Date: 2011-04-30
From: FAQ

To: FAQ
Miles today: 0.0

One month from today, I should be on the trail. I expect to begin the hike in Harper's Ferry on Memorial Day. Thanks to all of the people that have offered to take me to HF. My brother Rusty has volunterred to drop me off and, perhaps even work in a day or two of hiking along. Anyone that would like to spend a day or a week on the trail with me is certainly welcome.As for the "Frequently Asked Questions", the most common and ususlly first question is "Are you going alone?" On one occasion, without really thinking about an answer, I responded "Alone is the only way I know how to be." Of course it got an awkward laugh and I couldn't help but think that I'll have plenty of trail time to think about the psychological implications of such an off the cuff response. But a more direct answer is that I will start out as a solitary hiker. On the trail, though, there is a whole community. I will meet people. I'll share shelters and campsites with other hikers. I may even become part of a group that moves from shelter to shelter as a similar pace for a time, forming unique friendships bonded by shared experiences. I still keep in touch with some of the people I shared a week on the trail with last spring. Country Gold, Special K and Boobabla were my first set of trail buddies. One of the trail mantras is "Hike your own hike". While I won't ususally hike at the same speed or take breaks at the same time as other hikers, we will find ourselves in the same places at the same time for a while. Of course, these informal groups are fluid as some leave the trail, some take zero days in a town while others move on and some move at a different pace in the long run.One of the reasons I chose to start in HF, is that the people that started in GA. in the spring, will be coming through about then and I can join the flow of the trail community.The next question is "Aren't you afraid of bears?" While i have a healthy respect for teh power of these remarkable creatures, I'm not afraid of them. Generally, unless you get between a mama bear and her cubs, they will avoid you. Make a lot of noise and ou will likely never see a bear. Of course, one of the things hikers hope for is their first bear sighting... from a safe distance. This ranks second only to the first moose sighting when you get to Maine. It is important to hang your food from a tree, out of reach from bears. As anyone that has hiked long distances can tell you, even a tube of toothpaste left in a backpack pocket can become the target of a bear with a sweet tooth. To some extent, some bears are conditioned to the connection between careless hikers and tasty food at the shelters. Anyone who's heard my story about coming in to camp late, in the rain and carelessly hanging my bear bag too low in a small tree knows what I mean. The Watauga Bear had a feast in my carefully packeged meals for six days, while I walked out to a road to hitchhike into town for enough Ramen Noodles and Power Bars to sustain me for several days. As far as animals go, my biggest fear is stepping over a rock or log and finding that I disturbed a rattlesanke peacefully sunning itself. You don't hear about it often, but I can assure you that my trekking pole will precede any step over a trail obstacle. I don't look forward to dealing with deer ticks or black flies, but it is preferable to dealing with timeclocks and bosses. My only other fear is that I'll discover that I don't like spending so much time in my own head, without the distractions of a fast paced world to interrupt self reflection. I'm sure that I'll write more about the products of introspections in the future.As for food, I'll carry four or five days worth of food at a time. There are sufficient towns and road crossings from which a hiker can catch a ride into town to restock frequently. Mostly, I'll carry dried foods such as noodles, pastas, beans and oatmeal that can be reconstituted with hot water. There will also be tuna packets, some cheese, power bars and nuts that provide protein rich calories. Trail mix of nuts, raisins craisins, and other dried fruit will round out the diet. I do plan to leave each town or mail drop with some fresh fruit and veggies that will be too heavy but make a nice meal on the first day out of a town. Water will come from springs, streams, pools or any other place a water filter can draw in enough to filter out the impurities. I will have purification tablets as a back-up, just in case the filter fails. As I said, there are towns along tyhe trail. On occasion, I will stop and have a feast in town, trying to replace lost calories. All you can eat (AYCE) restaurants are the holy grail of dining along the trail.A unique aspect of trail life is trail magic. Former hikers or local churches will sometimes set up at a trail head or road crossing and serve food to hungry hikers. These peope are know as trail angels. IT may be as simple as soft drinks and candy bars or beer and pizza. It may involve a full breakfast of pancakes, eggs and asusage or hamburgers and hot dogs with all of the fixings. Occasionaly, someone takes a hungry hiker or two home and feeds them, lets tham use a shower and gives them a place to sleep for a night... then drives them back to the trail head in the morning. Trail magic is almost always unexpected and comes when the hikers is wearing down and needs a little lift. (When I was doing trail magic last year, I asked a hiker what is most appreciated in trail magic. I got two answers... meat and fresh fruit. These ranked even higher than beer! (A variation of trail magic is "yogi-ing. This is when a hiker strikes up a conversation with someone at a tourist spot or park, hoping to inspire an offer of trail magic without actually asking for it. It is an art that only the most gregarious and friendly hikers can manage with regularity.As for other questions, the hike Ive planned is not a complete thru hike of the entire 2,186 miles of the trail. I'm planning to hike about 1,185 miles from HF to Mt. Katadyn in Maine in about three moths. I'll start with eight to ten miles a day and, as I get in better shape and find my trail legs, work up to 12 -15 miles a day. I don't expect to do big miles (20 plus) often. I'll leave that to the young hikers that take pride in big mile days. At the end of three months, if I haven't had enough, I'll think about jumping a dog back to HF and heading south for GA in the fall.I'll carry a tent for when shelters are full or occupied by snorers. OK, sometimes the tent will protect other hikers from my snoring. Sometimes, I'll sleep under the stars. If there is a full moon and the weather is clear, I may even work in a night hike or two.