Hiking North from the Train Station

Audubon Magazine has an interesting hiker memoir in it, published online on 2 February 2012. By Jesse Greenspan, it's titled "Two Months on the Appalachian Trail; One hiker’s experience on the northernmost section of the East’s famous footpath."

What's most interesting in this tale about a 59 day hike over the 741 miles from the Appalachian Trail train station platform north to Katahdin is the recurring mention of specific birds seen or heard. Such as after his first night on the Trail "The next morning, I wake up to a wood thrush and veery chorus." I don't know tons about birds, but I know those are two very cool birds to listen to (or is it that those are two I could identify, so I only think they're cool?). Anyway, very few of the hiker memoirs I've read includes terms like "wood thrush" or "veery."

What IS Thru-Hiking Really Like?

The Coloradoan.com, a Gannett News site, carries the 21 January 2012 column by Tim Nielsen titled "Appalachian Trail takes hiking to extremes." In it, Nielsen lists or describes pretty much all the stresses of thru-hiking, including the weather, the ups and downs, the long green tunnel, the smell, the insects, the cost ("$1.50 to $2.50 a mile") and the tedium

It also is said that life is different on the trail. Really? With an itinerary consisting of wake up, cook breakfast, break camp, walk 15 miles, stop, make camp, eat dinner, sleep, repeat 150 times, this sounds pretty routine to me.

But I can't make up my mind whether he's writing tongue in cheek, trying to keep the amateurs off the Trail, or is serious. his closign pragraph reads: "I do wish people well who attempt and complete this journey. I am just not sold on the idea, yet."

What do you think? Serious?

Snow on the Trail

Milt Gross writes in the 19 January 2012 Waldo Village Soup, from Waldo, Maine about ice. Snow and ice. Cold weather hiking. And did I mention the ice?

The article is titled "Down the Road a Piece" and begins so:

I’ve trudged through snow so deep on the Appalachian Trail above Grafton Notch that the snow covered the eye-level white blazes that hikers in other seasons follow from Georgia to Katahdin.

Yeah. That's a lot of snow.

Snowy Shenandoah Hike Pictures

The Scholars and Rogues blog follows up on its own post with some winter hiking pictures on 16 January 2012 from the A.T. in the Shenandoah National Park (can't mistake that cement/concrete post!). The blog post is titled "Scenes from the Appalachian Trail, just for us."

As freakishly warm as so much of this winter has been, it's good to see a little ice and snow, even if just in online pictures.

Bryson's Book Reviewed

It's been a while, but here's a new review of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, done by Chris Mackowski in the website or blog "Scholars and Rogues" on 16 January 2012. Under the title "Bill Bryson's Pleasant 'walk'," Mackowski begins his favorable review with these words:

I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s read Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods and had a burning urge to go hike the Appalachian Trail. Of course, that might also have something to do with the fact that my girlfriend is heading there today to hike part of it. But whatever.

He recounts some of his encounters with pieces of the Trail including "my favorite stretch of the AT heads into the woods at the northern border of Gapland State Park" [make that Gathland].

So once again Bryson gets people out into the woods, or at least just more aware of them.

Sandstone on the Trail (or ... the Trail on Sandstone?) in Virginia

Virginia Tech assistant professor of geoscience writes in a 13 January 2012 Wired web post about an A.T. photo under the headline "Friday Field Photo #165: Sandstone Along the Appalachian Trail".

He has a nice photo of "the Tuscarora Formation on display along the Appalachian Trail near Roanoke, Virginia." Most of us walk these rocks and don't know much about them (except how sharp the ones in Pennsylvania seem).

Pochuck Boardwalk Invitation

The North Jersey Media Group's web site NorthJersey.com brings us a couple pictures to entice us out onto the Trail this weekend. Published on 5 January 2012 under the headline "A winter hike along the Appalachian Trail in Vernon," you get to see some of the boardwalk through the Pochuck Creek wetland.

Hike the Trail - See the Colors

A portion of the Appalachian Trail's Pennsylvania footpath and its vistas are highlighted in the 25 October 2008 issue of the Reading (PA) Eagle. See the "Peak performance for fall foliage in Berks County" article by Elizabeth Giorgi.

Martyann Gutierrez, president of the Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club, specifically recommends the A.T. in Berks County, PA, along about "Pulpit Rock and the Pinnacle located just off the trail" for views of fine fall colors.

Damage Near Roanoke Spares A.T.

According to some online notes by WSLS channel 10 news anchor John Carlin titled "Carnage at Carvins Cove" in his blog on 3 March 2008, the fire that made understory disappear and then the following windstorm that toppled trees in the area known as Carvins Cove "roughly from Bennett Springs up the Gauntlet trail toward the Arrowhead trail, then up and around Tinker Cliffs and return" did not do much damage the higher ground. He writes, "It seemed the higher up we went, the fewer trees were toppled. The area around Tinker Cliffs and the Appalachian Trail was almost damage free." There are pictures on Carlin's blog.

Day Hike in Virginia Described

Another WSLS television channel 10 story, this time in a blog from one of their anchors, John Carlin, appears under the title "Wind, Leaves and Fire" on 11 February 2008.

Carlin describes a hike he and a friend took, planning "to leave Troutville at 9:30 and run/hike the Appalachian Trail to route 311 near Catawba. It’s a 20 mile venture with three significant climbs – Tinker Mountain, Tinker Cliffs and the backside of McAfee’s Knob."

They faced significant wind, drifts of leaves (like snow drifts) sometimes chest high, and the smoke from 3 different forest fires in the area. Sounds like a blast.

Maine A.T. Snowshoe Trip

The Bangor Daily News has a story about "a snowshoe tromp on the Appalachian Trail north of Jo-Mary Mountain" in its 26 January 2008 issue under the headline "Snowshoers rewarded for trip" and the byline of Jeff Strout. It gives a nice description of what that sort of day's outing can include.

Mt. Rogers and Grayson Highlands Described

Jack Horan has an article in the Charlotte (NC) Observer dated 20 January 2008 and titled "Having a high old time; Great views, pony herds among attractions in Mount Rogers area." It's a sort of trip report about winter hiking the Mount Rogers area.

Some interesting notes about the ponies:

"One of the prime attractions in the Crest Zone and adjacent Grayson Highlands State Park are four herds of 120 or so feral ponies that range within two fenced areas. They resemble Shetland ponies with stocky bodies and long manes.

"Sara Schell, NRA recreation officer, said by e-mail that some of the ponies are believed to have originated from stock owned by a local farmer who was trying to develop a small stature, hardy mountain horse. She said three herds live in a fenced area of nearly 3,000 acres. The fourth herd of about 30 ponies roams state park land."

I didn't know there were actually separate herds up there. And I think it's great that some of the people 'in charge' don't really know exactly how the horses got there ("...are believed to have originated..."), leaving a little mystery in life.

Mount Rogers Description

There's a description of Mt. Rogers, Virginia in the article by Bill Lohmann titled "Mount Rogers is the highest point in Va." that appears in today's 22 October 2007 Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Among other things, he writes that the mountain isn't well known in Virginia and that

"Part of the problem is its location; Mount Rogers is deep in Southwest Virginia, within sight of North Carolina and Tennessee but more than a five-hour drive from Richmond. You also can't drive particularly close to the mountain, which is in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. (www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/mr/) You have a round-trip hike of at least 9 miles, no matter where you start.

"One more thing: There's no view from the summit."

Still, he relates that the hike is worth it. He and his family usually start at Grayson Highlands and take the Appalachian Trail from there to Mt. Rogers.

Nuclear Lake, New York Mentioned

"Today's Fall Excursion: Nuclear Lake offers hikes, connects to Appalachian Trail" is the title of the brief article in the 19 October 2007 issue of the Poughkeepsie Journal. And that about says it all. It's simply a short description of how to get to Nuclear Lake and how long it takes to hike around it (2 hours for the 4 miles).

It does add that one could extend the hike almost indefinitely "given that it's connected to the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine."

While it explains that the clean-up issues from the plutonium processing at the lake have been taken care of long ago, it doesn't add anything about the hiker comments about glowing in the dark after passing by the lake.

Dry Hiking the Smokies

The drought in the American South is, of course, also affecting the Appalachian Trail. The Asheville Citizen-Times of 18 October 2007 has an article titled "Drought shakes up daily life, business" by Jon Ostendorff that attests to that fact.

Down in the middle of the article these sentences relate to the Trail conditions:

"In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hikers on the Appalachian Trail won’t find a running spring for 35 miles — something that’s unheard of in at least 25 years.

"And the long-term forecast looks bleak. The federal Climate Prediction Center has warned dry conditions will persist at least through December from the Maryland-Delaware area south into portions of Georgia and Alabama.

"Parched conditions are not what most hikers would expect when they start on the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies.

"In the summer, the green valleys visible on the route between Fontana Lake and Clingmans Dome are often shrouded in early morning fog.

"Springs usually poke through the mountain in many spots. Even in the normally dry fall, soaking rain isn’t uncommon.

"But not this year.

"'The Appalachian Trail is the worst,' said park spokesman Ranger Bob Miller. 'At all the shelters along that route, all the springs are dry.'

"The park has been warning hikers of the potentially dangerous lack of water with trailhead signs and when they get their permits, which are required for the AT in the park.

"Farther north, toward Davenport Gap, the situation is not much better for backcountry water. The springs aren’t totally dry, but they are slow. Some take five minutes to fill a quart-sized water bottle, Miller said. 'Our backcountry management specialist has been here 25 years and never seen all these springs dry at once,' he said."

Kind of makes life harder for those southbounders still on the Trail. And means a simple jug of water may be the most welcome trail magic these days.

The Adkins Clan Closing in on Another Finish

The Charleston (WV) Daily Mail has another article by Leonard Adkins, documenting his umpteenth thru-hike with his with Laurie Adkins and their dog (McAfee of Knob, the Amazing Appalachian Bouncing Dog). In this installment, he describes the wonders of New Jersey and the rocks of eastern Pennsylvania. This one is headlined "Visit shows why New Jersey is often called The Garden State" and it's dated 2 October 2007.

Mt. Rogers Hike Described

Brenda Cummings writes under the headline "Ponies, balds and thunderstorms are all part of a Mount Rogers hike" in the 30 September 2007 Huntsville (AL) Times about "a two-day, two-night backpack on Virginia's Mount Rogers" with some friends from northern Alabama. She offers a nice description of the area, its ponies, blueberries, and vistas. As a sad sign of the times, she found a couple ways to refer to the severe drought clutching the South these days.

AT in CT

Tim Jones writes in the Concord (NH) Monitor under the headline "The anonymous AT; Connecticut worth a visit" in the 21 September 2007 issue. He describes some dayhiking he did on the Connecticut portion of the Appalachian Trail, remarking on just how different it is from New Hampshire portions, and just how attractive it is. As he concludes,

"What I saw was just enough to get me fired up and planning to get back and really explore this beautiful countryside. Most people seem to forget that Connecticut is more than casinos and Interstate 95, and pass through on their way to somewhere else. They don't know what they are missing."

A.T. Azaleas Inspire Gardener in South Carolina

The Anderson (SC) Independent-Mail News has a 7 September 2007 article by Patricia J. Phillips, who is "a freelance author who derives pleasure from the pursuit of wildflowers, wild edibles and wild vistas." This one is titled "Native azaleas bring beauty to the garden and joy to the heart" and describes a long-held passion for growing native azaleas that was born in her on the Appalachian Trail back in 1974. "What began for me as a weeklong trek from Clingman’s Dome to Fontana Dam stretched into a lifelong journey."

Family Group Hikes Up Mt. Washington

Mark Patinkin writes about a Mount Washington hike in the Providence Journal of 6 September 2007. It's titled "Unbeatable Mount Washington climb." He went with his teenage sons and their cousins. Three trail days, two hut stays, chilly weather, all the usual. An entertaining read.

Of note was his observation when the group summited Mt. Washington after dropping their gear at Lake of the Clouds:

"We emerged from the wilderness to find a crowded tourist center that hundreds had accessed by the Cog Railway and Mount Washington Road on the other side. Inside, it occurred to me I hadn’t seen a single overweight person in the last two days, and now they were everywhere."

He also mentions meeting a thru-hiker identified only as "a 50-something mechanical engineer."