Date: 2022-03-31
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Woody Hole Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

There's a section from Jarrard Gap to Neel Gap that requires any campers to use bear canisters. For those starting from Gooch without a canister, it makes for an awkward day. You can stop short around Lance Creek, but that's only a 9 mile day. However, trying to make it to a campsite past Neel Gap means you are putting in a 20 mile day. Most don't use bear canisters because of the 3pounds of additional weight. Based on a small data sample, I would guess the ratio is 73 out of every 75 hikers don't use bear canisters, or 97%. Out of the 75 people coming from Gooch, only Robert (in the red hat) and I were using bear canisters, and both of us decided to go to Woods Hole Shelter, which was a do-able and respectable 12 miles from Gooch and right in the middle of the BEAR CANISTER ZONE.  I had an in-depth conversation with another hiker about bear canisters. He tried it but didn't like it. I said, "I'm using it for convenience, I don't want to deal with finding the right tree for throwing a bear bag 15 feet up when the shelters don't have bear cables or boxes." He said, "And anything we can do for the bears to keep them from accessing people food and and protecting them from becoming too aggressive going after food from humans is a good thing." I said, "Yes, that's what I meant to say as the first reason."Robert (red hat) has a recreational therapy degree and has worked with vets in Colorado and with kids with serious medical issues at Victory Junction camps in NC (Richard Petty and the Petty family founded this non profit and donated the 80+ acres of land for it to use). Robert is a super-interesting guy and very committed to his profession.Tom is the gentleman in the beard, and he's a ridgerunner for the Appalachian Conservancy. Tom spends 4 nights each week in the shelters from mid-Feb to end of April educating hikers on proper protocol for preparedness and taking care of the trails and campsites. I knew Robert was going to be camping at Woody Hole from a discussion earlier in the day when he passed me. At around 4pm, at a distance I saw Robert in a serious discussion with a very official looking person (Tom). I thought "Oh goodness, what have we here?" As it turns out, Robert is just a serious looking dude. They were waiting for me to arrive since the shelter is .4 miles from the trail. Tom is a great guy and gave us a lot of information about the trail. I almost mis-stepped at the start, as I asked Tom what he does about aches and pains given his age (I was suffering from aches and pains). Then I realized when it was out of my mouth that he might be a lot younger than my 55 years of age, but too late. Tom said, "I'm 75, and I just ignore them." So in the picture, you're looking at the youngest-looking 75 year old I've ever met. He hikes 10-12 miles between the shelters every day to provide the hiker education and eats and sleeps in the cold with the hikers. The day before, Tom helped a hiker shave 3 pounds from pack weight just by eliminating a number of ziploc bags. When I squeezed my coffee bag into my coffee, Tom said, "Squeeze it a little bit more, no reason to pack out that water weight." The #1 thing he works with hikers on is preparedness. For example, a lot of hikers think, "I'm going to hike until I'm tired and then camp." Tom tries to explain that an appropriate camping site might not be available when you get tired, so try to plan for where the end might be. Another hiker told him about the hostel he would be staying at that night, and Tom informed him that the hostel is closed. Things like that. Pretty cool service provided by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.