These “What I Really Do” templates are everywhere these days and now I understand why.  There’s actually a template for them on the web.  A hiking friend recently sent me this one, and I have to say that they nailed it for Thru-Hiking.

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If you’ve ever hiked long distances on the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, or any major Trail, I think you’ll agree.

Here’s some photos from our trip down the Toccoa River last weekend.  The rains were heavy all week and gave us just enough flow to pull this trip off.

This is the put-in at Deep Hole Campground near Suches, GA.  It was only $3 to park here overnight.

Aw crap – lost the drain plug to my boat.  Here’s the duck tape job to keep the water out.  Phillip, Rob and I all got pinned against a tree and since I was the last in line – the river took me out first.  It also claimed my drain plug and fishing pole.

Here it is .. the famed Benton MacKaye Trail suspension bridge over the Toccoa River. The boys scout the rapids below before we kayak under it.

First up for the big rapid is Pratt. Here he is below the Benton MacKaye Trail suspension bridge – getting one last look.

Our campsite along the Toccoa River.

Kayaking the the Toccoa River in the Chattahoochee National Forest just past our campsite.

The Rooster got a soaking when we pulled out at Sandy Bottoms.  (Well actually – we all did).

Kayaks loaded up at Sandy Bottoms and ready for the trip home.

George Mallory is quoted as having replied to the question “Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?” with the retort “Because it’s there”.  A friend recently sent this quote to me with the attached photo which says it more eloquently:

You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place?

Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees.

One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.

René Daumal

I just spent a day over Memorial Day weekend hiking and kayaking in Landsford Canal State Park. Roger (aka The Camel) insisted that we get an early start and we launched and were on the Catawba River before 10am.

Our plan was to spend the morning fishing, but after two hours on the water – we landed only a few small brim.  So after taking a break on some submerged rocks in the middle of the river, we fought winds from the South and paddled back to the Park.

Roger’s determination to nab a parking spot by the river turned out to be a great call.  There were about 40 cars/trucks lining the road when we came off the Catawba River, and the picnic area was packed with people enjoying the Holiday weekend.

So we loaded our kayaks in Roger’s truck, then took a stroll on the Nature Trail/Canal Trail to see the famed Spider Lilies which bloom each May.  The platform was full of day hikers and the focus of attention was on two kayakers that were winding through the maze of white flowers. It looked a lot more interesting than paddling upstream to catch two brim, and we decided that we’d shoot the rapids and the islands of wild flowers on our next trip.

Roger suggested a walk to the lower lock which was an insteresting but narrow stone structure.  It was built in 1820 by Robert Leckie and designed so that small boats could avoid the rough and often rocky waters of the Catawba River.  Due to flooding, the lock did not operate long but it remains one of the few South Carolina canals to survive without structural damage.

An hour later, we completed a 3.0 mile loop hike of the Nature and Canal Trails.  The parking area was still buzzing with activity, and there is a reason for that.  Landsford Canal State Historic Park is a great place to hike, kayak, or just hang out.  If you time your visit when the Spider Lilies are blooming – even better.

This is the trailhead for The Jarrard Gap Trail that leads from Lake Winfield Scott to the Appalachain Trail.

The Jarrard Gap Trail starts with a hike through a forest and across a small stream, but quickly hits a forest road for about 0.3 miles.

Boone was enjoying the hike.

After 1.2 miles I reach the Appalachian Trail at Jarrard Gap.  I camped here back in 1994 during my thru-hike – so it was cool to see this area again.  It looked a lot different with leaves on the trees.

I think my 1994 campsite was in the same spot as this 2012 campsite.  The A.T. heads northbound toward Blood Mountain from here (and to the upper right in this photo).

Lake Winfield Scott in a recreation area (with a nearby campground) that is managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Here is a video slideshow of my 1994 Thru-Hike on the Appalachian Trail. I mixed the video two years later in Charlotte, NC using an old VHS camera and a mic/mixing system from the Video Editor. The technology is archaic by today’s standards but it captured the moment at the time.

The slideshow clocks in at nearly 40 minutes which is likely too long for most, and my kids tell me I sound a bit sad in the early narration. But be patient – things pick up as we close in on Katahdin.  If nothing else, it’s a look back at the A.T. in the early 90’s – before modern technology caught up with the Trail and when few hikers were equipped to record the moment – other than with a 35mm camera.

I hope to make a shorter, more upbeat, and a more modern version of this video at some point … but here it is in the original 90’s format. I hope you enjoy it. If you want to see a day-by-day log of the hike, then click this link.

Here’s some photos from the Whitley Gap Shelter on the evening of  March 23, 2012.  There were lots of thru-hikers in the house – and the weather cleared in time for a great sunset.  Best wishes Class of 2012!

BirdShooter

A stormy start to the day.  It rained all morning and in to the afternoon.  The forecast was for it to continue in to the night – but fortunately that didn’t pan out.

Zip and WalkAndEats at the Whitley Gap Shelter.  Zip is joined by his two dogs Skye and Mojo.  So I guess there really is Mojo on the trail (as I wrote in a previous article). 

KC (aka 30 Pack) watching the sun set over Cow Rock Mountain and the Appalachian Trail.  He hiked this ridge line only hours earlier.  

30 Pack after the sunset – looking southwest.  The storm clouds that lingered from the morning/afternoon made for some great photos this evening. 

2012 thru-hikers gathered around an evening campfire.  Despite the rain today, the wood went up easily and burned well in to the night.  

Atlas leads some jams around the campfire.  He earned the trail name for carrying both a guitar and a ukulele.   

Sunrise at Whitley Gap Shelter which sits 1.2 miles off the Appalachian Trail near Hogpen Gap.

Bear bags on bear cables at Whitley Gap Shelter.  Bears have been active south of here on the A.T. around Blood Mountain – but no issues last night.

2012 thru-hikers at Whitley Gap Shelter.  Only 2000 miles to go to Maine!

Scott “Zip” Willits continues the march northward the next morning.  You can follow his blog by clicking here.

Spring is a special time on the Appalachian Trail.   Every year, 2000+

people show up at Springer Mountain (the official start of the A.T. in

Georgia) to head north.  In 1994, I was one of those people – and ever since

I pause for a moment to think about the next group to head North.

This year, I had a friend making the annual pilgrimage and drove across town

to meet Scott “Zip” Willits on 3/16/12.  We met up at his sister’s house in

metro-Atlanta, and it was a beautiful spring day – the kind that makes you

want to skip work.  We had some beers, worked on reducing his pack weight,

then talked of the adventures to come.  The Mojo was strong, so I met him

five days later at Whitley Gap Shelter in North Georgia.

There is magic on the trail and it is hard to explain.  If you are lucky

enough to experience it, then you know what I am saying.  Yet some things

are more easily understood through photos and video …  so I’ll let them

do the talking.  Best wishes 2012 thru-hikers!

BirdShooter

A while back, I subscribed to the ATC Southern Regional Office Newsletter to keep up on activities along the Appalachian Trail in the South.  In the March 2012 issue, it said …

With spring lurking around the corner, it’s an exciting time of year!  We hope you’ll join us for some of the many activities that ATC and our partners are involved with this month.

The activities have been timed with the northbound migration of the 2012 thru-hiker pack, and there is no shortage of events:  

March16-18: “Spring on Springer” AT Trail Fest in Dahlonega, Ga.  (www.Dahlonegatrailfest.org) 

March 30-31:  Franklin’s April Fools Trail Days in Franklin, N.C. (www.aprilfoolstraildays.com)

April 6-7: NOC’s A.T. Founder’s Bridge Festival in Wesser, NC (www.noc.com/noccom/festivals-a-events/noc-founders-bridge-festival/)

April 21: Trailfest, Hot Springs, N.C. (www.hsclc.org/newsevents/trailfest.html)

May 18-20: Trail Days, Damascus, Va. (www.traildays.us/)

Any event that brings awareness and generates support within the community for the A.T. is a good thing, and with the 2012 thru-hiker season underway some backpackers will certainly partake.  

When I hiked in the mid-90’s, Trail Days in Damascus was the “go-to” event.  Thru-hikers and enthusiasts hitched from North and South along the A.T. to get there – and many traveled significant distances for the festival.  Yet two well known backpacker blogs – Whiteblaze.net and Trailspace.com – have recently debated the longevity of Trail Days.  

Has Trail Days lost it’s dominace as the premiere event on the A.T.?  The hiking community will decide with their feet (and/or thumbs) this Spring – and they’ll have plenty of festivals from which to choose.