Final Test Hike

We loaded up our packs and headed North to the AT Museum area.  We took the movable Halfway Sign up to Dead Womans Hollow Rd and erected it for the season.  Jen and Tom, volunteers from the A.T. Museum came along to help.

2017 Halfway Point - Dead Womans Hollow Rd.

After that chore was complete, we went back to Shippensburg Rd and started hiking North.  It had rained all the way up from home, but had stopped by the time we arrived in the area.  It was a chilly day with temps on the upper 30s and everything was drippy.

A misty, drippy day

We made our way down to Toms Run shelter, where we would set up our new hammocks and spend the night.  The hike in had been good at an easy 4.8 miles, but we still felt that soreness you get when you first start carrying weight along uneven terrain. 

I took a time lapse video of our antics as we worked to figure out our new gear which was amusing.  I'm glad we did this trip as it was enlightening to say the least.  We are still climbing up the learning curve.

Our hammocks await us

We ate dinner and gathered some wood for a fire, but everything was pretty wet and we were tired enough to not want to fiddle with it much, so we didn't waste the effort.  As the light faded from the misty forest, we both headed to our hammocks to read, then sleep.

My night seemed restless, but I wasn't cold at all.  LoGear didn't fare as well as she said she was shivering all night.  She is ready to go back to her warm, but heavier bag.

Eventually, a Pileated Woodpecker announced the new day.  I opened my eyes and saw dawn had arrived. 

We slowly got up, made some breakfast and packed up.  LoGear headed out first as I was puttering around, in no hurry.

She was motivated by the hot tub and warm bed back waiting at home as we headed back the way we had come the day before.

We quickly got back to the truck and started for home.  Both of us sore and tired.  This was a good dose of what we will have to face on our hike and even though we didn't get actively rained on, we were able to experience some less than ideal weather.  

We will now make our final decisions on gear, finish up our food bags and Fontana resupply and be ready for the start of our Quest.

As always, we will stay flexible and make any needed changes to gear and technique as we start the Adventure.  25 more days until the Quest for Pamola starts.

Peace,
EarthTone and LoGear

LD-07: More Life on the Trail

More, Life on the Trail

A Long Distance is just that. It takes a long time. So, this is part two of Life on the Trail. Just a few more things to think about.

Staying smart around sex, drugs, and rock and roll
The trail, in a way, is a reflection of life in the "other" world. I like to think of it as a nice, clean, simplified reflection, but it still contains all the elements of our society. Yes, people have sex out there, they do drugs and rock and roll will never die.

If you like to smoke the weed, please be discrete. Don't do it around other people. Especially those who you know are uncomfortable with it. Also, if you are uncomfortable with it, have the courage to let the stoners know that you would rather they move off somewhere to have their "safety meeting". (I thought that term was cute when I first heard it, but now it just annoys me, like when a kid giggles after saying Dicks Sporting Goods). Remember, respect others (this will be the theme of this whole paragraph.)

If you want to have sex, great. I think everyone should get laid out there, but I'm pretty sure not everyone wants to listen to you getting it on. Don't fuck in a shelter if others are there. Don't fuck in the bunk room of a hostel if others are there. If you are a loud fuck, try to use some self restraint in your tent away from the others. Get a room, stealth camp away from others, jack off in the shower at Trail Days. Well, maybe not that last one. Remember, respect others.

There are many days that I need a little boost to get the miles in and listening to music is one way that helps me get my legs pumping and the miles go by fast. Using ear buds is the recommended method. I usually only plug in one ear, so I can still hear nature, especially that fast hiker coming up on me who would scare the shit out of me if I didn't hear him coming. Portable blue tooth speakers are a new rage out there. Sometimes you are in a group that appreciates your rage rock or syrupy country, but a lot of times, you will see the tension rise on that person who just wants to hear nature. Once again respect others.

Common thru-hiker medical issues
I'm sure I could create a post all by itself about the different number of medical issues a hiker can potentially encounter during their hike. Here are a few that I have experienced or seen out there on the trail.

Overuse injuries top the list, I believe. Knees, hips, ankles, IT band, Achilles tendons, the list goes on. Usually the best way to fix this is rest, icing, compression and elevation. If you start slow, your body has the time to strengthen to the stress it is being put through. If you push it too far, too fast, you risk an overuse injury.

Food or water born Illnesses. Giardiasis, Noro Virus, etc. There is an old saying out there, "when you eat poop, you will shit liquid". Well, it isn't too old. I just made it up. These sicknesses that cause diarrhea, vomiting, cramps and unending pain and suffering, are usually caused by you getting someone elses poop on your hands and then eating something with said hands.

Hand washing out on the trail can't be emphasized enough. Unfortunately, it isn't always easy to get a good hand washing in. Whenever you have the opportunity, you should be washing your hands. Anti-bacterial gel is a must have, but it isn't as effective as a good hand washing.

Also, don't dip your hand (or let anyone else dip theirs) into a Ziploc of food, such as trail mix or Cheetos. If you want to share, dump from the bag into the hand. This keeps each hiker's dirty dirt away from yours. Fist bumping is also common out there. Not only is it cooler than shaking hands, it is more hygienic.

Hypothermia is a constant risk out there. You can become hypothermic easily well into the 50s. If you are wet, and the wind is stealing your heat, you risk this deadly situation. One thing about hypothermia is you quickly become confused and can not realize that it is happening to you. If you feel like you can't get any colder no matter how fast you hike to try and warm up, you need to take action quickly. Stop hiking, find shelter if you can or need to, get into dry clothes (you do have some dry clothes in your pack, right?) climb into your bag and warm up. If you can, warm up some water and sip it slowly. If you are hiking with others in an unpleasant weather situation, keep an eye on each other. If your hiking buddy starts ripping off their clothes saying they are too hot, maybe you need to get them into their bag and start up the stove.

Heat Stroke can also be a real danger out there. As summer comes on and the springs start to dry up, a hot day with little water can bring on all manner of heat related ailments. Once again, recognize this situation. This problem can be worse by the fact that you may not have what is needed to correct the situation. Get water if you can. Drink some. Get into shade and remove clothing. Rest and maybe pray a little and you should be fine. If there is no water or shade on the trail, get to a road and try to get into town, where a cool shower and air conditioning can help the situation.

Dehydration is very common out there. I have learned time and again that if you see a water source (especially in hot weather), you need to camel up, even if your bottle is still mostly full. I drink all I have and refill. Sometimes I hang out for a while and drink a full liter, before filling again and moving on. I have made the mistake of passing up decent water sources because I thought I would just fill up at the next one. Sometimes that next one is dry or down a stupid steep hill. The best place to store water is inside your body.

Staying motivated
There will be times, sometimes several times a day, that you will be completely out of motivation. It isn't an if, but a when. It is up to you whether or not these episodes are simple bumps along the trail, or an insurmountable obstacle to your hike.

There is a real common saying out there to "don't quit on a bad day". It advises to wait for a good day and then decide if you really want to quit.

There are a lot of ways to keep motivated. Find the magic and mystery of being out in nature. Look at the small things. Not every hill top will have a view. So what. Find your "views" everywhere you look. That little red eft, that is moving across the trail. That really cool mushroom growing next to that tree stump. Your hiker friends, doing funny antics.

Help and encourage the unmotivated and let them help you when you need it. We are a tramily out there and need to look out after each other.   Ask others what they use for motivation and see if that works for you.  

You will have plenty of bad days out there.  Remember, even your suckiest day will be a story to tell later.  

Making friends on the trail
The Trail is a place where I have seen meaningful friendships develop from "What's up?" to "Love you Bro!" in about five minutes. It is an amazing thing to see and a wonderful thing to experience.

The trail is full of the most amazing people. They come from every walk of life, but have this one thing in common. To follow the white blazes until they are done following the white blazes. These friendships are super strong and will most likely last the rest of your life. Even the most introverted out there make plenty of friends.

Be open and friendly to all you meet out there. They may be the one who gives you one of their power bars because you are out of food. They will fill your water for you when you are too wiped to walk down to the spring. They will wrap you in your bag when you are shivering uncontrollably.

Also, you will want to do all those things for them. Minutes after coming upon them on the trail.

It is a wonderful magical world out there.

Keeping in touch with loved ones
In today's world, keeping in touch is much easier then it was even a decade ago. The ubiquitous smartphone and decent cell coverage are responsible for that.

It is much easier to keep in touch with those not out on the trail with you. Facebook, texting, email. It's all much easier to do today then even a decade ago. Try to send a handwritten post card from time to time. People will enjoy that.

Make sure your loved ones know where your are and better yet, where you will be in a few days or a week or so. They may want to send you a care package with lots of great stuff to eat and use. Make sure they let you know that a package will be waiting for you, so you know to check with the post office or hostel where they send it.

Some use one of those satcom devices like SPOT or DeLorme to help track their whereabouts. These can be nice for those who need to give their loved ones peace of mind that you are not being eaten by a bear or have fallen down a ravine somewhere. At least they will be able to find your body easier, if that happens and you had the device turned on.

Let your loved ones live vicariously through you. It will keep you motivated and let them feel happy that you are out there crushing it.

Every Hikers' hike is different. Your personality and the circumstance you encounter during your trek define that hike. You could hike the same stretch a year later and have a completely different hike. This is just a little snippet of what life is like on the trail. It doesn't even attempt to cover everything and may bear no resemblance to your hike itself. Hopefully a nugget or two of wisdom were contained here. That's up to you to decide.

LD-01 - LD-02 - LD-03 - LD-04 - LD-05 - LD-06 - LD-07 - LD-08

Adding Another Stick to the Blogging Fire - Appalachian Trials

I have decided to join the Appalachian Trials team as one of their bloggers.  I will post articles on there from time to time as I think up interesting topics to write about.  

Here is my intro post.  

The Quest of Pamola

Here is how it starts:

You have to admit, Pamola is a badass looking dude.  Well, god actually.  As the Penobscot stories go, Pamola is a god of thunder and protector of the Greatest Mountain, aka Katahdin.  That’s where he lives and no one comes into his house without paying the price. Read the rest...

LD-02: Making it Real

Making It Real

You have taken that plunge and refined your dream into a plan. You have a tentative date of when you will start and you know how far you hope to go. It is time to make a plan, an outline. Something that at least loosely shows that you know which way you are going and that you have a vague idea of how long it will take. This is really fun to do. It makes you excited and scared at the same time. It makes it more real. It gets you on your way to the trail.

The importance of planning
There is a saying, that no battleplan ever survives contact with the enemy. Although I don't consider the Trail my enemy, this mindset has a lot of meaning to me. I always make a plan. I just also know that the plan will evolve and change as events happen. Flexibility is the key.

Some of the things you need to decide is where where you start? How will get to that trailhead? When will you meet some of the milestones that every long distance hike has. My next article will delve into these questions, but suffice it to say, having a plan (no matter how vague) has real value.

I have made a list of goals and milestones along the trail. I can look at it and based on the potential average mileage I hope to be doing as we move along the trail and get an idea of when we should be where. I don't plan on it matching up with reality exactly, but will know if I am ahead or behind the general, vague schedule. Making a general plan also helps with planning your resupplies. AWOL has some great spreadsheets on where you can resupply and how many days you will need for each resupply based on what your average daily mileage will be. Seeing the possibilities in front of you while you plan really helps when reality meets the plan and you need to find a place to get more food. I love planning.

Physical fitness
They say that the best way to "train" for hiking is to put a weighted pack on your back and go walk in the woods. I'm a faithful follower of this outlook, but it never hurts to build up a little cardio strength along with making sure your core, and ankles are at a strength that will help you carry your load and move along the trail. If you can, put on a pack with some weight in it and walk in the woods near your home. You can also walk a treadmill or stepper in the gym. I have put my pack on and jumped on a treadmill before. I enjoy the looks I get from the other patrons.

If you are a runner, keep doing that. Light lifting can't hurt and strengthening your core will make carrying that extra weight on your shoulders and hips easier to handle.

No matter what you do, take the time to let your body get used to hiking every day, all day with weight on your back. Don't plan on (or try) doing 20 mile days out of the get-go. Start off slow and work your way up. It's perfectly ok to have some short days at the beginning, where you can spend some extra time in camp making sure you can put up your shelter effortlessly in every weather condition.

Calculate your budget
Running out of money is one of the main reasons a hiker doesn't complete the whole long distance hike they have planned. There are number of reasons for running out of money. Perhaps you didn't save enough before you ventured forth as an unemployed walker. Maybe you spent too much time (and money) in town. Those towns can suck you in and spin you around, all the while you cash is spilling out of your pockets and improving their economy. Avoiding this situation is key to making your funds last longer.

Conventional wisdom has said that you need about $2 per mile. Some can do it with less, some need a lot more. So having at least 4 to 5K in the bank or your mattress should be a starting point.

I have determined that when you spend your money on the trail, it will fall into one of these categories. Transportation, Resupply (food and consumables), Restaurants, Alcohol, Lodging, Laundry, Gear, Postage and shipping and Misc. If you are careful in how much you spend on each of these areas and you keep good records of where your money is going, you can make adjustments like, not staying in town as much or opting for a Hostel instead of a Hotel at the next town. Spending recklessly will only send you home early if your funds aren't stable.

So gather your funds and determine if you have enough to head out. Lisa and I are lucky that we will still have an inflow of funds in the form of my military retirement, so we won't be risking dire straits. We will still have household things to pay for, but hopefully our hiking life will be a little bit cheaper than our other world home life as we are both quitting jobs to do this hike. Time will tell.

Set the home front to autopilot
No one hikes alone. Well, very few do. Having someone back in the other world, helping you with your hike is pretty important. Almost essential.

So, we won't be selling a home or putting all of our stuff in storage. We will just quit our gym memberships, make sure the cars are up to date and ready to sit awhile and hand the household chores over to the Daughter. Brandi, aka Home Base. She will have the responsibility of watching the house and making sure the plants or the pets don't kick off. She will also have to handle a few things that I won't be able to do using my phone or a library computer and I have been preparing her for that task for a couple months already.

Today's technology goes a long way in being able to maintain things in the other world while you hike in the real world. But it won't cut the grass or buy the groceries. I think it will be a fun challenger for all of us.

As we do all these things, the dream becomes real. As the day draws closer, all your preparations will pay off and before you know it, you are breathing the air on Springer Mountain (or somewhere else), with a full pack on your back and feet ready to roam. (or at least to follow some blazes)


Peace,
EarthTone and LoGear

LD-01 - LD-02 - LD-03 - LD-04 - LD-05 - LD-06 - LD-07 - LD-08

Sleeping on Ice

For a while now, I have been wanting to do a winter overnight out on the trail somewhere.  To be an Outsider, you must be able to experience all forms of weather and figure out how to handle each.  When we go out on our long distance hikes, we must be ready to function in every way when Mother Nature throws curve balls.  Knowing what it is like to be outside in cold, snowy weather is a must in preparation.

So, with the three feet of snow that Jonas dumped on the East Coast, I had a good back drop for a quick stay in the woods.  I had some business to attend to up at the Museum and I made sure I brought my full pack ready to go.  As the day went by, I figured I could head up in the afternoon some time and maybe make it to a shelter area for the night.  

Even with the melting we had over the past week or so, there was still at least a foot of snow in the woods and therefore on the trail.  I had some slim hopes that the trail would have had some traffic on it and devised a way to use some of the old roads in the area (which used to be the AT) to get me up South Mountain and on my way to Toms Run Shelter.  As I always do, I had alternate plans to the main plan and would change as needed.  That change came pretty quick.

I came very close to chickening out once again after I visited the Inn Keepers at the Ironmasters Mansion (Mike and Mary), but some force made me turn onto Old Shippensburg Rd instead of crossing the street and returning to the Museum.  My back had gone out as I shoveled some snow in preparation for a maintenance visit the next day and the familiar pain was nagging me and my visit to the Mansion had delayed me some (but it was worth it. Had to sample some home brew).  I had almost decided to just stay at the Museum for the night, but after I made that turn, my mind changed and I kept hiking.  As I headed up the old road, which was clear, I figured I could always turn around and just make a nice practice walk out of it with a full pack (plan C).  

When I got to the end of the road, I had about an hour of daylight left.  I left the road and followed the little trail that goes to the AT.  I immediately started post holing.  When I got to the AT, there was one lonely set of prints and they were snow shoes.  I walked to the bridge over Toms Run and decided that plan B will work just fine for tonight.  There is a small (semi secret) spot near here, where I have camped before, so I headed there.  It wasn't a long hike, but I realized quickly that there was no way I would be able to get to Toms Run Shelter in the next hour.  This place would do fine for the night.  

Tent up, wood found.  Time for fire and dinner

I located the place and kicked off the snow that covered the fire ring.  I stomped out an area to put my little one man tent, set it up and did a quick walk around to gather a few pieces of wood, so I could have a little fire before bed.  

The day had been in the low 40s, which had softened the top of the snow, but the night was going to get into the low 20s or even upper teens.  I had what I needed to keep warm and dry.  My socks had gotten a little damp in the day as I shoveled the snow in my trail runners, but I tried out a technique where you put your feet in bread bags as a vapor barrier.  I had one bread bag and one Walmart shopping bag, but it really did the trick.  My feet felt warm and toasty up until bed time.  

I made a small fire and cooked my dinner with my stove.  The fire was for a little warmth and comfort.  I didn't really Need it, but I was glad to stare into its eyes for a short time.  The sun set as scheduled and my belly was full with warm food.  As darkness settled in and the fire burnt down, I decided to retire to the tent and read some.  It was still pretty early.

Hiker box Mountain House. mmmmm

I (wrongly) decided to keep my hiking clothes on, even keeping on my damp socks and not putting on the nice thick wool socks I bring for camp during cold times.  I still felt pretty warm from the hike up the mountain and figured my body heat would help dry the socks (which it did), but I probably should have put the thick socks on and maybe my dry base layer that I also carry in cold weather.  My puffy was standing by, but I didn't feel the need for it yet.  

Snow camp

I scampered into the small Eureka tent and once again realized, that this is really nothing more than a fancy bivy sack and not really a tent.  There isn't much room to do anything in there like change clothes and such, so I just lay down and got out my phone to fire up the Kindle app and do some reading.  Not too long after that, I was ready for a little nap.  This usually happens when I start reading in bed.  I was still feeling warm and comfortable, so I let sleep take me for a time.

If you check my FitBit sleep pattern for that night, you will see A Lot of awake time.  I did a lot of left side, flat on back, right side, flat on back, left side, repeat.  My back was still hurting some, so there's that, but I usually do a lot of tossing and turning when I first go into the bush.  My mattress was working fine, I didn't feel any cold coming up from the packed snow, but I was awake a lot.  I had forgotten to remove my hammock woobie under quilt from my pack before heading out and I used that as a ground cloth in the tent and my sleeping pad fits into a sleeve in my Big Agnes sleeping bag, which went on top of the woobie.  I also had my bag liner, which gives a few more degrees of warmth in my 30 degree bag.  Getting into that while in the small tent was fun.

After a few hours of doze/sleep, I felt just a little cold.  Not too bad, but I knew it was time to put the puffy on.  I usually use it as a pillow, so I replaced it with my clothes bag and struggled into the puffy.  I immediately felt very warm and would for the rest of the night (at least on my upper body).  As the night wore on, my feet began to feel cold.  My socks had indeed dried, but the darn tough socks just weren't as good as my thick wool socks.

As morning arrived, but not light (it is still the dead of winter, no matter if Phil sees his shadow or not), I lay in my bag, feeling warm and not wanting to face the freezing cold day.  I could see with my head lamp that a fine layer of ice now coated the tent walls from the vapor of my breath.  It had cooled off quite a bit during the night.  

Eventually I forced my arising by letting the air out of my sleeping pad.  The cold immediately came through, so it was get up or get cold.  Well, getting up also meant getting cold, but I had to get moving.  At first, I had planned to make some coffee and oatmeal before heading back, but as I started packing up, I realized, I could do that later in the semi-warmth of the Museum.  I needed to get moving.

I had the usual problems.  Try to pack something without gloves.  Hands get really fucking cold, stop and put on gloves for a while.  Try again.  My shoes had frozen solid in the night.  I was glad I had untied them the evening before, but I should have opened them up more.  I basically slammed them on my feet and tied the frozen strings as best I could.  Other than my feet and hands, I was not cold.  I estimated that the temperature had dropped to the low 20s overnight. (Later verified to be somewhere between 18 and 24)

As I was getting everything together, my feet started going numb from the toes back until about half of my feet felt like a block of ice.  I would stomp in place for a while to get the blood flowing a little, then get back to work.  Also, I guess I should have had a footprint below my tent as the woobie and the sleeve on the sleeping bag was wet and so was the pad somewhat.  I just shoved everything into the pack and rolled up the icy tent and put it on the outside of my pack.  I knew I would be in warm(ish) and dry space soon.  I would be "inside".  

Before too long, I was ready to go.  It was still plenty dark and I had done all the work by head lamp so far, even though the waning crescent moon was shining brightly from above.  I retraced my post hole steps to the road and started down the mountain.  After about 1/2 mile, my feet warmed up from the effort of walking, but before they were all toasty, they had some painful moments as the feeling started coming back into my toes and forefoot.

I turned out my head lamp for the walk down the road as the moon was providing all I needed to see the black, clear strip of gravel that was the road.  After a pleasant down hill walk I could see the Museum's light as a comforting beacon to me and shortly after that, I was inside.  The 55 degrees or so it was inside felt like heaven.  

I unpacked and dried out my gear with the little radiator heater and started my day.

Looking a little tired, but none the worse for wear

It was good to get a feel of sleeping, hiking and living in a cold environment.  It raises your respect for your gear (and Mother Nature) and gives you ideas where you can improve things.  Knowing that I was only a little over a mile from shelter felt good, but I can only imagine what the day would have been like if I had to travel all day and deal with still wet gear the next evening.  But that will be a test for another day.

Keep on hiking,
EarthTone

New Gear, New Hike, etc.

As Justin works his way out of Maine, here are my thoughts on my latest adventures.
_________________________________

There is this sense of peace I feel, when I am starting to plan my next hike.  A shiver of calmness, mixed with excitement, goes through me as I check the mileage, the drive time, how many meals we will need and everything else that goes into getting quality dirt time.  

This next trip will be epic for me and will take me to places on the trail I haven't visited yet.  New miles towards my 2000 miler status and new places to explore; the holy grail of the trail included (at least a view of it, the mighty Greatest Mountain).  

The Trail's End Festival, in Millinocket, ME, is approaching in two weeks and will be the center point of our hiking adventures to come.  Happily, my bride will be with me for this trip and I am looking forward to hiking with her again along with her sister too.  Here's the plan.

Lisa must take a full week of vacation at a time from her Commissary job, so we will start heading north on the Wednesday before the Festival.  We will drive to New York, near Bear Mountain and hike an out and back to the nearby shelter areas.  Two nights out and then back on the road to Maine.  This will just be the start of our adventure.

The premise of this trip is the Festival.  Back in January, at the Northern Ruck, at Bears Den Hostel, I made plans to bring the AT Museum's Traveling Exhibit to the Festival and display it in a most prominent place.  We will be staying at Ole Man and NaviGator's place, the Appalachian Lodge, in Millinocket and will enjoy the festival for the weekend.  One thing we want to do while there, is drive to Abol Bridge and do a day hike up to the Katahdin Stream Campground and back again.  We hope to do the loop consisting of the AT and the Blueberry Ledges trail, which parallels the AT and leads right to the Birches Shelter.  

After we pack up from the Festival, we will head back South, out of New England and into New Jersey.  There we will meet up with Lisa's sister, Adrianne and her friend and hike some of the New Jersey AT.  

Adrianne is scheduled to take her own epic adventure to Australia in a few months and one of the things she plans to do there is hike some of their awesome trails.  She wants to get her feet wet and prepare by hiking here in the states and where else should anyone do that, but on the AT?  Of course she needed all of her own gear and one of my hobbies is to help other people spend their money on awesome gear.  Usually I recommend the gear I covet, but can't afford, so I'm a great friend like that.  I will help you buy the best gear, but it will cost you.

So as we were planning this latest trip, I saw an email in my inbox, announcing a Labor Day sale at EMS.  As I checked it out, I saw they were offering their Osprey packs at a very good discount.  I have wanted an Osprey pack for quite a while.  I passed this information on to Age and she bought a very nice Osprey Atmos AG pack.  

I had bought Lisa a decent Kelty pack a while back, but even though I had never humped it, I thought she should have a better pack and she agreed.  We decided to check out the nearby EMS store after seeing "A Walk in the Woods" at an Annapolis theater and we discovered that the fates where plotting against us in making the purchase.  We went into the store and looked around some as I always do when I go into any outfitter.  We noticed some plastic sheeting over all the backpacks and sleeping bags and discovered that workers were doing some structural maintenance in that area and we wouldn't be able to check out the packs. 

We left disappointed, but resolved to take advantage of the sale.  At home, we decided to buy an Aura AG for Lisa on line and after making the transaction, discovered the pack was on back order.  The next day EMS cancelled the transaction, saying the order couldn't be filled.  Bummer.  Our resolve stiffened as we planned a Friday morning assault on EMS.  I called ahead to ensure the construction was done and we headed there with mixed optimism.  We entered the store and headed straight to the packs.  There we saw a decent number of Osprey and other packs and stared checking out the Atmos that were there.  Before too long Warren came to assist us.  There was something interesting about Warren.  He was wearing a backpack as he made the rounds of the store.  We had seen him on our last visit and were wondering somewhat.  It all became clear when he mentioned that he was going to attempt a Thru Hike next year on the AT.  What better way to prepare yourself to wear a pack all day, then by wearing a pack all day as you went about your business?  What better place to do that, relatively unnoticed, than at an outfitter store.  I never asked him why he was wearing a pack.  It was just naturally understood.  

Warren, (trail name Ranger... something...), helped us size and pick our packs.  Oh yeah.  My birthday is coming up soon and Lisa "insisted" I also pick out a pack for myself.  It seemed only natural.  :)

So we pretty quickly settled on the Atmos, the exact same one that Age had bought (so we will be pack triplets on the trail).  We did some food shopping and then came home with our new purchases.  After putting away the groceries, I headed down to do some exploring with my new pack.

It felt a little strange as I took gear that is in the perfect place in my old pack and placed it in the new Osprey.  I sorta felt a little pang of sadness and a little bit of unfaithfulness, as I moved the gear to the new pack.  It was a little weird, but that pack, an REI Flash 65, had lugged my gear on every mile I have hiked so far, on the trail.  I felt a little like I was cheating on her.  

Yes, she is a her and she also has a name.  But that is a story for another day.

As I moved my gear and eventually hung up "Old Gray", I told her, that I would use her again or find her a new home.  Her smell will always be with me, since her smell is basically my smell.  

And there we are.  Standing on the precipice of a new adventure, with new gear and a sound resolve.

I'll let you know how it goes...

EarthTone

Opening Day at the Museum

As I headed up the highway, then the secondary road, then the PA Country road, the flakes swirled past my windshield in their quest to find a resting place. March 28th, Spring has sprung. Opening day at the AT Museum and snow was still in the air.

My temperature gauge said 26 degrees as I pulled into the parking spot at the Museum. I grabbed my gear and quickly went inside. The first order of business was to conduct an orientation session for some of the returning Docents. We had 13 experienced greeters huddling around the electric heaters as I went through the processes of greeting our visitors, pointed out some new functions and gave some training on our Credit Card program.

Before long it was time to open and our first visitor entered the Museum just after noon. She was a Hiker from 2000 by the name of Princess and we awarded her a Halfway patch for being our first "official" visitor of the season. As the day went by, we had more and more visitors who came into the museum to get out of the biting wind, including a large group of Boy Scout Section Hikers and our first Thru Hiker of the season. Close to 40 people came through the museum on our opening day. Not too bad, considering the weather.

Normitz/Dragons Breath (the Thru Hiker) actually hiked by the day before and backtracked to come to the opening day. He brought an artifact to donate. To some, it would just look like a rusted diamond shaped piece of metal with bullet holes in it, but to us, at the museum, it is one of the original blazes that were used to mark the trail. He had found it barely hanging on a tree along the trail in Virginia and had thought to bring it to us.

As our first day finished, the temperature still was below freezing, but it had been a good day to be at the museum.

Tomorrow, would be another day.

EarthTone

Photo credit:Carol Bungay

Reviewing the alarm system

This is how we do it

Docents occupy the Hiker's Lounge during the orientation

Keeping "warm" by the heater

Organized Boy Scout troop

Trail Name Survey Results

Graphic from Appalachian Trials.
Check out an interesting article on the
frequency of trail names - here 
by Maggie Wallace

Back at the end of January, I posted a short five question survey asking about hiker's trail names on two or three different AT Hiker Facebook Groups.  I received 223 responses to the survey before it fell down on the feeds and out of people's view and notice.

With only 223 samples of a very large group, this survey isn't really scientifically viable, but it does paint an interesting picture of a cultural part of the trail.  

Of those 223 responses 77% said they had a trail name.

Total respondents 223

One of the questions I asked was how did you receive your trail name.  Most hikers have their trail name gifted to them by other hikers at 61%.  20% give it to themselves and 18% have it gifted by non-hikers.  You see a lot of mention in the hiking world that you need to have the name gifted to you and at almost 80% doing it that way, the survey supports this.  It still is OK to name yourself, but the practice tends to lean towards receiving the name by others.  The survey didn't ask this, but I think there are quite a few hikers who start out with a self given name and switch to a gifted one that comes along during their hike.  I have no real proof of this, it is just something I have seen on my travels.  Also, there is nothing wrong with doing it this way.  It's all good.  

Yes, I have a Trail Name

Of those who don't have trail names, most, (73%) are waiting for it to be gifted to them. Another 22% just haven't found the right one yet and are still waiting to find it.  

Those still seeking their Trail Name

There was one respondent who said they don't do trail names and also a couple who stated that they don't know what trail names are.  wtf?

The last question I asked was to share your story of how you got your name and many who participated in the survey wanted to see those stories posted.

Follow this link to see all the stories that were given.  The stories are the best part of a trail name and some of these are pretty interesting.

For me, Trail Names is a fun game I like to play out on the trail.  I carry a number of trail names (they are light and take up no space in my pack).  I change them out from time to time or pick up another one as things happen on the trail.  I also like suggesting names to others who walk the trail unnamed.  My trail name grows as I add up my miles.

For now, I go by EarthTone, but my whole trail name is El Jefe Maestro Obi wan, the Earth Toned Stiller Fan.  Each part of my name has special meaning to me and came to me in all the different ways I asked about on the survey.

Remember, a trail name becomes Yours when you answer to it and introduce yourself with it.

Thanks to all who participated in the survey.  I'm sure one day we will have an exhibit on Trail Names in the AT Museum and I hope this data will be a part of it.  

Keep on Hiking,
EarthTone