Amicalola Falls

April 2nd, 2012

I left Pittsburgh shortly before noon on Sunday, April 1st. It was only 650 miles to my destination in Georgia so I decided to take two easy days for the drive. Even though my job for the last year has been driving 200 miles every day, it still seemed like a long, tiring trip. I never realized how far it is from the top of West Virginia to the boarder of North Carolina. Interstate 77 intersects the fattest part of the state and also cuts through the Appalachian Mountains for half its length. My old van got tired from going up and down the mountains, but it faithfully chugged on like a true workhorse.

I stayed overnight at a motel just outside of Charlotte, NC, and in the morning drove the rest of the way to Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia. As I continually made my way south, the weather seemed to change from spring to summer. Everything is lush with deep green color (even I can see it) and the trees are filling the sky with thick canopies of leaves. Someone said the temperature reached 85 today. It’s not going to be easy hiking with heat like that.

I signed in at the Visitor Center as thru-hiker (that’s how they spell it) number 702. I flipped back through the pages and counted 45 hikers signed in yesterday alone. Everyone plays the game of saying they are hiking all the way to Maine even though the odds are stacked 90 % against them. It’s funny to see the youthful, exuberance these young people overflow with. I guess it’s good that they are so positive and energetic. What surprises me the most is that I can’t believe how young they look. I think I have underwear older than some of them. At any rate, I sure won’t be hiking alone.

I talked with a Ranger about parking my van for a while and filled out more paperwork. Before I left, she told me about a side road that leads to the National Forest, just over the boundary of the Start Park, where I could park and camp free. So that’s where I am. In the morning I will park in the extended lot and begin the hike to Springer Mountain and the start of the AT. I weighed my pack earlier and found it weighs 31 lbs., more than I like but less than a lot of others.

This unusual, warm weather will be nice for sleeping, but it will also cause some problems. For one thing, I’ll need to carry a lot more water. Dehydration is not only uncomfortable but also dangerous for a person with kidneys like mine. Warm temperatures also bring out surly snakes and excitable, biting insects, and – probably the thing I fear the most – vivid lightning storms. All sorts of things can happen out there, but the most dangerous part is over – the drive down here.

I may not be able to update for a while. If I can get a signal, I’ll try to check my phone each day for email. Other than that I will turn it off to save battery life. Thanks for reading.

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” Anonymous

Posted in Adventure, Appalachian Trail | 2 Comments »

Southbound

April 1st, 2012

I awoke to my last day in Buffalo at the usual early morning hour. My body was still on the work schedule of the last year and told me it was time to get up. I doubt I could have slept in anyway because there was a certain excitement to begin my long vacation. I was ready to see what was out there.

There was a light dusting of snow on the ground and the air felt bitterly raw after the mild weather of the last two weeks. I loaded my van with the remaining items from my apartment, cleaned up the floors and bathroom, and after several checks to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, drove to meet Jenny.

It took us a couple hours to drive to the storage facility and fill out the paperwork to store my van. By the time we got back to the city, I was ready to head south and leave Buffalo for warmer climate. Thanks for everything, Jen.

The drive to Pittsburgh was uneventful. I had to keep reminding myself to slow down and save gas. At $4 a gallon, a little extra drive time will help a lot with expenses. Apparently, there are not many worried about how much gas they burn. All the way to Pittsburgh, SUV’s and heavy duty pickups flew by me like I was standing still.

Right now I’m enjoying a couple of days at Karen’s. She and Zack took me out to eat to celebrate my “retirement”, and then I went with Noah, Nate, and their Dad, to watch Noah play in a soccer game. All three kids are good athletes and it’s always fun to watch them play.

Karen has been helping me decide what gear to pack for my hiking adventure. I think I’m just about set. I know I will be carrying too much, but you can never tell what the weather will be in the mountains. Better to be safe than sorry. Tomorrow I will head towards Georgia.

Posted in Adventure, The Great Outdoors | 2 Comments »

Vagabond

March 29th, 2012

This week has gone agonizingly slow. I’m ready to get out of town and reckon back to the days of wanderer, ready to take a walk in the woods and see what lies over the next hill, and more than ready to stop living someone else s version of my life. All I have is one more day of responsible, dependable employment, and then I can revert to being a vagabond again.

Tomorrow will be sad good-byes to all the employees at work and the staff in pharmacies where I deliver. I always have a good relationship with my fellow workers and people I meet on my route, and they will be missed. When I told the pharmacy employees of my intentions, it brought many groans and sad expressions, but encouragement in the belief that I was doing the right thing. Who knows, maybe some day I will be back for another run of employment and see them again.

I have most of the apartment empty. I loaded everything into my new van except for an air mattress and a few clothes for tomorrow. On Saturday, Jen will help me take one van to a storage lot where it will remain until I come back from my southern adventure. The plan is to drive my old van down to Georgia, either park or junk it, and walk for a while in the Appalachian Mountains. Then I will shuttle back or forward until I arrive at someplace sensible. It’s no good having too much of a rational plan or it wouldn’t be much of an adventure. My friend at work told me he had a video that I need to watch before I start hiking in Georgia – you guessed it – “Deliverance.” Good one, Ron!

My first stop will be in Pittsburgh to see Karen and the boys. I will leave a few things with her in case I last more than a couple of days and need something mailed to me. It’s always good to get her input on the right gear to pack. Even though I’ve studied my supplies pretty thoroughly, she has that analytical ability to plan a hike much better than I do.

That’s about it. Things can and will change along the way, and that will be all right. I’ll try to update when I do something interesting…and, I guess even when I don’t.

p.s. It didn’t take David long to figure out how to toggle my phone to the computer.

Posted in Adventure | 3 Comments »

Prep Hike

March 11th, 2012

The weather was beautiful today so I decided to take a short hike. There were a couple of reasons to get out and do some serious walking: I wanted to test out my knee to see how it has survived the winter, and I also have a new backpack I’ve been dying to strap on. Everything went well, and I can report that the knee feels good. In fact – this point is baffling to me – it feels better after I give it a good workout. I’m wondering where the dividing line between moderate exercise and too much is drawn.

I would like to climb a few hills but that would mean driving at least 80 miles from Buffalo. With the price of gas I decided to walk in a town park not far from where I work in Cheektowaga. It’s a nice little park with several miles of graded trails. The paths wind through woods on level terrain with boardwalks constructed over the swampy areas. When the weather is nice, I walk there quite often. But this was the first time I had sported my full backpacking equipment and I received quite a few strange looks. The nice weather had also brought out tons of people to the park.

Most people would smile and greet me politely, although some kept their heads down and hurried by, like you do when you pass a homeless person with a sign. I explained to a couple of people that I was just getting used to my pack before I went on an overnight camping trip in the Spring, but for the most part I just smiled back.

My new pack is a ULA Catalyst. They don’t sell them in stores so I ordered it online. I’m not in favor of buying something as expensive as this pack was without trying it on or even seeing it in 2012-03-11 20.47.40person, but it had good reviews from the trail community and I figured I could send it back if I didn’t like it. I needed something a little bigger than my Gregory pack for cold-weather gear and several days of food while still remaining ultralight. It feels good and I like it.

Everything is set for my AT hike at the end of this month. I’m hoping to last a couple of weeks, anyway. After that I may drive through North Carolina and look at the small motorcycle I’m interested in. I called a dealer and they have two in stock. Then I will head indirectly west. I know the timeline flor visit is extended longer than some would like, but except for backpacking in the mountains, summer in the southwest is too brutal. I will try to update with more stories along the way, even if they seem pointless to me. I know everyone is thinking of me.

Posted in The Great Outdoors | 5 Comments »

Conjunction Junction

March 6th, 2012

I just reread a couple of my recent posts and realized that I use the conjunction ‘but’ in quite a few of my sentences. It puzzled me why I write this way and I came up with several reasons to explain it. I might be trying to convey an opposing view, or maybe I’m not sure about my point, or I could just like the way the sentence sounds. I’m not sure exactly why I do it, but I don’t think I can stop.

Everyone is probably wondering where I’m living. The last information I posted hinted of staying in a motel, getting a room at the YMCA, or just living in my van. One by one I ruled these out on the grounds that they were too expensive, too far away, or invited uncleanness. Even though the Y was up in Niagara Falls, I probably would have stayed there. Unfortunately, when I went back to check on rooms, they had rented the last one. I was stuck. I resigned myself to either cough up the money for a motel or jump in my van and take off for a warmer climate.

Fortunately, Louie found me a place to ride out the rest of the winter. His cousin had a vacant apartment, only a couple of miles from where we were staying that I could rent without security deposit, hooking up utilities, or signing a long-term lease. We made an agreement for a set amount and I moved in. It’s not in the best neighborhood or anything pretty to look at, but it will do for now.

I did just buy a luxury. Every since I bought the new van, I’ve thought about getting a bigger TV for it. One van-camper told me how he installed a flat screen on hinges so it could be stowed against the ceiling when traveling, and lowered for viewing when parked. I liked the idea and decided to splurge early so that I could enjoy it while I’m waiting for departure. It’s a Vizio 27” razor. I chose it because it was so thin.

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I’m limited to about eight over the air stations. There’s not a lot that I like on TV anymore but I do get some PBS stations and a couple of local broadcasts that have sitcoms I like. Over the weekend, I got hooked on a public broadcast and watched three hours detailing the life of Lincoln. The FOX news channel comes in crystal clear. Who knew I would be able to get fair and balanced news every night!

Posted in Pieces of my Mind | 6 Comments »

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