hiking through Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. In the 7 weeks I have available, it is possible to reach Mt Katahdin, 742 miles and the northern end of the Appalachian Trail.   But, then there is always another year!In 2007, my plan is to start the beginning of April, at Springer Mtn, Georgia, the southern end of the Appalachian Trail and stop when I reach Harpers Ferry, 1011 miles. That will be my through hike and my Appalachian Dream!