Saturday, September 21, 2013

PA AT Hiking Plans

So far I have hiked about 83 unique miles of the AT in Pennsylvania.  Some of those miles I have hiked a few times over again, but that is my score for now, that goes towards my AT 2000 Miler goal.

With my new job at the AT Museum in Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA I plan on hiking the rest of PA when I am up there and have the time.  I hope to do most of it doing day hikes and overnighters.  I also have set a goal to stay at (or near) every AT shelter in PA during the next year or so.  There are 24 shelters in PA and I have stayed at (or near) four of them, so I have 20 to go.

Most of my planning for these hikes will be inspired by Seeks It, an amazing hiker who did a double thru hike in 2012 going both NOBO and SOBO, all by day hikes.  He never spent one night in the woods, but he visited every shelter.  Quite a feat that shows me a lot of information which makes it possible.

My new job will have me near the trail frequently and a little driving here and there should make this possible.
PA has about 230 miles of AT trial so I have 147 miles to go.  Easy Peasy I say...

Hopefully LoGear will be able to be with me for a lot of these miles.

I'm always happy to hike with other people, so if this sounds like something you would like to do, let me know and we will see if we can coordinate some joint ventures.

Next week, I hope to add a few miles to my total and bag another shelter when I plan on heading up east of Duncannon on Rt 225, hike to Peters Mountain Shelter for the night, then come back to the truck, switch to a daypack and hike down to Duncannon and then back.  That will add about 11 miles to my total of AT unique miles, but will be a total of almost 20 miles of one day hiking.

Plans...

See you on the trail.

EarthTone

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Class of 2013 - Another Update

I have been following many hikers as they make their way along the trail to their goal of a mountain.  I have followed more than twenty people, but these I have kept track of on a spreadsheet and some of them on a map.  It was fun to watch them progress along the map and a little sad to see those whose markers stopped at a final place along the trail, their hike over for the time being.  Some would come back and continue on at one place or another, others moved back to their other lives, leaving the trail for a season, or forever, one never knows.  I'm pretty sure all that I have followed, no matter how long they stayed on the trail, will be back at some time or another.

A large number of those I have followed have been successful in their endeavour.  Three are still hiking.  Two towards their original goal of Mt Katahdin, and one who has flip-flopped, summited Katahdin and is now is heading south to where she jumped ahead, to hopefully finish in Harpers Ferry.

A few would get off the trail and come back later, realizing that the trail is a very strong draw.  It calls to you every day and wants you to walk it.  I feel it myself every single day and can't wait for my next chance to see a white blaze.  Whether it is one I have see and hiked by many times, or a brand new one that adds mileage to my total AT miles hiked.

So here is my latest update.  Congrats to all who have finished, good job to those who had to get off, and to those who still have some miles to hike, keep on going.  It is all good.  Green is finished, Red is done, Black is still hiking.

Trail Name Start Date Last Entry Location Total Miles Avg/Day
Apple Butter 8-Mar-13 17-Sep-13 Katahdin, ME 2185.9 11.3
Karma 7-Mar-13 17-Sep-13 Killington, VT 1514 7.8
Boo Boo 21-Feb-13 16-Sep-13 White House Landing 2140.2 10.3
Clever Girl 7-Mar-13 13-Sep-13 Katahdin, ME 2185.9 11.5
Rosie 17-Mar-13 13-Sep-13 Mountain Harbour Hostel 2185.9 12.1
Mother Goose 28-Mar-13 13-Sep-13 Erwin, TN 2185.9 12.9
Acorn 30-Mar-13 11-Sep-13 Gorham, NH 1887 11.4
Bazinga 27-Feb-13 3-Sep-13 Pinkham Notch 922.4 4.9
Odat 25-Mar-13 2-Sep-13 Portland 892.9 5.5
Jacko 21-Mar-13 31-Aug-13 Katahdin, ME 2185.9 13.4
Rash 17-Feb-13 19-Aug-13 Katahdin, ME 2185.9 11.9
Groundpounder 18-Feb-13 4-Aug-13 Katahdin, ME 2185.9 13.1
punkin pie 1-Mar-13 28-Jul-13 Katahdin, ME 2185.9 14.7
Lady Grey 8-Mar-13 28-Jul-13 Katahdin, ME 2185.9 15.4
Blues Man 16-Feb-13 11-Jul-13 Katahdin, ME 2185.9 15.1
HotDog 6-Mar-13 26-Jun-13 501 Shelter, PA 1189.3 10.6
50/50 15-Mar-13 17-Jun-13 Front Royal 964.6 10.3
PrayerWalker 14-Feb-13 12-May-13 Roan Mt. TN 405.7 4.7
Infinity 8-Mar-13 24-Mar-13 Past Tellico Gap/Not sure 129.3 8.1
Hiking Home 7-Mar-13 23-Mar-13 Newfound Gap/Home 206.8 12.9