Redington Wind Farm Moves Forward

The title of the MaineToday.com editorial (from the Kennebec Journal / Morning Sentinel folks, it appears) on 27 December 2006 says it all. Or most of it, anyway. The title is "Moving Ahead with Wind Power."

The writer opines that the approval by the "state's Land Use Regulation Commission recommended approval of the proposal to rezone 1,000 acres of Redington Pond Range and Black Nubble Mountain to accommodate construction of the towers" on 22 December would be a "diminishment of wildness in one of Maine's wildest places." However, the crisis of climate change calls for drastic, even regrettable, action of significant size. Putting the wind turbines on the ridge in sight of the AT is "a major -- albeit painful -- step in that direction."

I was interested, too, to read here that the turbines "are projected to produce enough electricity to power 40,000 Maine homes." What interested me was that I have previously heard that the electricity generated here would not be used by Mainers but be sold out of state. This report could be slippery-speak as it doesn't say that this electricity will power those 40,000 homes. Even if it will, I'm set to wondering whether those homes will be existing or new. I'd pretty much bet that developers would say, 'Hey, we now have power enough for another 40,000 new homes; let's build!'

Hikers Chris Turner and Zanne Garland Noted

In the 8 December 2006 Winston-Salem (NC) Journal, columnist Lisa O'Donnell mentions area thru-hiker Chris Turner who "gets special recognition for hiking the trail in 4 1/2 months, which is at least a month faster than the average hiker." Apparently, at Harpers Ferry, he figured it would be possible to summit Katahdin on his 24th birthday (4 August) if he really hoofed it on the second half of the trip. Making 20-25 mile days between Harpers Ferry and the Whites, and 12 mile days there, Turner "and his friends" made it on target.

O'Donnell also mentions Zanne Garland, a resident of Seattle with ties to North Carolina, who had planned to do a 1,300 mile section, but only did Springer to Pearisburg "so that she could lead a group of campers from Eagle's Nest on an adventure in Costa Rica." Well, okay! Kids to Costa Rica!! Sounds neat.

Ice Damage on the Trail in Shenandoah

An article in the 8 December 2006 Harrisonburg, VA Daily News Record by Kelly Jasper details some of the damage along the AT through the Shenandoah National Park and along the Skyline Drive from the ice storm two weeks ago.

Up to two inches of ice ... the entire Skyline Drive closed for a few days ... "No buildings were seriously damaged — only the roof of a hut along the Appalachian Trail [doesn't say which one!] and a picnic table where a giant oak fell." ... thru-hikers forced off the Trail and onto the road ... clearing of the trails being done by Potomac Appalachian Trail Club members ... and a Park Service spokesperson quoted as saying that the roadway "could be closed for even more months" though hopefully not.

With our warm weather so far this winter in the east, the ice is long gone already. You'll see the downed trees for some time to come. If you're nearby, lend a hand to the PATC maintainers.

After the Trail is Gone?

In a catchy beginning to an article in the Erwin, TN Valley Beautiful Beacon ["Unicoi County's Community-Owned Weekly Newspaper"] of 7 December 2006, Alisa Brandenburg wonders whether "perhaps as patriotic Americans one day we’ll pay homage to the Appalachian Trail in the same way that we Remember the Alamo. “Remember the Appalachians,” we’ll tell each other gravely once they’ve disappeared."

She also suggests that "the Appalachian Trail could quickly turn into either a haven or highway for human, bio, or chemical terrorism."

I'm not personally so sure about that latter possibility. More likely, in my imagination, is that climate change, economic instability, and continuous encroachment on the Trail corridor will combine to some day make the AT a thing of the past. I'm thinking in distant science fiction terms here. I hope. And pray.

That said, Brandenburg then writes a strong and well-worded appeal to her readers to get out there and enjoy the Trail. Good article. Ask your local paper for permission to reprint it.

Appalachian Trail Mega-Transect

Sounds like a new way of hiking the AT (and maybe it is), but the point of the Mega-Transect -- as reported by Vicki Smith in an Associated Press story published on 25 November 2006 in the Washington Post and a whole lot of other places -- is to count and measure stuff. And not just miles to the next shelter, and how much oatmeal, macaroni and gorp is left.

This exciting science project aims to take a deep look at the natural world of the AT. A National Park Service official "says volunteers could help with such tasks as measuring tree diameters, taking photographs to illustrate visibility, tracking the arrival times of migratory birds and dating the blooming and leaf loss of trees." The project will also be measuring ozone levels, and the like.

When I first heard about this I got to thinking that I'd like to do my part to help out. I still do.

[If the above link is dead, try the NPS Digest, which reprints the story, or search the Internet for the phrases "Vicki Smith" and "Appalachian Trail" together.]

Gulf Hagas via the AT

The Boston Globe of 1 October 2006 carries an article by correspondent Stephen Jermanok describing an 8 mile circuit hike that begins and ends on the AT. As he describes it, the loop takes 7 hours to hike (including fording a river 10 minutes into the trip).

Jermanok writes, "Gulf Hagas is hidden amid the Hundred Mile Wilderness region, the last 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail, that extends from Monson in the south to Mount Katahdin and Baxter State Park in the north. In this dense forest, the number of hikers is minimal, as I saw firsthand on a recent return trip to the area. My friend, Rob, and I met only four people on the trail the entire day, even though the weather was sunny and the temperatures in the mid-70s."

Elon College on the A.T.

Elon College's web site carries a note from 14 April 2005 that "Elon Outdoors is taking a trip backpacking on the Appalachian Trail April 22nd through the 24th," 2005. Pretty much restricted to students (and faculty?), I'm sure.

Big Mountain Shelter Dedicated

In the 13 April 2005 issue of the Fulton County News of McConnellsburg, PA there was an article by Barb Leese titled "Overnight Shelter for Hikers Dedicated Sunday" that told of the dedication of Big Mountain Shelter in Buchanan State Forest by members of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

Hiking Against Hunger (the World Kind!)

At the web site www.noticias.info there's a story that looks like a press release from "Action Against Hunger" about a pair of Appalachian Trail hikers setting off to raise money for the organization.

It's dated 13 April 2005 and annouces that the "spirited pair" will set off on their hike (future tense) on 26 February 2005. At noon.

The pair is Erica Zelfand, 20, from Sharon, Massachusetts, and Timothy Crespi, from Pearl River, New York. She "grew up on the Appalachian Trail in Massachusetts and has wanted to make the hike since she was a girl." Talked her boyfriend into making the hike with her.

"To make their hike more than just symbolic, Zelfand and Crespi wanted to partner with an organization that focuses specifically on hunger and to raise funds for effective programs. After researching numerous relief organizations, they chose Action Against Hunger."

"For those interested in making a donation or learning more about the efforts of Erica Zelfand and Tim Crespi, please visit their website, hikeagainsthunger.blogspot.com."

[Their website is still up and running as of 6 February 2007! -- kind of surprising in the world of the disappearing web -- and the top entry, dated 1 August 2005, says "we have completed our hike." An earlier entry, dated 11 May 2005, includes this: "Because we have a deadline by which we must be done with our adventure (the third week of July), we have thus decided to drop the silly notion of hiking the whole trail by rushing through it. In short: we are skipping the Pennsylvania and New Jersey sections of the trail. We are now in New York, and plan to hike from here to the end of the trail in Maine without skipping a mile. Although we are no longer considered "thru-hikers" on the trail, we are nonetheless enthusiastic about hiking a really big section, and we’re just as excited about being able to hike at a comfortable pace. Our new plan not only allows us to enjoy the hike more, but also allots time for us to do a one-week work-for-stay at the Kripalu Yoga Center in Lenox, Massachusetts when we hike through the area."]

J.R."Model T." Tate Speaks

There's a note in the 11 April 2005 Arkansas Democrat Gazette, in the "Life Lines" column of the Health and Fitness section that mentions a talk being given by three time Appalachian Trail thru-hiker (and author) J.R. "Model T" Tate. He was speaking to the Ouachita Mountain Hikers.

Nathan Priest Hikes Northbound

The Kennebec Journal of 25 March 2005 has a story by Betty Adams under the headline "Readfield man tackles all of Appalachian Trail" that tells about Nathan Priest's thru-hike attempt. He had started within the week, and was raising funds for cancer research, having lost his maternal grandmother to the disease 8 years earlier. Anna Robertson, a former hiker who works at North Georgia College and State University, gave him a ride to the trailhead at Springer. Priest was a 2004 graduate of the University of Maine and a 2000 graduate of Maranacook Community High School.

"Extreme Hikers"

Not sure exactly what this means . . . I'm just reporting it: 
 
In an article called "Catfish And Dog Days Of Summer" by Nicky Reynolds posted July 19, 2004 at "The Chatanoogan.com; Chatanooga's Source for Breaking Local News" she (or is it "he"?) lists a lot of outdoor type activities and recreation locations in Tennessee.  Then Reynolds writes, "For extreme hikers, just over 156 miles of the Appalachian Trail run through the heart of Northeast Tennessee."

So, is the Tennessee portion of the AT only accessible to "extreme hikers"?  What is an extreme hiker anyway?  One who hikes to extremes?  Is it a play on words, punning off of "ex-stream hiker" (which would be someone who used to hike in streams (as in running bodies of water) ... or possible someone who used to hike not in fits and starts, but in long bursts [streams])??
 
What would an extreme hiker look like?  What would a non-extreme hiker (a "treme hiker"?) look like?
 
Would I want to be one?
 
Am I already one?

Seen on the Trail

I was able to spend some time hiking on the Trail this weekend.  As I always say "any day on the Trail is better than a day in the office."  But yesterday was particularly nice.
 
Didn't see a lot of hikers.  Only two northbounders who could have been thru hikers (based only on the fact that they had large packs, and flew right past without stopping to chat).  And a few other northbounders who were out for the day or weekend.
 
What I did see included a set of luna moth wings, stacked neatly along the edge of the footpath.  Looked like someone was assembling a kit and had to run out to get more glue.  I guess what happened was that someone had snacked on the body parts and left the wings behind.
 
And I'm pretty sure I saw a bear.  I was bumping along the Trail when I heard some rustling and crackling in the leaves and undergrowth that usually signals a deer skittering off.  When I looked off in that direction I didn't see the usual tan rump and flouncy white tail, but a wider black rump.  Just for a second.  Then it was gone.
 
The chipmunks and oven bird I saw were much less eager to be gone.  One of each were using the foot path and didn't seem to mind the company I provided.  At least they didn't vanish immediately.  And, of course, there were shelter chipmunks, too.  One appeared when I crinkled open a Zip-loc bag of dried apricots.  Made me wonder whether it had gotten conditioned, like my cats have been, to associate container sounds with food.  Well, this particular critter was disappointed in that department.
 
Also saw a tree that my wife and I have identified as a witch hazel which caught my eye as interesting because it seemed to me to have herbicidal properties.  What I mean is that while there was luxuriant growth of some kind of fern and of Japanese stilt grass along the Trail in that area, suddenly under this tree there was nothing for as wide as the branches spread.  The look of things, anyway, seemed to suggest that the tree was keeping the undergrowth in check.  Well, I thought it was interesting.
 
Let's see . . . lots of different kinds of mushrooms.  I don't know one from the other, but there was quite a variety where I was hiking.  I should just decide to slow down and take photographs of them, bring the pictures home, and look the things up in a field guide.  (Or, would it not be a "field guide" if I use it at home instead of out in the field?)  If I took the guide out to the field to TRY to identify mushrooms, I might get trampled on my one of those speedy through hikers I mentioned earlier.
 
All of which brings me to my personal pet peeve about what I read in shelter registers and trail journals.  I wish there was more commentary on flora, fauna, topography, geology, and weather.  And pretty much anything else other than when and where the next party would be in the next trail town.
 
I suppose I'm too much of an introvert to relate so much to continuous chatter about the social life on the Trail.  Or maybe the hiking introverts don't write much in the registers.  Or stay in shelters and trail town hostels.
 
Sure, most [through] hikers don't actually know the names of the plants and critters they pass (I haven't a clue about the mushrooms, for example), but how about remarking "Hey, wasn't that bunch of yellow flowers neat?" or "Did anyone else notice those blue butterflies up on top of X mountain?"  Something like that would make me feel more in touch with the Trail than "Meet you in town for a brew and a couple zero days!!"
 
Or maybe I'm an elitist.
 
Or old.  One of hikers I met this weekend was a guy maybe a little younger than me who was out with a friend and their two sons.  The sons looked to be high school seniors or so.  After telling me that I was "keeping a good pace" -- since I had met them going one direction, rested-ate-read at a shelter for about an hour, and then caught up with and passed them now going the same direction they were -- he asked me how old I was.  Nobody's ever asked me that on the Trail before.  I think he was hoping I was really in my 20's despite my grey-ish beard, and not any older than he was.
 
 

New News on Eldred Township

Here's the latest on the proposed race track in Pennsylvania:  another delay!
 
According to a story in Saturday's "Express Times" from somewhere or other in New Jersey, written by Alyssa Young and titled "Officials Put Off Race Course Vote; Say Revised Plans Still Inadequate," the 350 acre project wasn't approved this time because the plans being brought by the developer still have too "many errors that remain uncorrected as well as several new deficiencies" .
 
At some point, I imagine, someone's going to get tired of having to discuss the Alpine Rose project, get tired of paying for engineers and consultants, get tired of having yet another revision to review.  I just hope it isn't the Appalachian Trail Conference folks and Blue Mountain Preservation Association folks.  Their lawyer at the meeting claimed that the current plans being submitted are substantially different from the first plans.  If they really are (I guess the planning commission decides) that the developer apparently has to start all over.
 
One thing that caught my eye in this news story is the note that "the final plans also include more deforestation to make room for an additional stormwater detention basin." 
 
There seems to be substantial discussion about the sewage treatment facility thaty would have to be built.  And the conservation district still hasn't passed on the plans yet.
 
I was wondering over the weekend whether this track would be open to snowmobiles in the winter.  THAT would be a real "ear-shed" problem along the Trail.

Can't See the Forest for the Bush

This has got to stop! President Bush has decided to yield up my share of the national forests (YOUR share, too) to logging industries. There are articles in papers all over the place today, but one in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" hits home to AT folks.

The article by Charles Seabrook, titled "Bush Opens Forest Roads; Governors Get Say in Logging, Mining Access," shares this information:

"In the southern Appalachians, the rule could affect 756,000 acres in nine national forests.

"One of the Chattahoochee Forest tracts is the 8,350-acre Kelly Ridge roadless area straddling the Appalachian Trail near the Georgia mountain town of Helen, about 120 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. A high, wild and rugged area, it is adjacent to the 9,700-acre Tray Mountain Wilderness Area and harbors one of North Georgia's largest old-growth forests. Swallow Creek, an important trout stream, flows out of the Kelly Ridge area."

What I want to know (don't we all) is whether any governors will have the gumption to move against the loggers in their states and make an appeal for preserving roadless areas. President Bush has turned things completely upside down in making the status quo position "okay for roads." To protect areas under his new rules, the so-often sluggish political machinery will need to gear itself up and ask for it. Before yesterday's announcement on this issue, the status quo was that forests were protected; governments and industry had to ask before they could disrupt the carefully balanced ecosystems of these forests by putting in roads and taking out trees.

Better get out there and hike Georgia's AT through Kelly Ridge while you still can!

Trail Terror Recalled

Here's a piece titled "Lessons on the Bears and the Bees" coming out of Florida, in which the writer, Robert Hughes, writing for "Florida Today" recalls waking up one morning on the Appalachian Trail to discover that he had pitched his tent on top of a [below ground] yellow jacket nest.

I've never had the pleasure of that myself (though I have confronted some of these creatures of God in my backyard ... and some which had decided to burrow into the woodframe of a bedroom window of our house), but Hughes describes his feelings upon finding the buzzing company with such a deft pen that you can really picture it yourself.

Nice change from the bear stories most people tell. The only place he mentions bears is in the first sentence where he writes "Forget bears and snakes."

International Appalachian Trail Publicity

Wowzers! I was passing through juno.com earlier today and noticed that one of the 8-10 news articles they were highlighting at the time (one of two under the "Travel" heading) is one marking the 10th anniversary of the IAT. That's pretty high visibility publicity for a hiking venue, seems to me.

The "USA Today" article is unsigned, and is copyrighted by the Associated Press with their usual warning about not reproducing it. When I saw it online, it was accompanied by a color photo of Earl Shaffer and David Donaldson walking some boards in a muddy section of Trail.

The article gives a very quick background history for the northern extension to the AT, and opens with the question: "What's a hiker to do after completing Appalachian Trail, which meanders more than 2,800 miles from Georgia to Maine?" Their answer is to keep walking. It points out that 11 people have done the AT/IAT combination.

Kind of a nice little piece, although it doesn't point readers to anywhere they could get further information, maps, or whatever.

New Book Review for Hunter Irvine

I don't know whether there's a new edition on Hunter Irvine's "One Pair of Boots" out on the market (ISBN 1-928590-02-0), but he garnered a positive review in today's "Summit Daily News" (for Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper, and Frisco Colorado). The review by Austin Diaz says that it "reads like a travel journal with conversational flair." Diaz is right that it's a quick read. It might bring back memories for some folks, or probably will for that matter, as any hiking narrative will. When I read the book about a year or so ago, I remember thinking that the book really tailed off toward the end. Maybe the author was in trudge mode for the last few states. I also see that I wrote in the margin at one place "I've about had it with his using the passive voice."

That said, it's still worth at least picking up a library copy if you haven't read this one.

Irvine hiked in 1990 (8 April--18 September).

Good News from Pennsylvania

In Eldred Township, the brakes are on for the racetrack. "John Woodling, director of the Monroe County Planning Commission, wrote in a letter last week, that plans should not be approved until certain issues with the plans are resolved. The issues include: a helipad proposal, sound attenuation barriers, various engineering issues and the differences between the preliminary plan approval and the final plan in regards to the increase in deforestation acreage." This is described a little further in a 9 July online Pocono Record story by Ashley Burrell titled "County planners say more work must be done on car club's plans"

A couple weeks ago the Appalachian Trail Conference's Mid-Atlantic head honcho (is that your formal title?), Karen Lutz, was there in Eldred for a site visit and tour that led up to this decision.

According to Alyssa Young's 24 June article in The Express-Times titled "Officials Get 3-D Look at Planned Race Course":

"Developer Richard Muller Jr. led planning commission members, supervisors and representatives of two environmental groups that oppose his project on a tour through tall grass and trees for a three-dimensional perspective of his plans.

"Planning Commissioner Kimberly Michael requested the visit at a June 17 meeting. That evening, the planners postponed until July their recommendation on whether the board of supervisors should grant final plan approval.

"Michael called the two-hour tour 'very informative.'"

The "group of about 20 people first gathered around a topographically accurate model of the $15 million resort. Muller said the model is a marketing tool created to attract members to his motor sports club. He never intended to show it to township officials."

[I'm wondering whether there were topographically accurate models of hikers on the part of the model showing the Trail who were holding their ears. And topographically accurate birds and animals shown leaving the area because of the noise, crowds, compacted soil, lost trees and so on. Wait! There wouldn't have been. The developer wasn't planning on showing non-investors the model.]

You see, "Muller later escorted a smaller group on a driving tour through the property on which several white-tailed deer and wild turkey were among the sights.

"He said he spent $200,000 conducting required studies to ensure the fields and forests are not home to any endangered species."

It's apparently okay to destroy the homes of UN-endangered species. Once those white tailed deer become endangered perhaps. [No, wait! This is Pennsylvania. There are way too many white tails in Pennsylvania as it is, for the ecosystem to support. Let's build a racetrack in their habitat so that drivers of little sports cars can have the pleasure of running into them at high speeds!]

In my mind, it's not just an issue of "earshed" or "viewshed" from the Trail's vantage points. It's really a quality of life issue for the folks who live in the area and would suffer the effects of noise and exhaust pollution, advertising pollution, dependence on gasoline-based jobs, and so on. It's an ethical issue.

Kudos to the County Planning Commission for recognizing that there are problems in the plans being foisted on the people on Eldred Township and Monroe County! And kudos to the ATC and other groups arguing against the Eldred racetrack.

Alyssa Young's article concludes "The Blue Mountain Preservation Association and the Appalachian Trail Conference have appealed the plan's preliminary approval in court. They say approving the project violates the Appalachian Trail Act which requires municipalities to 'preserve the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the trail.'" You betcha!

Another Death in Baxter

In a copyright Associated Press story that "may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed" (but which, presumably, may be commented on) which appeared online today in the Portland Press Herald, the Maine State Police identified the human body parts found in Baxter State Park as those of Robert Taylor, late of Bangor. Taylor had been missing for months. His remains were apparently found in or near a campsite, including a semi-erect tent and some supplies. The medical examiner hadn't pinned down cause or date of death, and the investigation is on-going.

This comes very shortly after the rockslide death on the Cathedral Trail at Katahdin.

Not a good summer so far in Maine.