How Mark Sanford Can Settle Up With The Appalachian Trail
By now you’ve heard that Mark Sanford was re-elected this week to South Carolina’s First Congressional District after beating Elizabeth Colbert Busch 54 to 45 percent and winning all five counties in the State in a special election.
As you likely recall, then-Governor Sanford disappeared from office for six days in June 2009 to spend time, and arguably the State’s money, visiting a mistress in Argentina. (His office claimed that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.)
But what irks we Appalachian Trail folk is that his name is forever connected with the A.T. And he’s likely never even hiked it.
So here’s a few suggestions on how Mark Sanford can right this wrong:
1. Donate to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC)- $10K+
2. Fight in Congress for more funding for the ATC
3. Attend Trail Days, let hikers throw pies in his face ($3 each), and give the donations to the ATC
4. Actually thru-hike the A.T. which will be amedia feeding frenzy (much like this election) and allow him to raise even more money for the ATC (or any long distance trail for that matter)
Anyway you look at it – Mark Sanford owes the ATC. Time to deliver like you did at the polls, Mark Sanford!
ANNUAL PACIFIC CREST TRAIL KICK-OFF EVENT: APRIL 26 – 28
It is ADZPCTKO time again. April 26 – 28, hundreds of PCT hikers, trail angels, and friends of the trail will gather at Lake Morena. Here are a photo from the 2012 Kick-Off. On both Friday and Saturday evenings this year, stories from The Pacific Crest Trailside Readers will be read (Liz Bergeron will read Walkin’ Jim Stoltz’s “Out on the Crest Trail” and Russ Mease will read “Facing My Fears on Three-Fingered Jack” on Friday and Ryan Forsythe will read “Sometimes They Come Back” on Saturday).
Hot of his 2012 Appalachian Trail thru-hike, 30 Pack will be at Lake Morena as he takes on the Pacific Crest Trail this year! Best Wishes 30-Pack!!!
30-Pack's podcast with N2Backpacking….
Pacific Crest Trail DVD Just Released
Just got this DVD in the mail yesterday about the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and look forward to watching it. It's received solid reviews from some respected members of the Trail community. So I made the purchase.
I'm sure it will spark a desire to do another thru-hike – although taking six months off to walk in the woods will not fly the Mrs.!
Follow a half dozen of the 300 or so hikers who attempt a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike every year. Armed with cameras, they give us an insider's view into what it takes to spend half a year living in the wild.
Appalachian Trail Virus Runs Rampant In North Carolina
There is a virus running rampant in shelters on the Appalachian Trail in western North Carolina. Not the best place to come down with a stomach bug!!!
No Business Knob Shelter
Press release from the U.S. Forest Service. Spokesman Stevin Westcott said he is unsure how long it will be before the virus subsides.
HOT SPRINGS — Hikers may want to avoid sections of the Appalachian Trail near Hot Springs, N.C., especially the stretch running north to the Tennessee border. A number of hikers have been sickened by a severe, 24-hour stomach virus that is being passed between hikers. Shelters to avoid include No Business Knob, Big Bald and Hogback Ridge. A section of the Appalachian Trail runs through the Appalachian Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, to the north and south of Hot Springs.
Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods, set to start filming?
There have been rumors of a movie being made about Bill Bryson's book A Walk In The Woods for the last few years. But is it finally going to happen? If you believe the LA Times, then maybe….
” But now, in what portends to be great news for fans of the book, not to mention fans of Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, veteran filmmaker Richard Linklater is set to take the helm. The Los Angeles Times reports that shooting of the independently financed movie could begin as early as this fall, according to Robert Redford, who will produce and star in the film. Nick Nolte will star as Katz opposite Redford’s Bryson.”
I'm still having troule seeing Nick Nolte as Katz, but then again … I haven't seen him on screen in a while. The more I think about it .. he could be perfect in that role. Regardless, I'm glad to not be thru-hiking the A.T. in 2014-15. If the movie really films this fall and releases by next year – it will be a madhouse on Springer Mountain in the Spring.
Police Nab “Hermit” Who Lived Anonymously For 27 Years Near The Appalachain Trail In Maine
In 1986, Christopher Knight went in to the woods not far from the Appalachian Trail in Maine and set up camp. There he lived for 27 years – not having contact with a single human being – except one hiker he met randomly in 1990.
Sounds like he was inspired by Thoreau right? Well maybe, but what brought him down was that he survived by raiding cabins in the area for food and supplies:
“It's been a myth, or legend, that a hermit was responsible,” Maine State Trooper Diane Perkins-Vance told the Kennebec Journal on Tuesday. “That happens to be the case.”
The 47-year-old hermit now awaits his future at the Kennebec County Jail, where he is being held in lieu of $5,000 cash bail on charges of burglary and theft.”
Turns out the myth was true. Yet, what drives a man to disengage from society?
I suppose everyone has their reasons. But to trade that kind of freedom for confinement in a jail cell. That would be the greatest torture of all.
Rendezvous Motel Catches Fire Near The Appalachian Trail In Pearisburg, VA
Nearly 20 years ago during my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, I wandered in to Pearisburg, Virginia after hiking in the rain for ten miles. The Rendezvous Motel was near the A.T. and it was a welcome break from the rain. I'll spare you the details (which you can read about at this link), but the owners were very nice, shuttled us around the town, and even slackpacked us for a hike back to the motel the following day.
Unfortunately, the motel caught fire last month and a nearby news station took a bunch of photos of the damage:
Here's a photo of the Rendezvous Motel during better times – taken on Friday, June 10, 1994. After nearly 20 years, the sign remains the same.
I Don’t Always Walk In The Woods, But When I Do …..
This is classic … from a thru-hiker named 30-Pack that I met on the Appalachian Trail last year a few days north of Springer. He’s about to start the Pacific Crest Trail in April …
Springer Mountain … it’s that time of year again
It’s that time of year again when excited (and sometimes anxious) thru-hikers start arriving at the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain. This year the A.T. clocks in at 2,185.9 miles according to the Appalachian Trail Convervancy’s Data Book. It grew in length by 0.7 miles over last year and included a relocation just north of Rockfish Gap in Virginia. Here’s some inspiration for those of you that are traveling North:
The northern terminus at Mt. Katahdin is a beautiful place, but don’t forget that it’s the journey and not the destination that you will remember for years to come. Good luck Class of 2013 thru-hikers, and best wishes!
Bear Grylls – What do you get out of backpacking?
Backpacker Magazine recently ran a survival issue where they featured Bear Grylls throughout the October 2012 issue. I admit to watching many of Bear’s Man v’s Wild series and to finding it entertaining. But something that he said in the interview struck me, and really rings true in the wilderness. The backcountry really does have a way of breaking you down and revealing the “real you”. Here’s the exact quote….
“Question: What do you get out of backpacking personally and with your family?”
“Answer: It gives you that all-precisous sense of freedom and self-determination, and that rare chance to escape the noise of the city and reconnect with who you really are. Time alone, unhurried, is rare nowadays – don’t underestimate what it can do for you on so many levels. I often go out alone when I need some space and time. It is also magic to take my kids out and show them the ways of nature. People form real relationships in the wild. It is hard to hide the real you, and that is a good thing.”