I have found a good daily rhythm on the AT. Making and breaking camp has become second nature, and most of the remaining daylight hours are spent walking. I am enjoying the variety in the scenery as well as the changing seasons. If I didn't miss my beautiful wife so much I would happily walk until winter made it uncomfortable. So it was a bit ...
I was grinding my way up Wayah Bald at a point where the AT crossed a small road, when a truck stopped and an older gentleman got out. We chatted for a few minutes and he revealed that he was looking for seeds on the wild rhododendrons and azaleas. He was familiar with the wild rhodos in B.C., as he had given a lecture on ...
The idyllic, summer like weather that we had been enjoying has been replaced by the wind and rain of the former Hurricane Nate. It came ashore in Louisiana yesterday and its core should pass west of us this evening.After two nights at the Top of Georgia Hostel we were keen to get back on the AT this morning. Bruce's knee had improved somewhat, so we ...
Hikers who attempt to hike the entire AT in a continuous outing are known as "through hikers". Walkers who are only doing a portion of the trail are called "section hikers". Hikers are further distinguished by whether they are northbound (NOBO) or southbound (SOBO). Hence, in the parlance of the AT, I am a NOBO section hiker.Most of the through hikers are NOBO. Large numbers ...
After 7 days on the trail we were running low on food and needed to go into town to reprovision yesterday. Dick's Creek Gap is a convenient place to do this, as the Top of Georgia Hikers' Hostel is located only half a mile from where the AT crosses a highway. The Hostel offers bunk beds, hot showers, continental breakfast, and a free shuttle the ...
There are liberal numbers of shelters available along the AT. We typically pass one or two of them each day. They date to all periods since the AT was established in the 1930s. The typical design has changed from the early days, when they were constructed like small enclosed cottages. The Blood Mountain Shelter, built in 1934, is an example of this style, which would ...
Bruce was the lead hiker early this afternoon as we crossed a sunny, dry ridge. Suddenly he lurched backwards saying "Whoa" and pointed at the trail just ahead of him. I leaned forward and examined the magnificent snake stretched across the trail. It was about 4 feet long and as thick as a commercial garden hose."I think it's a rattler," I said."Nah, I almost stepped ...
We were only able to cover 10 miles today, even though we started at 9 am and walked until after 4 pm. The miles are generally slow on the AT and today was a particularly challenging day. We started with a climb up Blood Mountain, at 4400 feet the highest point we will see for a few weeks. (The place names are colourful in this ...
Bruce and I are a day and a half into our walk in the woods. Bruce's brother picked us up at the airport in Chattanooga, Tennessee and the next day he and his wife delivered us to a parking area a mile from the summit of Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail (AT).We are walking through a southern mixed forest of elm, ...
Ruth: Today I dropped Gord at the ferry to head off on an adventure - gulp - without me. A very rare thing for the two of us, but something I will have to get used to now that he has retired. He and his friend Bruce are flying to Georgia to walk for a month on the Appalachian trail. Not a trip I could ...