My Trails

July 1 It was a beautiful day today, 94 degrees and pure sun. Most of the trail has been shaded so it was tolerable. I’ve found my hiking legs so I’m not quite as sore every wear. Gram, we decided that since you’ve  read Bryson’s book, you are now an honorary soggy shoe hiker! Welcome to the club. :)When we arrived at the shelter we found Backpacker and Jack. We spent an enjoyable evening listening to Backpacker and Castaway (dad) taking turns playing backpacker’s guitar and singing songs. Later on three more hikers joined the group. Lots of laughing and joking around finished out the evening. Looking forward to a good nights sleep tonight. 

June 30th

The day started out great. We got to catch up with all dads stories as we peppered him with questions about the AT experience. The first 10 miles of hiking were hot but manageable. Feeling cocky,  we decided to push on to the next shelter 5 additional miles away.  Ahead on the trailed loomed a steep uphill climb. We started up. I didn’t disgrace myself by outwardly crying but lets just say there was a lot of built in rest time for Nate and dad.  The last 5 miles felt like 15.  I don’t believe I hike any slower than I did in the Sierras but it was a total role reversal. Dad bouncing ahead up the hill and me trudging up the hill worrying as my respiration rate closed in on 45 breaths/minute.  We made it to the shelter but every muscle in my body hurts.  Ouch!!

To add insult to injury, when we got to the shelter, there was a group of boy scouts talking with another thru hiker, Sam I Am. They were asking him about hiking and training. The the one boy said “Man I’m tired.  It was a rough day! We hiked 15 miles today.”  Another scout chided him, “Quit whining!! You sound like a 40 year old woman!!”   Ouch!!

June 29th – Pen Mar Park, PA
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”  FDR

I agree with that quote but I’d also like to give honorable mention to bears, snakes, and disappearing food bags.  The one thought that has me most nervous about our 55+ mile adventure  is this…that I will be the Katz to Dad and Nate’s Bryson.  I’m about to head into the wilderness with my uber hiking machine of a father and a super fit 17 year old.  I’m hoping that at some point during the hike they won’t look back (way back) and find me trudging along, wilted from the heat, with my backpack empty because I pitched everything in order to lighten my load.  🙂

Despite the risk of being the weakest link, I’m truly looking forward to spending time on the AT with my dad and my son. One of the best things about backpacking is the time you get to spend together free from distractions of every day life…well, other than trying to stay alive out in the wilderness. Haha. I’m also looking forward to meeting some of the folks who have become like family to my dad over the past few weeks.

Tomorrow morning Nate and I will meet dad on the trail to join in his quest to follow the white blazes. 

 **footnote- Katz and Bryson reference is from “A walk in the woods” by Bill Bryson. If you’ve ever spent time in the woods with my dad…you’d know he can quote it by heart.  :)Karen Meehan

6/27/12 – 1028 miles
Trust is one of the major attributed connected to the AT. I have never worried about a thruhiker taking any of my things or mistreating me in any way. Every once in a while something happens on the trail to remind us that, even though our community of hikers is strong, we are not completely isolated from the sad part of the real world.

I arrived at Crampton Gap Shelter at about 5:00 pm and picked out a site to set up my tent. There was no one at the shelter when I arrived so I walked down to check it out. I should have sensed something was wrong when I noticed there was no logbook anywhere to be found. Logbooks not only record the whereabouts of past hikers but also alert new hikers of any problem at the shelter. I didn’t think to much about it and went back to my tent, just out of site of the shelter and fixed dinner. When I was done eating, I packed all my food, stove and pots, and my first aid kit, into a large bag, and went back to the shelter to hang it on the bear pole.

Early the next morning, I walked down to the shelter to retrieve my bag and noticed it was no longer hanging from the pole. My first though was that this is a joke and someone got it down by mistake. I walked to the shelter to question the occupant that had arrived sometime after I retired to my tent the night before. The answers to my questions were evasive, guilt ridden, and moronic.

I got the impression that he was probably homeless and spends much of his time living in shelters just out of town. I talked to two other tent campers in the area that told me there was a family staying in the shelter also, but that they left early because this guy was so creepy. There wasn’t much I could do without pulling him out of the shelter and going through his stuff – which I felt like doing – so I called Karen, told her what had happened and packed up to leave. In hind sight I should have stayed until the Park Rangers got there to question the man, but I was sure he had hidden the bag or that the rangers would treat it as food lost to animals.

Karen almost immediately called the Park Rangers but I was five miles north by the time they reached me by phone. I can’t say enough about the Maryland Park Rangers. They sent rangers up to the shelter and questioned any hiker they passed on the way. By the time they reached the shelter, the man was gone. I couldn’t give them much of a description because the shelter was dark and the guy seemed to be hiding in the corner.

I should have stayed there until the rangers came, but it’s a good thing I didn’t confront the idiot. Robo, a thruhiker and retired cop, said an unstable person like that could have a knife or anything.

I’m not going to let this occupy my thoughts but you can bet I will be more careful. It reminds you that there are a few creeps out there even on the AT. I worry at times for some of the girls hitchhiking into town and hope they always think about being safe.

This is the part that makes me tear up. Every thruhikers I met and told my story to wanted to give me food. Hikers know how important our supplies are to us – they are our survival. Thank you Orion, Apache, Robo and Tink, and especially Blue Sky. I hope someday I can do something for you.

6/26/12 – 1028 miles
I left Harpers Ferry about 10:00 am, crossed the Potomac River, and walked the C&O Canal Towpath into Maryland. Blue Sky was on the motel computer as I left and told me he would be along soon. I had a short day planned so I walked along slowly enjoying the morning. Shortly, I came upon a cyclists stopped by the path eating some berries off a tree. I asked him about them and learned they were mulberrys. I tried a few and studied the tree so that I could recognize them again. They were quite tasty.

The trail for the next 100 miles will be familiar to me. It is the section where Karen and I have done all our AT hikes the last few years. Even though I’ve walked through here before, it still looks different. There is always something new to see. The advantage I have over other hikers is knowing where the good water sources are and having the correct change for a coveted, hidden soda machine.

There are a few hikers doing the “four state challenge” where you start at the border in VA, hike through WV, MD, and cross just into PA, a distance of 46 miles, and you have to complete it in one day. I think they were going to start at midnight. You can probably imagine that they are all young guys.