Appalachian Trail

This past weekend, my brother Chris and my best friend Dave helped me begin checking off a Bucket List item... the Appalachian Trail! My brothers and I spent our first formative childhood years growing up in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. It's beautiful country and will always be where my heart and soul will belong. Hiking the AT has been a desire of ours for a pretty long time and we've discussed plans for it over the years. A few years back I finally put my foot down and said that I wanted to start the AT by the age of 35. Well, that was this year....

We planned to start out our AT adventure by doing a small section hike in PA's Michaux State Forest. The place was chosen due to it's close proximity to all (Dave now lives outside of Pittsburg) so it was convenient and at about the half-way point between us. None of us are hardcore hikers by any means! Nor are we in top physical shape like those who've conquered the AT before us. Dave was in the Marines back in the mid 90's so he was familiar with long grueling marches with a pack. My brother and I played both soccer and basketball in highschool (that seems like eons ago both menatlly and physically). We've also occasionally packed out for weekend camping trips so we kind of knew what to expect, plan for, etc. (or so we thought...)!

(To be continued...)

I'll get more of the story out today with pictures to accompany it.

Quote from Slimer

I wheeled in Michaux State Forest once years ago. Probably not a section by the trail though.
You say "by age 35" as if that is old. :upset: WTF?
I would like to do something like that myself.

Not old @ 35... I just wanted a definitive time to start this adventure. If I hadn't done so, I would probably be 60 before I started.

Quote from ForMud

Way back when I hiked twenty mikes or so in the Smoky Mountains. All I remember so it was well worn and kinda crowded at the time.
Now a days, it would take 2168.1 days to travel the whole thing.

A mile or two per day! Sounds good to me!


http://www.2180miles.com/trail-blog
I've been following Ryan's trek since before he began. He posted in JF before he began his trek. I lost him somewhere in VA and have been trying to catch back up although he's already completed the AT.

(Continued)...

Our original plan was to meet around 3pm at the district office in Michaux. They took the day off of work and I took a half day to get out by 11am. I got home before noon, showered, changed, grabbed my pack (sorted the night before) and Jasmine (my Lab/Chessie mix) and headed over to pick up my brother. We got his gear loaded and then headed for PA. Our route would take us north to Lancaster and then out west from there. In Lancaster, we made a brief stop for lunch and then at the Sherrif's office so my brother could get his PA LTCF. We spent about 45 mins total in Lancaster but tacked on another 45+ mins in traffic just west of Lancaster. It sucked but wasn't too unexpected for a Friday afternoon.

So, we eventually made it to the Michaux district office around 5ish but that was okay b/c Dave was running late as well and had only gotten there 15 mins ahead of us. We decided to drive into Shippensburg and grab dinner and figure out our next step. According to the original plan of action, we would meet at the office, drive one of the vehicles to the ending point at the fire tower up on Big Flatt and then drive the other vehicle to our starting point at the Long Pine Run reservoir. From the reservoir, we would hike the couple miles into the Quarry gap shelter and bunk down for the night there. Well as it was already dark when we got to the fire tower parking area, we decided to hike down to the Birch Run shelter, overnight there and then hike back up to the vehicles in the morning. From there we would drive down to the reservoir and start our trail from there in the morning. Well.... that didn't go quite as expected either.

HOLY FROZEN CRAP! That is all I can say about that night! We hiked down into the valley toward the Birch Run shelter. It was slow going as it was already dark and the light of our headlamps only showed the ground in front of us and the steady line of white AT markers on the trees. When we got down to the shelter, there were already bunks taken from hikers who'd gotten there ahead of us. We were unable to tell how many people were there becasue of the massive tarp covering all 4 of the bunks in the rear of the shelter. As it was about 9pm, we decided to pitch our tents instead of disturbing the other hikers. We moved to an ancillary tent spot about 40 yards away from the shelter. I quickly got my tent set up and my gear inside. I had picked up a sweet little backpacker tent from Cabelas the weekend prior. Dave had picked up 2 tents as well... a dome tent and a bivy style tent. He had opted to pack the bivy tent and it wasn't too difficult to get set up quickly. After we got him set up we moved on to Chris' tent. Now I had sent them all a text earlier in the week to remind them to get familiar with setting up their tents. Well, Chris didn't find one that he liked until the day before the trip. He had Dave stop by REI on his way to pick it up. Now, I thought I had a pretty good knowledge of how most tents are set up but this had us baffled for the better part of an hour. He bought an REI Half Dome 2 and the instructions were confusing at best for those unfamiliar with it's pole system. It works with an H-shpaed frame that took us forever to figure out. Being that it was below freezing and we were all tired didn't help in the least! Once we got it set up, we went scavenging for some firewood. That place was picked clean! We managed to find enough to get a small fire burning for about an hour and that was it. Chris broke out the pack stove and we each made a cup of hot chocolate to try and warm up the insides before bunking down.

That night was SO cold!!! Cold usually doesn't bother me all that much but I can't remember too many times I've ever been THAT cold... a handful at best! The temperature dipped down into the teens and we all felt it that night. I have a 0* bag and had brought a wool blanket for Jazzy. I had my bag 1/2 zipped up to my waist, folded the wool blanket in 1/2 on the floor next to me, had Jazzy laying on it as I pulled her as far into the bag with me as I could and then pulled the other 1/2 of the blanket over us... and we were both still shivering. It was a miserable night and I only got about 3 hrs total @ about 20 mins at a time. I thank God for whoever invented Hand Warmers! Even with 1 in each glove and 1 in the foot of my bag it still wasn't enough though they helped. I settled in the best I could and prayed the sun would come up soon.....

(To be continued...)

The new tent..

Even on Vaca I can't sleep past 7a! Here's my DIY alcohol stove heating up water for my breakfast.

Jazzy laying in the sun trying to steal it's warmth

They tried to get as much sleep as they could and didn't get outta bed til around 9ish. First order of business is food! That's Dave's dog Dakota behind Chris.

Dave's Bivy tent..

Chris' Rubik's cube tent from REI..

Take measures to keep your water from freezing!

Had a bit of a scare Saturday morning. Thought I had frostbite but it turned out to just be a bruised toe. Best I can guess is that it was from the steep decent while hiking down to the shelter. I thought it was the beginning of "the black foot!" From Mr. Deeds. Lol

(Continued...)

While Chris and Dave were trying to recapture lost sleep due to the frigid cold, I was up and about trying to get the blood pumping through my body and warm up. About an hour later, the other hikers that were bunked in the shelter were also up and about. Jazzy and I walked up and I introduced us, bidding them good morning. Their names were Charlie and Dave... Charlie being from Delaware and Dave from Canada. They obviously were friends and said they'd known each other for a long time. They had hiked multiple sections of the AT over the years together. We chatted about the cold weather as Jazzy enjoyed the extra attention. Charlie said he'd wished he brought his dog (a Bernese) so that he'd have been warmer last night. I told him he could've strapped his pack to his dog as well as they were bred as drafting dogs. After we finished breakfast, we hiked to the top of the hill above the trees to warm up in the sun. By the time we got back to camp, Chris and Dave were stirring about (finally). Earlier that morning, I had found a decent amount of firewood about 250 yds away from the camp and had hoofed it back to the big fire ring by the shelter. There were 2 bundles of smaller wood already stacked by the ring. I had seen it the night before but figr'd that Charlie and Dave had gathered it so I refused to burn any of their stash the night before w/o asking them first. As a matter of fact, there had been 3 last night but they had stoked the fire up around 1am b/c they were so cold. I told them that I would start the fire if they didn't mind using some of their stash. They heartily agreed being much apreciative of not having to mess with starting the fire... they were both older, probably 55+ and were still moving a bit stiffly even after our short hike. I got the fire in good order in about 5 mins and we sat around it while Chris and Dave made and ate their breakfast. I had also brought some instant coffee... scratch that... instant engine degreaser! I made a cup and offered some to Charlie and Dave even though they already had their own. For the LOVE OF GOD! that stuff was naaaaaaaaaaaaasssstyyyyyyyyy! They all were choking on laughter as I was choking on that foul crap! I managed to get 1/2 the cup down just out of pure spite and the fact that it was hot before I discarded the rest. While chewing on a mouthful of bark to get the taste out of my mouth, I quickly heated up another cup of water and made hot chocolate. A little later Charlie and Dave finished packing up their gear and we said our goodbyes and wished them well on the trail. At about 10:30 we struck our camp and headed back up to the parking area. Now to start the next leg of our "planned" adventure.....

(To be continued...)

In case anyone was wondering about my alcohol stove... I saw the idea somewhere on the interwebz and figrd I'd give it a try. It's made from an aluminum soda can and burns rubbing alcohol. There's tons of vids on YouTube if you want to try it out. There's a few other versions I want to try but here's the ones I've tried so far...

It's very lightweight...

It burns pretty well but I had to make a pot stand to hold it above the stove.

[youtube]BWOACj0rT_0/[/youtube]

(Continued...)

Hiking back UP the trail with only a few hours sleep was taxing to say the least. After each of the 3 steeper inclines, we had to take a short breather. I'm sure they weren't quite as winded as I was but if they were, they sure didn't show it much. Dave's in pretty decent shape and Chris is in good shape as well... me, not so much. Dave kept repeating a phrase that his drill instructor was apparently fond of using, "The ends just around that bend, men!" I had to forcefully will my legs to bend and straighten up those climbs but I refused to quit until I was at the top! Those mountain house meals are packed with calories and I will bet my last dollar that I burned them ALL off on that climb!

Once we got to the top of the trail, it was still going up but at a much more level (and manageable) grade. We stopped for a moment when we heard a bell in the distance. As it got closer we saw that it was a lady jogging with her dog. We stepped to each side of the trail for her and greeted each other as she passed by. As you can imagine, someone who is jogging through those elevation changes is in great shape and her spandex outfit proved that point quite well. We continued on and finally got to the parking lot and our vehicles. We loaded all our packs into my SUV and headed out to Shippensburg (yes, again) for lunch. Our plan was to grab food, drive out to the reservoir and hike back towards the Birch Run shelter for a 2nd night. We figured if we didn't make it all the way to the shelter, we could set up camp off of the trail a ways and complete the trek Sunday morning. Again, we had a plan and again, it didn't pan out at all.

We stopped at a Ryan's for lunch and spent about an hour just hanging out, warming up and planning our march. We stopped at the local Walmart and grabbed a few needed items (Hand Warmers and I got a pair of fleece pants). Once again it was getting dark, so on our way back out we revamped our plan. Trying to find these trails and roads in the daytime is hard enough as most aren't clearly marked... even though they're marked on the map. Now, trying to find them in the fading light... okay, we'll call it dark... is close to impossible. After searching for a secondary trail that instersected the AT about 3 miles south of Birch Run to no avail, we just gave up and went right back to the same parking area we had started from. Just across the road about 50 yds into the trees was an unnamed camping area. That's where we decided to set up camp and stay the night. It had a large grassy area to set our tents up which was nice as it insulated us a bit more from the ground. We set up Dave's secondary tent but it was pretty much like most others on the market and not complicated at all. Since we were right across the road from the parking area he had grabbed that tent and I grabbed 2 more wool blankets for both Dakota and Jazzy. It was still cold that night but not as cold as the previous night. We built a fire in the brick chimney that was there and hung out just talking and enjoying each other's company. Around 11pm, we strung up our food bag in a nearby tree and settled into our tents for the night. I don't know if it was just that comfortable or I was exhausted but I only woke up once that night to turn in my bag and fall right back asleep.

(To be continued...)

Dave snuggling with the girls

Jazzy knows who feeds her! [emoji4] Yes, Geoff, you're darn straight I wore my new hoodie on the AT!

(Dave's not the best night pic guy)

Watching funny youtube crap

Keeping warm by the fire and brewing up some hot cocoa!

Proving to Dave that a focused pic is possible at night...

Quote from Hardkor

Pretty cool read. I would like to do something like this. I guess like you I just need to do it and stop thinking about it.

Thanks! That's pretty much what I said a few years back... "set a time, Miller, or you'll never get started!"

(Continued...)

Sunday morning came around and found me wide awake once again by 6am. I layed in my bag with Jazzy curled up next to me for about another hour. Finally I managed to pull on my boots and start my day. The first order of business was to get Jazzy fed and watered and then scavenge for firewood. After that I would fix my breakfast and hopefully by then the Van Winkle brothers would be rousing from their hibernation. It wasn't nearly as cold as the night before so getting the blood circulating took very little effort. Luckily, also, the camping area we were in had plenty of dead fall within 100 yds in all directions. Jazzy even helped me carry a decent size branch back... she has an OCD about retrieving stuff so I put that trait to good use!

After several short trips I had a decent stack of firewood so I put Jazzy's food down for her and set to the fire. With the help of the dry wood and a convenient fire starter, I had a good blaze going in just a few minutes. Apparently Jasmine appreciates a hot meal as well b/c she drug her food closer to the fire to eat. I attempted to use my alcohol stove one last time to heat my water for breakfast. Well, that didn't go quite that well. I only had a little over an ounce of alcohol left and a very small amount of Zippo lighter fluid. I poured the alcohol in and then put the little bit of Zippo fluid on top in order to light it easier. It heated the water just to the point before it boiled before the fuel was expended. So at that point I set my pot of water in the coals and finished heating it. Breakfast consisted of 1/2 a bag of Mt. House ChiliMac (oh, so good... I shared the rest with Chris & Dave), 2 bites of a Cliff bar, a small cup of pears and a cup of Cocoa.

All during my morning chores, I knew Dave was awake or maybe just half so. I could hear Dakota talking and ambling about and Dave trying to correct her w/o being too loud. Dakota is a HILARIOUS little dog! She has quite a "spirited" personality to say the least. Watching Dave and her interact is like watching Dad and his mischievous 5yo daughter. Dakota will get a wild hair about something or another and it's so freaking funny to watch... like the night before, she decided that one of Dave's gloves had to die! She didn't damage it at all but she managed to get it turned inside out. When he talks to her she talks right back with a whining, rowling, barking language that sounds exaclty like she's saying, "Why? This is so fun! You should try it with me!" At times when Dave's correcting her it is so hard not to bust out laughing at her responses.. most of the time I fail to hold it in.

Well, about the time I finished making the ChiliMac, Dave and Dakota emerged from their tent. Dave walked off a ways to go take a squeej and came back with a handful of firewood. He said that he had seen the pile of wood I had collected and felt that he needed to contribute. I was tending to my pot of water for my cocoa and he poured the last bit of his DD coffee from the night before into his pot to heat it up. While I was tending them, he fed Dakota as we listened to my brother snore happily away (for another good 45+ mins). Apparently Dave wasn't quite awake as he thought... I had pulled his coffee out of the coals and was handing it to him, offering the handle, when he started to grab the pot from the bottom. I snatched it away before he burnt himself only to watch him take it by the handle and then promptly put it to his lips! Ah Dios Mio! Luckily the pot wasn't hot enough to blister burn him but I'm sure he felt it the rest of the day.

Eventually Chris got out of bed and we all sat around the fire eating and talking. We all agreed that we'd hike over to the fire tower before we left for home. We struck camp, helping each other break down and stow tents, bags, sleeping pads, etc. We cleaned up the area leaving no trace other than our boot prints in the dirt. We smothered the coals in the fireplace, double checked our gear and headed out. We dropped our packs off at the cars, filled our water bottles, grabbed an outer layer in cse it got cooler and headed off. The fire tower was about 1.5 miles away and off of a dirt road so it was an easy find. I have a healthy respect for high places so I watched Chris, Dave and Dakota ascend the fire tower's stairs toward the top. The shack on the top of the tower was understandably locked up but they got some good pics from the highest landing they could get to which was just under the shack. After that we walked back out to the vehicles and headed home for Delaware. Dave was following us as he intended to stay here for the week and enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends.

All in all, this wasn't quite the adventure that we had planned. We didn't cover miles and miles of rugged trails with our burdens shouldered on our backs. It wasn't quite the backpacking hike that I had envisioned over the years... but it was memorable! And that, to me, is more important than covering miles just to say, "Hey, look at us! We hiked the AT!" For me, any other reason just isn't right. We only covered about 7 miles during our trek but it was done with 2 of my best friends and we had fun doing it. Even though this story ends here, it is far from being complete!

Campsite #2 and the fruits of my labor stacked in the foreground. .

Jazzy enjoying a well deserved breakfast..

Pic of the fireplace

Making breakfast..

Playing around while the waters heating up...

Dave and Dakota having a heart to heart...

Charting our course to the fire tower

Pics from the tower..